Guests:
Judy Reynen, real estate designer for Reynen-Bardis Communities; her guest, Debi Kassis, community volunteer and past chair of Jesuit High School’s PACE auction; Linda Breninger, former middle school principal; her guest, Carol Scofield, professional speaker; Abby Hewitt, owner of California Connections Advertising
Where: The Town Lounge, 1595 Eureka Road, Roseville; (916) 789-1900
Benefiting organizations: American Heart Association (Judy Reynen and her husband, John, chaired the 2005 Heart Ball) and Soroptimist International of Roseville
1-second review: Indulge in&emdash;and enjoy&emdash;as many appetizers as you can.
The best: The nicely chilled gazpacho, firecracker kung pao calamari, spring rolls with pineapple sweet-and-sour sauce, and New York-style cheesecake. And the soft-crusted sourdough rolls, hot from the oven&emdash;no butter needed.
No-nos: Saffron seafood risotto, which should have been prepared with arborio rice (but wasn’t), vegetarian gnocchi tre funghi: heavy, gluey, undercooked. The yellowfin tuna burger did not score at all, nor did the Reuben, which had very little sauerkraut and Russian dressing.
Wine time: Very nice stemware, noted Diva Bernice Hagen, who ordered the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and J Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.
Ambiance: Nightclub dcor.
Quote of the day: If you don’t use it, you lose&emdash;that’s what I say about sex. Now, who said that?
Chatter: Linda Breninger calls herself Carol Scofield’s tagalong friend, whether to Hawaii or to Wine & Roses in Lodi to celebrate a 60th birthday. A former middle school teacher and principal, Breninger says parents are the toughest part of the job. If she wrote a book, she’d title it Not My Child. Scofield, whose husband, Ed, manages Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley, will go anywhere and talk about just anything. Abby Hewitt put in a plug for Sacramento Crisis Nurseries’ upcoming 10th anniversary celebration Oct. 14 at the Baler Building at Sutter’s Landing, which used to be&emdash;excuse the term&emdash;the city dump.
Photo–Left to right: Debi Kassis, Judy Reynen, Abby Hewitt, Gloria Glyer, Peg Tomlinson-Poswall, Linda Breninger, Bernice Hagen, Carol Scofield, Paulette Bruce-Miller
The Dining Divas&emdash;Gloria Glyer, Paulette Bruce-Miller, Bernice Hagen, Joan Leineke, Gayla Mace and Peg Tomlinson-Poswall&emdash;have been wining and dining together since 1993. Each month, they lunch at an area restaurant, taking as their guests people who placed winning bids at charity events. To date, the Divas have raised more than $248,000 for local charities and nonprofits.
