Invisible L.A.

I am an avid reader of blogs— I have to be, as a blogger– but also, it’s my passion to find out what’s going on. It used to be I would read bullitin boards and the local free newspapers around where I lived or was visiting to find out what was happening, but now I can do it in my P.J.s. and I like that.

So, last week, when I got an update from one of the myriad of food blogs in L.A. (I wish I could remember which one) and they were talking about a new concept in dining that is sweeping the country; underground restaurants, I knew I was in!

There’s a lot of snobbery and dissing of these roving eateries in the food review world, but I was curious and wanted to see what it was all about, to judge for myself. So I called my friend Anne Block, who is a fabulous tourguide in L.A. and beyond, and owner of Take My Mother Please* custom tours (and who by the way, will be one of my regular guest bloggers on this site) and said, “let’s go!”. She was in, too. She’s like that.

I didn’t know where to start looking, but as it turns out, The Ghetto Gourmet, normally based out of San Francisco, was holding an event every night this week in Los Angeles. We signed up right away at the reasonable cost of $42.00 and made our battle plan for the evening.

What is an underground restaurant? It’s a roving dining experience where chefs, waiters and entertainers come together in different people’s homes and offer a prix fixe [the fancy way of saying fixed price] dinner to hungry and adventurous guests. Often the menu is posted on the internet or in a confirmation email (if you are lucky enough to be privy to the super-secret lists I keep hearing about). They operate in a quasi-legal atmosphere and have been compared to speakeasys of the Prohibition Era and the early verison of raves.

 Here’s what I found when googling around:

Bruce Frieseke, head chef at Manzanita [an underground restaurant in Silicon Valley in California], believes the appeal of underground restaurants comes largely from diners’ shifting attitudes toward the entire restaurant scene. “I think this is part of a trend,” he says, “even in traditional restaurants, to make the dining experience more homey.”

This change toward wanting a dining experience to be more comforting and less highly formalized is a welcome one, according to many restaurateurs. Taking a restaurant out of the traditional context and putting it–quite literally–in a homier setting allows people to relax. Providing this type of low-key atmosphere is much easier when running a restaurant out of a basement or a garage, and these illegal dining spots are rapidly gaining cult status.

So…what was it like, I hear you wondering? It was SO MUCH FUN! Anne and I were among the first to arrive, as we wanted to make sure we got comfortable seats. Jeremy Townsend, the host of GG, was there to warmly greet us and, as we would later discover, to memorize the name and occupation of every single guest. (the night we were there, there were over 30 people). We chose a table in the stylish Silver Lake living room and opened our delicious wine.

The food was very good, local Chef Anita Bergman offered up a delicious 4 course meal, well described at our tablemate H.C.’s L.A. food blog here. But to me, the most fun part was the way Jeremy worked the crowd. His warm and engaging energy and personality made the night what it was.

Of course, sitting in a strange house with people you don’t know can be quite awkward, but the way it came down, it was as if we were at a party of good friends and so there was little or no social anxiety. (I am sure the 5 bottles of wine at our table helped!). By the dessert course, we were exchanging email addresses, phone numbers and promising to stay in touch. We all left with a sense that we had participated in something that was out of the ordinary.

The cool thing is, Jeremy not only tracks down local chefs, but also local entertainment wherever he hosts his soirees. The other night, we were regaled with the caffeinated song stylings of Mr. Jose Promis and the quite politically incorrect comedy of Ryan Stout. (I did laugh anyway, I admit). Was he funny? Ummmm, not really, but I am one of those people that figures it’s good to laugh when you can. It feels good.

I like what Jeremy does and I really appreciate where he comes from. He is most excited that he can bring crowds of people together all over the country (and soon the world!) and create a magical evening where everyone is involved and everyone goes home happy. That IS a good mission, Jeremy! Thank you, and I will be back again for sure.

see you on the freeway…

jessica

PS Tonight, Anne has invited me to see a funky slideshow offered up by Charles Phoenix at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. I can’t wait! He is known for his retro-snarky (in a loving way) look at America and Americana in the 50’s and 60’s and I am hoping to scoop and interview for you with him!