Soon enough, the three-dozen guests took their seats at three tables, arranged in a big U. I sat next to Drew, an anesthesiologist and mountain biker who could easily have passed as Vin Diesel’s hipster stunt double. Drew was the ideal audience for the evening. A friend of one of the restaurant’s owners, he explained that he had first tried CBD on a recent ski trip. Now, he was ready to learn more about its properties and effects.
Before we could chat more, we heard briefly from the event’s hosts.
Maya Shaw, the owner of Shaw.BK—a local business that sells pipes, incense holders and more made by female artisans—spoke about breaking down stereotypes of female cannabis consumers, to raucous cheers.
Gabe Kennedy, the co-owner of plant people and aforementioned tincture evangelist, decked out in a green floral shirt, shared his own story of turning to cannabis after a spinal injury.
“Tell each other about the time you were most high!” he then encouraged the crowd; with that, thumping music was turned on, guests began to yell their craziest cannabis memories at each other over the bass-heavy din, and the first course was served.
CBD Six Ways
The word CBD appeared on the printed menus eleven times. No course sat above its influence. Tickets for the dinner cost $65, drinks included:
- An apple carpaccio had CBD pickled beech mushrooms and a chipotle CBD aioli
- CBD-poached beets with fried vermicelli noodles
- CBD fritters and a light, flavorful Japanese eggplant
None of the courses betrayed cannabis’ earthy, tell-tale taste.
(Courtesy of Virginia Stroh/@virginiastroh)
The evening’s mood, and message, was elevated when Kennedy—who also exhibited a penchant for freestyle rapping about various foods—appeared at our end of the table and offered his tincture.
Rich in flavor and slightly sweet, with none of the excessive oiliness or sharp tang that plagues many a tincture, it was easily the most enjoyable I’d ever had. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, as well a winner of ABC’s The Taste, Kennedy explained the properties of the specific fats, medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) and hash oil in the tincture with rapid fire glee.
Around the third course, it began to rain. Hard. The crowd looked up and exclaimed one big collective “Whoooaaaa” as the ceiling shimmered with pummeling raindrops. A few puddles formed inside. The CBD had kicked in. A neighboring diner spilled a glass of wine—a 2017 Loire Valley Yannick Amirault, no less—all over the table, followed by giggles and smiles from all sides. As the casually dressed wait staff served beignets, I asked Drew whether I could mention him by name in this story. He hesitated, maybe apprehensive of his employers’ reaction, but after some musing, he threw up his hands.
“Tell them everything!” he exclaimed.
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Main art—Courtesy of Virginia Stroh
