Picture this: You and your long-lost college friend, your ex-roommate, or maybe your third-date’s-the-charm Tinder companion make plans for Saturday night. Friday, you get an email. The email tells you to meet at 7 pm at a clandestine but swanky-sounding-spot.
Wonder and curiosity seeps in. You’re not quite sure what to expect, but you figure, hey, food and booze are involved, so giddy up. You enter, and find yourself in a room buzzing with the happy din of fascinating, attractive strangers mingling over clinking cocktail glasses and shared passions (truffle oil, paddleboard yoga, you name it). Nope, it’s not some fantasy dating app. It’s just par-for-course in the regular magic Dinner Lab puts on during its events sprinkled across the country.
On this particular night, you’re greeted with high ceilings, exposed wood, a handsome bar, and stunning white decor in a fashionable part of New York City’s Chelsea, which by day doubles as a WeWork office space. You slink into the warm embrace of a festive, cranberry-infused cocktail with upbeat music spinning in the background. With passed bites like turkey tacos and an amuse bouche of salmon with a dollop of cream, you’re thinking you better pace yourself for this friendsgiving feast.
As for the dinner’s inspiration, when you ask Brian Bordainick, Dinner Lab’s fearless and humble CEO, what sort of instruction the chefs are given on this particular evening and others, he simply tells you, “We never dictate what our chefs cook. We just tell them to cook what’s important to you.” And cook they did.
First up in this family-style meal was a whimsically-plated “roots and shoots” dish, which spotlighted smoked carrot puree, carrots and turnips, yogurt and black walnut, autumn ash and apple cider foam. And fear not boozehounds, there was a celebratory tequila toast to kick the noshing off on a festive note. With the open bar flowing and providing diners with a steady stream of liquid encouragement, strangers bantered like old pals and huddled in more closely around the table (and to nab that perfect Instagram shot).
Next, diners indulged in “turchetta,” a whirlwind of stuffed gnocchi, with each pillowy bite offering an explosion of solidified gravy taste, chestnuts and shaved Brussels sprouts, and a garnish of fried sage. Did we mention it was paired with a grapefruit IPA? As the room started to vibrate more and more in the hum of happy chatter, the evening’s pièce de résistance arrived: Butternut squash ice cream. This ethereal, creamy concoction was complemented by a pistachio financier, brown butter lemon curd, oatmeal crumble, and poached cranberries. We caught one diner whisper between gasps of delight.
And let’s not ignore the equally thrilling buzz that chefs get from executing such a feat: “One of the best parts is that the dynamic and supper are always different. You never know what the challenge of the space will be we and you get one shot to get it right,” says Jacob Rosette, the chef de cuisine for the evening.
Chef David Cuvin, who prepared the tantalizing dessert shared, “Working in restaurants every week gets repetitive. Dinner Lab stands for new chefs and new ideas. Working for a Dinner Lab event gives me the opportunity to explore and truly think outside the box.”
Luckily, you don’t have to be a New Yorker to spend a night under Dinner Lab’s intoxicating spell. Available in more than 30 cities, the company hosts one-of-a-kind pop-up dinners all around the country, allowing chefs to try out new recipes and guests receive a unique, all-inclusive experience (members pay an annual fee and gain access to events costing $50 to $95—food, drinks, and tip are included).
“Food is the ultimate medium to bring people together and these offline experiences make us really proud, and we feel really fortunate to facilitate them. What’s cool about we do is that we are bringing together diverse groups of people who wouldn’t normally cross paths, let alone eat together,” says Bordainick. He’s watched the company evolve from hosting a dinner for 12 in his neighbor’s house in New Orleans, to hosting 80 to 100 dinners around the country a month.
“We came up with the idea when we were bored with the current offerings in New Orleans,” he says. “Sure, there were a ton of traditional Creole restaurants but we craved more diversity. What would happen if we dropped all the pretension of a restaurant and gave the chef complete creative control?”
But if you think the company knew they had stumbled on a winning recipe for success from the get-go, you’d be wrong. “Launching in New York City really felt like the pivotal moment for us. Everyone just thought we were this cute Southern idea and it was an uphill climb,” he says. “Once we did Austin and Nashville most people still said it wouldn’t work in New York. But then we launched New York City and we sold 1,000 tickets or something crazy in a day.”
Good timing, because Bordainick was let go from his “real job the following day. This was when he realized he could make a living doing what he loved. “I thought, wait a minute, we have a real company now.”
And if you’re still skeptical these gatherings don’t result in authentic connections, wrong, again. “My favorite moment was after a dinner in New York City when I went outside to grab some air. Standing next to me was a couple in their 50s with a couple in their 20s from the event, and they all piled into a cab to go grab a drink together and keep talking,” shares Bordainick. And as if he could anticipate what we would ask next — yes, there have been marriages, too.
Photo credit: Harrison Boyce