One hundred and sixty three tickets sold and a butt in every seat, that was Anthony's on Wednesday. The service was flawless and so was the meal: fresh and bbq'd oysters on the half shell, coconut prawn skewers, ahi nacho bites, roasted red pepper bruschetta for starters, followed by dungeness crab salad, alder plank wild Alaskan King and blackberry cobbler ala mode to finish. Each course was paired with a different wine from their list. We marveled at chef Mike Ludeman's ability to get everything out in such a timely and efficient way and also at GM and fellow Rotarian Kasey Baker's cool demeanor throughout. If there were any glitches it never showed, and that's the mark of true professionals.
The club awarded Anthony's President, Amy Burns, an honorary Paul Harris award. Amazingly, Anthony's donates ALL food and labor (not to mention giving up the entire restaurant all evening) for the annual event, which in turn allows Rotary to donate ALL proceeds from ticket sales to worthy community causes. Over $27,000 was raised, plus additional donations from attendees for gratuities to thank the 50+ Anthony's staff that made the night so memorable. Many of this year's Rotary Grants recipients will fall into the category of "No Camper Left Behind" providing scholarships and enrichment activities to many organizations in our community.