December 22, 2006
I've been fighting a cold/flu all week, so it's been a toughie.
Yesterday was my 30th birthday, so I drugged up with some Dayquil so that I could whoop it up in style. To celebrate, a bunch of folks took me to one of the most interesting dining experiences ever at
Supperclub in SOMA. There are a few of these establishments spanning the globe (Rome, Istanbul), but the original concept was birthed in Amsterdam 15 years ago, where they established a philsophy of presenting an artistic and free-thinking culinary experience, and a motto of "anything can happen here". They aren't joking.
Who was there with me to celebrate: Will, Wendy, Abe, Ashley, Katharine, Frodo, Amanda, Pete, Natasha, Trent & Shelly.
There's only one sitting for dinner each night, starting at 7:30 pm. You walk in, check in with the luscious hostess, and grab a drink at the bar. Around 8 pm, they open the doors to the main dining area, and you walk into a white dining room, with an exhibition kitchen in the center and beds surrounding the room. That's right, your "table" is a bed. You take off your shoes and climb into bed, where there are small silver stands to place your drink and little containers of spiced popcorn to snack on.
The meal is a $60 prix fixe 5-course menu that the chef presents that evening, so it changes all the time. There are no print menus to order from, and they specifically ask for dietary restrictions from the get-go. This meal was quite the languishing experience, as it took about 4 hours for all 5 courses to be served, which may seem long, but the time just whizzed by.
Course # 1: Diver scallops lightly seared with mesclun greens
The scallops were cooked perfectly, very tender and tasty. Nothing innovative, but really good.
Course #2: Wild mushroom gratin with pecorino cheese
This was delish! The wild mushrooms were amazing and the pecorino cheese was flavorful and complimented the mushrooms well.
Course #3: Lemongrass and coconut soup with shrimp
This soup was very tasty, although the onions were too strong for the soup. I love lemongrass soup.
Course #4: Beef tenderloin with braised greens, carrots, rutabaga and grapes
Hello yummy dish! The steak was terribly good, but the winners on this plate were the braised vegetables. Can you believe that I would say that the veggies are better than the steak?
Course #5: Pecan tartlet with orange cream fraiche
The pecan tartlet was a nice tasty ending to the very long meal, with the exception of the orange creme fraiche, which was a little too tart for the pecan tartlet.
And now, prepare yourselves for an onslaught of pictures:
Some of the evening's entertainment...
Some of the ladies got "spray-painted" with funky designs by an artist using a little arty spray gun with black or white body paint:
Out of nowhere, the transvestite hostess approached our table with a wooden stick (called the "bitch stick") and proceeded to paddle me 3 times for my birthday. I'm not going to lie to you, she wasn't kind. Good thing my tookus has some good padding!
This girl had mad skills and muscles. She did her entire acrobatic/trapeze routine blindfolded!
Downsides to Supperclub on our first visit:
- the first bartender at the front bar when we came in was incredibly rude and snotty
- it is a long time to dine if you're not prepared for it and you might get bored if you don't have 11 good friends with you.
- at the end of the night, the bill can be a shocker. Be prepared to spend some $$ with a $60 prix fixe dinner and cocktails that cost an average of $9 each. They have decent bottles of wine, as cheap as $26, so that may be a better route for the drinkers out there.
In general, this place was fun with a big group of friends as there was plenty of time to change seats and chat, watch some entertainment, people-watch, eat, drink and be merry. The servers were good and not obtrusive. I had read some sub-par reviews that criticized the concept, servers, food, everything, but I did not agree for our visit.
At the end of the night for me, I had pretty much lost my voice and I was completely satisfied with my experience. I had good friends who shared some fun drinks, good food, and weird visual presentations. I got to see life through some wacky 3-D like glasses. I got spray-painted with funky designs. I got paddled by a transvestite hostess. All in all, you can't beat that for a birthday celebration.
Thanks to all my fantastic buds for such a fun night! And to everyone else who couldn't make it as well! I love you guys!
