Simply DiVine

This fundraiser for the LA Gay and Lesbian Center was quite divine! Bites of food, free flowing drinks, entertainment and auctions made the night fun, while raising money for a good cause. The $ 150 tickets as well as the proceeds from the live and silent auctions raised money for the Center, while providing us all with the opportunity to sample and enjoy some new restaurants.
The food and drinks:
Vegetarian and vegan options were limited, but sufficient and satisfying, while meat eaters had an ample selection ranging from sliders to ceviche. Susan Fenigers Street featured a delicious and refreshing edamame salad, which provided a healthy contrast for my next favorite. The Village Bakery featured my favorite desserts of the night, a decadent and rich vegan chocolate cupcake:
and the best colored/​decorated item, a rainbow cake:
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There was a great variety of drinks available, with numerous wine selections, as well as some liqueurs, margaritas, beers, and even champagne. Non-​alcoholic options and bottles of water were also available, but didnt seem to be as popular! You probably wont get $ 150 worth of food if you bought a ticket, but the money is going to a good cause, which is why almost everyone was here to begin with! I was lucky enough to win tickets, but I couldnt help but bid on at least half a dozen items, so I know that my money went to an organization I am happy to support!
Regarding the event organization:
Some great things I appreciated:
–Plate + Wine holder combo made it so much easier to navigate the crowd by freeing up my drink-​holding hand. Every event should have these:
–The silent auction set-​up was great! Ive seen good, great, and bad silent auctions and this was a great one. After signing up and giving my credit card info, I was given a sheet of bar code stickers to place on the bidding sheets. All the bidding sheets already had increments listed on them. No writing name, phone number, amount, etc. necessary! So easy and fast that it made it so easy to bid on so many, I just put my sticker next to my max bid amount. The items were also well organized based on type, such as restaurants, beauty/​spa, travel, etc. A few days after the event, I received an email notifying me that I was a winner, and a few days later my card was charged and I got my certificates in my mailbox!
Area of improvement:
Compared to other similar events I have been to in the past, this one was crowded. While the lines were usually short and the items I was interested in trying didnt run out until the end of the evening, maneuvering from one area to the next was difficult at times. The space the event was held in was great for an event like this, but not for the amount of people.
Everything considered, especially the purpose of the evening made this event worthy of 5 stars!

Great evening!
As you entered, you were given a glass a sturdy plastic plate with a hole to hold the glass. It still wasn’t easy to juggle everything but I appreciated that they made it as easy as possible.
There was a good mix of food and adult beverage, alternating throughout the event, and there was a good size crowd but not many lines at any of the booths. Standouts for me were the Cranberry-​Limoncello cocktail, pasta from Fabiolus, and the chocolate pop rocks. I do wish they hadn’t put the pop rocks in the very first booth by the entrance. When you start a meal with pop rocks it kind of messes a bit with your stomach.

Awesome. Great food and wine and people watching. I love how the people who got in free care the critics! Kills me. Lol

«Hey Harmonie, what did you do this weekend?»
«Um…I spent Saturday evening in Beverly Hills! No big deal» ;D
First off, major thanks to Andrea V. and Erin V. who each won a pair of tickets to this event via Unilocal.They were so kind to invite me out and experience the 90 210 without the drama of Kelly, Donna, and Brenda.
So what is Simply DiVine? It’s an event benefitting The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and featuring local restaurants, wineries, and such. Festivities took place outdoors at Two Rodeo Drive and general tickets are priced at $ 150 each. Yes, you read that right. One hundred and fifty dollar tickets. Don’t freak out… remember, It’s for a good cause!
My favorites of the evening:
— Ventura Limoncello. Specifically, their Orangecello liquor and their Cranberry-​Limoncello cocktail
— Edamame Salad from Street
— Watermelon Gazpacho from Porta Via
— Israeli Cous Cous from The Tripel
— Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes from The Village Bakery
I was extremely surprised to find so many vegan friendly options at this event. I will also be on the hunt for those vegan cupcakes next time I’m in Atwater Village! SO good!
Auctions raised additional funds for the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. If I wasn’t unemployed, I probably would have bid on some of the vacation packages or yoga classes.
Settled in the cobblestoned walkway of Two Rodeo Drive, the beautiful atmosphere and this bougie event turned out to be a super awesome, very classy and surprisingly vegan-​friendly evening! ;D
Beverly Hills, that’s where I want to be!!!

Awesome. Great food, great wine, fun event!