#SecretSupper: Walking down Meade Street in North Point Breeze on Thursday night was entertaining to say the least. Ladies and gents decked out in cocktail attire seemed out of place as they tried to find the entrance to their secret supper. Dinner Lab Pittsburgh, a members-only club, emails the location to its parties 24 hours before the event, adding to the buzz around the night. “We used to do this in Atlanta, Ga., all the time. When we heard it was coming to Pittsburgh, we joined immediately,” said Mark Pregmon. Added friend Mark Twerdok, “The mystique of not knowing where we were eating really intrigued us.”
Dinner Lab, which began in San Francisco, is a pop-up dinner club with annual subscriptions that introduces its members to new chefs from around the country and different types of cuisine while exploring unique venues.
#BeMine: This month, The Mine Factory was chosen to showcase up-and-coming artists in a unique studio space that many Pittsburghers aren’t aware exists. “The best way to get engaged in the art scene is to meet artists,” said artist Mia Tarducci Henry, who rents studio space to new artists in the The Mine Factory. “Sharon Needles [Pittsburgh’s famous drag queen] has even filmed a music video here,” she added.
#DinnerLabPGH: As guests like Bruce Schramm and Kathryn Rector perused the space admiring work by artists April Friges, Stephanie Armbruster, Laurie Trok and Sarika Goulatia, chef Justin Thompson of Nashville, Tenn., was hard at work with his team preparing Southern-style treats. “This dinner is an homage to my mother who loved working the garden and treating us to her ‘rainy day cobbler,’ which I have recreated tonight.” The menu included scallop crudo with anise compressed watermelon, 24-hour pork belly with farro and field peas, melon gazpacho with crab salad, rainbow trout and pickled shallots, and of course, rainy day peach cobbler. “For foodies who love the element of surprise, this is a real treat,” said Al Hilty, with wife Amy.
To join Dinner Lab Pittsburgh visit: https://dinnerlab.com/. Bon appetit!
First Published: August 3, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
