Newcomer to the delicious Halloween madness that rocks H-Town every October, Mr. Peeples reverberated Thursday night with a seasoned vitality that belies the restaurant's neophyte status. Close to 600 costumed revelers filled every corner of the two-story eatery where zombies spooked the wine cellar and where spider webs and creepy moss-hung trees imparted just the right eerie notes.
Probably no one relished this evening more than Mr. Peeples owner Lucky Chopra, who dressed as Slash from Guns N' Roses. He was surrounded not only by the Halloween throng but also by a bevy of entertainments that included a tarot card reader, Smilebooth action, a DJ, go-go dancers twerking in cages and screening of horror movies in one of the side rooms, all of which offered Halloween-themed party action.
For the party that kicked off at 9 p.m., Mr. Peeples' steak and seafood dinner menu was available for intrepid diners but plenty of sustenance was offered in the array of passed hors d'oeuvres and at the dessert tables set up in the main dining room. The hit of that selection was the Dragon Kiss, the bubble gum-flavored meringue freeze-dried with liquid nitrogen, which was described by one guest as "the coolest party confection ever." When guests bit into it, it exploded in the mouth and erupted in a blast of frosty air/smoke out of the mouth — dragon breath. Pastry chef Johnny Wesley was on a roll.
Sighted roaming the enticing party scene was Houston Rocket Jeremy Lin, who had been at Mr. Peeples only a few nights before for his teammate Chandler Parsons' 25th birthday bash.
Among the costumed crowd were Dr. Monica Patel and Imad Khalil, Lauren Mayo, Mare Laborde, Dr. Navin Subramanian, Lonnie Schiller, Dr. Romy Mitchell, Tod Eason, Grant Cussans, Angela Ellison, Martha Little, Rachel Salbiah, Dez Gunter and Catherine Ruff.
Cynthia Suarez, from left, Jessica Diraldo and Anna Guerrero at the Mr. Peeples Halloween bash.
