Wolvesden

Wolvesmouth at Wolvesden is an underground dining society that is kept super secret. It is not quite a "pop-up" like LudoBites (I'm assuming the dinners are at the same place every time), but reservations are hard to receive nonetheless. One or two dinners are held every month, and if you are on the mailing list, you receive an email about it and send one back stating you are interested in attending, and whether one or two seats are requested. Names are drawn out of a hat, and if you are one of the lucky twelve, an email is sent with details and the location. I have been trying to get into one of these dinners for the past six months and have failed miserably. I even offered to wear something slutty if chosen (haha), but I'm sure the chef (Wolvesmouth aka Craig Thornton) and DimSumPup (the organizer) receive those propositions all the time! And needless to say, I failed to secure a reservation again, and was graciously extended an invitation by WeezerMonkey.

Chef Craig puts together a dinner of 10-15 courses that are creative, driven by what is fresh at the market, and beautifully plated. We had 11 courses last night, and each of them were amazing. It's hard to imagine that everything is done in a regular four-burner kitchen, but he and his "staff" cook, clean and plate right in front of the diners. At the end of the dinner, the diner discreetly receives a red envelope and donate as much as they want to the dinner. There is no "charge" or "set price" and everyone is encouraged to bring wine, alcohol, soda, tea, etc to share. As someone eloquently put it "you come as a table of strangers and leave friends!" True enough, I was lucky to meet KungFoodPanda, PinoyPanda, TheRoamingBelly, Alex, pHeast, Taka, Jane, and a few others last night - and now everyone follows each other on Twitter.

dining table where the magic happened

Chef Craig hard at work. The "staff" were moving so fast in the background that I wasn't able to capture their hard work!

night's menu

pan fried brioche and butter

corn soup, cotija, aleppo gelee, lime, corn fritter

peach, nectarine, chorizo piquillo puree, almond, basque cheese, chorizo, sherry gastrique

smelt, fried green tomato, buttermilk, ranch

squash blossoms, marscapone zucchini duxelles, meloa, baby squash, balsamic

tomato, padron, tuna, basil buds, uliva olive oil, wasabi peas, white soy

lobster, potato, chive, creme fraiche

pork cheek, baby cabbage, carmelized onion, dill, pretzel, mustard

cucumber slush

lamb, turkish eggplant, watermelon cucumber, watermelon tartare, yogurt, rosemary

lookit this adorable tiny watermelon that's not really a watermelon!

mulberry, elderberry, fig, salted brown butta la cream, croquant

cherry sorbet, almond cake, cherry pop rocks, almond cream

And that concludes the gastronomic feast at Wolvesden. Every course was absolutely amazing and of course, so was the company (awww!). It's hard to pick out any favorite, but I especially loved the corn soup, lobster potato and salted brown butter ice cream. Be sure to check out everyone else's posts - their cameras and pictures were super technologically advanced compared to my Canon point-and-shoot!