• by Kelly Samardak , June 19, 2008

Canaccord Adams Summer Clicks Internet Dinner, Bar Americain, New York
June 17, 2008

I like meat. Meat in little burger form, meat in ball shapes, meat in a loaf, meat pie, meat on a stick. If someone came out with meat ice cream, I might even try that. Which is why when Colin W. Gillis, Internet Equity Research Analyst, Canaccord Adams, invited me to a special Internet dinner I said "Gimme the meat!" and ran over after OMMA Publish.

Let's talk about Bobby Flay for a minute (just an online one. Har har). Every time I see him on that big grey square I have at home with the pretty lights and colors, he's on a rooftop in Brooklyn rubbing the hell out of a huge slab of meat, making an overflowing pitcher of icy cool cocktails, and slapping salad around like a cheatin' man. Every time I see him in person (oh that's right, I do) he's always getting into an elevator in my building as I'm getting off. Apparently Bold Foods, LLC has a floor in my building. And you can bet your bratwurst that I plan to do a pop in and convince him that Bold Foods needs to have a party that I can cover. Yes, you're invited.

So what does this have to do with anything? Am I having a minor stroke and forgetting that right now I should be talking about the Cannaccord Clicks dinner? Of course I'm not. The dinner was held at Bar Americain, a Bob Flay joint. See how that's all tied together now. And truly, I had no idea what this dinner was supposed to be about, so when I walked up the stairs into a ton of suits and a very effervescent Colin, I just grabbed my little nametag and gave Gail someone else's.

Turns out the crowd was a mix of people with VD... no wait...the crowd was a mix of Venture Capitalists (VC!), online entrepreneurs and banker types. Ack, right? Lame, right? WRONG! While weaving in between pink, orange, and blue ties, slick silvery hair, and an adorable bowtie, I was stuffing my face with tasty delicious hors d'oeuvres. An ugly tray of tan crispy mounds surrounded by tiny ringlets of green scallions presented itself. I popped on of those hideous little suckers into my mouth and my brain exploded. It was some sort of mushroom blob filled with some other heavenly oozy goodness.

They served meat on a stick and, as I gabbed to my +1 with my camera sitting innocently on a table, I heard the heart stopping crang-sploop of a full glass of water killing itself. I felt the splash and immediately hooted a loud expletive as I swiped my now wet camera off the table. I completely forgot any manners as the offending banker type offered up a slew of apologies. He was genuinely sorry and concerned and offered, "If it breaks, I'll buy you a new one -- a better one!" I looked down at my camera and willed it to break. Canon, you make a great camera -- the thing is still truckin'

We were all herded into a sit down dinner room and served way too peppery tuna tartare (sorry Bobby), soft and crispy bread and creamy butter (thank you Bobby), and our choice of Red Snapper with plantains, NY Strip with provolone sauce, or a slab of Pork with a corn apple chutney (or something similar).

I ordered the snapper, which was rather flavorless, but my instant friend, Jason Yeh from Pequot Ventures, honored my request for a slice of his meat and it was fabulous. I knew I should have gone with my red meat instinct. Colin stood and said something about results of an Internet Outlook Survey I had nothing to do with, we all raised a glass, and around me the bankers and the Internet shakers continued to romance each other -- probably well after I left, too.

Is your event serving meat ice cream and you'd love to see it covered in Just An Online Minute? Send invitations to kelly@mediapost.com!

Take a look at all the dinner pictures on Flickr!