news-record.com

The hottest new thing in big cities is “pop up restaurants.” These venues take advantage of social media to open, often in conjunction with a concert, then close, popping up somewhere else later.

The Next Supper Underground Dining Collective is similar but less secret.

Register on the website, and when a dinner is scheduled, you receive an email. Reservations are closed as soon as the maximum number has been received, a quantity pre-arranged with the host, in a private home. At the dinners, a glass jar is provided for contributions to pay for food and support the initiative.

The Next Supper grew out of conversations among area restaurant professionals who just wanted to do something different. John Jones, currently of Bin 33, well-known to Triad diners, and Kerrie Thomas, a wine representative, are the key movers. You may recognize other personnel from other area restaurants. They buy from local farms, including Handance, Flora Ridge, Cane Creek, Goat Lady Dairy and Homeland Creamery, as well as vendors at farmers’ markets. As much as possible is organic.

Catering is available.

I attended last month’s supper in a historic home on Summit Avenue. The diversity of guests was an entertainment in itself. I enjoyed the company as much as the food, and that is high compliment to both.

After informal introductions, we chose our seats. Servers passed around trays of smoked trout and pickled green tomatoes on goat cheese crostini. The mellow flavor of the goat cheese blended beautifully with the tart green tomatoes. The smoked trout exuded mild smokiness. A delightful beginning.

Chowder of roasted winter squash and fresh diced mushrooms in vegetable stock came next, followed by a salad of arugula and mixed leaf lettuces, augmented by pickled fennel and beets sprinkled with toasted pumpkin seeds, dressed in light balsamic vinaigrette.

Then came the novelty of the evening: baked onion packets –– whole Spanish onions sliced on the bottom so they sit flat in a nest of kosher salt, baked in foil, which seals in moisture. When opened, the onions were ladled with tarragon vinaigrette. Obviously, you have to like onions to like this, but everyone at our table did!

I was looking forward to seeing how an abundance of roasted and braised lamb shanks would be served. The tender pulled meat reached the table in combination with pappardelle pasta and a silky ragout of tomatoes, celery and thyme, melded with red wine using an immersion blender, mashed potatoes alongside.

The meal closed with a red wine poached apple, covered with crème anglaise and spiced crème fraiche.

In October, The Next Supper served a fundraiser for the Edible Schoolyard at the Greensboro Children’s Museum. That menu illustrates a common theme: vegetarian fine dining. When meat dishes are served, vegetarian alternatives are available. Herbs came from the Schoolyard garden, as did the sweet potatoes and some of the eggs. Guests were seated outdoors in the garden.

White corn and cheddar cake with lima beans and onions in white wine butter broth began the meal, followed by cubed apple, baby arugula and celery salad, dressed in pineapple-juice-and-chipotle-chile vinaigrette — sweet and spicy-hot. Honey crisp apples and arugula were both organic.

The third course was zucchini Charlotte –– thinly sliced zucchini wrapped around sweet brown rice, cooked with crushed tomatoes, onions and tarragon, covered by pureed vegetable-and-green-pea “sauce.” A soup of roasted organic cauliflower plus local potatoes and onions, enhanced with lemon zest and chive oil in vegetable stock with cream and Parmigiana Reggiano cheese made up the fourth course.

A fifth course of sweet potato hash combined red onions, thyme, crowder peas and bacon (a non vegetarian concession to flavor), in organic egg salad. The hosts commented that it might not have been very pretty, but it sure tasted good.

For dessert, guests received two chocolate ganache tartlets, drizzled with warm caramel sauce.

I found the experience most enjoyable. Sign up for future mailings!

Contact John Batchelor at john.e.batchelor@gmail.com