GW Fins
July 23
Impastato's
July 30
About Our Dinners
It's a wide-open club. Eat Club events are open to everyone! Singles are as welcome as couples. Don't worry about being among strangers. About a third of the people at every dinner are first-timers, too, and you'll make friends with the others at your table quickly. Our dinners are convivial and unpretentious. We don't give speeches or long diatribes about the food or wines (just a little at the beginning). Just good food and wine.
The host is me-- Tom Fitzmorris, host of The Food Show on 1350 AM radio, and the publisher of the New Orleans Menu Daily. I move around from table to table all night long so I can tell the same jokes over and over again. I hold these dinners as a service to diners and restaurateurs. The entire payment for the dinner goes to the restaurant. I don't get any part of it. I'm here for the fun and camaraderie.
Reservations Essential!
Once you're
reasonably sure you'll be there. We
usually sell out, so reserve early. If you need to cancel, please
let me know no less than two days before the dinner. Please understand that I sometimes
have to pay for no-shows out of my own pocket.
Confirmations
Because e-mail is not entirely reliable, I now post a list of
the last names of everyone whose reservation is confirmed. It's in the
right-hand column of this page. Allow 24 hours after you send your
reservation to give me time to post it. If
you're on the list, we look forward to seeing you. If
not, please contact me
again here. I will still send an e-mail to you as soon as I can
after you reserve.
Unless otherwise noted,
the
prices include the complete dinner, tax, tip, and wine, but not
cocktails. Cash will get you out faster, but credit cards are okay. At
some dinners, we collect at the beginning just to speed things up at
the
end. Smoking is not
permitted at Eat Club dinners.
First-Timers
If you've
never
been to one of our dinners before and are hesitant,
please give it a try! You'll find a very sociable bunch of people, many
of whom will also be first-timers. Singles (some of whom are married to
too-busy spouses) are also always with us. We sit together at big
tables, and share easy conversation as well as the wine and food. No
gourmet pretensions or speeches; we're primarily interested in eating
well and having a fun evening. The chefs and wine distributors give us
unusually good work at attractive prices.
Non-Drinkers
Discount
There isn't one. The wines are usually provided by a wine
distributor or wholesaler, and we don't pay much (or anything) for
them. But if you'd rather drink iced tea, go ahead! You won't be the
only one.
Bourbon House
Sunday, July 13, Noon
$75, inclusive of tax, tip, and wines
To reserve, first click here.
That will take you to the Share Our Strength wesite, where you can pay for your tickets with a credit card. Then . . .
Click here to reserve a seat at for the Eat Club table
CONFIRMATION LIST: Check the list of names in the blue box at right to see if your reservation is confirmed. (Allow 24-36 hours.)
For the eighteenth year, a collaboration of the best and most involved chefs in New Orleans fills a Sunday afternoon with great food and wine Sunday, July 13.
It’s New Orleans’s highly popular effort in a nationwide program to remedy hunger among children. Share Our Strength acts locally both in its fundraising and its benefits; most of the money stays in the New Orleans area to help the surprising number of families who don’t have enough to eat. Last year, the brunch brought in over $30,000 to that end. In its history, Taste of the Nation has given $400,000 to New Orleans area food banks and other local hunger charities.
And it tastes good, too. I don’t have the menu yet, but last year’s was incredible. With good reason: there’s major talent in the kitchen. Frank Brigtsen repeats his turn as chairman of the event. He will be joined by this all-star team of chefs:
- Greg Collier--Red Fish Grill
- Justin Devillier and Joel Dondis--La Petite Grocery
- Tenney Flynn--GW Fins
- Adolfo Garcia--Rio Mar and La Boca
- Tariq Hanna--Sucre
- Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski--Herbsaint and Cochon
- Darin Nesbit--Bourbon House
- Ian Schnoebelen--Iris
- Susan Spicer--Bayona
- Danielle and Richard Sutton--St. James Cheese Co.
Three years ago, a new wrinkle was added: the Fleur de Lis Award. It’s given annually to someone who’s made notable contributions to New Orleans hospitality. This year’s honoree will be Leah Chase, owner and chef of Dooky Chase restaurant, and one of the most revered figures in the local restaurant business.
As it did last year, the brunch will take place at Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House, on the corner of Iberville and Bourbon. The doors open for the VIP attendees at 11 a.m. The main event begins at noon.
Here's the menu :
Rum Cocktail
Rosewater Scented Mint Juleps
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Delice de Bourgogne Canape
St. James Cheese Co. (VIP reception only)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pork and Black-Eye Pea Gumbo
Cochon/Herbsaint
~or~
Corn and Crab Soup
Bourbon House
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spanish Potato Tortilla with Garlic Sherry Shrimp
Bayona
~or~
Pulled Pork with Corn Pancake & Pepper Jelly Glaze
Brigtsen's
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fried Crispy Louisiana Crawfish Etouffee with Bacon & Eggs
Red Fish Grill
~or~
Braised Veal Cheek Tartine with Celery Root Remoulade
La Petite Grocery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Homemade Pies: Apple, Strawberry, Rhubarb, Lemon Meringue
GW Fins
~or~
Dulce de Leche Trio
RioMar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chocolates
Sucre
I have reserved a couple of tables at the $75 level for the Eat Club. We did this last year and it was great fun. If you would like to join me, e-mail me at tom@nomenu.com. (If you’d like to be a VIP for $125, let me know; we’ll have a table for that, too.) I will put your name on my list. Then you must buy your tickets directly from the taste of the Nation contacts: toll-free 877-268-2783. Or online at www.tasteofthenation.org.
And I don’t know where to put this, but it’s interesting: for every person who attends the Taste of the Nation brunch, the National Pork Board will donate a pound of pork to the cause against hunger.
See you there!
Click here to reserve.
Taste Of The Nation
Ron 1
Childs 1
Straub 2
Babin 2
Gerve 2