Supper clubs are having a moment. Here’s the dish behind the latest food trend in South Florida
There’s a season of good change happening all over South Florida, and we can see it in the dining scene, too. Up next: supper clubs! From exciting underground pop-up dinners in unexpected locations, to transformative dining experiences that help the environment, these six supper clubs promise to be your new favorite way to go out to eat in South Florida.
Saffron Supper Club
When food writer Sara Liss and chef Maude Eaton discovered their shared love of Persian cuisine, they wanted to share it with others, too. Enter: Saffron Supper Club. At these wandering wine-pairing dinners, which take place all over South Florida, Miami’s top chefs make one-of- a-kind meals using traditional Middle Eastern flavors and ingredients. While no two events are exactly the same, they all tend to start with a cocktail hour and move on to a seated meal with at least three courses and wine pairings for each. “Our first dinner was in January 2013 at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens, and the theme was ‘Pomegranate and Roses,’” Liss recalls. “We put rose water on the table, and served a salmon dish with pomegranate molasses and a crème brûlée infused with rose water.” Adding elements of the duo’s shared culture is most important, so Liss stood up between courses and read Persian poetry about pomegranates in both its original Farsi and English. “One couple actually got engaged at that dinner. That was so special for us.” facebook.com/saffronsupperclub.
Cobaya
At Cobaya’s “underground” pop-up dinners, what you see is what you get — and trust us, it’s a good thing. No one knows who the chef is and there is no set menu, no set format and no substitutions. Diners only get in through a lottery system, and to keep it extra exclusive, they don’t even find out the location (which, of the 80+ dinners, has been everywhere from Ghee chef Niven Patel’s Homestead farm to a Bal Harbour Shops breezeway) until 24 hours before. “It’s done blind, and what the chef does is completely up to him or her,” says David Rosendorf, who founded Cobaya with fellow food bloggers Steve Berry and Steven Scharf. “Recently, we did an authentic Filipino ‘kamayan’ feast. We covered the whole table in banana leaves, put a large assortment of food on top of them and everyone ate with their hands.” Fun fact: Having just celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2019, Cobaya is also the longest-running supper club in Miami. Cobayamiami.com.
Lost Kitchen Supper Club
On Stock Island in the Florida Keys, chef Martin Liz offers a different kind of dining experience: a supper club aimed at the laid-back Key West crowd. “We don’t have much exposure to what’s happening on the mainland here, so over time, we notice that restaurants all have the same things on the menu,” Liz says. In 2016, the Key West native and fellow Lost Kitchen Supper Club co-founders, Bobby and Michelle Mongelli, made up for that by renting a dockside event space and art gallery, and launching a series of monthly dining events inspired by their travels.
Popular among visiting foodies and locals alike, events sell out a month in advance and typically include a cocktail hour and a seated dinner. “Getting people to communicate is part of what we’re trying to do to build community,” Liz says. “Sometimes you sit at a table with people you don’t know and leave with new friends.” Changing it up for 2020, Lost Kitchen Supper Club recently launched a calendar of dining events split into three specific themes: casual dining, guest chef dinners and pop-up dinners.
The coolest so far? A pop-up shrimp boil on the sandbar, accessible only by boat. 6810 Front Street, Stock Island; 305-896-2087; lostkitchenkeywest.com.
Craft Collective
As of January 2020, there’s a new supper club in town, and it’s from food influencer Shaina Wizov (@takeabiteoutofboca) and the guys behind Delray Beach’s wildly popular Craft Food Tours, Matt Guidice and Anthony Guzman. Hosting two dinner events twice a month, in restaurants spanning from north Broward County all the way to West Palm Beach, these members-only culinary experiences will be unlike anything the Palm Beaches have ever seen before. Here’s how it works: South Florida foodies can visit the Craft Collective website and pay an annual membership ($149/person), which earns them exclusive access to all Craft Collective dinners and discounts at participating restaurants and partner food and drink vendors. “At the end of the day, people want something unique for their hard-earned money,” says Guidice. “These events won’t be open to the public and members will get to meet the chefs, ask them questions and taste dishes that might not even be on the regular menu. Dinners like these are special, and they make you feel special, too.” sofladinnerclub.com.
OG Supper Club
When foodie and PR pro Lauren Melamed moved to Miami fromNew York, she found a lack of supper clubs that accommodated people from all walks of life. To fill that void, she and her mother, Leslie Wolfson, created one. Since launching in October 2018, they’ve thrown everything from a 200-person ‘passport’ dinner at St. Roch Market and a ‘Year of The Pig’ dinner and karaoke contest at 1-800-Lucky, to a joint pizza-making class, wine-and-cheese tasting and seated Italian feast at La Centrale (now Luna Park). “I believe people just want to be brought together by experiences, and they want to meet people in more natural settings,” says Melamed. “The Miami scene can be intimidating. We try to do unique experiences people might not have at a restaurant, where they can leave with a takeaway — whether that’s being educated about wine or learning how to make their own dumplings — and enjoy deep conversation with someone outside of their own circle.” @laurenmelamed on Instagram.
Sustainable Supper Club
Food waste is a hot topic all over the world, and two Miami socialites and philanthropists, Jennifer Weinberg and Mayela Lanza, are doing something about it. Started in 2018, Sustainable Supper Club is a pop-up dinner series committed to educating Miami’s finest on food waste education and sustainability practices, all while raising money for different environmental causes. “The key for us is to have a good time, learn something new and give back,” says Weinberg.
Last October, the supper club hosted an elegant sit-down dinner with chef de cuisine Benjamin Murray, of Pao by Paul Qui, in the La Cava wine room at Faena Miami Beach. Every dish was made with food scraps that most people would throw away. (Think: fish skin ‘chips’ and bread with ‘beef scrap’ butter.) Later this month, Sustainable Supper Club will make its SOBEWFF® debut at the Prime Private dinner — hosted by renowned chefs Carlo Mirarchi, Brady Williams and Myles Restaurant Group’s own Marcelo Palacios — where they will speak to guests about simple ways we can be more sustainable while dining out. Then, join the fun at Sustainable Supper Club’s first-ever Planta brunch on Saturday, April 25th. sustainablesupper.org.