Monday, July 26, 2010

40th Birthday Bash at Orson San Francisco

We got a last minute call from a client to help him plan his brother's 40th birthday. The plan: they we're going to have dinner at a neighborhood restaurant and then wanted to surprise him by having a limo pick them up after and take them to a cocktail party. We we're given three weeks, a modest budget and some general likes and dislikes of the guest of honor and we were off!




We worked with our friends at Orson Restaurant & Lounge (owned by chef Elizabeth Falkner of Citizen Cake and Food Network) in SOMA. We booked the Mezzanine upstairs, where we could have semi private use of the space and a dedicated bar.

While about 12 of the birthday boys best pals had dinner, Orson got ready for the other guests to arrive...And when the guest of honor arrived, he was greeted with a surprise!




Sadly we had another event to attend that evening, so we were not able to taste the yummy fare this time, but the guests gave it rave reviews. We started out the evening with:

  • Blini with crème fraiche and caviar
  • Smoked salmon maki rolls
  • Steak tartar on individual spoons
  • Prawns with romesco
  • Korean crispy pot stickers
  • Cheesy churros and chili jam
  • Asparagus and aioli dipping sauce
  • Arancini

And then after birthday cake the guests we're delighted with passed dessert bites:

  • Cupquettes - vanilla & chocolate
  • Rocky Road Marshmallow skewers
  • Crème Brulee spoonfuls
  • Chocolaté bon bons


The birthday cake {RETRO TROPICAL SHAG - 2 layers of genoise cake with splash of rum, passionfruit-mango mousse, vanilla buttercream and unsweetened organic coconut shavings, yeah baby!} was also a huge hit and was presented by Elizabeth Falkner herself!






We also worked with Natalie Bowen Designs to whip us up some MANLY cocktail table arrangements, to give a little splash of color to the evening scene.



And my favorite shot, sent to me after the event, is of the birthday boy and his friends chillin' on the couch in the back of the SUV style limo. Party on!




If you want to have a private dining experience at Orson, the guy to talk to is Michael Beachnau @ 415.722.4380. They have several different options for where you can hold court all with very reasonable food and beverage minimums for the style of venue, atmosphere and AMAZING food.