How often do you find yourself dreaming about Mexican food for dinner, only to develop a taste for Chinese the minute you head out the door?
That’s the beauty of events like Do At The Zoo.
With 76 restaurants participating, the 26th edition of Denver Zoo’s signature fundraiser literally had something for everyone, including cured Colorado striped bass from ; chorizo tacos from and bacon-wrapped meatloaf from the .
had filet mignon pot stickers, offered mushroom fried rice, and if it was something sweet you wanted, the choices included cupcakes from and the and a made-from-scratch butterscotch pudding that’s a specialty at .
And that’s not counting the choices afforded those holding the $300 VIP tickets. They could arrive an hour ahead of the general admission start time to enjoy treats like crab legs, oysters on the half shell, heirloom tomato salad and pommes frites des herbes de Provence from Jennifer Jasinski’s Crafted Concepts restaurant group: Rioja, Euclid Hall, Bistro Vendome and Stoic & Genuine.
The 2015 Do At The Zoo was chaired by Dick Monfort, owner, chairman and chief executive officer of the Colorado Rockies, and Mike Long, chairman, president and CEO of Arrow Electronics. Monfort has been a zoo trustee since 2004, Long since 2003.
Zoo president Shannon Block dates Monfort’s brother, Charlie.
The fundraiser capped a big day for zoo board chair Lou Clinton, the president of First Western Trust Denver, and his wife, Sue, who had closed on a new house before making their way to the zoo to help Block and other trustees welcome a crowd that included Anthony Graves, Denver’s director of regional affairs, and his wife, Sakari; Bei-Lee Gold; Kasia and David MacLeod (she’s a senior vice president at Bank of America; he is chief information security officer and vice president of IT operations at Zenith-American Solutions); Xcel Energy’s Priya Burkett and her husband, fly-fishing guide Matthew Burkett; Sherri Koelbel; Rob Cohen and his son, Jake; and Debbie Jessup, executive director of the Anschutz Family Foundation and a member of the zoo board, with her husband, Boettcher Foundation president Tim Schultz.
Geri Bader Saltzman and her husband, CPA Meyer Saltzman, arrived by way of St. Martin, where they’d spent the past month soaking up the Caribbean sun while she recovered from back surgery. And former Cherry Hills Village Mayor Doug Tisdale, who was been appointed to the zoo board in January by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, was there with Stephanie DeGraff Bender, his daughter, Maggie Tisdale, and her husband, Marty Schettler.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/joannedavidson
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