by senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
Photo credit: Thomson Reuters
The fun of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend is a bit exhausting. In DC, the pace is more often set to gridlock than overdrive and by the time it screeches to a halt each year, there’s one overwhelming feeling…hunger.
The calendar crammed with receptions leaves little time for stable meals and as Congressmen know, whatever you can get on a toothpick is hardly satisfying. The Sunday brunches are a good way to bring things to a close and ease back to business as usual.
This year at the Thomson Reuters brunch, attendees were not near as prepared to get back to business. This was perhaps the biggest crowd in recent history at the event, so much so that even the fire marshal showed up. According to The Washington Post’s Reliable Source: “Fire marshals intervened when the party hit max capacity, limiting guests from moving to the top floor of the hotel, where the actual meal was being served. While some lucky party-goers enjoyed a spread by “Top Chef” contestants, a slightly less pleased crowd waited in the mobbed downstairs overflow room, which did at least provide some small bites and, thankfully, champagne. Overheard: “Is this a line?” “No, you just have to throw some elbows.”
The bustling crowd was eager to recap who saw whom and down some treats courtesy of Top Chef alums Spike Mendelsohn and Jennifer Carroll. House of Cards star Michael Kelly made his way through the morning as did Rosario Dawson and Real Housewives’ Nene Leakes.
Top Chefs
Michael Kelly (c)
