Aspire TV hosted the tastiest event of the year to celebrate the premiere of its new Issa Rae-produced cooking show, ‘Butter + Brown’. A mix of producers, tv talent and hungry journalists gathered at a posh West Hollywood home for a night of real good food and great conversation.
The episode they screened for press features both a specialty cocktail recipe and a delicious plant-based meal. Seth and Leslie have madcap chemistry, cracking jokes and anticipating each other’s kitchen moves.
Their show was part of Issa Rae’s Youtube channel – they all go way back – and their experience and camaraderie shines through.
The episode also features actor Larenz Tate, who shows the audience some of his favorite vegetarian dishes. Damn this man hasn’t aged in twenty years. Hats off. I need to go vegetarian.
The show’s stars Leslie and Seth mingled with the crowd while we sipped their curated cocktail menu. 2 Cents catering LA put on a show while they prepared the night’s 9-course meal, laughing and joking with guests while making that good good.
I didn’t eat all day just so I could go crazy on this food. And that I did.
The night kicked off with a warm goat cheese salad that was light and savory. I got to know other guests over bomb fried green tomatoes, legendary oxtail tacos – a first for me – and the best shrimp and grits I will ever have. So damn good.
We wound down to a mango cheesecake dessert. Leslie shared stories of her years before tv – she almost went to the same journalism program I did. She was warm and hilarious and I’m confident we all fell in love with her. I wanna be her best friend.
Sidenote: Seth was also wonderful, but Leslie was seated at my table.
We all headed home, exchanging business cards, hugs and big smiles. I’ll remember this one for a while.