Dinner Lab, a self-proclaimed "social dining experiment" with outposts in nine major cities, is set to debut in Miami in early 2014.
The members-only supper club hosts up to 80 dinners in each metropolis yearly. And these meals are never exactly the same.
For each event, Dinner Lab changes its chef, menu, and setting.
See also: Underground Dining Guide: Kulinary Therapy to Cobaya to Shelley-belly to Copperbox
Event locations aren't announced in advance. They're usually hosted near the city center, but they occur in unlikely settings: an auditorium, an abandoned building, or even the floor of a paper mill. (On its website, Dinner Lab explains the secrecy thusly: "Like Christmas, some things are better left as surprises.")
Patrons pay an annual membership fee of $150. This grants them access to events in Miami as well as other participating cities. Members can purchase tickets for themselves and one guest. For a five-course meal -- including booze, tax, and gratuity -- Dinner Lab charges $35 to $85.
As for the food, meals are prepared by local chefs or out-of-towners who are flown in for each event.
"The history of [Miami] has always been eclectic," says Brian Bordainick, Dinner Lab's CEO. "For us to showcase the very best up-and-comers in a city and bring them to a new audience is amazing."
Dinner Lab joins a growing group of locally operated supper clubs, including Cobaya, Copperbox, and Kulinary Therapy. But it isn't planning to revolutionize Miami's underground dining scene.
"We aren't looking to change Miami at all. Our only aim is to bring together an eager, diverse audience to try out new concepts. We want chefs to improve their craft and get their names out there," he explains.
The supper club will announce its first set of menus this winter. Until then, check out Dinner Lab's website for membership forms and additional information.
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