Foodie Night: A Sort-of Supper Club at M&T's

via Garden and Gun

As Garden and Gun, the Wall Street Journal (I think?), CNN, and everybody else has reported, Secret Supper Clubs are back and better than ever.  Underground dining has been around since the late 1800s... and I daresay a more valued invitation than one to those secret societies at any good University (and yes, I'm saying that in part because I was never invited to join one at UVA.... but also because these secret societies involve great food. And drink.)  I especially appreciate the phrase, "collaborative dining."

While I've managed to receive a few elusive invites, I've never been able to attend an event.  I got sort-of (ok, not really) close last night.  Muss & Turners, a nearby deli/restaurant/wine bar, held a local dinner featuring food from Riverview Farms.  Admittedly, I thought I was signing up for Chef Ryan's Staplehouse dinner (I think I'm on all their mailing lists, and it's easy to get confused).  Ah well.

About Riverview... the farm is a family-owned, certified organic, and sustainable operation just north of Atlanta (near our camping/cabin getaway in Ellijay).  The raise cows (I'm guessing steer actually, but enough semantics) and Berkshire pigs and grow a plethora of fruit of vegetables.  

Of course, hearing the title "Riverview Farms Tomato and Corn Dinner," I had grandiose visions in my head of an outdoor, secret but beautiful location and making best friends before the night was over.  

via Content-Agency

While we did have some lovely conversation over a long table, it was indoors.  And it certainly wasn't secret- I think Muss and Turner were happy to take as many participants as they could get.

via Content-Agency

While perhaps the evening didn't (and couldn't) measure up to my romanticized vision, the food was quite good- and more memorable than our first dining experience with them- Valentine's Day a few years ago.  So we'll return for dinner- and not just stop in for the huge, fantastic sandwiches offered at lunchtime (their pulled pork BBQ is the best ever).

Have you made it to a Secret Supper Club?  Better yet, want to start one? ;-)

CLARIFICATION: Want to make a quick clarification after reading some of the comments below!  We had a fabulous time- the food was great, the company was great... all in all, a lovely evening.  It is just that the idea of of dining in a not-so-traditional spot, under trees and stars, and making new friends, and enjoying great food and wine... is there anything much better than that? 

--Emmie

Foodie Crush

Through almost a comedy of errors, I ended up dining at 3030 Ocean at the Harbor Beach Marriott featuring Chef Dean James Max. Gordon Ramsey fans may recognize the name 3030 Ocean- Paula DaSilva, current Chef de Cuisine- was one of the two finalists in Hell's Kitchen Season 5.

Chef Dean grew up on the Eastern shore of Virginia and South Florida. After earning a degree in Marketing and minoring in Hotel and Restaurant Management at Florida State, Dean studied in Italy. His career continued with positions at notable restaurants up and down the East Coast. Chef is now the Owner/executive chef of several restaurants, including Latitude41 in Columbus, Ohio, and Watertable in Baltimore, Maryland. Notably, he has been included as a semifinalist in both James Beard's 2008 and 2009 Best Chef: South nominations.

He has also written a book about seafood, inspired- I'm assuming- by his lifetime by the water. Of course, I will be purchasing this book now. My dear mother in law, if you are reading this, please forget this post immediately, as I think it could be a lovely coffee table book for you.



I had the opportunity to met Chef at the end of the evening and talk about the Chesapeake Bay, seafood, restaurants, and one of my favorite subjects, the Atlanta Food Scene. It was fabulous. I shared a very edited review of his friend Chef Mennie's new place, Livingston (reviewed earlier this week), Shaun's (on my list!), and discussed Kevin Rathbun- another Atlantan chef for whom I have a ton of respect (met him 2 years ago at the South Beach Food and Wine show. Both he and his brother were fabulous.) Chef mentioned he'd be in Atlanta sometime in August to teach a cooking class. I would LOVE to meet up with him then- how phenomenal to do a restaurant tour in Atlanta with a well-respected chef!? So I gave him my business card. We shall see....

Yes, I am a total Celebrity Chef Groupie.

More South Florida reviews/posts to come!


Emmie

Birthday Queen

I have to do a big shout-out to Mr. Southern Aspirations. He read through Daily Candy (I love it!), and identified AltoRex Lounge as a hip place to grab a before-dinner cocktail for my birthday yesterday. Note that AltoRex is Latin for "high king" (or in this case, queen). The drinks were fabulous and the lounge was so cool. I have totally fallen for the St. Germain Elderflower cocktails and enjoyed one made with gin, grapefruit juice, and mint. Mr. SA had a mojito (his new drink of choice). Highly recommend it. It's adjacent to the Hotel Palomar, a Kimpton hotel.

Lounge with great green fabrics, white round tray tables, and white chairs with green seats and black pillows (surprisingly comfortable) Fire pit is visible in the distance.

Fire Pit in front of green-cushioned "couch."

My favorite section. Cabanas (reserved) in the background with moss-covered marble stepping stones. Again, can I say how much I love this fabric?

Seating under the covered area, featuring a waterfall wall. Very relaxing sound.

I couldn't find any pictures of the actual bar area, which is surrounded by a wood pergola. A great contrast to the white and stone. I'll have to go back and take more pictures!

We had dinner at Bacchanalia (Greek for celebration of food and wine based on the Greek god of wine)- fabulous tasting menu.

I am a very lucky gal!

-Emmie

Dining with Tom Colicchio- well, at least at Craft

Happy Mother's Day! We'll be dining at Craft-Atlanta and I'm so excited. The brunch menu seems incredibly reasonably priced.

Now, for a behind-the-scenes at Tom's rental in NYC. Small kitchen is inspiring! If he can make it work, we should all be fine in our kitchens. :-)

Here's a view of the restaurant below....