Queen of the Night in Foodie Entries

On Thursday, Lady Wife and I went to the old Diamond Horseshoe in the Paramount Hotel for Queen of the Night. Think Cirque du Soleil + burlesque + a tasteful orgy, add gourmet food and premium beverages and you have an idea of the evening.

The venue was amazing. Closed in the 1950's, the Diamond Horseshoe was like a timecapsule. They retained the bygone elegance, updated for the show. You entered down the grand staircase, to a landing with a dramatically lighted glass wall. Behind this wall was a young lady in a Venetian mask, g-string, and nothing else. She was writing cryptic messages on the glass. Passing into the dining room, our table was artistically piled with wine glasses, plates and serving pieces. But before sitting down, a treat.

We had priority tickets, which gave us early entry, a kitchen tour with the chef, unlimited bottles of Dom Perignon 2004 and tasty nibbles. There was caviar, stone crab claws and other delicacies on offer. In the kitchen, they prepared roast suckling pig, lobster and short ribs of beef. Each table got one of the three (enough to serve many more than were seated), then you bartered with adjacent tables to share the bounty.

The performance lasted about 4 hours, loosely based on Mozart's Die Zauberflote. And the costumes, dramatic athleticism and people swinging from the ceiling were all straight out of Cirque du Soleil. At one point, a lovely scantily-clad young lady hopped onto my lap, took my fork, and proceeded to give me a highly sensual feeding.

Fine dining at its best!