Dining

Furtive Feasts and Ghetto Gourmets!

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By Chef Michael Minorgan for Curtains Up

They are the modern day incarnations and throwbacks to the frolic, mayhem and freewheeling days of prohibition and the subterranean closed door speakeasies that flourished throughout our major metropolises in the 1920’s They are  the underground restaurants, where admission, like entry to the speakeasy, is by invitiation only and getting your name on the guest list is, due to the inherent subterfuge involved, sometimes very difficult relying heavily on your ability to access and nourish the right ‘connections’.

Needless to say these cryptic restos operate well below the radar line. All this mystery is not meant to slander them in any way, they are an extremely popular and fast growing foodie fad all over the world especially in our larger cities where detection by the authorities can be much easier to avoid. Their inherent secretive nature seemingly only heightens their appeal of offering the participants a delicious and exciting high wire dining experience.

Many of these establishments are run by extraordinarily good cooks, very often retired or out of work chefs or great home cooks specializing in a particular global cuisine. Dinner at an underground restaurant is a social dining experience for those who are tired of the conventional restaurant scene. They are  definitely more than just a place to eat. They are complete social affairs and interactive experiences for food lovers where eating the food is only one course on the evening’s menu. Many offer the opportunity of culinary storytelling, discussing the ingredients and cooking techniques and quite often actually getting involved in the preparation of the meal itself. Participants are usually asked for a “donation” at the door and are quite commonly BYOB events. From my research the average “donation” for a 5 course extravaganza is about $85 (wine is at your own expense)

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These surreptitious soirees had their origin in, most believe, in post communist Cuba. They were called ‘palardes and they started to evolve after Castro took over the island and the economy bottomed out and unemployment skyrocketed pushing people to all ends to earn money. Many locals opened up their homes and entertained tourists and the like to help manage their family finances and keep their heads above water. Needless to say this was and is even today, a very dangerous alternative in communist controlled Cuba where the penalties, if caught, could be life threatening.

The trend quickly caught on and these secret sanctums started popping up all over Europe, especially in economically starved Spain where they where generically called ‘puertas cerradas’(closed doors). One of the more popular ones, located in Barcelona, goes by the iconic name La Contrasenya (password). Some of these ‘kitchen confidentials’ in Hong Kong are considered by many to have the best food in the city.  chef table 3In the UK they are more typically known as “supper clubs, a tag much more suited to the more refined British sensibilities.

Very soon after, the idea inevitably crossed the pond to North America where today you can find (if you look hard enough and in the right places!) many such eateries flourishing in the bellies of our larger cities especially the major dining capitals of New York City and San Francisco .They come in many furtive guises…. The Hidden Kitchen, The Ghetto Gourmet, The Rogue Apron, The Bite Club etc, etc….you get the idea!

The recent expansion of these eateries can almost always be measured by and attributed to a bad economy and high unemployment, situations that leave many people struggling to come up with inventive ways to earn extra money. Hands up for ingenuity and inventiveness, albeit a somewhat risky example, I fear.

They are a fun ways to entertain and there is certainly no denying their success and popularity. So the next time you are trolling the web searching for these culinary backstreets you may just come across one these furtive feasts and their cryptic marketing message in your own backyard. Get in on the secret, grab a few friends and give them a try. Reservations are always on a first come first served basis and the number of tickets available always limited due to the size of the venue. They can, as I am told by my unnamed sources, result in a very enjoyable evening of food and fun and all for a very reasonable ‘donation’ given what some of the ‘above ground’ restaurants are charging these days.

Remember, “All things civilized and debaucherous find common ground on a dining room table!”

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