the PushStart game plan

So, as we get closer to PushStart opening up its doors, I want to explain what it is exactly that we're going to be doing. 

While we are not interested in labels, we are, for lack of a better term starting our own underground supper club.  For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the concept of an underground dinner, let me explain.  Or rather, let Wikipedia explain:

An underground restaurant, sometimes known as a supper club or closed door restaurant, is an eating establishment operated out of someone's home, generally (though not invariably) bypassing local zoning and health-code regulations. They are, in effect, paying dinner parties. They are usually advertised by word of mouth or guerilla advertising, often on Facebook, and may require references to make a reservation. An underground restaurant is also known as a guestaurant, which is a hybrid between being a guest in a dinner party and a restaurant.

Underground restaurants are popular in Latin America, where they're known as either a paladar or a restaurante de puertas cerradas (closed door restaurant). Depending on local licensing laws, they may or may not be illegal; either way, they've been built into the culture for decades, and often have higher standards than many licensed establishments.^[1] They are becoming increasingly popular in the U.S.^[2]

The attraction of the underground restaurant for the customer is to sample new food, often at low cost outside the traditional restaurant experience, which can be expensive and disappointing—underground restaurants have been described as "anti-restaurants." They also generally provide a more intimate, dinner party style experience. For the host, the benefit is to make some money and experiment with cooking without being required to invest in a restaurant proper. "It's literally like playing restaurant," one host told the San Francisco Chronicle, "You can create the event, and then it's over."

I couldn't have said it better myself.  I'm going to be working in the test kitchen, farmers markets and international stores, blogging and tweeting about what we'll be serving for the weekend.  Follow along here and also on Twitter (@pushstartcook) to see what's happening.  Then on Thursday, we'll post a menu for the weekend.  Then, I'll send out an email inviting everyone.  It will be set up on a "first-come-first-serve" basis, just to keep it fair.  The first to respond to the invitation with the number in their party, will receive a confirmation email and directions to our space. 

We've set up an email (pushstartkitchen@gmail.com).  Email us with "Mailing list request" in the subject line and I'll add you to the list.  Tell everyone you think may be interested.  This is definitely a chance for us to meet new people.

I can't tell you how excited Cristina and I are to be back in Atlanta, and how happy we are to have found opportunity to do what we love: connect with people through food.  We hope that we'll see you there!