Orange Arrows and Chilly Nights
Last week I was fortunate enough to win a seat at an underground dinner event called Orange Arrow. Thanks to my lovely benefactors Brightest Young Things, I got to enjoy an intimate evening with a James Beard winning chef!
The Orange Arrow is an “anti restaurant” and part of the whole underground restaurant trend that is sweeping the country. Essentially, great chefs, fed up with the pace of restaurant kitchens, find local galleries or homes to set up shop in for an evening. A small group of guests sits down to a 3 course meal prepared within a tiny kitchen. The crowd was eclectic to say the least, with 40 year DC veterens, former “pro tennis” players, jovial greeks and a smattering of bloggers and photographers. Our dinner conversations flew from topic to topic, I can’t explain all of our mutterings here, but suffice it to say it was as ludicrous, head smacking, chuckle under your breath, and enlightening as you’d imagine a dinner of 30 DC strangers to be.
We ate out on a porch, huddled close together for warmth as the evening grew quite chilly. My dinner selections consisted of a tossed green salad with fried ham and roasted asparagus, pork a la viennesse with greens, fennel, avocado, and radish on top and a strawberry-rhubarb crumble. My friend had the other options, a mustard soup, shrimp and the cheesiest grits you can imagine and a chocolate ganache cake.
Thanks so much to my hosts, and what a fun event to get to attend. See photos and a review of the event here.
