Try as one might, there’s simply no way to sample all the food from all the restaurants participating in Do At The Zoo. Mainly because there are so darn many of ’em.
Sixty-three, to be exact.
Plus another eight that had signed on exclusively for the VIP reception held immediately prior to the fundraiser’s official start.
But this year a committee led by Meredith Coors came up with the clever idea of developing a smartphone app that would give the 2,308 guests a bit of an advantage.
The app contained a map, a menu and a means for rating each offering.
Looking for tacos al pastor? was dishing them out in Bird World. Vegetarian pasta puttanesca more your style? Then you’d want to head over to Toyota Elephant Passage and the stand.
Guests were encouraged to score each dish with up to five stars; at evening’s end, the votes would be tallied and two prizes were given.
Pan-seared scallops and crispy pork belly, topped with basil and watercress salsa verde spiked with smoked paprika chicarrones and baby celery greens from won for Best Savory Dish. The voters’ choice for Best Sweet went to a yummy cinnamon roll parfait created by Noah French of .
VIP ticket-holders like Marynelle Philpott, Nate and Diane Eckloff and Lou and Sue Clinton could start their culinary adventure with grilled oysters from or an assortment of deli specialties from the new before moving on to try things like beet hummus or and kale salad.
Matthew Burkett and his wife, Priya, also were among those whose support enabled the zoo to make a $640,935 profit, along with president Tim Schultz and his wife, zoo trustee Debbie Jessup; Elaine Torres and Shepard Nevel, members of the ; Lynn Gangone, dean of the ; developer David Engleberg and honorary zoo trustee Eddie Robinson, whose wife, Susan, came up with the idea of switching Do At The Zoo from its original black-tie, sit-down dinner format to the current, and very popular, walkabout dinner concept.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/joannedavidson
Online: More pictures from this event denverpost.com/seengallery
Let’s dance
State Rep. Angela Williams, Denver City Councilman Albus Brooks and community volunteer Kasia Iwaniczko MacLeod are among those taking part in Cleo Parker Robinson’s Dancing With the Denver Stars. Joanne Davidson tells who else will be joining them in the Mile High Style blog
