The cat’s out of the bag: PDXYelp’s first Secret Supper Club was a success!

In continuation of a tradition founded by our intrepid Denver Community Director Tiffany N, Portland’s first Yelp Secret Supper Club took place on July 11^th, 2012 at Boke Bowl in SE! Over 50 Yelpers put their gustatory fates square in to the hands of  PDXYelp as they bought a $25 Yelp Deal good for a three-course meal paired with cocktails from New Deal at an undisclosed location. How trusting are the PDXYelpers? The dinner sold out in under 18 hours.

After a month of anticipation, clues, and some innovative guesses, the location of the dinner was revealed to be none other than pop-up-turned-brick-and-mortar ramen shop Boke Bowl! Boke threw down an incredible spread that included an amuse bouche of rice cakes topped with kimchi or pork belly; a seasonal pea-shoot, avocado, and pickled diakon salad with tahini miso dressing; a choice of rabbit three-ways (dashi, meatball, confit) ramen or vegan caramelized fennel ramen; and for dessert, kaffir-lime tapioca topped with mango puree. 50+ bowls of ramen all at once? As Iana A mentions, “all three courses were scrumptious.” No doubt.

But it wasn’t just about the food. New Deal cocktails represented big time with four cocktails to pair with the four courses (if you count the amuse bouche). Evan Kinkel from New Deal shook until his arms went numb, pairing cocktails to the courses. The cocktails included The Lawn Party – Gin No. 1, grapefruit, lime, and Angostura bitters; The Portland Shrubbery – Portland 88 Vodka, lemon juice, Som pomegranate drinking vinegar; The Neboke – Gin No. 3, Aperol, Punt e Mes, and soda water; and The Bunny Lebowski – Mud Puddle Chocolate Vodka, cream, New Deal Coffee Liqueur, and Regan's Orange Bitters. Sarah C considers these “the raddest cocktails served up on Water Ave. All were refreshing and delicious, especially for how warm it was inside and out.”

Tamara C offers up her gratitude: “Thank you to the amazing folks at Boke Bowl and the New Deal folks for outstanding food, beverages and attentive service.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. Without the hard work of Brannon, Patrick and Kate from Boke; Tom, Sarah and Evan from New Deal; and of course the trusting Yelpers who bought tickets to this supper without knowing what they were getting themselves in to! We’ll be doing this again in August, you can be sure of that. Keep your eyes out for more.

Check out the reviews and photos here. Make sure to keep an eye on Yelp Events as well as Yelp’s FB and Twitter feeds to be sure you don’t miss out on the next opportunity. Oh, and for those who attended, let us know how we did by dropping a review here.

Until we sup again,

Don B – PDXYelp Community Director