Don't panic. At least this is being reported. And who knows. Some day they might report on our $17 trillion deficit.
Posted on 09/11/2013 8:16:54 PM PDT by iowamark
As you sit down to dinner, this story illustrates eating out like you have never experienced before. We are talking about super-secret, illegal dining experiences hosted in homes.
CBS 2 investigative reporter Tamara Leitner went undercover to see firsthand how this underground world works.
It may look like a dinner party, but it’s really an underground supper club.
The diners are a mix of New Yorkers and tourists. CBS 2’s undercover cameras captured one experience — eight people who didn’t know each other eating a meal in a stranger’s home.
That hostess, Naama Shafi, writes about food but is not a chef. Leitner found her through a website, which connects amateur foodies and professional chefs in 20 different countries with people who want unique dining experiences.
Clandestine dinner parties like the one Leitner attended have become more common in New York City. And insiders told Leitner they are completely unregulated.
When asked at the dinner, “do you ever worry about getting caught?” Michael Patlazhan responded, “I definitely do.”
Patlazhan is a professional chef who also hosts underground supper clubs. He cooks with blow torches, nitrogen and even a vacuum machine to create unusual meals.
“That’s the things with supper clubs, they’re in a sense illegal just because they are underground no one knows about them. So if the Health Department did come they would obviously shut it down. So there’s always a little bit of worry,” Patlazhan said.
To stay under the radar, Patlazhan changes the location every time and keeps the guest list exclusive through a members-only website.
“It’s definitely kind of a secret and I think that’s the interesting part about it. And a lot of it is word of mouth,” Patlazhan said.
But some critics have concerns about these unregulated dinner parties.
“It definitely falls into a gray area,” said Leon Lubarsky, owner of Letter Grade Consulting.
Lubarsky’s staff of retired New York City health inspectors advises restaurants on health regulations.
When asked if the underground restaurants should be regulated, Lubarsky told Leitner, “Yes, they should be regulated by the same system that regulates every restaurant in New York City.”
The Health Department refused to discuss the issue on camera but in a statement told CBS 2: “In New York City, people who offer meals to the public for money are considered food service establishments and need permits. The city does not allow meals to be served to members of the public in someone’s home.”
So, Leitner went back to ask Shafi about the dinner parties.
Leitner: “You guys are breaking the law by serving people meals and charging.”
Shafi: “Yeah. The reality is they are here and people really love them.”
In the meantime, foodies like Shafi and professional chefs like Patlazhan continue to host these covert supper clubs.
“I want to do it as much as possible so my goal would be to do it two to three times a week, so kind of like a restaurant on the weekends,” Patlazhan said.
But if caught hosting an underground dinner party, the hosts could be fined $2,000 and ordered to shut down.
The price to get into one of these underground supper clubs ranges from $40 to several hundred. Some of the hosts say they are in it simply for the love of food, while others hope to turn a profit.
Don't panic. At least this is being reported. And who knows. Some day they might report on our $17 trillion deficit.
Back in college, it was the same thing for me going to “unregulated” poker clubs. Same thing, cops bust one op, another pops up by word of mouth.
Love it!
My God, I read halfway through this thinking it was satire.
Yeah. I’m sure they claim it isn’t about the taxes, but food safety. You know, that their inspectors help ensure you don’t get food poisoning. Funny how that still happens. Me, I’d trust someone who loves food and cooking to prepare my meal more than a kitchen full of illegals and bored teens working for beer money.
Yes, they do. These are the same fools who also worry about how large your soda can be or how many rounds will fit into your gun clip.
You know: totalitarians...
I was disappointed too. Dinner parties. Feh. Thought this was going to be acknowledgement of some ‘Eyes WIde Shut’ medieval pagan sexual rites going on.
Very true. As we all know, food can only be safely prepared in a regulated comercial kitchen. If it wasn't for Republicans, all homes would be required to have a stainless steel commercial quality kitchen. Random inspections would then allow us to keep our children safe. Only Republicans want our children to die. /s
What is so daring about "medieval pagan sexual rites?" This is the 21st century swinging is the norm and our kids have sexual sleepovers, under the watchful approving eye of their parents, of course.
Was it just an oversight to leave DC off that list?
I think it’s the gregorian chanting played in reverse at half speed that gives the medieval sexual rites that certain panache.
a quote that is very relevant
socialism, is the system in which people in a heroic way, overcome difficulties unknown in any other system
Stefan Kisielewski
So in NYC restaurants have come full circle back into peoples’ homes thanks to the burden of government taxation and regulation.
The market prevails once again.
Ahhh...now thats deviant.
“Go to any neighborhood with a large number of illegals, and you will find homes with restaurants, rental rooms, convenience stores, and everything else. No big stories about that.
NY is just upset it isn’t getting its cut from the rich guys running this.”
This truth bears repeating, and cuts through the nonsense of this.
During the First Great Depression, people threw Rent Parties. The folks needing to make the rent would cook up a lot of spaghetti, a few gallons of sauce, a couple of loaves of bread. Someone would bring wine, maybe homemade. A Rent Jar was placed in a prominent spot and everyone put in whatever they could. Word went out and people responded.
Usually, you can get around the *commercial* designation if you just suggest a *free will donation* rather than charge by the plate.
This is how you eat in places like Cuba.
Meanwhile, the politicians and upper crust throw dinner parties, fund raisers and charity balls for thousands of dollars per plate or person and it’s all a tax write off.
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