NY Bite Club

Been a member for a while now and its really amazing how each event gets better and better. Its clear when you first arrive to their location that its going to be a fun night with a ton of surprises. I have been to some events where they let you know the menu ahead of time and some where it was a surprise, it always changes, or at least that was what my experience was. For me, I prefer the surprise element. Just adds to that sense of adventure that the underground food club embodies.
Not sure it makes sense to describe everything we ate since they change the tastings each time, so trust me when I say this is truly an adventure. Everything is fantastic, presented beautifully, and there is definitely a story the chefs want to tell and they tell it like a seasoned raconteur.
One of my favorite parts about the experience is that unless you are coming with a large group, you are basically playing a game of dinner companion roulette. Of course if you don’t want to chit chat, you don’t have to. But you can sit with first timers, the owners childhood friends, seasoned foodies, French tourists, random word of mouth folks etc. Last time I was there I even sat next to an anonymous celebrity who brought a group of friends. Definitely not who I expected to sit next to, but certainly a funny story to say I had dinner and drinks with. No matter who it was though, they were not touching my pork belly!
Definitely take advantage of the wine discount and suggestions at the local wine shop, they get the menu ahead of time so they can assist with pairings.
All in all, it’s a really fun night and I highly recommend it for everyone from novices to chefs and everyone in between. We’ll be going again real soon!

I loved the entire experience and the food! Got directions to the dinner location 3 days prior to the event. It was BYOB (we brought tequila because we knew there would be margarita mixes available). My gf and I were put at a table next to 6 other diners (2 couples and 2 friends) and then the meal started.
Crispy Nachos with Bean dip… delicious
Stuffed Pablono pepper… hot and delicious
Fried mushroom (I forgot what it was called)…delicious
Tamale…melt in your mouth delicious
Goat soft taco… eat the rest of my gf’s portion delicious
Chocolate desert… spicy and delicious
So, in general the meal was… outstanding (i said delicious too many times already)! I will also say that the other people at the table were hilarious and knew so much about restaurants/​food and were a pleasure to eat with.
I can’t wait till their next event.

New Year’s started off with a bang. or so I had hoped. For those of you who have been living under a rock, ‘Underground’ Supper Clubs are all the rave right now, due to the element of surprise in both location and menu. I proactively created a menu for you guys so you could see what I had. Having eaten at over 1000 restaurants, I’ve had my fair share of Popup Dinners/​Supper Clubs. Prior to this, I had only two positive experiences w/​Undergrounds (no, not my own. Instead, they were the Color Palette Dinner @ Monkeytown in March 2009 and the Last Supper w/​Chef Akiyama (from LAN) @ B Flat in June 2010. Usually Undergrounds bite off more than they can chew and the food comes out cold (a la cruise dining food). Here, things were different. Then again, I expected great things, especially after their long haitus. Portion sizes were adequate, for a change. Contrary to popular belief, I thought the dessert (pic below) was actually very creative. Then again, I love anything that gives me a mule kick when I bite into it. Albeit the lack of a TV, I will find it in my heart to forgive them for missing my Snooki moment.
All in all, it exceeded my expectations from a food standpoint, but not in creativity or price. Here’s the skinny…
Had:
–Mushroom Napoleon — 2 alternating layers of phyllo crisps and baked shrooms, light and healthy start, shroom aroma was strong, in a good way
–Sweet potato marscarpone (2) w/​pecans — in their raw state, at first I thought these were empanadas, definitely sweet and creamy, lots of flavor, fresh, didn’t need sauce to bail it out, nice crunch w/​the pecans, which made this dish SING!
–Monkfish polenta — looked like a huge mcnugget on top, monkfish was super delicate, usually it’s quite meaty, polenta tasted more like oats than corn, fooled me there, great textural balance
–Lamb Chops w/​prosciutto split pea purée — double chops so ‘rack’ of lamb, perfectly medium/​rare, nice char outside, pea purée could have passed for orange colored mash, with subtle pea notes, didn’t taste any porkiness
–Cheese Platter (Goat/​Gouda/​Manchego/​Blue w/​membrillo sauce) — manchego was definitely on the young side, solid all around and nice touch w/​the membrillo
–Flourless cayenne chocolate cake w/​candied scotch bonnet pepper — candied so much i almost broke a tooth (i kid), one bite was all you need to have you racing for the buttermilk shot, choco cake was decadent but would prefer it oozing
–Buttermilk shake shot — milk is always a good way to counter spiciness, more foam than shake though
Total came out to $ 100/​pp after everything
THE GOOD:
(+) Food was served hot
(+) Commercial grade appliances (VitaMix, Subzero, Wolf)
(+) Coat check was organized
(+) Fortessa gourmet utensils/​flatware
THE BAD:
(-) Huge lag between lamb and cheese dishes
(-) Cop out on the 7^th course being the buttermilk shot
(-) No TV on NYE?
(-) No champagne toast — BYOB bitches!
(-) Slacking on the water refills
LEARNED:
(+) Membrillo paste = Portugese Quince paste
THE VERDICT:
Out of respect for the NYBC, I will not disclose the Secret Location. If you want to sign up, feel free to do so. They have another dinner coming up in mid January, with a Mexican theme to it. Well worth the trek to the Brooklyn brownstone.
Menu:
Pics are up on my i8 NYC FB page…

The dude that runs Bite Club used to peruse Unilocal pretending to be your average foodie that was interested in underground restauranting. Though now he’s come clean Dan used to be the Batman of the restaurant world, keeping his operations tucked into the folds of society and his identity tucked even deeper into the folds of his apron.
There is something very cool about the idea of Bite Club alone. At dinner I made a joke about feeling like I’m in the know just for being there, but in retrospect I really do kind of feel that way even now. The spot is disclosed to only those heading in for dinner and is not fixed for long term. Meals are based around what’s in season and whims. The décor inside is minimalistic but attractive, white cloths lining the tables, white porcelain dishware in modernist shapes. The seating is pseudo-​communal. My comrade and I sat at a table with four others, all late-​20s to early-​30s professionals, but other patrons probably spanned from early college-​aged through grandparent-​aged.
The amuse was appropriately sized, a sort of flan served out of an egg shell, topped with a whipped cream and caviar. The second course was a foie gras terrine, which I personally did not find appealing as I do not like fois gras or anything terrine but everyone else quickly finished up. (There were vanilla pears on the side that I did find very appealing, however.)
For the next four courses I was in food ecstasy. Beet ravioli (for reference, this was my favorite and I actually don’t like beets) complimented with pecorino, topped with a small serving of microgreens. We had a cod served with rosemary grits and a blood orange sauce. The cod offered a strong buttery taste that melded in with the mixture of flavors. This is the kind of creativity I like to see in a dish. There is no way that I would ever sit in my kitchen throwing a meal together and think cod, butter, rosemary, blood orange… grits, endive…
The next course was pork and beans, substantial cuts of pork belly, warm with a smokey sweetness next to a purée of beans and a drizzle of fruit (pomegranate? I don’t remember) reduction lining a side of the plate.
At this point my comrade squealed (in a totally manly way) «CHEESE!» as the four cuts came out. The cheese was placed from mild to strong and all four were terrific. The wine pairing of this course is particularly notable because it is very easy to lose the flavor of either the wine or the cheese with a pairing. This was just right… a little bite with the wine, smooth as not to overpower the cheese. On my way out I had to ask who does the pairings.
The actual dessert had an orange blossom something or other that was a little too perfumey for me. So thought the dessert wasn’t all too exciting to me I was really into the meringue on top of whatever the actual dessert was and like a 5-​year-​old requested a small bowl of that to share with a friend I made over the course of dinner. And bonus points, no eye-​roll from Dan when I was requested it.
All in all, I’m a big fan of Bite Club. The company was terrific (he who I brought with me, as well as those I met), the courses were thoughtful, creative and a little daring. Big thanks to Dan, Alicia and Liz who also make the dinner feel very personal. I will definitely be back and am looking forward to following the progression of the business.

5 courses. 6 specialty cocktails with refills.
We started off with an anise champagne cocktail. Our table seated seven; myself, my Husband, Elizabeth, Justin, Ruby, Dean and Roberta. Joaquin was generous with another pour and the decibel of chat rose another level. First course was marrow with parsley shallot salad, sweet garlic jam on toast points. This was accompanied by an applejack sidecar of yellow chartreuse and fresh lemon juice.
Second course was cornmeal crusted quail with buttermilk waffles and rosemary maple syrup. I’m a huge fan of dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner and this menu choice was a big hit and accompanied by a rum, coffee, heavy cream and molasses cocktail.
Third course was a poached duck egg, crisped shitakes and mushroom jus. Simple and deeply flavorful, accompanied by Yunan province Puerh tea with Rittenhouse rye, Keo St John Commandria, Fee Bro’s Whisky barrel aged bitters. The tea was a bit heavy handed in concert with the whimsical egg au jus. This didn’t stop us from having another round.
Fourth course was a 5 spice caramelized pork belly with cranberry bean purée and pomegranate reduction accompanied by bourbon apple cider dusted with a 5 spice rim, an aromatic that added to the flavor experience of the drink when sipped. The pork was crusty and crunchy on the outside and sweat succulent within. Stellar.
Fifth course was dessert, a Tres Leches cake with rosewater and candied rose meringue accompanied by Aviation gin, Scarlet Glow tea, St. Germain, fresh lemon and egg white. The froth made it light and festive, bright and sparkly to the palate, a grown up dulce de leche gin fiz better appreciated before the dessert but a bit much on the sweet side together with the very cinnamon cake.
Ruby and I were topped out by the end of the courses. Dean and my Husband were still looking for something more to nosh at the end of the meal. Do know that it is a tasting menu at Bite Club, well orchestrated to tantalize the palate but not to stuff one Thanksgiving style.
Food was an experience and we all left sh*tfaced. Dan and Alicia, the chefs and Joaquin, the master bartender for the evening seem passionate about food and beverages and committed to bringing something fresh to the NYC food scene.

It’s about time! For quite awhile now I’ve been dying to go to NY Bite Club, and with one of my foodie friends visiting from the Left Coast it felt like my time had come. For those of you not in the know, Bite Club, is an underground dining club and they are taking this sorta dining experience to another level. Now for the goods…
First off, we were given 4 different types of bread to begin with, if I only took notes I could recall what each was, but they were all delicious and went well with a choice of Pâté, Fresh Butter, and Truffled Cream Cheese. For our amuse, we were served a Butternut Squash Soup with a little Peanut Butter and Foie Gras Cookie. The soup was excellent and the little cookie treat was interesting, a little taste of foie mixed well with some PB. The appetizer came next, and here we were served the Purple Cauliflower and Caviar. The cauliflower was done as a panna cotta and was creamy, yet held the earthy flavor of the cauliflower. I enjoyed this, cauliflower isn’t my fave, but still the wine paired nicely and was a nice start to the meal. The next dish, a Venison Carpaccio, was truly outstanding. It was served with a touch of sriracha, cheddar and pistachios. Not that I’m a carpaccio aficionado, but this had to be some of the best I’ve had. The chef said he specifically loves to work with venison for his carpaccio and I can see why. Again the wine was paired well and we were on our way. For our third dish, Bite Clubbers were treated to their Beet Ravioli. This was also excellent. The Red Beets were really tasty and sweet and the pasta was served in a Brown Butter with Parmegianno and Microgreens. Here the red wine that was paired with this dish was really superb, as well. Next up was their take on «Surf & Turf», this was 5 spice caramelized pork belly (yummy) with sichiuan razor clams and burnt onions. If you’re mouth isn’t watering then stop reading and go to straight to Jail. Seriously though, I loved the pork belly and could have eaten a whole chunk of this. And to pair this with sichuan style razor clams illustrates the depth of flavor with which Bite Club can satiate your appetite with. Once again the red wine pairing was off the hook. I’m not really a wino but these last two reds, with the ravioli and Pork Belly were just awesome. For our final savory course, they did a very cool sweet and savory mix. It was a poached pear, topped with Foie Gras, served with star anise caramel, ginger snap and cacao nibs. The pear was magnificent, foie, well foie is foie, not much else to say and the other flavors were rather subtle. Overall this was an excellent transition to dessert. And for dessert we were served a trio, a chocolate cayenne tart, a pudding choumeur, and a little cup of hot ginger. Of these, I felt the pudding choumeur and the hot ginger, were my favorites. The pudding was like a mini bread pudding of sorts and the hot ginger was almost like a little taste of hot chai. Nonetheless it was a fabulous end to a really lovely meal.