Almost four years ago some friends hatched an idea. I think it was Sari who came u with the name “Dinner Club For Day People.” At that time it was supposed to be a group of friends who would regularly go out to eat together, and each time the club met one member had to bring a new person to the gathering. The person had to be what was called a “Day Person,” or the exact opposite of a person one might meet in a bar or club. Day people were cool, friendly, down-to-earth kids that you wouldn’t mind seeing outside of a douche-infested rock club. Dinner Club For Day People never held a single meeting.
Four years later, I’ve finally managed to put together an honest to God Dinner Club that will meet once a month to try new and adventurous cuisines. As Louise so deftly put it, we’re successful people, we should get together and celebrate it with good food and drink. The rules of this club are being kept confidential, but it’s similar in its premise to the old Dinner Club for Day People. The founding members include myself, Erin, Louise, Mark, Maryn and Nate. Our first meeting — minus Erin — was held last night at Animal (435 N. Fairfax, Los Angeles).
The menu changes each night but includes some standard options. For a party of five our waiter suggested a meal consisting of ten plates. Everything is served family style. In all we consumed 14 plates, two bottles of the house Chardonnay and several bottles of Lost Coast Alley Cat Amber Ale. In fact, Dinner Club apparently drank the poor restaurant out of all their Alley Cat bottles. Oh well. A great time was had by all and tentative plans for the next club meeting were made for the first week of June. Here’s a rundown of everything we consumed with some pictures and notes for you food porn lovers out there.
Hamachi Tostada, Herbs, Fish Sauce Vinaigrette, Peanut – Texturally great. A nice crunchy shell with soft chewy fish and a hit of heat from some raw jalapeno. The green cabbage slaw was bright and citrusy.
Thai BBQ Quail, Scallion, Citrus, Cashew, Yogurt – Surprisingly light, grilled and spiced expertly. It made me wish we could genetically engineer quails with larger legs.
Chicken Liver Toast – I fucking hate chicken liver, and as a child at big family get togethers and holidays I thought it was the grossest thing ever. But I never bothered to try it. This thing tasted so good I told Maryn to take the last piece and then changed my mind and made her split it with me.
Foie Gras Terrine, Pickled Cherry, Black Pepper – This was one of the stars of the meal. Everyone loved it; we had the waiter bring us more toasts to finish off the foie. It melted in your mouth like butter. One of the most decadent flavors of the night.
Marrow Bone, Chimichurri, Caramelized Onions – Another star dish. When the waiter came to take the plate away Maryn was still trying to scrape the marrow remnants into her mouth.
Sweetbreads, Benton’s Bacon, Creamy Ramp Dressing, Parsley – Louise told me not to tell her what sweetbreads are until after she had eaten it. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, yet once I told them what it was no one went back for seconds. Mark might have. Oh well, more for me.
Melted Petit Basque, Chorizo, Grilled Bread – Basque cheese is a sweet sheep’s milk cheese (I think?). The waiter described the flavor of the cheese as goat-like but I didn’t find that to be the case. The chorizo added another level of intensely fatty flavor.
Pig Tails, “Buffalo Style”, Celery, Ranch – Nate and I housed these things. I can’t believe there was ranch involved and I still ate it. Had I looked at the menu a second time I might have recoiled or dry heaved, but luckily I didn’t find out about it until right now.
Poutine, Oxtail Gravy, Cheddar – Another favorite. I know it’s a little blasphemous to stray from the traditional cheese curds and gravy, but one taste of the oxtail meat sold me on the dish.
Flat Iron, Artichoke Hash, Truffle Parmesan Fondue – I didn’t much care for this one, as you can probably tell from my lackadaisical photo of the dish. It was a steak covered in parmesan. No big deal.
Pig Ear, Chili, Lime, Fried Egg – People were starting to get full by now, but I called the waiter over to order two more plates. Mark quoted Anthony Bourdain’s famous line about runny eggs. Unsurprisingly, everyone found room to fit these tasty little suckers in their bellies. Nice sweet and sour flavor mixed with runny egg. Perfect.
Veal Brains, Vadouvan, Apple Sauce, Carrot – I told the waiter I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t try the brains. No one else liked them, but I thought they were really good. They were battered and fried, and although texturally a little gooey it was so buttery and creamy I hardly noticed. The apple sauce had a sweet, syrupy flavor that I thought complimented the richness of the brains nicely.
Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar, Salt & Pepper Ice Cream – Everyone was geeked about this, but I was a little underwhelmed. I thought the salt and pepper ice cream was superior. It seems so obvious. Salt and pepper. Ice cream. Of course it works.
Tres Leches, Dulce De Leche – This was the better dessert in my opinion. Incredibly moist cake, and the dulce de leche at the bottom was fantastic.
Dinner Club #1 meeting adjourned.
