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The Highs and Lows of Sugar & Champagne
By
Rina Rapuano
Published Thursday, January 29, 2009
Droves of people and pooches turned up at the downtown DC Ritz-Carlton for Sugar & Champagne, the event hosted each year by Todd and Ellen Gray of Equinox to raise money and awareness for the Washington Humane Society. Here are the highs and lows of an evening that was a fun—and delicious—night out for man and beast.
Most creative dessert: Josh Short of Buzz in Alexandria decorated his chocolate, vanilla, and red-velvet cupcakes to look like different breeds of dogs.
Least creative dessert: Hook pastry chef Heather Chittum’s walnut wedding cookies. They were good but similar to what you can get at most bakeries these days.
Most refined dessert: The Meyer-lemon petite gâteau from 2941, with its translucent dried lemon slice, hazelnut crunchies, coffee emulsion, and light-as-air lemon mousse.
Best grownups-only dessert: Taberna del Alabardero’s strawberries, set upright on trays of sugar and filled with Champagne and tiny chocolate chunks.
Biggest hazard of attending a pets-welcome event: Getting your leg humped by someone else’s dog while you’re waiting to pay for the valet parking.
Biggest hazard for the dogs who attended: Having mama put a boa around your neck.
Most harrowing moment: When the emcees announced that poor little Burt the dog had been separated from his owners.
Biggest reason to be thankful: That someone didn’t decide to bring a cat or ferret.
Biggest disappointment: Many of the desserts and drinks were tapped out by 9, even though the event was supposed to last until 10.
Most useful tip for organizers: Considering the lines at Indique’s table—the only one serving savory food—and the way the cheese plates were ravished, a few more dinnerlike options would be a great idea for next year. More>> Best Bites Blog | Food & Dining | Restaurant Finder
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Comments
I’d have to agree with the previous comment. There is definitely something to be said for a simple dessert, or any dish for that matter, which is done well. Chef Chittum’s cookies were a great addition to the festivities of the evening. There was also no mention of her homemade treats she made for all the the canine attendees of the event, which proved to be a great delight. I find it discouraging that our area’s finest chefs can so graciously take the time out of their schedules to give to this worthy cause only to be judged in such a way. The sugar and champagne event is not the DC Food Fight or Iron Chef. I think all of the chefs should be applauded for their contributions. I would hope that the Washingtonion would rise above the ranks of US Weekly and People magazine, and not subject chefs giving back to their community to a culinary best and worst dressed lists on nights such as this one. Lets leave the competitions to their appropriate places and focus on the great cause at hand, the Washington Humane Society. Congratulations and thank you to all of the evenings participants.
Posted by: Evan Groth, Jan 31, 2009 11:20:06 PM
While I agree that the more elaborate desserts were nice, I’m going to have to disagree with you when you say that Chef Chittum’s cookies were the least interesting. I thought it was refreshing to have a simple cookie that brought back memories of my childhood.
We’ve been to Hook before and Heather Chittum’s desserts are far from not being creative. There is a lot creativity in the simple things.
In my opinion there were no clear winners or losers, it was just a nice event that helped raise money for a good cause. We are just happy that our dog had a good time and loved his treats.
Posted by: Ethan Murdock, Jan 30, 2009 08:34:48 PM
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02:30 PM/ET, 01/29/2009 in
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