Après Fête: Classic

While in college, my friend Tara Gordon and I were the chattiest of the chatty and spent hours sitting around speculating about our futures, as girls do. I vividly recall Tara asking me, “What would your go-to entertaining meal be when you’re married?” I wasn’t sure what she meant. She clarified: “Well, mine would be steak, a baked potato and sautéed spinach.” “Even though you don’t eat meat?” I asked the vegetarian. “That wouldn’t bother me. Everyone likes steak.” And while I do know a few non-meat eaters, Tara was on to something. People love the classics. In a world filled with mason jars and artisanal, it’s easy to dismiss silver trays and steak house favorites as old-fashioned. But I like to think that they are timeless. Case in point, this throw back dinner party menu received rave reviews. Similarly, as much as I love bitters, I really relinquished the cool factor and served lemon drops, a classic ‘mom drink’. But guess what? A lemon drop is delicious. And there’s nothing uncool about an ice cream sundae bar (scooping ice cream into glass bowls makes for a pretty presentation). The only thing that could have made this a better party would’ve been having Tara on the guest list.