Tables for two, draped with red and white sheets filled 200 Church on Saturday, while heart shaped balloons adorned the ceiling and a man in a three-piece suit, backed up by a four-piece band, crooned Rat Pack classics. This was the scene of the Valentine Dinner, a collaboration between Full House and Music House, new program houses that specialize in the culinary and euphonic arts, respectively.
The mood was festive as guests trickled in and greeted their friends among their fellow diners, the wait staff, and chefs. Spontaneous dancing sprang up across the room, varying between slow dancing and swing, depending on what Henry Kiely ’11, House Manager of Music House, was singing. The wait staff was friendly with a mission to ensure that no glass was empty.
Guests preordered from a prix fixe menu beforehand. For an appetizer, I chose the butternut squash soup from a selection that included cream of tomato soup and salad. The soup was sweet as expected, but had spicy undertones that provided a nice full flavor without being overpowering. The soup was delicious and after licking the bowl clean, I was excited for what was in store for the rest of the night.
The entrées were served in a staggered fashion. My neighbors were long finished with their pasta and meatballs and margarita pizzas before I even received my dish. But the small kitchen was in full view of the diners and the chefs were evidently hard at work filling the orders.
When my eggplant parmesan came, it looked pretty darn good. The slices were huge and the parmesan was nicely toasted with peppers and spices melted in. The dish had a good flavor, but the eggplant was slightly undercooked. One of my dates had the pizza and said the addition of pine nuts was very interesting.
For dessert, I had the tiramisu cake, which was moist and flavorful, although I wish there was more cream on top. Other diners had the ice cream sundae or the chocolate lava cake with raspberry sauce.
The night ended with the band just jamming for guests and staff who transformed the room into a dance floor. Considering the crammed kitchen and the number of diners that needed to be served, Full House put on an impressive show.
According to Ali San Roman ’11, House Manager of Full House, her residents are planning to hold similar events in the future.
“We’ll need some time to relax after the crazy planning that went into making the event a success,” she said. “But we all had so much fun doing it that we are definitely going to do it again.”
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