On the QT - Underground Dining in San Francisco
Off the record, on the QT, and very Hush-Hush, there are underground restaurants in every major city. Last Saturday I finally had a chance to sample the cuisine of the "DC" - the leader of one of San Francisco's underground eating establishments.
The DC (how he likes to be called) has a long history at top LA and SF restaurants. He is "off the grid" right now as he perfects his cuisine and seeks funding for first own restaurant - no more cooking for others.
After emailing the contact I found on a website, I was told what dates the DC would be serving in SF. I mailed back with my requested date and seating time. My reservation was confirmed and I was politely pointed to a paypal account to make a "donation."
The location remained a secret. I received a call the day of the reservation with the address and my reservation confirmation. The address was deep within a residential neighborhood in SF so I was not suprised to pull up to a nice condo building that evening.
A DC fan had loaned his split level condo out for the weekend. The DC would be cooking their 3 evenings - all weekend. The kitchen had a nice Wolf range and the apartment was spacious enough to accomodate three distinct seating areas.
There were about 20 diners from the earlier seating finishing up so I mingled with my guest with the other late seating patrons on the balcony. A server brought us a dubonnet cocktail and we spent a pleasant 20 minutes talking with new friends.
Seating was communal - several of the people we met on the balcony were seated at our table. We then spent 4 hours, 8 wines and 12 courses together. Great food and company. The Chef is experimenting with different combinations and cooking methods. A lot of restaurants do a lot of the same thing - everything here was unique.
The DC was accompanied by three women who helped cook, serve and glad hand the patrons. Each was a food industry professional and complemented the evening.
The entire experience was an excellent reaction to restaurants whose decor and "theater" over shadow the cuisine. It was as back to basics as a 12 course dinner could be.
Reservations are only available to those who know someone who is already a DC patron, so start hassling with your myspace friends to finnagle a booking!
[Names have been redacted to protect the hard working. Email me for the website.]
The DC (how he likes to be called) has a long history at top LA and SF restaurants. He is "off the grid" right now as he perfects his cuisine and seeks funding for first own restaurant - no more cooking for others.
After emailing the contact I found on a website, I was told what dates the DC would be serving in SF. I mailed back with my requested date and seating time. My reservation was confirmed and I was politely pointed to a paypal account to make a "donation."
The location remained a secret. I received a call the day of the reservation with the address and my reservation confirmation. The address was deep within a residential neighborhood in SF so I was not suprised to pull up to a nice condo building that evening.
A DC fan had loaned his split level condo out for the weekend. The DC would be cooking their 3 evenings - all weekend. The kitchen had a nice Wolf range and the apartment was spacious enough to accomodate three distinct seating areas.
There were about 20 diners from the earlier seating finishing up so I mingled with my guest with the other late seating patrons on the balcony. A server brought us a dubonnet cocktail and we spent a pleasant 20 minutes talking with new friends.
Seating was communal - several of the people we met on the balcony were seated at our table. We then spent 4 hours, 8 wines and 12 courses together. Great food and company. The Chef is experimenting with different combinations and cooking methods. A lot of restaurants do a lot of the same thing - everything here was unique.
The DC was accompanied by three women who helped cook, serve and glad hand the patrons. Each was a food industry professional and complemented the evening.
The entire experience was an excellent reaction to restaurants whose decor and "theater" over shadow the cuisine. It was as back to basics as a 12 course dinner could be.
Reservations are only available to those who know someone who is already a DC patron, so start hassling with your myspace friends to finnagle a booking!
[Names have been redacted to protect the hard working. Email me for the website.]
4 Comments:
Are you sure you can't just post the website?
sorry, but drop me an email.
is this the same thing as the ghetto gourmet? I have done that and it was great. I don't recall the host being "DC".
no, it is not the ghetto gourmet - it is a different chef. Email me for the website.
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