being creative isn't always good

Last night we went to a big fund raiser for a local Arts and Crafts college. There was a great silent art auction before the dinner, and a standard, bid with a card, auction during dinner. Great cause, fun people, good art, not so great dinner. We sat at about 7:30, and were given rolls and wine. And then we had to wait through 10 auction items until we got the first course. Ok, so the soup was all right but it was now 8:30 and I was really getting hungry. 15 more auction items later we were finally served our entree at 9:15. At this point I was convinced that I could eat almost anything; the table cloth, my shoe, the artsy gerber daisy centerpiece, almost anything. And then the entree was served, and wow, what a sight to behold. I get that we were at an art auction, but the idea that the food should be as colorful as the art was a bad one. I think it's fair to say that an entree should never, under any circumstances, have a purple sauce. I don't care if it's a blackberry sauce that might (underscore the word, might) taste good with the risotto and nut crusted halibut. The urge to serve a purple sauce should be resisted at all costs! It was absolutely lurid, especially contrasted with the yellow of the halibut crust and the green and orange of the vegetables. It was just wrong on so many levels. I think that this meal proves that sometimes "tried and true", though predictable, done well, can outshine "creative for creativity's" sake any day. What I would have given for a simple chicken breast and some roasted potatoes.