the big to do

beth, eric, brian and i greatly enjoyed the big to do last night, sponsored by do downtown. by greatly enjoyed, i mean all of us suffered minor headaches this morning. but it was a beautiful evening and well worth the minor discomfort.

here is the breakdown of the offerings:

boi na braza: dough stuffed with cheese and beef, served with brazilian hot sauce. when they say hot sauce, they are not lying. dear god. the risolis were very tasty, even though brian was hoping for a big pile of meat.

blackfinn saloon: bailey's or double chocolate mousse. yummy, yummy. great texture, very light. not too rich to enjoy the whole cup. well, i would have eaten it all even if it was too rich.

havana martini club: pomegranate martini, appearing on the menu as the katharine hepburn. what a stunning name, i love katharine. the cocktail was stunning as well, not the disgustingly sweet concoction olives had offered. i drank two.

jeff ruby's: classic louisiana gumbo. ok, i have not eaten a lot of gumbo, and if it all tastes like this, i probably won't. bland. unattractive. disappointing. it looks especially unappetizing in the photo - like dirty dishwater.

palomino: grilled asparagus and prosciutto, garlic herb crostini with pesto and parmesan. a perfect little bite. so small it was gone before i could get a photo. as was my lavendar cosmo.

via vite: penne bolognese. good, but nothing stand out spectacular.

nicholson's: strawberry daiquiri cheesecake with drambuie cream sauce. um, if this was nicholson's chance to win friends, they failed miserably. i would not want this one taste to represent my restaurant. nice presentation, but it tasted like strawberry yogurt that had been left in my backpack all day. i think beth liked it, though. the picture is out of focus cause balancing was a problem.

trattoria roma: stuffed mushroom caps. we did not have these because we got tired of waiting and sweating. it was really warm in there.

the oceanaire: halibut ceviche served with sweet potato crisp. what a fun restaurant. the woman giving out the samples was a trip. beth even enjoyed the taste, despite her dislike of all things seafood.

jeanro bistro: watermelon steaks with feta and black olive cavier. i could have eaten ten of these. and jenny, the bartender and a family friend, mixes some excellent pear martinis. she also serves a delicious belgian brew, la chouffa.