Spirit of the Hill

Oh. My. Goodness. The Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce always has the best parties - everybody who's everybody was there so it was like attending a super-concentrated dose of schmooze. I'd take up a blog post and more if I wrote down all the people I ran into. But I can tell you that Leslie Lippi of B-Bam (and the Chamber VP) was at the table across from me, I was introduced to Chip Ragen of Ragen and Associates, met the head pastor of Capitol Hill Presbyterian, and chatted up the table of my alma mater, Seattle University. Among other things.

Oh yes. And then there was the food. I had heard meh reviews of Poppy before - I will pay no heed to them now. That dinner was tasty foods heaven. I will have rants and raves of it soon, along with pictures, once I have enough perspective to be able to put words to the experience.

Congrats to Michael Wells of Bailey Coy Books and Chip Ragen for receiving the first ever Spirit of the Hill awards. I didn't get a good look at the trophies, but I heard them described as "flaming crystal"...which is a remarkably appropriate representation for the spirit of our neighborhood.

That said, a first event of any kind is not without its problems. While Jerry Traunfeld is an excellent chef, he wasn't the best keynote speaker. I also heard that some people were asked to give up their tickets, though I have no idea why ... I certainly hope they get their money back. And maybe their own private wine tasting party or something. Because that was quite an event to be asked to miss.