Our friends Peggy and David Whitman are splendidly responsible for one of my absolute favorite traditions, "Dine and Dash." For the past several years, the Whitmans have hosted our dinner group during summer evenings when we have tickets to the Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre. We gather at the Whitman home at 5:00 for libations and a wonderful dinner typically themed with the live musical production for that night. The shows begin at 7:30 which requires us to Dine and Dash off to the theater before the curtain goes up!
Last week the Summer Theatre ended its season with the popular Broadway show "The Sound of Music." In true Whitman fashion, dinner beforehand was perfectly planned to fire us up for the Austrian-based show about the musical Von Trapp Family. Hound-dogs Carmen and Aurora greeted us in their Alpine finest. And after savoring German-style pretzels and salami, we moved into a picture-perfect Biergarten, complete with blue and yellow decor, beer-stein candles, and Edelweis. Though I sing about it a lot, I have never seen Edelweis, so I was thrilled to finally be in its midst.
The authentic Austrian dinner included brats (flown in from Wisconsin), potato salad, spinach salad, and German Chocolate Cake. Never missing a beat, Peggy and David arranged for personalized "Dine and Dash Biergarten Water Bottles." PLUS, we all went home with a pot of the small and white Edelweis (which every morning now greets me.) It was hard to leave the Whitman Biergarten, but the play was excellent. After such a memorable evening, I pretty much felt like climbing every mountain.
Mom - you and Dad sure have some cool friends. What a fun tradition and talk about a great theme for dinner before The Sound of Music. I'm just wondering why no one wore lederhosen!
ReplyDeleteThe Whitmans sure don't miss a beat! Dine and Dash seems to have been taken up a notch with the official signage and impeccable theme adherence. The only question that remains is if Carmen and Aurora's attire was made out of curtains. Great company, good food, fun themes, and a show... these are a few of My Favorite Things!
ReplyDeletePS- can't wait to have Edelwies greet me every morning when I bless my homeland with my presence at Thanksgiving!
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