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Wearing all white to a dinner party seems like something only friends of P. Diddy — or people in a detergent commercial — would do, but Diner en Blanc makes an incredibly compelling case for busting out your brights. The organization hosts secret, pop-up dinner parties in major cities across the country, letting you know its location just hours before the big event.
You buy tickets and agree to the dress code (head-to-toe white, or as much as you can muster); they provide the entertainment, usually in the form of a live band and/or DJ, the tables and chairs. The party itself is more of a potluck — groups of people will haul coolers, plates and over-the-top table decorations, creating over-the-top tablescapes that’d make Sandra Lee proud.
The pride people take in decking out their tables is the truly amazing part. It’s a spectacle, much like donning seersucker suits and your finest spectator hat at the Kentucky Derby. Women assembled 3-foot-tall floral vases, massive martini glasses filled to the brim with shrimp cocktail (we’re talking 2-foot-tall glasses here), floating candles and garland. At least three tables had sculptures and signs honoring Prince, who passed away a few weeks before the New York Diner en Blanc Nate and I attended.
We were guests of Chloe wines, who provided the flatware, multi-course meal and desserts, but immediately, we started taking inspiration from the tables around us, texting friends to see if they’d want to host a table with us (and maybe host a cooking challenge, Iron Chef-style) next year.
It’s worth checking out. And if the event isn’t headed to a town near you? Host your own in a park or backyard. Just getting dressed up — and taking the time to really decorate your table — makes dining under the stars absolutely unforgettable.