Anthony Rose and Alida Solomon team up for The Drake’s outdoor eat-fest
Despite being one of the most talked about West Queen West bars, the Drake Hotel always creates an atmosphere of being at our best friend’s cottage. Well, maybe not our best friend, but certainly our coolest one. Chef Anthony Rose is extending that famous chilled-out vibe right out the door and around the corner, to the urban garden he’s planted behind the hotel. Tomorrow night, he’ll host his second party in the space, which he calls I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. About 40 guests are expected for the event—and there’s room for a few more, he says.
The garden may not have roses (save the chef, natch), but it does have chilies, tomatoes and frisée, which he’ll be adding to some of the dishes he’s preparing with guest chef Alida Solomon of Tutti Matti. The $65 meal will include pinzimonio, venison carpaccio, grigliata mista and even a few end-of-summer cocktails.
“This may not be a secret dinner party, but it definitely has that feel,” says Rose, who held his first get-together in the space with Bonnie Stern on August 12. Diners will be escorted from the front entrance of The Drake and through the back alley, where it feels like anyone’s backyard. “People can just relax and eat some barbecue, that’s the concept,” says Rose.
For those who can’t make it tomorrow, he’s planning a porchetta party in the fall, when he’ll roast a whole pig. If things go well, expect twice monthly meals next summer.
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Aug. 26, 8 p.m., $65. The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W., 416-531-5042, event Web site.
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