Over the course of seven hours, the restaurant brought summer in with style, celebrating the opening of outdoor dining with 150 guests who noshed on smoked pork and barbecued chicken and tiny carrot-cake cupcakes, washed down with Avery beers or a cocktail or two. The staff joined the party, too. Chefs tossed a Frisbee with restaurant regulars, and the barmen posted up at picnic tables and indulged in an IPA with drinkers.
The event carried the air of the best backyard barbecue of the summer -- only the food and drinks were better. That left party-goers hungry for more, loudly musing that Colt & Gray should host a $35 all-you-can-eat-and-drink affair every weekend.
"Maybe we'll do another one to close it down in the fall," said chef-owner Nelson Perkins, "The restaurant might smell like the smoker for weeks."