Sorry, I come empty-handed with no Meatless Week recipe to share today — I was a busy, busy bumblebee and actually went out for dinner. Tonight I had my very first Teatro Zinzanni experience — an experience the company itself describes as “Love, Chaos & Dinner.”

Uhh yeah, emphasis on chaos, that’s for sure! It was like walking into an alternate universe — Lady Gaga meets Ringling Brothers. And I loved every minute of it!

Tonight’s show was Maestro’s Menagerie (running through Aug 29th) – a 3-hour performance consisting of trapeze artists, magic tricks, great musical acts and much more. And in my case, the evening also included getting picked on by several members of the cast. The glow of my Blackberry as I was tweeting lured one of the actors to our table where he proceeded to warn me that he’d be “watching me” during the show. And for those who are familiar with Teatro Zinzanni, you know that they are all about audience involvement…so I feared for my life. Luckily I wasn’t pulled up to participate in any of the stunts, but I did have some funny/awkward encounters including:

• Lady Gaga’s long lost twin (aka the puppet played by Svetlana) trying to steal my jacket off the back of my seat
• Maestro Voronin petting my head and then obscenely pressing up against my shoulder so I could feel the vibrating device in his trousers
• Maxime Clabaut (of the Ssens Duo) handing me a whip and asking me to spank his booty
• Peter Pitofsky wedging my arm between his sweaty chin and sweaty neck and proceeding to play it like an air-violin

So anyway, moving onto the important stuff — the food. When I saw the menu on the website, I was extremely excited, especially since it’s designed by chef Tom Douglas. Unfortunately, the meal didn’t really live up to my expectations. For one, the soup tasted like it had the salt content of the entire Pacific Ocean.  I swallowed one spoonful, made the most ridiculous bitter-beer face, and couldn’t take another bite. The spinach salad and mushroom strata (Meatless Week-friendly, woot woot!) were actually pretty tasty. For dessert, I ended up just eating the fruit off the vanilla tart because the custard had a weird gelatinous consistency and the crust was way too sweet. But if it’s any consolation, the cocktails were fantastic!

For the performance alone, Teatro Zinzanni is definitely a unique and worthwhile experience (although ticket prices are quite spendy). I give the food an ‘A’ for effort, but a ‘B-’ for execution (but really, what does my opinion matter anyway, right? ).

For more information, visit Teatro Zinzanni’s website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure: I received complimentary admission to tonight’s show. I am not affiliated with Teatro Zinzanni nor was I paid to write this review.