Eastside couple hosts killer Halloween party

Although it's true that if Eastside folks are known for anything it's for hosting smashing parties, the Halloween-themed gem hosted last Friday at a certain small, red, mod-styled apartment took the proverbial cake. The hosts scored on all three levels: ambiance, food, and a guest-list that would leave any party host drooling.

The guest-list read as a who's-who of the political left, as well as the creme de la creme of the Save-on-foods set. The party seemed to defy the 6:1 ratio of inviting; for every six people who are invited only one will actually bother to show up. Indeed, at this party, which most people would climb over their bedridden grandmothers to be invited to, the ratio was more like 2:1. Very impressive for such a sought-after time-slot as the Friday before Halloween. All the guests were fashionably late, and the hosts would not have had it any other way. Said the hostess, "If people would have turned up on time I would have died, I mean really actually died. Anybody who's anybody knows that in order for a party to be a success guests must leisurely start to arrive at least an hour and a half after the invitation says. That and I was still struggling with the hors d'oeuvres at one hour past the start time."

And let's talk about those hors d'oeuvres. These were sumptuous morsels you would have climbed over your comatose grandmother just to nibble on. Orgasmic stuffed mushrooms. Goosebump-giving four-layer guacamole dip. Caramel apples to write home about. I mean really, really good stuff. The spread also defied the party leftover ratio. Basically, there were no leftovers. (Greedy buggers!)

Finally, what these particular hosts do best is ambiance. From the charismatic croonings of B.A. Johnston to the intricate lighting plan, this party had it all. The hosts did a tremendous job of taking the tiny, cramped space they had to work with, and opening it up in a way to facilitate conversation and mingling. And mingling was had, let me assure you of that. The decor was done by the hostess herself to the themes of pumpkins, creepy crawlies, and communism. All these themes intertwined effortlessly throughout the apartment.

I have been to perhaps thousands of eastside Halloween parties in my twenty-five-year career (and to some of those I was actually invited), but I have never had the pleasure, the honour, the....um.... honour of reviewing one so perfect, so well-attended, so life-altering as this one. Folks, let me tell you to keep your ears to the ground, and if this couple grants us all the consideration of hosting another fabulous party make it your life's work to get yourself on the guest list. And then be two hours late. Because that's just what we do.