Back in the day, the parties surrounding the James Beard Awards (both official and not) would kick off on Friday night, with the media
awards. There were brunches (notably Daniel Boulud's block party outside Café Boulud – which he should consider throwing
again. N'est-ce pas, Daniel? ) and cocktail
parties all throughout the weekend, through to the post-Awards parties and into
the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
Last year the media awards switched to Sunday night,
basically pushing all the festivities into a 48-hour period. The media awards
also changed venues this year. It is now at the Hudson Theatre in the
Millennium Broadway Hotel, with dinner and a show. They'll be the Golden Globes
to Monday night's Oscars, if you will.
The cornerstone of Sunday night's festivities has always
been Chef's Night Out. Last year I got many panicked emails, asking, "Where's
the party?" Seems they've doubled invite list, because this year my in-box
is filled with, "See you there!" Sources say the event is beyond
capacity at this point, necessitating a strict door policy. I've been told that
it will not be the usual free-for-all with people piling in, invitee plus
entourage of twelve-style. It's bound to be a big crazy event, with a touch of
ugly at the door.
So start your carb loading for the Sunday marathon. I'm
planning to take the Lionel Ritchie route (i.e.,all night long).
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