Ghetto to Go

"We're paying for their exorbitant rent!" my uncle Al bellows whenever I take him to dine in a pricey South Beach restaurant. Obnoxious, yes, but he's got a point. The Ghetto Gourmet is a counterpoint. The Oakland-based group is, in essence, an underground supper club, meaning they find hip spaces -- warehouses, lofts, galleries, and private homes -- and stage community dinners featuring local ingredients and chefs. For one night only. Then they are gone. This actually makes them more guerrilla gourmets than ghetto ones. Though I suppose they don't want people to think they're cooking up anything in the monkey family.

Ghetto Gourmet started three years ago. Their stated mission: "culinary renegades taking great food out of stuffy restaurants and into the most relaxed settings."They recently began to take their restaurant-without-walls tour on the road. Specifically they will be putting on dinners in Miami Beach this coming Thursday and Friday evenings, one in a "super cool deco condo", the other in a "cool bungalow near the beach", or so promises Kenny Lowe, a collaborator for the group.

The events will feature chef Tim Smith Trojian, and Aaron May, a former Miami native and now executive chef of Sol y Sombra in Scottsdale, Arizona. "We are lining up some entertainment," adds Kenny, "and there are still a few seats available". Dinner runs from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. Per person price (it's byob) is $50.00. The menu and address will be emailed to confirmed guests just a few days before the dinners. For more details go to www.theghet.com.

Or visit the links for the events themselves:
Thursday, Feb 15th

Friday, Feb 16th

Lee Klein