The Scenestress
I’m finally, mostly recovered from last weekend and ready to hit the town. My night begins at Selva Grill, for a real proper dinner and date. After a slew of hard work at the paper during Best Of, I’ve earned a gift certificate to the upscale Peruvian restaurant, and while I’d drank at Selva several times before, I’d never actually enjoyed a meal there.
Contemporary art and low light set the mood at Selva. My date and I spend a short time waiting at the bar during which Sir Steve helps me choose a delicious martini made with Chambord, vanilla vodka, and champagne (the “French”). Vinny Sizemore, local playboy and owner of denim destination Stitch Boutique pops by with air kisses, and I politely wait before he is out of ear shot before turning to my date to tell him I’ve spotted a rival local girlie blogger sporting a very staid hot-pink pashmina/LBD combo. Ha. I always knew I was better…dressed.
Getting to the table I’m a little overwhelmed by the menu, and also the abundance of Affliction t-shirts in the room. While the atmosphere at Selva is quite elegant, it sadly seems to be a gathering spot for douchebags and their dates. Scanning the menu my date immediately chooses the octopus ceviche with avocado (yum), and I get an order of the truffle oil french fries to start (at right). Next, on the recommendation of several friends, I tried the tuna tartare, while my date had lobster with mango (also yum). The tuna was good, but not thrilling, and the service was definitely weak with no less than six different people bringing things to or from the table. Throw in a cheap bottle of wine and that killed my $100 gift card amount right quick so we button things up at Selva and bounce before we run into any more frenemies.
After a stop into Cork on St. Armands to scoop up one Miss JenKing visiting from New York, it’s over to Ivory, where the crew has gathered for Plush Entertainment’s big Website Launch Party. This is where things start getting fuzzy. There’s music, my friends are there, and I have a long talk with a woman in a sparkly dress named Liz in the middle of the street. Next thing I know the place is closing and thankfully a beautiful friend gives me a ride out of there.
Unfortunately, said ride is to another party, but one can’t complain about being entertained at the fabulous home of Ivory Resident DJ Ansidis, aka Frank Enright. The Enrights are always consummate hosts, what with the fully stocked bar, built-in DJ setup, fire pit, hammock, and consistent carloads of great people. On this particular occasion one of those great people shows up with a bag of 20 tacos, which I happily dive into after my wimpy dinner, and then ask (very politely, no doubt) to please be taken home so I may pass out. I’ve got big plans for Saturday — making banners with a couple of favorite friends for the Sarasota Roller Girls‘ first bout tomorrow night. It will be my first derby bout too and I can’t wait.
