On the Town: Oakmont League’s summer party goes big
The Oakmont League of Glendale is celebrating its 75th anniversary. To that end, each event it holds seems more sumptuous than the one before.
The league’s annual summer party, held in the Glendale backyard of Chloe and Lee Ross on Friday, didn’t disappoint. About 100 party-goers dined on a buffet dinner from stations representing various countries, adhering to the party theme, “It’s a Small World.”
At $55 a person, plates could be piled high with food from France, Italy and Mexico. First to be gobbled up was a bowl full of spicy guacamole, accompanied by the requisite tortilla chips. A giant platter of cookies for dessert graced each table. Adult beverages, sodas and coffee kept the crowd lively. Frank’s Famous Catering did the honors.
Jeraldine Saunders, a 20-year member of the league, was joined by her escort, Jeffery Kobes, from Topanga.
Saunders is currently in negotiations to mount a musical in Las Vegas based on her well-known book, “The Love Boat.” The musical will also pull from the recently published biography, “The Love Boat Lady,” written by Glendale resident Sheila Farrell Murray. The Murray book was a favorite item in the raffle at $5 a ticket or $20 for five tickets. Saunders signed the book and personalized it with a kiss.
Party co-chairpersons Jeri Benton and Chloe Ross were busy bees in front of and behind the scenes. Benton helped sell raffle tickets. Ross was the perfect hostess.
Among the guests were new Pasadena residents Drs. Marguerite and Robert Marsh. Marguerite Marsh is a retired psychologist. Robert Marsh is a retired surgeon who practiced at Verdugo Hills Hospital and Glendale Adventist Medical Center. At Glendale Adventist, he was also chairperson of the ethics committee for 25 years.
Marguerite Marsh just hosted a dinner party for her husband’s 93rd birthday. The couple will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary next month.
As the evening waned, revelers began to wind down but still had enough energy to participate in a spirited live auction.
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“Eat Your Heart Out” was exactly what some Glendalians did for a 12-day period that recently ended. It was the theme of Dine L.A. Restaurant Week that featured a number of eateries in Glendale and surrounding communities.
Three of those restaurants were in the Americana at Brand — the Granville Café, Trattoria Amici and Katsuya. Cash registers rang during the almost two-week eating spree. The best bargains could be found at lunch.
At Granville, for instance, a three-course lunch could be had for $15. Granville’s famous bleu cheese burgers were only eclipsed by its gourmet mac and cheese.
Each year, Restaurant Week showcases Los Angeles as a premier dining destination, showing off the diversity of culinary experiences L.A. and its environs have to offer. Locals and visitors had the opportunity to enjoy a selection of prix fixe, or fixed-price, lunch and dinner menus.
Glendale resident Lynda Burns enjoyed lunch at Trattoria Amici last Wednesday. The caprese tomato salad was her favorite. Word has it that the molten lava chocolate cake was to die for. That is, if you had room for it.
But if you were too full for dessert, a doggy bag did the trick. The lava cake is on Trattoria Amici’s regular menu. Burns, vice chairperson of the Glendale Commission on the Status of Women, is already looking forward to next year’s Restaurant Week, when she’s planning to bring every member of the commission.
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RUTH SOWBY may be reached at ruthasowby@gmail.com.