When we hear supper club, we think of the underground ones: the speakeasies of the food world, the secret societies of connoisseurs.
Technically though, the supper club’s origins are in the communal tavern dinners that predate the modern restaurant. A century ago there were no menus to speak of: those who didn’t like what was served didn’t eat. The transformation of the evening meal from a social to a culinary affair has been a recent revolution.
When supper clubs experienced a resurgence a decade back, emphasis was stacked on exclusivity. Many clandestine eateries were running illicitly out of their proprietors’ homes: those lucky enough to discover them would wait months to scale to the top of the waitlist, assuming you could get in at all without a private invite.
Beginning this month, Portland’s Southeast Wine Collective focuses on bringing people together rather than keeping them apart as it re-embraces the concept of the original supper club. Not only that, they’re widening the culinary scope of what it means to be a supper club by inviting a new chef each month.
The Collective, named one of Eater National’s 11 Hot New Wine Bars Across America in 2011, has already found the time in 2013 to be named Wine Bar of the Year by Imbibe Magazine. Based on such cachet, they could easily cherry-pick their guest list. Instead they’ve opted to open their new supper club series to the public: no references required.
Lucky for all of us, considering the chefs taking part in the series: Eric Joppie and Randy Goodman (Bar Avignon), Vitaly Paley & company (Paley’s Place, Imperial, Portland Penny Diner) and Patrick Fleming (Boke Bowl) — in the first three months alone. While such PDX all-stars make the bar’s kitchen their stomping grounds for a night, courses are paired on the fly with the Collective’s own wines, and guests are along for a joyride. As in olden days, you won’t choose your own entrées, but when menu-fixe meets a lineup like this you certainly won’t be going home hungry.
Tickets: (503) 208-2061 or SE Wine Collective website. Full- and partial-season memberships available.
2013 SE Wine Collective Supper Club Schedule
January – Eric Joppie, Randy Goodman (Bar Avignon)
February – Vitaly Paley, Ben Bettinger, Patrick McKee, Brandon Wise (Paley’s Place/Imperial/Portland Penny Dinner)
March – Patrick Fleming (Boke Bowl)
April – Steve Jones (Cheese Bar)
May – Eric Van Kley (Little Bird Bistro)
June – Cathy Whims (Nostrana)
July – Trent Pierce (Roe)
August – Aaron Barnett (St. Jack)
August – Benjamin Gonzales (Nuestra Cocina)
October – Katy Millard (Coquine)
