March 23, 2015
The national pop-up supper club, Dinner Lab, returns to America's Finest City on Thursday, April 9, featuring the cuisine of Chef Jason Fullilove, Executive Chef of Malibu Pier Restaurant. Assisting in the dinner's preparation is nutritionist and fermentista Theodora Holt, who will help honor the dinner’s theme - “Ethereal Palate.” Each course will be inspired by ancestral tradition and modern innovation, while highlighting the healing power and nutrient density of an expertly assembled culinary composition. As with any Dinner Lab event, the menu will seek to tell a compelling story, featuring dishes and ingredients inspired by the chef’s heritage, life experiences and personal passions. A happy hour including signature cocktails, wines and beers will take place for the first 30 minutes.
The national pop-up supper club, Dinner Lab, returns to America's Finest City on Thursday, April 9, featuring the cuisine of Chef Jason Fullilove, Executive Chef of Malibu Pier Restaurant. Assisting in the dinner's preparation is nutritionist and fermentista Theodora Holt, who will help honor the dinner’s theme - “Ethereal Palate.” Each course will be inspired by ancestral tradition and modern innovation, while highlighting the healing power and nutrient density of an expertly assembled culinary composition. As with any Dinner Lab event, the menu will seek to tell a compelling story, featuring dishes and ingredients inspired by the chef’s heritage, life experiences and personal passions. A happy hour including signature cocktails, wines and beers will take place for the first 30 minutes.
The April 9 Dinner Lab event costs $75, starts at 7pm and will include beer, wine and a five-course dinner consisting of:
Dinner Lab is a popular, well-funded, membership-based, traveling pop-up dinner company that "exists to bring people together with new ideas in food." The company does this by hosting exclusive dinners at obscure locations in various cities throughout the U.S., where they give undiscovered chefs a creative platform to prototype new dishes and ideas through a multi-course, themed dining experience. After the meal, the intrepid diners provide detailed feedback to help the chefs and company iterate and grow.
Dinner Lab is backed in large part by investors including Whole Foods, so in addition to being a source for exciting meals, it's really a method in research and development for the upscale food industry. Dinner Lab was first launched in New Orleans, has since spread to 20 cities, and launched in America's Finest City in October 2014.
Dinner Lab operates through a membership model where members pay an annual fee up front ($175/year that begins when you attend your first dinner, not when you pay for it), which provides members access to the calendar of events for them plus one non-member guest. The company claims that this is not in the interest of exclusivity, but rather as a means of subsidizing the up-front cost of the meals - hiring people, renting a kitchen, etc. Guests then pay for each dinner (average $60-80) and have access to not only events in the local market, but in every other city that Dinner Lab operates. Tickets are purchased through the website starting a few weeks prior to the event, and prices are inclusive of at least 5 courses, tax, gratuity, and alcohol. Sign up using SanDiegoVille's link and get $20 off your first meal - dinnerlab.com/openuser/memberjoin.php?inviteid=6GV8Kb.
The location remains to-be-determined until the day before the event, it is Dinner Lab, after all. It’s not too late to join the fun, get your membership at DinnerLab.com and be a part of the most adventurous dining club in the country.
- Course 1 - Barbecued Carrots : seaweed & tamarind | crispy emerald rice cake | ginger & aspic
- Course 2 - Bones Two Ways : bone broth dashi & smoked bone marrow | violet mustard | grilled sourdough
- Course 3 - Cured Mackerel Terrine : kimchi dosa pancake | black chili & cilantro | grilled scallions | daikon sprouts
- Course 4 - Chickens & egg : roasted breast & braised thigh | liver mousse | 63º yolk | pea tendrils & cracklins
- Course 5 - Chai Panna Cotta : almond milk | aerated guava sorbet | white chocolate & cilantro

Dinner Lab is backed in large part by investors including Whole Foods, so in addition to being a source for exciting meals, it's really a method in research and development for the upscale food industry. Dinner Lab was first launched in New Orleans, has since spread to 20 cities, and launched in America's Finest City in October 2014.
The location remains to-be-determined until the day before the event, it is Dinner Lab, after all. It’s not too late to join the fun, get your membership at DinnerLab.com and be a part of the most adventurous dining club in the country.