Securing the venue was the biggest challenge. "It was tough," said Rising Tide Studios (Venture Reporter's parent company) event producer Jamie Calacanis. "It took a lot of coaxing and convincing McDonald's management that we were on the up-and-up." Once the venue was secured, Calacanis took a no-fuss approach to the decor. A plastic white fence from Emerald Convention Services was erected around the restaurant's parking lot, and balloons from Balloon Saloon were tied to the fencing and inside on the restaurant's low walls that snaked through the second floor.

Downstairs, guests ordered straight from McDonald's menu, and their food was made-to-order by the huge staff that bustled behind the counter. Most guests opted for the burgers, Chicken McNuggets and soda, and several also tasted the event's special fruity cocktails with names like the McBlodget (after former Merrill Lynch analyst Henry Blodget), the McKozmo and the McPets.com. The event even had an element of self-deprecating humor: Those companies on the cocktail list were among the dot-coms that the magazine covered in its former incarnation, the Silicon Alley Reporter. Despite the fun drinks, most male guests—and it was mostly male guests—opted for beer from Brooklyn Brewery.

The bubbly and burgers formula was ultimately a success with guests. "You can still be classy, but know the value of a dollar," said Jason McCabe Calacanis, CEO of Rising Tide and editor in chief of Venture Reporter. "You can have just a much fun with a Big Mac and fries as with sushi and caviar."

--Suzanne Ito

Read our coverage of Silicon Alley 2001...