Sugar Rautbord, better known for her glitz and glam, played hostess at a cocktail party featuring Lisa Birnbach, the author of "True Prep," a book that celebrates the 30th anniversary of "The Official Preppy Handbook."
Author Lisa Birnbach
The party, appropriately, was held at Water Tower's MityNice restaurant, which is enjoying its own renaissance.
Just as the 1980s version did, "True Prep" keeps its tongue firmly planted in cheek while focusing on the latest issues dogging America's elite — like "the maid quitting, the middle class disappearing, your running out of vodka, your NetJets account being yanked, and the Internet."
The original book was a guide to the wasp worlds of prep school and Brooks Brothers stores.
Thursday's event drew some of Chicago's most notable names — Capri Capital Partners CEO Quintin Primo III; Flashpoint Academy CEO Howard Tullman; philanthropist M. K. Pritzker; Trish Rooney-Alden, president of R4 Services, a records management company, and Consuelo Pierrepont, a trustee with Rush University Medical Center.
Guests nibbled on new items and cocktails from the revamped menu at MityNice, a longtime favorite among the Gold Coast and Streeterville neighbors.
Richard Melman has transformed the Lettuce Entertain You restaurant from its circa-1940s feel to a contemporary joint serving spicy shrimp and green-chile chicken nachos. (Regular customers shouldn't worry, though, as old favorites like meatloaf are still on the menu.)
"We've been around for 18 years and decided it was time to try something that would keep the audience we have and bring in new customers," said Marc Jacobs, vice-president and partner of Lettuce Entertain You.
Sounds like the same path taken for the follow-up to the "Preppy Handbook."