Supper Club by Kitchen Surfing

When food is your passion, New York City is undoubtedly one of the best places to be. From wine tastings to cooking classes, I feel like I’ve experienced a lot of food-related joy in this city; a new one to add to the list was a food blogger supper club I attended hosted by Kitchen Surfing. Featuring Chef Michael Patlazhan, an FCI veteran and former chef of NYC hotspots like The Dutch and Park Avenue Winter, this supper club was intimate and interesting. Food bloggers and food industry types only (falling into that category was exciting enough for me), this supper club fed eight people with five courses. No complaints by THIS food blogger so far.

blue crab roll, avocado, yuzu, soy, quinoa "brittle" — blue crab roll, avocado, yuzu, soy, quinoa “brittle”

Baby beets, radish, apple, sorrel, cocoa, wild rice, mustard yogurt.

If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be a guest judge on Top Chef, then you should attend a supper club or two. Before each BEAUTIFULLY presented dish was eaten, Chef Patlazhan would explain the ingredients in each dish, how he cooked it, and then we would wait patiently and say things like “thank you, chef”. Now I know firsthand that Padma Lakshmi has the best job in the world.

Kitchen Surfing hosts these dinners for people as a paid service normally (it’s really cool – read more about it here), but decided to do a special dinner this one time for some food writers. The food was amazing, the meal was well timed (and well paired with wine), and the company was great. Meet some good people, eat some good food…these are a few of my favorite things.

Sous vide duck breast, wild mushrooms, cherries, piquillo pepper "tape", horseradish — Sous vide duck breast, wild mushrooms, cherries, piquillo pepper “tape”, horseradish

Mushroom barley "cake". Like a savory, delicious rice krispy treat. — Mushroom barley “cake”. Like a savory, delicious rice krispy treat.

Chef Patlazhan likes to play around with molecular gastronomy, and this was the first time I have ever seen something MADE using such techniques in person. One of the courses had this horseradish ice…thing. I’m sure it had a real name, but that’s what it basically turned into. Chef Patlazhan poured liquid nitrogen into a small bucket and then added horseradish cream to it, stirred it around gingerly for a few, and then it came out looking like a horseradish rock. Ice cold, and broke off in chunks. Awesome. Please see video below. And ignore my commentary about how my feet were cold…

Liquid Nitrogen – Broadband

Some things I tried that I really liked (and never thought I would): mushroom “tape”, red pepper “tape”, mushroom barley “cake”, and quinoa “brittle”. I use quotations because these things are all molecular gastronomy inspired. The only way I can describe the “tape” is to equate it to Fruit by the Foot. If you were raised in the 80’s/90’s, you know what I’m talking about.

Mushroom textures, hazelnuts, garlic chive, brown butter. Amazing.

After finishing this artful and exquisite meal, I can say with some confidence that Chef Michael Patlazhan’s food is Top Chef worthy. A few of us were discussing his food and presentation on our walk to respective trains, and we all agreed that he has the potential to reach celebrity chef status. Hope he does, because then I get to be a TRUE Williamsburg hipster and say something cool and flippant like “oh yea I met him before. It was a supper club near Park Slope. Before he got really big, ya know? Yea. It was awesome.”

Can’t wait!