eat make read

This weekend Aaron surprised me with one of the coolest food experiences I’ve ever had. I’d read about underground supper clubs and restaurants in Edible earlier this year and ever since I’ve been itching to experience on for myself. Well lucky me, Aaron got tickets to an event called Undergrounds Unite where five of New York City’s underground restaurants got together to throw one heck of a dinner party.

If you’ve never heard of an underground dinner party, you’re in for a treat. The day before the event, someone emailed Aaron a location and time and told him to look for someone “learning how to cook everything” (a reference to Mark Bittman’s cookbook). So Saturday evening we hopped on the train and arrived at the specified location where we found a person with the cookbook. She then handed us a slip of paper that had another address on it. We walked to the new location and when the elevator opened we’d were greeted by friendly people and a huge penthouse loft with views of the Empire State Building. So cool!

We started out with a cocktail hour with drinks from the super talented folks at Whisk & Ladle. I have to tell you, they served a drink that involved peanut vodka, yes peanut vodka, that blew my mind. I’ve never had anything quite like it, just think peanut butter pie in liquid form. It was crazy and awesome all at the same time. After an hour or so sipping delicious cocktails, we made our way up to the top floor of the building to sit down for a 12-course feast. I’m not going to go through all 12-courses with you, but I can say that none of them disappointed me.

That said, there were two that really stood out. The first was waiting for us when we sat down, something I’d never had to the guts to eat, sashimi. Studiofeast served raw fluke was served with yuzu kosho and viniagrette and it rocked my world. I always thought eating a piece of raw fish would be a weird textural conflict in my mouth, but this was so perfect and smooth and it was contrasted so nicely by a spicy sauce. Mmmm, so tasty. The second thing that made me super happy was toasted pumpkin agnolotti with spicy pepitas and brown butter made by lightbulb oven. I think that’s a fancy name for pumpkin ravioli. Honestly, thhey can call it whatever they want because it was so, so good.

Throughout dinner Brooklyn Oenology served a variety of wines and let me tell you, the wine was flowing. After several hours of free-for-all eating and drinking, my memories got a little hazy, but I do know that it was an incredible night. It makes me so happy to live in a city that has secret dinner clubs and people who make peanut vodka. If you ever get the chance to dine in secret, jump at it!