our findings - from coast to coast
here is an early sample of our research. you will notice that names and specific locations are largely omitted – this website and the forthcoming book are not meant to be a tour guide. this is a place to collect stories about a strange cultural phenomena that has yet to be properly named – underground restaurants, secret cafes, speakeasy’s…?
if you have been to one of these establishments and want to share a story, or augment/correct our information please do so – soon each establishment below will have links to your submissions. be forewarned – this is not a place for your personal review or gripe, there are better avenues for that kind of smack – we just want stories, plain and simple.
we also want to know about every little shadow-dining-establishment from morocco to chile bombay to the outer hebrides – so share the wealth – we will not publish incriminating information without proper consent from individual proprietors - you can trust in that and share freely. this summer we will be heading south, east, and further north to expand our research – if you run an establishment please be in contact – we would love to come and dine – despite occasional bouts of excessive drinking you will find us generally appealing dinner guests.
Seattle, WA
Olympia, WA
Somewhere, WA
Portland, OR
Estacada, OR
Eugene, OR
Washington State
Sacramento, CA
Sonoma, CA
Bay Area, CA
Nevada City, NV
Los Angeles, CA
Phoenix, AZ
Austin, TX
Kansas City, KS
Penland, NC
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Baltimore, MD
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
International
Appendix A: a note to the authorities.
submit finds
Seattle, Washington
gypsy chefs
much has been written about gypsy chefs – and despite being panned for their somewhat off- putting online application gypsy is up to some great things. the food is high concept and well executed – the chefs are a swirling cast of some of seattle’s brightest and a few out of work hopefuls – the service exceeds most white tablecloth establishments in the emerald city – and the wine pairings are informed and from my limited experience spot-on. gypsy is generally hosted in an adorable little west seattle home, musical performances seem to be common, a lovely little 2 year old named roman often crawls among the patent leather pumps, and much of the food comes from a thriving backyard garden. typically 18 are served per evening. expect many sets of silver, a bucket of glassware, many many courses of note-worthy seemingly california inspired cuisine that occasionally strides into the unsteady waters of molecular gastronomy – usually unscathed – and then there usually is an extremely large bill – sometimes in excess of 200/person after wine and grat. but the most winning thing about gypsy is the genuine warmth and clear stout passion of its founders. they really do want to change the way you think about food – and my guess is that we will be hearing from them (they prefer to remain nameless) for a long time to come.
bruschettina
ah jennifer. she was such a lovely girl, she made wonderful bruschetta and sold them at the ballard farmers market – the lines were long, the toast was perfect – her hair was red and lush and she had a shy smile that could melt a goat - and she even had an underground supper club – where she cooked splendid 7 course meals in whatever space she could find – some in a cramped ballard apartment, overlooking that seemingly ancient street – then she cooked in a space that seemed more like a set from being john malkovich than a scene from big night – and on one of those nights, 12 people cramped into a former conference room – the lighting as flattering as a dentist office – a certain love was sparked – a fast talking fancy shoe wearing charmer from umbria with a bag full of olive oil swooped down and took our jennifer away – I was there that night – I watched – now she is gone – and only when she gets tired of the banal ugliness of the umbrian countryside and the vicissitudes of being the wife of an olive oil barren will we get her back…
www.bruschettina.typepad.com/life_italian_style
(madrona) feast
here is another story of lost love. there was a brilliantly sparkly dreamily quaint house perched on a charming little hill overlooking the madrona valley – the house captured light on its several terraces, juliette roses glistened in the afternoon light, and the bubbling overflowing lovely energy of its three inhabitants seemed to threaten to bubble out on to the street, filling the valley, clogging the drains – one cooked (like a superstar), one hosted (like a suntouched princess) and one built shit (like noah) – the dinners went late and long – there were many many courses – everyone mumbles about the sunchoke soup, the whole roast duck, and a night where lobes of foie were laden with freshly picked blueberries – but then the madrona feast vanished – some money grubbing developer decided the house would be better exchanged for a timeshare in maui or something – so they held one final party and a 350 pound pig was butterflied and burnt to a crisp – and people fell down drunk and stuffed and a few idiots threw watermelons at the morning sky– and then the doors were shuttered. the one that cooks – joseph margate, former chef de cuisine of lark – headed for a strange visit to the frozen acreage called edmonton alberta and now cooks fancy food in nyc – the one that builds shit headed to santa monica and the princess still buzzes about seattle spreading honey and light.
cache
cache is a love story as well – a story about an architect seducing a bright beauty down south – from the more cosmopolitian food rich vancouver. I believe these two fell in love via chowhound or epicurious.com – and if not it was certainly some kind of food love triangle that got them in the same loft in belltown. she makes damn fine pastry and together they cook many meals a month in a highly stylish loft in seattle’s little answer to soho.
http://www.cacheseattle.com
one pot
i could write for hours about one pot – and specifically one pot seattle – but refraining from indulgence I will just send you to the website. be forewarned – as it exists in seattle – it is a confusing phenom – it is not really a foodie happening but instead an effort to powerfully engage with many distinct communities and cultural organizations in this grand city – an effort to bring back forgotten ritual – to put people at a common table, share food, and inspire age old dialogue. but more important than that one pot is also an experiment in open source branding – we are hoping to seed various hybridized one pots around the globe – we are not trying like banging on a drum – we just think it sounds like a fun cultural experiment. you will see some of the tales of other one pots pushing up here and there on this site.
www.onepot.org
vagabond
an offshoot of gypsy chefs – more casual – pretty much open to the public and seemingly legal – these events are held at a wine bar in ballard called portalis – the space is as pretty as a caravaggio and the dinners seem to be straight out of a rubin minus the buxom wenches slipping out of their corsets. a rotating cast of chefs make up the bill – most dinners are on monday nights.
www.gypsydinners.com
home
a charming fellow has been running a semi-frequent establishment out of his beacon hill abode for over a year. it sounds like he is packing up and moving east – but it looks as if he has been making some inspired food along the way.
http://my-speakeasy.livejournal.com/
the art of the table
apparently there is a new seattle enterprise going by this name – awaiting details...
Olympia, WA
secret café
I still know very little about these gatherings – they seem to have grown up around the diy spirit that surrounds evergreen state college, a spirit that has resulted in such things as kaos radio, k records, kill rock stars, and crimethinc. it seems the term secret café has become a catch phrase for any and all such clandestine events in the olympia area.
Somewhere, WA
cookhouse
there actually is a place in america where you can board a ferry, drive down an unmarked country road, and end up at a farm so rich in nostalgia that you may start crying clover honey. there actually is a man – whose name shall remain completely unwritten – who lives in a thoreau like daydream, this man churns butter from his raw milk, he makes yogurt, he slaughters his pigs and has dozens of prosciutto swinging in the breeze, he has bees, he has ducks, he has black kale, and an orchard, and a long long table. when he cooks you dinner everything you eat will come from his 14 acres of hinterland – he does fire up his outdoor woodstove with wood from his back acreage, and make splendid duck fat pizza – really everything save flour, salt, pepper, come from the farm – no olive oil is used – ever. and you can’t go here – he doesn’t need you – his weekly dinners fill up in the blink of an eye – and the only way you can come is having someone who has been before bring you…
Portland, OR
family supper/ripe
started in march 2001 by michael hebbberoy and naomi pomeroy in a ne portland rental bungalow at 7th and failing – at the time an unsavory neighborhood replete with crackhouses and more than uncommon gang violence. it ran for a year in their living room – made the move to a semi legit space in the gotham bldg in 2002 – grew to be a legal undertaking in 2003 – and served upwards of 50 diners 5-7 nights a week until it closed up shop in 2006. hallmarks of family supper – long tables, frighteningly open kitchen, one menu – no choices, always a surprise – everything served family style – food they called sophisticated peasant – and importantly an underlying connection and various collaborations with the leading dynamic art and cultural organizations in ptown, spawning such projects as The Back Room (www.backroompdx.com) and rounding out the activities of the PICA TBA festival (www.pica.org). family supper was part of a gastronomic happening called ripe, also started by hebberoy/pomeroy that began as an events and catering company and grew to include the critically lauded restaurant clarklewis and the shortlived but acclaimed gotham bldg tavern. the story is incomplete without including the insane amount of national and international press ripe received for both it’s underground activities and it’s more legal ventures. the whole thing blew up in flames and lawsuits.
axis supper club / simpatica dining hall
axis supper club started as a roving café – landing in various portland backyard gardens, underutilized cultural centers, and the occasional restaurant (after-hours). chefs Jason owens and david padberg eventually split paths and owens continued axis morphing it into the new portland institution simpatica dining hall. now owens and partners serve elaborate feasts in the basement of the once famous rock club la luna. axis dinners were multi-course affairs – the atmosphere was casual but the service and food definitely looked more toward white table cloth than backyard bbq. i remember having a pretty remarkable corn risotto with halibut cheeks – garnished with some kind of pickle – memory evades – but owens and padberg are serious talents and will be defining food in the nw for years to come.
www.simpaticacatering.com
valentine’s
a small venue in portland that occasionally operates as an ad hoc supper club. rumors suggest that the people involved in valentine’s have also held other shadow events off premise.
232 SW Ankeny. 503-248-1600
supper 2.0
the rekindling of the original family supper concept – certainly not clandestine, and about as legal as swimming – word has it naomi pomeroy is serving family style meals in the clarklewis space most sundays – from what I understand the original family supper server daniel addy is still playing host – if you go give him a hug and big kiss, he is a lovely man. if naomi is cooking expect thoughtful highly seasonal fare.
www.clarklewispdx.com
the back room
brainchild of matthew stadler, stephanie snyder, curtis knapp and michael hebberoy – and a growth out of the lovely partnership that began when hebberoy agreed to the odd but thrilling concept of adding stadler to the ripe family by engaging the deeply respected author as ripe’s writer in residence. the backroom’s mission is to drag the rather sterile lectern into a windstorm of food, wine, conviviality and bursts of song. various renowned writers, thinkers, and artists are asked to join a festive evening – eat and drink heavily – be balladeered by various musicians and ultimately lock into a heated conversation with either stephanie or matthew. additionally all guest artists are commissioned to write a new piece of literature – these works are published and distributed throughout the portland area. past guests have included gregory crewdson, gore vidal, john o’brien, walid raad, and the musical talents of stephen malkmus, calvin johnson, yacht, white rainbow…
www.thebackroompdx.com
senora pillar
there is a delightful little house – well hidden down an unimproved roadway somewhere in northeast portland. an adorable little woman who recently moved to the states from the yucatan cooks the meanest cochinita pibil this side of merida. I can’t tell you where it is – but I certainly wish I could. there is no sign – and only one table stuffed into her small but adequate kitchen. on one day we arrived – knocked on the door – a little kiddo wearing no more than swaddling drawers stood in the afternoon glint after manhandling the door – squinted at the two gringos and the one chilango – and ran, quickly the other direction – shakira had taken up residence in the living room, shaking her very pretty ass on a towering big screen – senora bowed a hello amidst the giggles of her three teenage daughters who in a comic stroke were polishing off a healthy amount of mcdonald’s – we watched shakira – then we ate. it was a cheap, generous, and stunningly delicious lunch. a great argument for ramming a tractor through mc’d’s
plate and pitchfork
I have never been to these highly praised events. my former partner did one of these farm dinners and was so peeved by their lack of organization he said – never again - but – that said – people seem to love them. the concept is simple and lovely – take great chefs and pair them with a local farm – guests get farm tours, chefs cook from the land – dinners are usually held in an orchard or something – big long table – festive and pretty. seems a little bit like outstanding-in-the-field-gone-lite.
www.plateandpitchfork.com
one pot
(one pot started in seattle but is an open source brand – go to www.onepot.org for more info)
a dear friend of ours – and remarkable musician (check out heroes and villains, the nick jaina band, and forever young) has begun one pot esque dinners in his southeast house. the boy can cook, and he has the charm of many angels. it is unclear whether the circle will expand on this one – right now he is discreetly inviting friends. guests pay for dinner by dividing up his shopping receipts and maybe throwing in a couple of extra bucks. first dinner included a long cooked pot of oxtails.
update: scott is moving this to portlands sexiest bar once a month it will be called one pot keep an eye out.
john's suppeer club
I was in powells books for cooks the other day and came across an arrestingly nostalgic picture of a half finished meal with a simple invitation to dinner. I shot john an email and apparently he is cooking for small groups in his house on a regular basis. it genuinely seems he can cook so I would say email him and go...
"I try to make as much of the food myself as possible, such as bread, cider, cheese and all the other normal stuff and all the food is local, sometimes foraged, or through cooperatives, such as this chicken coop I'm part of or honey from my next door neighbor."
johnssupperclub@gmail.com
rogue chefs
self-described as a culinary speakeasy – the first dinner was reportedly held in january – a nine course foie gras tasting menu. there is much buzz about it in portland’s infamous food blogs but i have yet to find out any details about future events. the wweek logged this report.
the website seems to be presently down – but here it is...>
ezra’s brunch spot
a fairly regular weekend brunch happening – apparently run by some reedies in a house near the college. from what I have heard these folks cook a mean breakfast. am awaiting a more detailed report...
sub rosa
the first email from these “culinary adventurists” included some luminous verse:
break it open
crack the protective egg of darkness
perfect aminotic sac of heavy, wet nutrients
feeds dynamic kinetic being
being cornucopia of light-source phytonutrients
spilling haphazardly onto not-table
until explosion supernova accepts
palette's pleas of cessation
because you can only have so much
perfect tongue love
this seems to be another spin-off from reed college. it seems events are being held at various locations, including a recent farm dinner in forest grove – the theme: macronoire:
“MacroNoire is a combination of macrobiotics and intimacy with food. A symbiosis that will satiate your mind and belly.”
since these folks have a way with words – I will let them continue the introduction
“As sub rosa, we explore the synergism between people and sustenance. Our goal is to simply bring people together under the common roof of delectable food; we set the stage and you dance.”
there appears to be no website – just an email list.
sub rosa (again?)
I am super confused. I don’t think these two spots are related – I have made an inquiry – this second one seems to exist out in dundee...
http://www.subrosa.arbre.us/index.html
hawthorne bucket fellow
heard tale of a young man selling pb + j’s and grilled cheese sandwiches out of a bucket on hawthorne street somewhere. thought it made an amusing addition.
Estacada, Oregon
one pot
i got a message stating that a one pot was starting in this strange hamlet. estacada is about an hour eastish of portland – and tends to be the butt of many jokes that might otherwise use west virginia in the punchline – but I am seriously intrigued – and while in estacada don’t miss the safari bar, think dive bar, karaoke, and the largest exotic taxidermy collection this side of ernest hemmingway.
Eugene, Oregon
no-name
a lovely couple has started once a month feasts in a sprawling mission style home in this damp lil college town. they are both former ripe employee’s – he cooks (beautifully) and she hosts (with the grace of a ballerina) – I will hopefully be dining there this summer, so more notes will follow. but they prefer to keep their identities under wraps – seats sell-out immediately, and they don’t like cops n’ such.
Sacramento, CA
hosted by a sweet-as-pie couple named dennis and mary – these dinners are held in their sacramento home – at a small table that seats about 10 folks. seems like lack of pretense, genuine hospitality, and well crafted seasonal food are the hallmarks.
www.hiddenkitchen.net
Washington State
cooking-in-the-barn
superstar chef jerry traunfeld, cookbook author crescent dragonwagon, and seattle stalwart greg atkinson have all been reportedly seen cooking in a rustic barn on orcas island. I believe it is related to christinas restaurant also on the island.
www.christinas.net
Sonoma, CA
the blind pig
sadly no more. but read this article for a great account of past glory: http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/04.06.05/dining-0514.html
Bay Area, CA
ghetto gourmet
anything that starts in a dank basement – chairs of milk crates – a table of cardboard – endless amounts of charles shaw and pabst – and a couple years later gets more press than the beckhams has got to pique your attention – especially when the first invitation was run on craig’s list. volumes have been written about this very-bay-area-phenomena – but the basics: ambitious roving dinner parties that take up in residence in cramped mission apartments, gorgeous lofts, and expansive gardens – a dynamic fountain head named jeremy townsend masterfully inspires a massive cadre of volunteers to co-create each event – expect a dizzying combination of libertarian cum anarchistic banter, comedy routines, jam poetry, and experimental cuisine – more couch cushions than you can shake a stick at – and really a damn lovely amount of fun – keep your highbrow stick out of your ass and you will enjoy ghetto mightily. open to the public but still of dubious legality. of late jeremy and gang have been successfully landing ghetto in los angeles, nyc, and chicago.
www.theghet.com
digs
the martyre – the only underground restaurant I have yet to encounter that has been shut down by the health authorities. the very friendly former proprietor and I have exchanged messages and attempted to meet for lunch but as of yet the scope of the story is still best captured by the san francisco chronicle article by janine defao.
a.muse
who couldn’t love lori – she is an ever charming hostess, sexy as a ripe peach, reportedly even used to end her early dinners with ditta von teese like entertainment, has the prettiest underground restaurant space this side of dwr, replete with handmade vitra knock-offs, large scale if sometimes overly ambitious art and endlessly tall ceilings – and she gets gorgeous and talented chefs (like some young stud who apparently is alice waters greek godchild) to cook many course affairs for little to no money. not to mention she is the best drinking companion one can ask for in the golden gate city. if you can wrangle a reservation – go.
Muse Gallery
dissident chef
met this guy briefly – but his reputation of stealing the ghetto gourmet’s skull and crossbone fork and knife symbolism proceeded him – I was wary on that alone- but he seemed nice enough and made it clear that his intentions for hosting his dinners was only to build up enough cred to open a “real” restaurant. sounded a little forced – but whatever – he has yet to respond to any of our inquiries and I am not sure if he is still slingin plates in hiding – or more reposed in napa somewhere.
www.thescdsf.com
little house
I was eating a rather magnificent lunch at delphinas pizzeria, well tucked into a bottle of prosecco when I learned about this intriguing concept of somewhat fancy southern food served in an outdoor urban lot while fellini and other delights flickered on a distant wall. I have inquired but yet to hear anything back about these gatherings.
the bus
several people have told me about a fellow who has converted an old school bus into a restaurant. apparently he parks it somewhere near the water in the sf area – he only serves during the colder months – as he doesn’t want to get caught – apparently the earlier veil of darkness obscures the contraband dining.
canvas underground
a chef named peter – who occasionally cooks with ghetto gourmet has aspirations to get this project rolling more regularly – he cooks well and is a remarkably sweet fellow.
www.canvasunderground.com
paladarte mescal
I have exchanged emails with these friendly folks – they seem to be having a damn fine time cooking spirited underground meals. the name derives from the cuban black market restaurants called paladores.
www.paladartemescal.blogspot.com
cook with james
this guy has spent a fair amount of time in some great kitchens – namely quince in san francisco. apparently he took seriously took up cooking right after 9/11 and in the wake of a tech firm collapse.
www.cookwithjames.com
mamasan’s bistro
this long running mission based (I dare-say) institution is apparently still cruising along. I have chatted with the proprietor and plan on securing a seat the next time I am in sf. seems the establishment runs a bit more like a restaurant than most, people have separate tables, dine at different times, but I do think the menu is set nightly. from most things I have read it seems like hip hop dj’s, and some late night dancing, and much cocktailing are core to the experience.
outstanding in the field
jim denevan and friends have been packing up an old school bus full of tables, cooking equipment, plates and what not and heading on cross country cooking tours for several years now. they tell the story best, but the basic idea seems to be: find a remarkable natural setting, whether it be an isolated beach, or lush orchard – set an absurdly long table, and invite a famed local chef to cook a many course affair – there are tales of some events being near disasters – but i imagine that most evenings are magical. be forewarned that this traveling circus does not a cheap date make… also check out jim’s website – his sandworks are pretty amazing.
www.outstandinginthefield.com
www.jimdenevan.com
firefly
this san francisco eatery started as a weekly underground restaurant up north near arcata. the original owner has now moved to the south where she is apparently running an occasional establishment called shady’s café.
www.fireflyrestaurant.com
supper club
still trying to understand this phenom that started in amsterdam and seems to have spread to rome and now san francisco – some sort of combination of rave, occasional restaurant, cirque du soliel like costumes, lots of white, some beds… if anyone can give me a better picture of what is going on here i would be quite appreciative… in the meantime check out their very pretty website.
Frugal Foodies
a submission from the folks at frugal foodies:
www.frugalfoodies.com
Nevada City, NV
in the kitchen
weekly dinners (in a hidden kitchen) that include cooking classes, vino, etc. she is a trained nutritionist, and seems to be full of energy adorable little website.
www.wendyvanwagner.com
Los Angeles, CA
secret restaurant - miguel nelson
we would like to know more about this endeavor – but apparently after the la times feature manuel has had little interest in talking to media-like folks – and I completely understand – this seems to be a remarkably sophisticated series of performance art meets high concept dining. he has made it clear that any inquiry via his website will go unanswered, but the residue of his past events are too compelling not to at least browse through…
www.miguelnelson.com/
marvimon
this is a project related to secret restaurant – seems to also double as a immensely gorgeous private events space.
www.marvimon.com
cold storage
a collaborative art space – and the principles certainly have a fascination with food and collective dining. i will be headed to la soon and will report back.
www.routesandmethods.org
one pot
there is a one pot starting in santa monica this spring – well, at least one charming member of the young american’s project has threatened such – regardless, check out their website www.tyap.com.
Phoenix, AZ
Kaz Yamamoto/Wrigley Mansion debacle
you will be really really tickled.
Austin, TX
supper underground
since 2006 a very charming lady by the name of hannah has been hosting boisterous, beautifully organized, and visually stunning events. the menus sound about perfect– the tables are long, the location changes frequently. check out the website, I will be headed there late spring.
www.supperunderground.com
Kansas City, KS
one pot
we got a message stating that a one pot was starting up in kansas city – and that we would be kept abreast of its progress…
Des Moines, IA
underground, inc
a note from underground, inc:
“My name is Hal Jasa I run Underground Inc. based in Des Moines, IA. We have taken Underground Restaurants to a little bit different approach. We set up a new spot every two weeks. We have been on rooftops to warehouses and even a unfinished 3 million dollar loft with the menu constantly changing to focus on the seasons. We are currently getting ready for New years eve which is 35 course meal with 7 wines 5 course of food for each bottle to decipher the individual flavors of each bottle. 20% of our proceeds are going to a local culinary school to help send students to Europe.”
www.desmoinesunderground.com
Penland, NC
shady’s café
a lady named veva used to run a weekly underground restaurant near arcata california before opening a licensed eatery in san francisco called firefly. after closing firefly she reportedly moved to north carolina and has been busy hosting a new underground vegetarian café. I have not been, but would love to hear from someone who has.
New York, NY
coach peaches
i like to consider coachpeaches the talking heads of the culinary underground – kind of second wave art house punk, smarter faster and more profoundly sculptural than their predecessors – it is almost a complete analogy but unfortunately these two boys met at brown and not the adjacent risd where david and chris and tina started jammin – coachpeaches began in an expansive williamsburgh loft – picked up the name from a leaflet they found amusing wherein a particular coach peaches was hosting a summer basketball camp at the local ywca – they decided that they were going to invent a fictitious proprietor that had a flair for strange combinations not unlike what you find in a mexican roadside village– the first email went out advertising a summer basketball camp slash tuscan bistro – people were confused – but they came – then things got even more strange – collision repair and pastry fountain then vintage lace and hickory pit. sadly the loft was lost – but now the peach boys are a traveling roadshow – angling into some of the more remarkable lofts in new york – if you can get an invite – go – but most likely it will just have to remain a thing of myth.
www.coachpeaches.com
neal’s yard
there is a delightful young cheese obsessed beauty who recently made a move from london where she worked for the legendary neal’s yard dairy (which deserves it reputation in spades – I can think of no finer thing to do with an afternoon than eat your way through several of their london based stores) to new york city. she is a talented young writer and reportedly a stellar chef.
whisk and ladle
new on the scene and having only read about it in various hipster newsletters it seems the basic thrust is three chefs and a bartender – crafting and serving highly contraband substances, ranging from absinthe to turtle to coca leaves – apparently reservations can be requested through there website…
http://thewhiskandladle.com
gavin brown’s sicilian adventure
i can’t remember the actual details of how it happened but somehow the super deluxe manhatten based art dealer and partner in my favorite nyc bar – the passerby – ended up with a sicilian chef named frankie as chef in residence. invitations are closely guarded as it seems most thing a’la gavin brown seem to be – the dinner I attended was one long lust riddled poem to the island of sicily – frankie had sent over a pallet chalk full of olive oil, anchovies, his own tomato sauce, citrus – almost everything he needed for months of dinners – the concept is simple – cook until he ran out of sicilian goods – return home, load another pallet and return.
www.gavinbrown.biz
homeslice west
delightful people. but I have yet to dine at one of their events.
www.homeslicewest.com
foodies
don’t yet know much about this group of folks…
foodienyc.com
Cynthia@redhook
there are tales of a fried chicken establishment run out of a red hook project (Brooklyn) by a woman named Cynthia. I would love more information.
brooklyn food group
a new addition – established in april in the fort greene area of brooklyn. seems mild and well mannered. there is a fairly informative website:
http://brooklynfoodgroup.blogspot.com/
and a lovely description of their first event at:
http://mollysmadeleine.blogspot.com/2007/05/table-setting-and-menus.html
suspicious suppers
a new tributary from the ghetto gourmet waters not sure how active she is but her blog is charming.
www.suspicioussuppers.com
Philadelphia, PA
l’atelier
a side project by a catering company named global dish. seems to be a bit more of a high end catered event replete with very precious food and service than some its more diy cousins. events take place in warehouses, vespa showrooms, and other high end retail environments.
http://www.theglobaldish.com/latelier_02.html
Baltimore, MD
green light/red light
a report filed from a friend who used to frequent said establishment:
“as far as i know that baltimore restaurant was called RedLightGreenLight and i believe it was on either St Paul or Charles Street. It used a system of red and green christmas lights to denote whether it was open or closed on their balcony (3rd? floor/west side of street/Mt. Vernon) i went there when i was a freshmorew/sophmore of high school so i guess that would be 1992/3. it was an apartment, it was vegan, there was a black curtain separating their kitchen/diningroom/livingroom from their living space. it was dark and magical but that's probably because i was an inexperienced kid who just moved to north baltimore from rural pennsylvania. diy and punk were a revelation... so accuracy here cannot be guaranteed. i'll ask some old friends and see if anybody remembers better details.”
Boston, MA
one pot
here is the invitation to a one-pot-inspired-happening starting in boston:
to properly describe the motivation behind this dinner, and what we're trying to accomplish here, i'm going to talk about it backwards, from the future. imagine, several months from now, hearing about a house in South Boston that occasionally, on friday nights, hosts dinner parties. the food's really good - very comforting - but the real reason to go is the company. at these dinner parties, everyone sits at the same table, and passes big bowls of food to each other, and the space is kind of cramped actually, so you have to get to know your neighbors. but the neighbors are always worth knowing. see, at the first dinner party, the hosts took great care in developing a guest list full of interesting people, many of whom didn't know each other. everyone had a great and stimulating time, and was eager to attend the next dinner party. but they were only allowed to come again if they brought someone who had never been, and they also had to vouch for the new person's ability to converse, be interesting, and consume food and wine with viking-like enthusiasm.
love + butter
tiny dinners - 4 to 6 people from first glance: very sweet and the folks behind it apparently trained with some michelin starred french chefs.
from a recent newsletter:
"Weve also been working on getting the parts together for a nose-to-tail dinner, whichwill feature some fifth quarter favourites - crispy pigs head torchon, warm tongue salad, stuffed hearts and the like - as always, taken from happy animals and farmers we know..."
www.loveandbutter.com
Chicago, IL
24 below
i have been in correspondence with a certain fellow of significant energy and active ambition named efrain. we met at a ghetto gourmet fete about a year ago and he recently got back in touch to let me know he has taken the underground torch to chicago and it seems he has a bit of fuel for the fire. 24 below, cook the vote, and singles only are a few of the things he has helped launch. 24 below seems to be a roving dinner + art + sometimes fashion + sometimes performance type of thing. if you have been I would love some first person accounts. but regardless, keep an eye on efrain or chefrain anyone with this much drive and passion is going to continue to make news.
www.chefrain.com/20below/
cook the vote
this new project is focused on driving political conversation to the dinner table. sadly in this country we have been told either directly or in more subtle yet thoroughly effective waysthatpolitical dialogueis too dangerousfor the dinner table. these folks call bullshit on that message and have their eyes clearly locked on the 2008 elections dedicated to using food and the table to expand the dialogue.
www.chefrain.com/cookthevote/
singles only
another project by the ubiquitous san francisco import ChEfrain the idea here is simple and I guess rather lovely. 10 guys, 10 gals (seems these folks are straight maybe someone will start a rainbow hued version), locations vary, thoughtful food, etc.
www.socialnetwork.meetup.com/694/
International
coming soon...
Appendix A: a note to the authorities
if you are reading this and you have some interest in doing something about stopping or harassing one or more underground proprietors we have mentioned above – consider a few things. first: no one here is really making any significant amount of money and most of these activities exist in a super foggy grey area of legality. second: these “restaurants” are often “infrequent” and usually impossible to find. third: your agency whatever it might be doesn’t likely have any precedence for dealing with these kind of endeavors and the thought of the pounds of paperwork you would have to complete to establish said protocol is kind of funny. fourth: customers realize these establishments are unlicensed and gladly take the so-called risks, and quite frankly these folks rely solely on word of mouth and can’t risk making someone sick and moreover they tend to care greatly about food - much more so than the taco bells you frequently inspect, yet frequently land some poor kid in the hospital. and most importantly these establishment in many ways are a direct response to the overwhelming amount of bureaucratic bullshit you have to endure in order to legally sell food in this country, and the more you shovel it on the more you will see dandelions pushing up through the asphalt.