Clandestino Dining and VZW Savvy Gourmet Blogger
Monday, July 16, 2012
It seems like ages ago since I last posted. We have busy around these parts. Last week we were in Holland, MI for the entire week. It was my hubby's last week as Artistic Director of the Holland Chorale and his last concert. So sad but it has been a great 3 years!
On top of being away from home I also had something special planned. A 24 hour trip to Chicago. I am not usually close to blogging conferences to drive but when I was recently invited to be part of the Verizon Savvy Gourmet Bloggers, I quickly accepted the invitation.
When we arrived to out destination we were greeted by friendly Verizon folks and Jaden from Steamy Kitchen. It was cool to hear her present everything about blogging especially how she has been so successful at it. She had amazing tips and ideas, so I quickly jotted tons of info. Who wouldn't?
After a few hours and a lovely lunch, we received our free devices: a new Verizon Droid XYBoard! How cool is that? I have always had the simplest gadgets when it comes to technology so this was definitely something fun to have. I also wanted to make the hubby jealous. :-) Of course he gets to play with it too!
We get a chance to experience the device and give our honest opinion. I so far have been able to take some pictures and scan the internet but I am looking forward blogging from it as well.
After the morning and afternoon flew by, we went back to the hotel to freshen up and to get ready for a special dinner.
We totally did not know where we were going. It was a surprise even from the time we jumped into the shuttle. We drove for 20-30 minutes until we arrived a regular neighborhood with no restaurants in sight. Where were we? We were instructed to get out of the shuttle and go through some doors.
Through those those was a little convent set up for our special event. We were introduced to Clandestino Dining, an underground supper club. Chef Efrain spoke to us and told us we were going to enjoy several courses and lots of drinks.
A long table was decorated with raspberry plants and candles. The ambiance was perfect!
A nice courtyard could be seen through the room and a nice setup of fresh lemonade, beer and strawberry mint juleps were offered. So refreshing!
We started out with these drinks and were handed our first appetizer: fresh cauliflower ceviche tostadas! I made a new blogger friend, Mara from What's For Dinner, so she and I quickly guessed the ingredients in this refreshing appetizer. I cannot wait to make these so I can share the recipe! We were right on with the ingredients too!
Our second appetizer consisted of roasted half corn on the cobs with a thin layer of mayo, cotija cheese and ground guajillo chile. It was SO good! I wanted a second one but I held back.
The rest of the evening was crazy. The next 3 hours we were served 5 more dishes which were small plates, but in reality it seemed like plenty.
The chef would come by the table and explain all the dishes and sides and I realized we were eating farm to table. All ingredients were so fresh. Delicious wax beans, red beets, radishes, avocados, asparagus, arugula, chard and more!
The evening ended with a delicious shortcake with a whipped cream / vanilla ice cream mixture with fresh berries. We told ourselves we could only eat half but somehow we all managed to finish every bite.
With each course we received a different kind of beer. We were fed WELL! I totally encourage to look this place up if you go to Chicago. So worth it!
Every cook and helper in the kitchen wore the signature symbol of the dining company. Nacho Libre anyone? All in all it was an amazing experience and I was glad to meet all the bloggers who attended.
· “Disclosure: I am participating in
the Verizon Wireless Midwest Savvy Gourmets program and have been provided with
a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions
about the product.”
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