NOLA Underground Restaurant

[noladiner]

Our first night open was a big sucess. If you want to be on our mailing list or have questions send an e-mail to undergroundrestaurant@yahoo.com

[EatinAintCheatin]

Our first night open was a big sucess. If you want to be on our mailing list or have questions send an e-mail to undergroundrestaurant@yahoo.com

noladiner,

You will need to pony up much more info. than those 2 sentences before people will give you their email addresses. If you are really legit then you would describe your "big sucess" (sic).
EAC

[Schuarta]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/r ... ste18.html

http://www.michaelstajer.com/2006/09/on ... n-san.html

these articles explain it a bit

Thanks, they do answer many of my thoughts. Sounds interesting, particularly if the price stays under the $100 mark. If it tends to be significantly higher, it would be out of my reach (see market indices - Dow Industrial, NASDQ, S&P500, etc.).

[noladiner]

Answers to some of your questions.
The Chef is very well known, wines will be bought for each event to match the food selections (four courses, 4 wines). The dinners start in a couple weeks and will be held on saturday evenings, people will be notified thru e-mail, cocktails at 6:30 dinner at 7. Price will be 150 including wine and cocktails,10 people max, we do the dishes. As far as location they will be at my or the Chefs home. if someone wants to host one, that can be discussed.

The first dinner was Sunday evening by word of mouth and the only way to find out when the events are in the future is by e-mail, which we have recieved many. The first course was a delightful risotto, second was a chopped salad with endive, tomatoes, Mache and fresh mozz. the main was the best osso bucco I have ever tasted and dessert and coffee(Illy) was a delightful pear tart. We started with cocktails on a beautiful balcony in the FQ and was moved to a bedroom turned dining room. The wine was served in cristal glasses and was fantastic, brut Champagne with the risotto, Edna Valley Chardonnay with the salad and Cain Cuvee with the osso bucco and a Dow Tawny Port with the dessert.

This is not a catering operation, It is a one seating restaurant that will no have more than 10 guests a night. It is a great evening all about the food and the wine. The menu will be e-mailed to those intrested by Tuesday and payment is cash or check only when you arrive. This is for serious dinners, it is a great way to meet new people (everyone sets at the same table).
Bon Appétit

[Low-N-Slow]

So, if I fall off the FQ balcony and break my neck as a result of too much champagne or food poisoning, will the host still cash my check if I file suit?

People ask me all the time how much they should charge friends and relatives for BBQ. I always ask if they're willing to factor in the cost of liability insurance.

Also surprised no one has uttered the words "Eat Club". Does the organizer pay a commensurate share as well?...

[spudly]

I love it. This is so much why we, with our "louisiana" culture live here. We would rather cook for ourselves and others than have "strangers" in the house to pay for it.

The underground dinner is in most areas really a underground restaurant, nothing more...no taxes or overhead. Kind of like a B&B for, dare I say, foodies?

I don't think it will do well here for the only reason that we all CAN cook for ourselves.

[Creole Eats]

I was lucky enough to be on business in NYC last week and one of my associates took me to an underground restaurant. $200 per person. We didn't know where we were going until the afternoon of the event. We ended up in a tiny upper east side apartment and what followed was incredible. One of the best meals I can remember complete with great wines and great conversation with the locals. I can't wait to come to yours noladiner

[hungryone]

Here's a link to an August NY Times article about the whole underground restaurant phenomenon: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/dinin ... &th&emc=th

Reading it made me feel a profound cultural gap between here & there. One activity highlighted in the article involved (gasp!) butchering a pig at someone's farm, while paying participants watched, then eventually got to eat the results. Well, gol-leee-gee. I call that a boucherie, and I would never DREAM of charging people to attend such an event.

The concept violates some deeply held sense of hospitality I have. Charging people to eat in a private home....I don't think I could ever host a function like this at my house; I'd feel very, very weird about people being charged to eat at my table (but hey, I'd also never host a tupperware party or other buy-my-stuff shakedown disguised as a shindig, and other people have no trouble with the concept).

It's like a purchased social life for people who've forgotten that dinner parties are spontaneous, reciprocal events, given for friends, by friends. If I want to hire a chef to cater my parties, then great. But to charge people to be there? For charity, yes. For a business to operate without paying taxes or being subject to the rules faced by other small food businesses? No thanks.

[flyinbayou]

Fad alert.

What is so different about this type of dining than eating at one of the many wonderful, LEGITMATE, and some just as intimate restaurants that we have in this city?

From what it sounds like these are a rip-off of "After Hours with Daniel Boulud" series.

Thanks but no thanks.
I'd rather support the guys that put forth the effort and the money to providing a first class experience to the all-inclusive crowd.

[expatorleanian]

I agree with posters about the liability, tax, payroll, etc. issues, and being unfair competition to legitimate businesses. Besides, it seems to me that we can get a pretty nice meal with wine pairings, tax, and nice tip for $300 for a couple, and there are so many restaurants that we haven't had time to try. And the spelling and grammar in the posts is very annoying.