A friend of mine recently asked that I take a poll of my vast readership to determine the viability of doing underground dining in the 'hood. For those not familiar with this, you can check out this article from the NY Times which talks about unlicensed restaurants opening up in apartments and other private spaces.
I'm assuming this SS venture might be kind of similar, but it may be too early to determine. I doubt it would be much more than once a month, say a couple different seatings on a Saturday night.
I'm told the menu would be pretty limited. It would range from salads and small plates to start, a few different types of homemade pasta and homemade sauce, pizza, and maybe some contorni (side dishes) to accompany the entree. If another friend can be cajoled into assisting, then homemade breads and dolci would also be on the menu.
The donation to partake in the dining is still in discussion, but would be nominal - essentially covering the price of ingredients and not much more. Until my friend has you hooked and then will gouge the hell out of you.
OK, I'd love to hear what readers think of this idea. If things fall into place, this could start in the late spring/early summer -- just in time to take advantage of the first harvest.
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22 comments:
Awesome. You know I would be all over that.
Heck, there is a household on Grove Street that does this EVERY Sunday. You wouldn't believe the number of people who attend based on the cars.
It all seems illegal to me and probably is.
Sounds like a great idea to me.
On Grove St - really? Can you give me a hint of where on Grove? And obviously doing this is skirting the law - it's an unlicensed kitchen. No getting around that. But my friend is thinking he'd serve no more than 6 people at once.
one of my neoghbors on Fenton serves African meals daily - I think dinner - it irks me as I get MANY knocks on my door as clearly it is word of mouth and "white fence with red brick house" is the description being given - I haven;t turned them in yet as those who knock my mistake are usually very apologetic when they see they've interrupted the day of a ticked off white lady and realize their mistake -
I had no idea this type of thing was happening in our hood with such frequency. The idea seems much less 'cutting edge' now. However my friend seems intent to move forward in the next few months. I'll keep you posted.
Us too. City Paper had an article about this a few years ago...
The missus and I would be into this. On Saturday night we went to Dino's, which we love for many reasons, but there is no getting around the fact that the place is loud and crowded, and those two factors are rarely conducive to enjoying a fine meal (Dino's excellent wine list helps much in this regard). I brought up this article as a counterpoint to Dino's: a relaxed, quiet place to enjoy fine dining cooked by someone else. Mrs. Springvale Roader was intrigued.
So, count us in, if you can find an underground vegan menu, that is.
Dinner is served, but we can't tell you where
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/09/AR2010030900651.html?hpid=features1&hpv=local
Thanks for the link Sara. Maybe my friend should think about charging more his dinners. If $125 is the going rate, I guess he could undercut them and do $124. I bet he'd have a line out the door. ;-)
Why not just have a dinner party?
I think a dinner party is a bit different. When you're invited over a friend's house for dinner, I hope you're not gonna complain about the food - not matter what it is. My friend wants more objectivity to know if his cooking is good - and to test his ability to cook a little more under pressure than for friends and to see if he wants to do something like this on a more regular basis - in an actual licensed kitchen.
Hey SoCo, we haven't had any Silver Spring restaurant news or reviews since the Roger Miller post way back in February - what gives?
Would be good to know what's going on with Pacci's Pizza, why Nicaro's new management is getting such bad reviews on Yelp (I mean terrible!), when Jackie's new lounge place is opening, and any other developments in the South Silver Spring dining scene.
Thanks
OK, you've spurred me on. Been wrapped up in coordinating a pool for March Madness. Been thinking more about college b-ball than food. But I'll get an update on our local restaurant scene soon.
I was more excited when I first read the headline and thought the idea was to have a restaurant that is physically located underground (Capri theater?).
Sorry to disappoint you. But maybe if you give this "underground" dining thing a chance, it might be pretty exciting. You never know. I guarantee you'll get a good meal and a great experience - and you won't spend much at all.
City Paper confirmed that Ceviche is closed. The owner said that Ceviche just couldn't make it in a mall environment.
I do think it would have been better served at street level along Georgia Avenue, or anywhere besides the teenage wasteland that is Ellsworth.
Be curious to see what moves in.
I'd totally be down for this, as long as it had some type of Silver Spring twist to it - either nearby ingredients, or ethnic food. If I was going for spaghetti and meatballs, I'd be a little less excited about it.
A "caterer" and a "carry-out" (two diff. houses) on Silver Spring Ave. They both seem to do a great business, especially on the weekends.
A "caterer" and a "carry-out" (two diff. houses) on Silver Spring Ave. They both seem to do a great business, especially on the weekends.
Well, I'd be interested in hearing what's going on; if for no other reason that my wife is a stay at home mom trained at the new england culinary institute... in point of fact, if making money isn't an issue, there are lots of ways to do things legally (I'm serv-safe certified) and communally.
Well, I'd be interested in hearing what's going on; if for no other reason that my wife is a stay at home mom trained at the new england culinary institute... in point of fact, if making money isn't an issue, there are lots of ways to do things legally (I'm serv-safe certified) and communally.
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