After a brief hiatus, Dinner Club is back!
When last we caught up with Dinner Club (according to this blog), we were joined by Ben at Rosaline. Following that meal, we were joined by Nate and Maryn’s parents at Union in Pasadena. I didn’t review that meal because we were a larger group than normal, it was really hard to get any photos, and really hard to carry on a conversation. That was in September. In October we headed to The Venue in Koreatown. I don’t believe anyone enjoyed that meal, so I chose not to write about it. We skipped November and December because of the holidays, even though I finally got Mark, David, and Nate to eat at Cassia with me. January kind of came and went without us noticing, so Mark took it upon himself to make a reservation for us at Journeyman in Atwater Village in an attempt to get us back on the rails.
Oh, wait. That’s right. We didn’t eat at Journeyman because they told our group of seven people that in order to dine there we could only choose six items total from their menu, for a fixed price of $70 per person. In a stunning, unprecedented move never before seen in the history of Dinner Club, we made a reservation across the street at Good Measure instead. Some of us who will not be named spent a majority of the meal badmouthing Journeyman. One person who will not be named (NATE! IT WAS ALL NATE!) said we should go so far as to “Pretty Woman” Journeyman…which I think…wait, what does that even mean? Are we supposed to throw escargot at them? What the hell scene was he referring to? The shopping scene? Nate, dammit, why can’t I remember what you said?!
Oh, that’s right. I don’t remember because Good Measure is a very #wineforward restaurant. Or, at least, that’s what Mark said…I don’t know, twenty times throughout the meal? We drank a good amount of wine at this dinner club. As usual, I showed up 15 minutes early. So I sat at the bar with a glass of Sangiovese (Podere la Berta, 2014). This marked the first Dinner Club I can remember where everyone showed up early! We were all seated at the table 3 minutes before our reservation. And then the parade of food and wine began. Here we go!
Crispy Pork Rillette (cranberry mostarda, market greens) We started our meal with the crispy pork rillette. Apparently, Maryn and Kelie both read that it was highly recommended. The fried exterior provided a nice textural contrast to the pulled pork interior. Amanda ordered a bottle of sparkling rosè for the table, while Mark opted for a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.
Roasted Baby Carrots & Sunchokes (carrot top salsa verde, pistachios)Â Next in the parade of apps and snacks came the veggies. I think I only got a bite of carrot, but it was fine. I probably would have chosen differently but…come to think of it, other than saying “I hope Mary’s Chicken is literally served to us by Mary herself,” I didn’t make a single decision about what we ordered. Another Dinner Club first!Â
Mussels (bacon, tomato, shallot, fresno chili, garlic, fennel, preserved lemon, grilled bread) Everyone loves mussels, right? These were quite good. And there was enough bread for everyone to sop up the liquid at the bottom of the bowl. What more can you ask for when ordering mussels?! Wine, maybe? It was around this time I realized that everyone was poured either the rosè or the Sauv Blanc and nobody poured anything for me to drink. Our server made up for it by filling my flute glass to the brim with rosè. I immediately regretted pointing out that no one bothered to serve me.
Crispy Fingerling Potatoes (lavender, feta, honey)Â Did I get to try these? I can’t remember. Considering I had to ask the group for pictures of this and the carrots and the scallops, it should be no surprise that I don’t really remember any of these things arriving at the table. To be fair, I was busy talking to Mark and David about why all of Netflix’s original programming is slow-paced dramas and looking at pictures of the house they want to buy. Dinner Club is growing up!Â
Sauteed Scallops (heirloom melon, purslane, hazelnuts, speck, coconut cream) I should also mention that we ordered the almonds and olives as well as the brussels sprouts, but I don’t have pictures of either of those dishes. That said, the first of our mains to arrive were the scallops. They were cooked perfectly, and the play on prosciutto and melon that accompanied them was a perfect pairing. I would say this was one of my favorite dishes of the night. Did you know that this week marks the one year anniversary of the time our Dinner Club survived an escape room by averting nuclear destruction with 12 seconds left? Are we going to do another escape room this year for Nate’s birthday? It was discussed. My guess? We won’t. But if we do, my guess is we won’t survive. We got lucky last time. We should have died.
Lamb Belly (polenta, baby carrots, preserved lemon, mint, mustard greens) Our second main was was the lamb belly. Again, it was cooked to perfection and went really well with a forkful of polenta. It was around this time that the whole “Let’s Pretty Woman Journeyman!” conversation took place. Also, the people on the opposite side of the table apparently had a great view of the apartment above Journeyman and were relaying all that was happening there. Those of us on my side of the table must have felt as if we were SUPER boring because everyone was zoning out looking across the street instead of conversing with us.
Mary’s Chicken (celery root puree, brussels sprouts, sage chicken jus) Finally, Mary’s Chicken. It was not delivered by Mary. Nevertheless, we ordered two servings for the table, which meant I ate a lot of Mary’s chicken. It was tender and juicy and went great with the puree. At some point we ordered a second bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc so that paired well with the chicken. I don’t remember a dinner club before where I didn’t insist on at least one red wine, but I have to say I didn’t miss it with anything we ordered tonight. The white and the rosè went well with all the menu items we opted for. Before dinner arrived Maryn, Amanda, and I switched over to Tawny Port.Â
Buttermilk Crepe (creme fraiche, lemon curd, fresh lavender) It took a second for me to remember what this was one the menu because we just called it the Lemon-y Thing, and no one at the table liked it. If I had one point of contention in an otherwise stellar meal, it was this thing. That didn’t stop me from eating a couple extra slices of it (there were seven of us, so we cut it like a pie) but that doesn’t mean I loved it!
Chocolate Pot de Creme (salted caramel, fleur de sel)Â Maryn had such a hard-on for the pot de creme that I couldn’t even take a good photo of it before she reached out to jam her spoon in it. To be fair, it was quite good, especially if you got some of the salt in your bite. Around this time we were also doing our “Cheers And Thanks” portion of the meal. That’s when we go around the table cheers-ing and talking about what we’re thankful for. It’s the Dinner Club moment that usually draws the most confused looks from all the diners at tables near us.
Seasonal Fruit Crostata (mascarpone, fresh lavender)Â My favorite of the desserts was the crostata, probably because it tasted — as Maryn put it — pretty much like butter. Our night ended with a discussion of where we go from here, because Amanda is about to move to Las Vegas (she got engaged!) and yet she’s next up to choose a Dinner Club location. She swears that she’ll be here in March to pick a destination even though she’s moving at the end of February. How will Dinner Club change in the coming months? Stay tuned. [insert fingers crossed emoji here]
The Bats – Steeley Gaze [MP3]
