Houston’s Most Formidable Social Forces End Summer With a Steak 48 Re-Entry Party: Getting Back to the Scene — With Air Kisses Galore

Like swallows returning to Capistrano, the swans have migrated back to the Bayou City, after their summer hejiras, with a renewed energy sure to be required as the season gins up. In an inaugural outing, the flock preened on the second floor of Steak 48 for the bash that was dubbed a “festive re-entry fall fête.”

A quintet of formidable social forces — Leigh Smith, Elizabeth Petersen, Phoebe Tudor, Becca Cason Thrash and Greggory Burk  — led the merry band through the expected choruses of “How was your summer?” and “I loved seeing your travels on Facebook.” Any summer-induced social separation anxiety was quickly dispelled in a wave of air kisses.

Hosts behind the Monday night revelry were Steak 48 owner Jeff Mastro and chief brand officer Oliver Badgio, who jetted in from home base in Arizona to check on their bustling steakhouse and perhaps to further investigate locales for their proposed Ocean 48 seafood restaurant.

It seemed that little expense was spared for the cosseting of the interesting cross-section of bold-faced types. Open bar and generous wine pours were accompanied by a parade of taste treats from executive chef Jeff Taylor‘s kitchen. Even serious calorie-counters could not resist the bites of New York strip steaks, sautéed lobster, caviar-topped salmon, crab cakes and burrata on crostini.

When not recounting summer adventures and upcoming jaunts (such as the Houston Ballet journey to perform in Dubai), guests remunerated on the joys of a party just for partying’s sake. The invitation-only fête required no entry fee, no political contributions, had no speeches and no agenda other than inspiring a rollicking good time.

The only element deliciously related to the charity events to come was the surprise drawing (not a raffle) for a pair of Buccellati earrings. The ever generous Tenenbaum Jewelers‘ Tony Bradfield was touting the spanking new relationship between the Italian jewelry house and his River Oaks area emporium. The winning ticket (embarrassingly, that would be mine) allowed the holder to select a pair of earrings from a grouping of five that were on display that evening.

Happy campers: Houston Ballet principal dancer Oliver Halkowich, KPRC news anchor Dominique Sachse and husband Nick Florescu, Moody Center for the Art executive director Allison Weaver, Sloan Hall’s Shannon Hall, commercial developer Matt Donowho and Mia Matsamiya, Frosch Travel luxury guru John Evatz and A-listers including Melissa Mithoff, Francine Ballard, Blakely and Trey Griggs, Diane Lokey Farb, Reggie Smith, Joanne King Herring, Isabel David, Holly Waltrip, Kathryn and Jeff Smith, Annie Amante, Derrick Shore, Richard Flowers and Angel Rios, Ursaline Hamilton, Jo and Jim Furr, Amber Elliott, Duyen and Marc Nguyen and on and on.