Throwing a dinner party can be a challenging feat. Even
Mark Bittman thinks so, strongly enough that he was inspired to create a
mix-
and-
match menu matrix to assist both novices and experts who are planning such a gathering. Bittman’s not the only one eager to assist frantic party planners. New sites and services are simplifying—and sometimes elevating—the age-old act of getting together over dinner.
A & O Dinner Party Blueprints: DIY kits are having a moment, having been put to use in projects as contained as
interior design and as aspirational as
building a civilization. Somewhere in between sits the task of throwing a dinner party. To help, bloggers Sarah Lagrotteria and Lydia Ellison Howerton of
Apples & Onions are offering their expertise in the form of Party Blueprints. For $100, A&O will customize a kit containing a signature cocktail recipe or wine pairing, a three-course menu, simple decor suggestions, and a timeline for executing each stage to perfection. This is pre-fab planning that reflects the priorities of today’s consumers:
reasonably priced,
customized, and it lets consumers keep their
calm.
Orange Arrow: This revolving underground restaurant originally operated as an
invitation-only supper club, giving its prospective guests little more to go on than a mysterious email invite and a $125 advance bill. But the DC-based
anti-restaurant recently upped its inclusivity by opening the wait list to outsiders and is now offering custom dinner party planning, to boot. The pros at Orange Arrow help clients throw their very own top-secret fete, sourcing an innovative venue, building a multicourse menu, sending out enigmatic invitations, even bulking up wimpy guest lists with intriguing local personalities. Custom parties start at $120 a head, an arguably good bargain for such a simple way to earn some speakeasy street cred.
Grub With Us: For those who like to socialize over dinner but are too lazy to plan their own party (even with help),
Grub With Us brings together strangers over a pre-purchased meal at a pre-determined local restaurant. Now just over a year old, GWU has expanded from its hometown of Boston to six major cities, and has built a sizable network of social diners and
new-friend-seekers. The company recently received
criticism when a
Boston Herald reporter
revealed some of its more stringent rules for civilized dining. Still, the platform has its benefits—for example, few others allow for single-click planning, and even fewer make it quite so painless to
split the bill.
