Brenda's Judgment Day

Well, we’ve finally moved past LAF&W. Time for everyone to get back to their normal routine.  

For me, that meant a big move into my new house. At this point, I am still having mixed feelings about Chris Crary’s flirtatious behavior, so it is great to have my friend Whitney over as a sounding board. Whitney has her own blog here in Los Angeles, and we became fast friends after meeting at one of my client’s events. Just like me, she has a passion for food and wine, and she’s a great listener when it comes to my love life (or lack thereof). It is really nice to sit down with her, drink some wine, relax, and chat without having my guard up. Did it resolve any of my romantic issues? Nah. But we sure had fun!

On to Nina’s show and tell dinner party.... Watching this scene makes me really have mixed emotions. Nina had expressed that she wanted to make more of a connection with people, and so her intentions to host this dinner were good. But you know how I feel about good intentions.The fact that I walked into the house and not one person greeted me was insulting.  Pretty sure that if you are a host, that is part of the gig. And it all goes downhill from there for me  My comments about her food were just observations. Nina made a cold dish at LAF&W, and she threw together some salads for this party. All I’m saying is that if she can really cook, she should try to make a bigger impression on her foodie friends.  

But on to the actual show and tell. It definitely was a mixed group of people, so it was cool to see what everyone brought to the table. As the host, Nina expressed that it was a safe place with no judgment were we can all share our stories. She raved over Lindsay’s “jackalobe,” but when Kat tells the story about her childhood cookbook, she called it “boring.” Really? But watching her make a face during my speech was most infuriating of all for me. I shared the story of my mother’s heirloom bracelet and how it told the story of her life. Everyone knows that I love my wine (and food!), so the fact that I say that my passion comes from my mother and she makes that judgmental face was disgusting. Have a little respect. Waylynn made a joke about AA (hardy har har), but inviting someone to share something that meant so much, and then to be judged because what you have said may have not been perfect around her perfect friends was gross. Nina needs to stick to what she knows: crocheting, name-dropping, and salad-tossing. Leave the hosting to someone who is gracious.

On to the 5x5 dinner. It was a real honor to be invited to this event at Bouchon. Thomas Keller is one of the most talented chefs in the country (if not the most talented), and he hosted five chefs who each prepared a course for this dinner. We got to tour the kitchen, meet the chefs, and be lucky enough to dine in Thomas Keller’s epic dining room. I am the first to admit that I am not fashionista by any stretch of the imagination, but I have to agree with Kat here. To see Lindsay in flip-flops and a tank top was inappropriate. Los Angeles is a casual town, but there are times and places that diners should dress up, and this dinner was definitely one such occasion. Speaking of inappropriate, Kat texting at this dinner was beyond rude. And with Chris? Right in front of me? Out of control. What a damper on a great night. (And just for the record, that comment about wrapping up my food was a joke. There was nothing left on my plate, and I would never take home food from such an esteemed dinner… just sayin’.)

So that about wraps it up for me for this episode. Hopefully, things turn around for me with these gals. Tough crowd.  

Thanks for watching! Be sure to follow me on twitter at @msbrendaurban, and let me know what you think!