My friend Jay invited me to his old roommate’s Supper Club, called 202 Supper Club (since they lived in Apt 202). They were actually scheduled to move the next day next door to 201, but hosted the dinner anyway to delicious results. Shai is a personal chef by trade, and hosts a Supper Club that people can buy into for around $50-$60, which includes unlimited wine and seasonal and organic 3-4 courses. His resume includes our FAVORITE Shake Shack and lovely high dining, Dovetail (I took my mother there for the Sunday Supper for her birthday last year). The best part was that this was in our neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Originally I was promised bacon infused bourbon. Sadly, the mixologist got sick. 2 hours before the event, Jay txted me, “Oh no! Check your email. Karin is sick! No mixed drinks :( ” Argh! : ( Booo. Still, Jay cheered me up with a txt, “Hell yea! There will be lots of interesting people from all walks there. It’s gonna be phenom.” With those sentiments in mind, I waited for Ryan at Strand before making our way towards Williamsburg. Once we settled in we were greeted by Jay, and introduced to fellow blogger Saint Tigerlily and her husband. I sat next to Ace, the cat, of course, and we were entertained by Jay’s smiling umbilical cord stories and photos of their last barbecue, where they went to an ostrich farm, picked out a bird, butchered it (apparently Shai is a skilled butcher), cooked it, and ate it. Jay assured me that he will let me know when their next one is.
They gave us a plate of poached pears in chocolate and port wrapped in home-made duck prosciutto (I unfortunately didn’t get pictures of it up close) and pickled smokey shishito peppers to snack on while waiting for our first course. I usually like to sautee or lightly deep fry shishito peppers, so pickled peppers were quite refreshing. I’m a big fan of duck prosciutto, and the port gave the pears a nice well rounded accompaniment without much sweetness.
The first course was home baked whole wheat sour dough bruschetta toasted with pig fat, roasted cauliflower, and raisin pesto. This was one of my favorites of the night. I found it comforting with a great balance of flavors. It started out salty and delicious and the vegetable was roasted in the perfect texture, crispy on the side, while tender on the underside. It was solid. The occasional sweet bite of the raisin pesto was the golden ticket here.
The second course was fried crispy pig’s ear and charred brussel sprouts, topped with clothbound cheddar (the only thing that wasn’t locally sourced). I LOVE pork (duh) and this was my first time eating pig’s ear. It tasted like bacon, had a nice substantial texture without it being chewy or too hard. It was nice, crispy and salted. The cheddar subtle and added some good dimension to the meal. The pig’s ear stood out.
The main course was home-made kabocha/pumpkin pasta with braised venison ragu, topped with mustard greens and pomegranate seeds. It was a nice hearty way to top off the evening that balances out the salty fried goodness of the earlier course. This was solid and earthy and quite subdued.
The desert, though, was my absolute favorite part, which was smokey spiced bread pudding with cider butter scotch sauce, poached apples, and bacon (see a pattern?) streusel. It was caramel and smoky goodness, all the way. It REALLY hit the spot and was incredibly fragrant with pork, and brought the whole thing home. Amazing.
Our hosts kept our glass full and the company engaged us in colorful conversation. Above is our chef, Shai (in the mise en place shirt – the other guy is Jay!), who toiled away in the kitchen and laid out this lovely dinner. It was a good night filled with fun people and delicious eats AND PORK! (But no pig infused bourbon. :T mreow.) I hope I’m invited again.
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