The first time I heard of an underground restaurant was when a friend returned from a back-packing trip to Cuba. He spent nights sleeping in farmer’s fields, hiking far away from resorts, and eating in people’s homes. Locals would approach him with menus in hand, selling him on the concept of eating in their backyard or house, or paladares as they’re known there. I was intrigued by his experience. There’s something about eating in a total stranger’s home that seems adventurous, exciting, and scary, all at the same time. Although I never cared to visit Cuba, I definitely wanted to experience an underground restaurant. I got that wish last month, and it required no back-packing in Cuba. Details on that in a minute, but first, a little background on underground restaurants.
According to Wikipedia:
Underground restaurants are 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.
While underground restaurants are relatively new in North America, they’ve been built into the Latin American culture for decades, and apparently often have higher standards than licensed restaurants. The concept is gaining popularity in Canada and the U.S., and it’s no secret why: they offer a chance to try new foods in an intimate, dinner-party atmosphere. In some cases, you could be dining with friends, in others, with complete strangers. The host gets to own a restaurant without all the costs of owning a restaurant proper, or having to do deal with the bureaucracy. A win-win for everyone.
Toronto has joined the underground, or anti-restaurant movement. Food lovers in this town have been talking about Charlie’s Burgers — which changes locations and chefs — for the past year. “His” restaurant is an invite-only event and has received positive press in Toronto’s mainstream media for both the quality and quantity of the food, and shall we say, bold offerings (bugs, anyone?) I have yet to attend a dinner at Charlie’s Burgers, but I did get to experience an amazing meal at Toronto’s other underground restaurant: Six Degrees.
Six Degrees is the brain child of Cordon Blue trained chef Karen Viva Haynes, who, as I’ve written before, makes some yummy terrines that look too beautiful to be consumed. To get invited to dinner at Karen’s you either have to know Karen, or know someone who knows Karen (hence the restaurant’s name). Karen usually hosts these dinners in her professional home kitchen, but on this summer night, the weather was too perfect not to do it alfresco style. I went by myself, which was part of the excitement; as I said at the outset, part of the underground experience I find appealing is the concept of having dinner with complete strangers.
With instructions to bring my own wine (I chose the Inox Chardonnay from Peninsula Ridge for this occasion), I made my way to Karen’s backyard. I quickly introduced myself to my dinner companions. There was a couple from upstate New York; a cellist and an antique car enthusiast. Sitting next to them was a well-travelled man who spent at least a decade in India. Across from him was a woman who loves restaurants so much, she recently invested in one of my Ottawa favourites. Sitting next to her was another couple. They’re from Richmond Hill and are enjoying retirement after long careers in the financial services. I sat next to a young man who had just written his last university exam. Having recently immigrated to Canada from India, he and the well-travelled man had much to talk about.
As we chatted, Karen and two sous-chefs served us a six-course meal that was simply delightful.
For hors d’oeuvres, Karen prepared iced watermelon gazpacho on a stick, which was more savoury than most of us at the table were expecting, but we all loved it.
The amuse-bouche quickly followed: coconut spice risotto croquettes, which just melted in your mouth.
That was followed by stuffed zucchini flowers with feta, ricotta, and truffled honey. They were refreshingly baked, not fried, and tasted amazing. I could easily have had three more plates.
We were then served leek and corn chowder. When Karen announced she was serving us chowder in the middle of summer, I was quite skeptical; but as it turned out, quite wrong to question. The chowder was surprisingly light, and packed a flavourful punch. When reviewing my notes from the dinner, I found this comment about the chowder: “literally perfect.”
We were then treated to a mushroom ceviche – a bed of shitake, oyster, and cremini mushrooms topped with advocado before we were served a wedge of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese from Best Baa Farms, pancetta from Niagara, and candied pecans. Both were well executed dishes with a ton of flavour.
At this point in the dinner, the sun was just about set, and we were joined by a raccoon who climbed the big tree in the backyard to watch us eat, maybe hoping for scraps. Unfortunately for our new guest, there would be none, as we all devoured the main: Ontario lamb with basmati rice, toasted almonds and raisins. To steal an expression from one of my fellow diners, it was simply “to die for.”
The dinner came to a sweet end when Karen brought out dried fruit, raisins, and pistachios that were baked in ice wine and wrapped in phyllo, which was partnered with orange ice cream – a great complement to the main course.
In the end, my first underground experience was exactly what I was looking for: dinner with strangers, good conversation, and delicious food. I got these in spades at Six Degrees and can’t wait to return.
Photo credit: Flickr user StuckinCommons.
