June 17, 2019
In a city with a plethora of scenic dining options, a Top Chef champion believes dining under a transparent plastic dome constitutes "dinner with a view." We will see when roving pop-up Dinner With A View takes over "a highly unexpected setting" for a limited run in San Diego early next year.
Founded in Canada last year, Dinner With A View was initially spearheaded by 2014 Top Chef Canada winner René Rodriguez, a French and Italian cuisine trained Mexican-born chef who also appeared on the Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay (where he prevailed). The dining phenomenon has executed two installments in Ottawa in 2018, operating as Récolte (which means 'harvest' in French). The first installation took place in Toronto in March and was met with protests after the city forced the removal of a nearby makeshift homeless camp to clear the space. This past spring, a second run took place in Montreal. Vancouver is next on the list for a fall tenure before the company lands in San Diego in early 2020. While Chef René was the title chef for previous events, he will not be the chef for the Vancouver or San Diego visits, rather the organization will be solidifying partnerships with influential chefs for the specific city.
So what is Dinner With A View? A handful of geodesic, plastic, igloo-like spheres will be installed at a random location for approximately one month and parties of up to six people will pay top dollar for a chance to be served a three course dinner while seated inside. The website for the pop-up states that each dome will be converted into decorated "terrariums", using some rather flowery language to describe the experience. The meal is described with all the buzz words necessary to appeal to the eco-conscious, social-media-fueled, including "farm-to-table" and "locally sourced". Dinners can be requested to be vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian. Other installations came at the cost of $149 to reserve a dome (which fits up to six people), plus $99 per person for the three-course dinner, not including drinks, taxes, or tip.
"A completely luxurious dining experience in a highly unexpected setting," reads the Dinner With A View website. "The adventure begins as guests are ushered into a unique outdoor space - a wondrous environment perfect for sharing via social. Our domes are transformed into terrariums with distinct terrains. A terrarium is an elegant encapsulation of an ecosystem; a living biosphere captured in time. Here, we bring that notion to life inside our domes, each corresponding to a different region of the earth’s terroir: tundra, tropical, grasslands, arid and boreal forest. These extraordinary spaces are designed using resplendent materials such as live flora, luxurious textiles and elegant illumination. The dining experience is anchored by the Chef’s savoir-faire, and the landscape from which our food is grown."
Why such a pop-up concept would choose San Diego as its first U.S. location is a conundrum in and of itself, as California's southernmost city boasts one of the most revered climates and scenic settings in the country. We reached out to the company for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publishing.
For more information on Dinner With A View, visit dinnerwithaview.ca/en/san-diego.
For more information on Dinner With A View, visit dinnerwithaview.ca/en/san-diego.
