Sitting under a Brachiosaurus, one guest sipped her Champagne and gazed up at the towering display of old bones found in the entrance to the main hall at the Field Museum. No matter how many times one sees the dinosaur’s skeleton, it remains awesome.
Also awesome was the event that brought together the ancient bones and the vintage Champagne, as well as a bounty of food from chefs and more than 1,000 paying guests: It was the Bon Appetit Wine & Spirits Focus, sponsored by that magazine to benefit Second Harvest, a non-profit national food bank that helps feed the hungry.
More than 70 tables were scattered through the hall, each featuring a different wine or a chef’s creation. Chicago restaurants such as Zinfandel, Charlie Trotter’s, Spiaggia, Mare, Printer’s Row and Cafe Gordon were joined by out-of-towners such as the Rattlesnake Club (Detroit), Zenith American Grill (Denver) and Stars (San Francisco). While lines in front of each food table grew, some guests escaped to scan the displays of Indian artifacts or Egyptian mummies. Others attended separate wine tastings and seminars.
Kudos must go to chef Kevin Taylor of Zenith American Grill for the evening’s outstanding dish: Amazingly light fritters packed with pristinely fresh crab meat.