Harry Denton and Donna Sachet's Drag Brunch
Yesterday's Sunday's A Drag ($30+) brunch at Harry Denton's Starlight Room mainly filled us with cheer, laughter, and decent food and drink. Brunch with entertainment, emceed by Donna Sachet (pictured above)? Sign us up! Female impersonators/drag queens make us feel interested, excited, and curious. They are sometimes so sexy, we wonder how they pull it off. We usually smile a lot after seeing and interacting with them.
But the word drag took on an entirely new meaning when we arrived (on time) for our 1:30 p.m. seating. We had a reservation, but couldn't get the staff's attention for what felt like endless minutes. Our strategy was to position our smiling, cleavage baring selves close to the hostess podium. We tried to give off a friendly "help us, please" vibe. There were a good forty customers also in the podium/bar area, who all seemed to be enjoying their drinks while chatting and looking around. Ages ranged from mid twenties to mid sixties. The mood seemed full of anticipation, and we guessed that most folks may have been also wondering what the seating sitch was: when would we be seated and where. After ten minutes of being ignored by the bobbed, attractive female Icy Hostess and black gowned servers, we decided that while we were still excited for the brunch and show, this was a drag.
As in, our drag was at this point that we were lagging or lingering behind in information and drinks. We should probably get a drink rather than stand around feeling clueless, while being further ignored. Wouldn't ya know, the seating began while we were at the bar.
Once we hurried back to the podium, we watched Icy Hostess seat three men at a table that would soon be ours. After they politely asked to be seated elsewhere, the hostess told them, "The only other table is by the buffet. Over there," as she pointed to the buffet and windows which were in an area that serves as a dance floor at night (we should know. We used to dance on that floor in our immediate post college years). They took off for the table-by-the-buffet. We were up next, and the hostess set down menus on the recently vacated table. It seemed to be the worst table in the house, because it was closest to the door and host stand. Taking in the stage meant looking at and over the heads and faces of guests with closer seating. How would we get good pics for SFist or our blog??! When we asked in a friendly way if there were any other tables available, Icy Hostess told us no. We were at the Sunday's A Drag brunch to see divas, not be divas, so we decided to make the most of it and hit the buffet. We would've requested a booth or other table had we known that was necessary when we made reservations.
Brownie points for buffet presentation. There were nice little touches on the buffet that we liked: holiday lights, ample and full chafing dishes, etc. We had a teeny bit of the coleslaw salad, but passed on the caesar and mixed greens. Next came some smoked salmon with all the fixins': diced tomato and onion, capers, and lettuce. We found mini-bagels and Philly cream cheese packets in another spot further down the buffet, which felt a little odd. We were thrilled to see eggs benedict next, which looked saucy and rich. We liked eating it but had a tough time cutting the English muffin. We also tried French toast with hints of chocolate and raspberry. Another search and recover mission happened over maple syrup, which we found on the other side of the buffet table (why not place one maple syrup for each side?).
Since our plate was nearly full, we couldn't rationalize eating from the omelette station. But we love that it was available and that the staff had hats on to cover their hair! That station looked clean and well managed, just how we like it. Our other skipped items were: the planked salmon pictured above, fruit salad (brunch is not a healthy pursuit!), potatoes, OJ, grapefruit juice, coffee, milk, carved meats, cream of mushroom soup, and a bunch of pastries. We did dig into a deviled egg and flourless chocolate cake for dessert, and it was worth the effort.
How was the actual show? Sassy, Molassey! Donna Sachet is the host, and she is hilarious, full of quips, and a good entertainer. She circled the room and taunted and teased guests. She sings her songs rather than lipsynchs. The other performers lipsynched. The other acts: Lady Tia, Cassandra Cass and a red haired performer (we know it's lame to not include her name. Sorry to not have it) were fresh, appealing, and funny. There was even the surprise of snow at the end, which we could barely see from our shitty table. However, we would return to see the show again. We even got a complimentary Cassandra Cass calendar, which is sexy, provocative, and fun and already propped up in our office.
Sunday's A Drag Brunch
Harry Denton's Starlight Room
450 Powell Street - 21st Floor
San Francisco
Reservations: 415-395-8595
www.harrydenton.com