Dining Clubs and Underground Restaurants

[Curlz]

Do any of you know of any dining groups or "underground" restaurants in northern NJ? I realize these are two different questions, but the (WARNING--this is pretty phenomenal) Studio Kitchen thread in the Philadelphia forum got me thinking...in restaurant-heavy northern NJ, is it really possible that none of these exist?!? I can only find info about stuff in NYC (including one eG member's idea about starting an underground place), but that's about it. Some of the groups I did find in NYC appear to be dormant, while others charge a bit too much for what they're doing, imo.

I'm familiar with groups such as the Chaine des Rotisseurs (my dad's been a member for 40+ years) and Les Marmitons, but I'm trying to find something a little more casual. It can be connected to a natl/intl organization or not, as long as it’s in NJ. If it's a group that does some actual cooking (i.e. Les Marmitons) even on occasion, that's a great bonus, but certainly not a requirement.

Knowing full well that some of them might be private or by invitation only, or that an “underground” place might not want to be ‘outed’ here on eG, feel free to PM me if you're not comfortable posting about them publicly. Thanks!

[pete ganz]

Do any of you know of any dining groups or "underground" restaurants in northern NJ?  I realize these are two different questions, but the (WARNING--this is pretty phenomenal) Studio Kitchen thread in the Philadelphia forum got me thinking...in restaurant-heavy northern NJ, is it really possible that none of these exist?!?  I can only find info about stuff in NYC (including one eG member's idea about starting an underground place), but that's about it.  Some of the groups I did find in NYC appear to be dormant, while others charge a bit too much for what they're doing, imo. 

I'm familiar with groups such as the Chaine des Rotisseurs (my dad's been a member for 40+ years) and Les Marmitons, but I'm trying to find something a little more casual.  It can be connected to a natl/intl organization or not, as long as it’s in NJ.  If it's a group that does some actual cooking (i.e. Les Marmitons) even on occasion, that's a great bonus, but certainly not a requirement.

Knowing full well that some of them might be private or by invitation only, or that an “underground” place might not want to be ‘outed’ here on eG, feel free to PM me if you're not comfortable posting about them publicly.  Thanks!

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Not sure how underground they are, but 15 Fox Place in JC might qualify. There is a thread around here somewhere. It's a lot of fun, but they don't seem to change the menu very often.

Edit: Here is a small thread.

Edited December 13, 2005 by pete ganz (log)

[Rosie]

When we were in Portland OR we dined at a restaurant called Family Supper that had started out as an underground dining restaurant. You could only get a reservation by invitation. But you asked about "dining groups" also and if you find any I certainly would be interested.

[Anonymouze]

Maybe we should start a "north jersey" egullet epicurian expo...

Featuring once a month "pick a restaurant" by vote/choice? So we can achieve several things (besides gaining a bit of weight -lol-)

a) get more familiar with new(er) places

b) meet each other in an informal setting

c) maybe add something new to our normal "choices" (like one week greek food, one week turkish, one week middle eastern/israeli/arabic, one week indian) etc...

d) get some time out away from our work/desks and less fun things to do!

I'm all for it especially if we can find places that would offer a prix fixe menu or something "special" for us.

[KatieLoeb]

Maybe we should start a "north jersey" egullet epicurian expo...

Featuring once a month "pick a restaurant" by vote/choice?  So we can achieve several things (besides gaining a bit of weight -lol-)

a) get more familiar with new(er) places

b) meet each other in an informal setting

c) maybe add something new to our normal "choices" (like one week greek food, one week turkish, one week middle eastern/israeli/arabic, one week indian) etc...

d) get some time out away from our work/desks and less fun things to do!

I'm all for it especially if we can find places that would offer a prix fixe menu or something "special" for us.

←

We already do this in Philly. You can check out the Dangerous Dining Club Yahoo Group for our past exploits.

We're having an authentic Navidad Puertoriqueno next on Dec. 20 and 21. The restaurant was too small to accomodate us all on one night so I'm playing hostess twice!

This really is not so difficult to do. Someone has to volunteer to contact the restaurant and plan a menu. We try to keep our cost at $25/person. If it's a more upscale restaurant then we price it accordingly. The price must be with tax and gratuity included. That way whomever is hosting can collect all the monies at the beginning of the evening, pay the restaurant and then be a guest themselves. No haggling, penny counting, tip figuring or any such nonsense at the end of the evening. We also try to go to BYO restaurants whenever possible. If the restaurant has a liquor license then it's a cash bar, so none of the teetotalers have to subsidize the drinkers. Very egalitarian and seems to work well.

[tommy]

Maybe we should start a "north jersey" egullet epicurian expo...

Featuring once a month "pick a restaurant" by vote/choice?  So we can achieve several things (besides gaining a bit of weight -lol-)

a) get more familiar with new(er) places

b) meet each other in an informal setting

c) maybe add something new to our normal "choices" (like one week greek food, one week turkish, one week middle eastern/israeli/arabic, one week indian) etc...

d) get some time out away from our work/desks and less fun things to do!

I'm all for it especially if we can find places that would offer a prix fixe menu or something "special" for us.

←

We already do this in Philly. You can check out the Dangerous Dining Club Yahoo Group for our past exploits.

We're having an authentic Navidad Puertoriqueno next on Dec. 20 and 21. The restaurant was too small to accomodate us all on one night so I'm playing hostess twice!

This really is not so difficult to do. Someone has to volunteer to contact the restaurant and plan a menu. We try to keep our cost at $25/person. If it's a more upscale restaurant then we price it accordingly. The price must bewith tax and gratuity included. That way whomever is hosting can collect all the monies at the beginning of the evening, pay the restaurant and then be a guest themselves. No haggling, penny counting, tip figuring or any such nonsense at the end of the evening. We also try to go to BYO restaurants whenever possible. If the restaurant has a liquor license then it's a cash bar, so none of the teetotalers have to subsidize the drinkers. Very egalitarian and seems to work well.

←

i'd imagine this would have to be done off-site or via PM, given the restrictions of egullet concerning events planning.

[KatieLoeb]

Maybe we should start a "north jersey" egullet epicurian expo...

Featuring once a month "pick a restaurant" by vote/choice?  So we can achieve several things (besides gaining a bit of weight -lol-)

a) get more familiar with new(er) places

b) meet each other in an informal setting

c) maybe add something new to our normal "choices" (like one week greek food, one week turkish, one week middle eastern/israeli/arabic, one week indian) etc...

d) get some time out away from our work/desks and less fun things to do!

I'm all for it especially if we can find places that would offer a prix fixe menu or something "special" for us.

←

We already do this in Philly. You can check out the Dangerous Dining Club Yahoo Group for our past exploits.

We're having an authentic Navidad Puertoriqueno next on Dec. 20 and 21. The restaurant was too small to accomodate us all on one night so I'm playing hostess twice!

This really is not so difficult to do. Someone has to volunteer to contact the restaurant and plan a menu. We try to keep our cost at $25/person. If it's a more upscale restaurant then we price it accordingly. The price must bewith tax and gratuity included. That way whomever is hosting can collect all the monies at the beginning of the evening, pay the restaurant and then be a guest themselves. No haggling, penny counting, tip figuring or any such nonsense at the end of the evening. We also try to go to BYO restaurants whenever possible. If the restaurant has a liquor license then it's a cash bar, so none of the teetotalers have to subsidize the drinkers. Very egalitarian and seems to work well.

←

i'd imagine this would have to be done off-site or via PM, given the restrictions of egullet concerning events planning.

←

We do it primarily offsite and through regular e-mail. Master Mailing list (in Excel spreadsheet format) is updated after each dinner and forwarded to whomever is playing host that month. Invitations are sent via e-mail. Annoucement is posted in the Yahoo Group.

[pete ganz]

Maybe we should start a "north jersey" egullet epicurian expo...

Featuring once a month "pick a restaurant" by vote/choice?  So we can achieve several things (besides gaining a bit of weight -lol-)

a) get more familiar with new(er) places

b) meet each other in an informal setting

c) maybe add something new to our normal "choices" (like one week greek food, one week turkish, one week middle eastern/israeli/arabic, one week indian) etc...

d) get some time out away from our work/desks and less fun things to do!

I'm all for it especially if we can find places that would offer a prix fixe menu or something "special" for us.

←

We already do this in Philly. You can check out the Dangerous Dining Club Yahoo Group for our past exploits.

We're having an authentic Navidad Puertoriqueno next on Dec. 20 and 21. The restaurant was too small to accomodate us all on one night so I'm playing hostess twice!

This really is not so difficult to do. Someone has to volunteer to contact the restaurant and plan a menu. We try to keep our cost at $25/person. If it's a more upscale restaurant then we price it accordingly. The price must bewith tax and gratuity included. That way whomever is hosting can collect all the monies at the beginning of the evening, pay the restaurant and then be a guest themselves. No haggling, penny counting, tip figuring or any such nonsense at the end of the evening. We also try to go to BYO restaurants whenever possible. If the restaurant has a liquor license then it's a cash bar, so none of the teetotalers have to subsidize the drinkers. Very egalitarian and seems to work well.

←

i'd imagine this would have to be done off-site or via PM, given the restrictions of egullet concerning events planning.

←

Although somehow the PA Pizza Club manages to pull this off. Maybe it should be based on that model...

[tommy]

Maybe we should start a "north jersey" egullet epicurian expo...

Featuring once a month "pick a restaurant" by vote/choice?  So we can achieve several things (besides gaining a bit of weight -lol-)

a) get more familiar with new(er) places

b) meet each other in an informal setting

c) maybe add something new to our normal "choices" (like one week greek food, one week turkish, one week middle eastern/israeli/arabic, one week indian) etc...

d) get some time out away from our work/desks and less fun things to do!

I'm all for it especially if we can find places that would offer a prix fixe menu or something "special" for us.

←

We already do this in Philly. You can check out the Dangerous Dining Club Yahoo Group for our past exploits.

We're having an authentic Navidad Puertoriqueno next on Dec. 20 and 21. The restaurant was too small to accomodate us all on one night so I'm playing hostess twice!

This really is not so difficult to do. Someone has to volunteer to contact the restaurant and plan a menu. We try to keep our cost at $25/person. If it's a more upscale restaurant then we price it accordingly. The price must bewith tax and gratuity included. That way whomever is hosting can collect all the monies at the beginning of the evening, pay the restaurant and then be a guest themselves. No haggling, penny counting, tip figuring or any such nonsense at the end of the evening. We also try to go to BYO restaurants whenever possible. If the restaurant has a liquor license then it's a cash bar, so none of the teetotalers have to subsidize the drinkers. Very egalitarian and seems to work well.

←

i'd imagine this would have to be done off-site or via PM, given the restrictions of egullet concerning events planning.

←

Although somehow the PA Pizza Club manages to pull this off. Maybe it should be based on that model...

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just making sure Anonymouze understands how that model might not work here, as, perhaps, was suggested.

[pete ganz]

Although somehow the PA Pizza Club manages to pull this off. Maybe it should be based on that model...

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just making sure Anonymouze understands how that model might not work here, as, perhaps, was suggested.

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Well that's my question. How does that model work? As far as I know, it's not "officially sanctioned", yet planning can take place on the thread. If it is official, then nevermind.

[Curlz]

Giving this a weekend bump...is it really possible that nothing exists up here? Yeesh! Am I going to have to start my own? Sigh...

[Anonymouze]

Giving this a weekend bump...is it really possible that nothing exists up here?  Yeesh!  Am I going to have to start my own?  Sigh...

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Maybe you and I should start a northern nj "e-gullet" eats club! Get together every 4-5 weeks... and all that yadda-yadda-blahblahblah?! For us folks who live close to Paramus/Hackensack/Ridgewood/Westwood/Closter area.

[M.X.Hassett]

Don't forget the Teaneck crowd

[rooftop1000]

Giving this a weekend bump...is it really possible that nothing exists up here?  Yeesh!  Am I going to have to start my own?  Sigh...

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I thought we already had this under control...

working on something for March maybe

tracey

[Cook456]

Giving this a weekend bump...is it really possible that nothing exists up here?  Yeesh!  Am I going to have to start my own?  Sigh...

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I thought we already had this under control...

working on something for March maybe

tracey

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Why wait for March?? The winter is cold and dreary...a good dinner with new friends is warm and cozy!

[Rosie]

If anyone is interested in having their name on a private "Dining Club" list please send your name and e-mail address to Curlz.