A supper club, in general, refers to a dining establishment that also functions as a social club. The term may describe different establishments depending on the region, but in general, supper clubs tend to present themselves as having a high-class image, even if the price is affordable to all.

Supper clubs in the United States

In the U.S., a supper club is a dining establishment generally found in the Upper Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. These establishments typically are located on the edge of town in rural areas. They were traditionally thought of as a "destination" where patrons would go to spend the whole evening, from cocktail hour to enjoying night club style entertainment after dinner. They feature a casual and relaxed atmosphere.

Typical menu

Supper clubs generally feature "simple" menus with somewhat limited offerings featuring "American" cuisine. Menus included dishes such as prime rib, steaks, chicken, and fish. An "all you can eat" Friday fish fry was particularly common at supper clubs in Wisconsin.

Relish trays featuring items such as crackers, carrots, pickles, radishes, and celery are typically served at the table on Lazy Susan

Lazy Susan

A Lazy Susan is a rotating tray, usually circular, placed on top of a table to aid in moving food on a large table or countertop.- Origin :The term "Lazy Susan" made its first written appearance in a Good Housekeeping article in 1906, although their existence dates back to the 18th century...

s.

History

The first supper club in the United States was established in Beverly Hills, CA by Milwaukee, WI, native Lawrence Frank. They became popular during the 1930s and 1940s, although some establishments that later became "supper clubs" had previously gained notoriety as prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

 roadhouses

Roadhouse (facility)

A roadhouse is a commercial establishment typically built on a major road or highway, to service passing travellers. Its meaning varies slightly by country.-USA:...

.

Supper clubs can still be found in the Upper Midwest but they are now simply restaurants rather than the all-night entertainment destinations of the past.

Supper clubs in the United Kingdom

Supper clubs in the UK take the cabaret concept of the American 1930s and 1940s and aimed to bring the ambience of the underground New York jazz club to the UK entertainment scene, where people could enjoy a dinner without the formality of a ball, whilst enjoying live music. These clubs were often the centre of social networks such as the blogging community. in both rural communities and cities. Traditional supper club menus consisted of standard American fare, and in the UK there was a concerted drive to give the food and wine a British twist.

Some supper clubs were purely informal dining societies whilst others incorporated musical acts to complement the atmosphere. There was also a form of supper club which acted as an informal dating platform. Both have largely been replaced by modern nightclubs.

The term "Supper club" is enjoying a revival with slightly different meaning - generally a small underground club (often with roving premises which are only revealed to the guests when they buy a ticket), where guests eat from a restricted or set menu and are expected to fraternise with other guests who they may not know.

In the UK 'Underground Restaurants' and 'Supper Clubs' have started to blossom, with reviews in leading newspapers such as The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

 and The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

. They range across the UK but are mainly concentrated in London. These are advertised by word of mouth and on social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as on the listing platform www.guestaurant.com. They have grown so much in popularity that you can now find social networks dedicated solely to underground dining.

Another source of information is the book 'Supper Club' by Kerstin Rodgers. This consists of instructions on how to set up one's own, a history of the movement, recipes (including from other supper club hosts) and a worldwide directory of supper clubs.

Supper clubs in Latin America

In Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

, Supper Club typically denote underground restaurant

Underground restaurant

An underground restaurant, sometimes known as a supper club or closed door restaurant, is an eating establishment operated out of someone's home, generally bypassing local zoning and health-code regulations. They are, in effect, paying dinner parties...

s, where they're known as either a paladar

Paladar

Paladar is a term used in Cuba to refer to restaurants run by self-employers. , a category endorsed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Republic of Cuba in its Resolution 32/2010, which refers to people who operate small private businesses in Cuba...

or a restaurante de puertas cerradas (locked door restaurant). While technically illegal, they're built into the culture, and often have higher standards than many licensed establishments. They are becoming increasingly popular in the U.S.

The attraction of the underground restaurant for the customer is the ability to sample new food at low cost outside the traditional restaurant experience, which can be expensive and disappointing—underground restaurants have been described as "anti-restaurants." For the host, the benefit is to make some money and experiment with cooking without being required to invest in a restaurant proper. "It's literally like playing restaurant," one host told the San Francisco Chronicle, "You can create the event, and then it's over."

Other names

Supper clubs are usually known as underground restaurants, home bistros, guerrilla dinner, secret restaurant, paladares, puertas cerradas, guestaurants, speakeasy or even anti-restaurant.

External links

• Guestaurant- Where Social Meets Food
• Bredahl, Brenda K. Supper Club State: A Brief Cultural History of the Wisconsin Institution "Wisconsin People & Ideas" magazine, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, Summer 2009.
• The Basement Galley
• Mount, Ian. Buenos Aires: Psst! Want a Discreet Dinner?, The New York Times, December 17, 2006.
• Social Republic: supper club universe
• Williams, Zoe. The secret feast, The Guardian, February 10, 2009.
• Zingara Cucina Australian Underground Restaurant
• Casa SaltShaker
• Phoebe in Berlin
• Time Supper Club, Montreal Supper Club
• Sydney Morning Herald article on Zingara Cucina
• Fairfax The Age article on Underground Restaurants
• Executive Style article on Zingara Cucina
• Black Book Magazine Article on Zingara Cucina
• Supper Club Is One Of The Things That Make Wisconsin What It Is. (June 27, 1999). Wisconsin State Journal.
• Description of a typical Wisconsin Supper Club and Selected Clubs in Wisconsin
• Wisconsin History Explorer: Supper Clubs
• Supper Club Is One Of The Things That Make Wisconsin What It Is
• Supper Clubs in London, UK taking the American concept with a British twist