Dîner en Blanc

Lincoln Center- NY's finest Plaza

Lincoln Center. A true mecca of the arts, this plaza hosts the Metropolitan Opera House, the New York City Ballet's Koch Theatre, the New York Philharmonic, and the American Ballet Theatre at the Met. Aside from being every lover of culture's dream come true, the Lincoln Center plaza, one of the largest and only plazas in NYC, is a destination in its own right. And being one of the largest open spots in the city... it is the perfect place for a flash mob.

Leave it to the French to dream up something as "French" as a huge formal white dinner party. Originally conceived over 20 years ago by a group of fancypants Parisians, the Dîner en Blanc grew to hundreds and then thousands of people- people concerned with reclaiming public spaces, wearing white, and upholding rules of formal dinner etiquette (even in the difficult environs of late August) that would make courtly residents of Versailles oh-so proud. Now, flash forward to New York in 2012.

Dîner en Blanc, Lincoln Center, facing South to the Koch Theatre

My roommate Brian and I, who live a relatively Spartan existence of blissful "bachelordom" and clearly not possessing many material tools of adulthood, such as card tables or fine white china, decided after little to no thought that we should definitely register for this year's Dîner en Blanc (we couldn't let our coveted invitations go to waste- here's looking at you Guy and Laura). After all, this event is spontaneous, it's glamorous, and it's something truly Prepster. Thus began a day long scavenger hunt all over Manhattan in pursuit of the requirements as per the event's website:

• A folding square table (between 24” and 32”) + 2 white folding chairs 

• The confirmation of your reservation (electronic receipt) 

• A white bag or a white picnic basket (or covered with a white fabric) containing quality food as well as the following items : 

o white tablecloth and 2 white cloth napkins 

o Electric/flameless votive candles 

o 2 white plates + 2 white plates for dessert (non disposable) 

o 2 sets of cutlery (plastic forbidden) 

o 2 glasses (plastic forbidden) 

o 1 bottle of water, soft drinks (alcoholic drinks are prohibited, except when distributed by our caterer – see section below)

o 1 complete meal: 1 first course, 1 cold main course, 1 cheese and/or 1 dessert, 1 bread 

o Condiments optional 

o 1 trash bag 

o Optional: 1 vase and a bouquet (only color authorized)

• Your cheerfulness

...Good thing I remembered to bring my cheerfulness (and also my wine bottle opener! Prohibition be darned- we found a way around that whole alcohol rule- this is America after all).

And so, at precisely 5:30pm on Monday, August 21 we met our group leader at our designated meeting point. We aimlessly made our way uptown during rush hour via public transit while burdened with tables chairs, china, and full 3 course meals, and absolutely no knowledge of where we were heading. Eventually the secret location of our flash mob dinner party was revealed to us... and Brian's prediction was correct... Lincoln Center. In the course of an hour, we set up tables and chairs in precise rows, set the tables, and at 7:30pm, the party started: handkerchiefs were twirled in the air and chowing down commenced. We were serenaded by live music during dinner, but what flash mob would be complete without an impromptu dance party? DJ Frenchie McFrencherson and his St. Tropez remixes of the Billboard 100 began at precisely 9pm, and the evening ended with a rousing (there may have been hundreds of people in a kickline, mayyyybe including Brian and me) version of Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York." What better way to end the perfect New York evening?

My photo recap of the event. I'll leave the captions to your imagination this time...

Zou bisou bisou,

mary