Another Supper Club Adventure (Updated)

On Saturday, Marjorie and I ventured out to Williamsburg, Brooklyn for another underground supper club event. We had not been to one by this group before, but had gotten to know one of its principals (Mark, shown in the photo below) at the Italian Christmas Meal, and really liked him. We've heard a lot of great things about his group since then, and had been wanting to get a spot at one of their dinners for months.

A few of you asked what a supper club is. I don't know that there is any set definition, but the ones I've been going to are generally run by chefs, or people who love to cook, and take place in settings other than restaurants -- sometimes in apartments, other times in other spaces, like an art gallery or a test kitchen. You find out about the events through the e-mail lists of the organizing club, the e-mails give a general idea of location, and after you sign up (and, generally, pay through PayPal), you are given the address and other details for the event. Typically, I go with one friend (usually Marjorie), and lately, we've been running into people at these events who we know (and like) through other supper club experiences.

Mark, plating a delicious puree of watermelon with some kind of amazing herbed creme.

The dinner was held in the apartment shared by Mark and his roommates. It's in an old warehouse building that has been converted into lofts. The space was very untraditional, funky, cool, and has very eclectic decor. They have a swing in the kitchen (so nice to be able to swing while watching people cook). . and all sorts of other eye-catching, interesting things everywhere you look. We were all fascinated by the crazy bunny chandelier shown below. . it was hung way up high, and only the tails light up!

By the light of the. . .bunny tail?

The first course was a pea soup with fresh wasabi. . . which tasted just like wasabi peas, which I love! My band has been pretty tight lately (I really need to get a teeny un-fill. . just .05 ccs would do the trick), so I was happy for a soup course. I was actually not able to eat too much at the dinner, but I did at least get to try every course. This course was followed by a salad course that I was not able to do justice, eating-wise . . . Fortunately, the main course was a plate of perfectly cooked scallops with a white peach/mango salsa, which was very easy to eat. I only was able to finish about 1 1/2 scallops though. Happily, the servers had us pass our plates down after each course, so I was able to do the cover-my-plate-with-someone-else's trick to avoid getting looks or questions about why I had barely eaten anything. I really enjoyed the food, but with my band being a bit finicky, I thought it was best to just taste a bit of everything and not to take any chances on getting stuck. With about 5 courses, I certainly did not leave hungry, even though I just sampled the different offerings.

Our table, which consisted of me, Marjorie, a local landscape designer and his two friends (Danish nursing students), and a documentary filmmaker.

I love this photo of Miss M scoping out the dessert . . . delicious bread pudding with almonds! I was thinking. . . um, great. . BREAD pudding. . I'll never be able to eat this! However, I tried it out and was able to eat a few bites without any problem. Actually, it was really yummy -- very lightly spiced, and the almonds gave it a great flavor and texture.
Here we are with A, who you may recognize from the photos of the Italian Christmas Meal. He and several others showed up after dinner for drinks, which added to our fun! Actually, he said something about having seen my photos from the other meal on Facebook and "blogs" or something like that, which makes me think that he also came across my blog through the Google Alert, or through my other friend. They are both guys who I get the sense are sensitive enough to understand that I am private about my surgery (er, aside from broadcasting my most intimate thoughts about it on-line. . albeit semi-anonymously!), and I'm OK with them having come across the blog honestly.

After dinner, we sat around the bar that Mark and his roommates built in their apartment. A few people took turns manning the bar, making really fantastic cocktails, and the company was very good. We wound up staying until about 3:30 a.m.! Someone asked me "when do you sleep" in response to my last post. The answer to that question is "Sunday" for Wednesday through Saturday of last week! :)

Hanging out at the bar with Miss M!