A few weeks ago I attended a private invite-only dinner in the heart of Chinatown (Manhattan, NYC). I normally would not blog about this but it was different. The dinner was inclusive, it was classy, it was fun, and it was one of the most unique dining experiences I've had in a while.
Before I get into what I ate, I'll explain how this came about. Back in April, I purchased tickets to an annual conference in Brooklyn called The Food Writers' Workshop (thanks to EatWithNia ) and it inspired me for many reasons. I got to hang around (and learn from) other incredible black foodies (AvaEats, DomNTheCity, Jillian) along with getting insight from different panelists. I really enjoyed the conference and all of the discussions on what it takes for a woman to become and maintain success in the food industry.
It was an absolute pleasure to see so many black women on panels talking about breaking barriers in the food world digitally and in real life.
While at the conference, I was introduced to a collective called the Black Food Folks. Shortly after learning about them, I proceeded to stalk their social media pages (as anyone else would do) and I came across another group. A creative group called ToBeHosted. This group throws monthly private dinners for black and brown creatives. I swiftly followed this group on social media and was delightfully intrigued when I saw an Instagram post announcing the "May Dinner". I immediately applied for an invite to attend and a few days later I was able to get a seat at the table.
A Seat At The Table.
The idea behind the monthly dinner is simple. You are seated next to strangers (intentionally), and all you have to do is pay a reasonable fee, come hungry, come open-minded and come ready to meet new people. I love this idea, and since food is known to bring people together it makes networking easier. I was luckily seated next to Chef B. Woods who I'm looking forward to collaborating with in the near future. Someone who I would have not met if it wasn't for this dinner.
Chef Day and I.
Now on to the chef of the evening. The dinner was curated by a phenomenal woman named Chef Day. If you are not following XoChefDay on Instagram you should start today. She's talented, beautiful and is someone who is taking the food industry by storm with her recipes.
Before we all dived in, Chef Day excitedly explained the inspiration for all of the dishes, the ingredients, she even adjusted her recipes for those who have dietary restrictions, and spoke to every single one of us who dined that evening. It was magical.
The dinner theme was Breakfast After Dark. Chef Day's menu included sweet and savory options. I honestly enjoyed every single item on the menu but the pancakes were simply divine. Here’s a look at the menu items:
SWEET
STRAWBERRY FIELDS: sweet, wild, white strawberries mixed with red currants blueberries peaches and spearmint. This was so delightful and I cannot recall a time I ate a white strawberry.
FLUFFY STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PANCAKES: buttermilk pancakes caramelized rhubarb Haitian rum cream topped with strawberries.
SAVORY
PEPPERED SHRIMP & GRITS (TO THE LEFT) , DUCK HASH (BELOW) , ARUGULA SALAD (BELOW DUCK HASH)
I had a blast and I'm still hyped from that night. Everything was so delightful. So delicious and I'm definitely looking forward to attending another dinner or two because I felt so comfortable, so at home, and just so welcomed.
Comment below if you've attended a dinner like this before. Let me know if there are others I should attend.
The photo on the left is from an actual restaurant in Manhattan on 3rd Avenue called 
It seems like every other culture has food that's proudly celebrated but its seems like black food isn't celebrated as much as Italian or even Mexican food. I feel Marcus is doing a great job representing for us and showing the culinary world the importance and sophistication of black food.
I've had the pleasure of eating at 
While I was at the restaurant I had a chance to meet Marcus. I completely fangirled and as you can see from my photo I was really excited to meet him. He was extremely humble. He was even open to suggestions about the food. Which I thought was really thoughtful and just plain real. He made sure he went to every table and checked to see if everyone was happy with the menu and the dishes they ordered.
A few years back I started reading his James Beard Foundation award winning memoir titled 
To keep up with Marcus I now follow him on 
I feel like I've fount my people. These are busy women making it work. These women have children, own companies, amongst other things and they still manage blog sites. Even from the first meeting I went to I was inspired. We have monthly meet-ups and those meetings put a fire under my butt and motivate me to get it together.A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has supported my site or have acknowledged my work in any way. It really means a lot to me.On a daily basis, I wish I would be able to post more. It bothers me that I can not but I'm doing my best. I work full time and at night or certain weekends that's when I research and work on my food photos and planning on where to eat. It's taken me a year to realize that I can't feel down on myself about not posting. It's like I have a mantra: "post when you can--post when you can, just be consistent". I'm using a calendar/planner now to organize myself better to schedule posts and I use an app called 
The pop up restaurant/parking lot was located downtown Manhattan at 
While waiting to get in everyone took photos with the staff members, the infamous man in a chicken costume, and we watched the official trailer a few times. In the trailer I noticed Gus says "come in and try our curly fries". I didn't think anything of it until one of the staff members announced there was no chicken being sold nor given out. My heart sunk. ?
I want to mention that I ALWAYS research every restaurant, event, pop up shop, grand opening, etc I attend. I search the internet for details and because of my "need to know" personality I always like to be prepared and know what to expect. But this time, because I saw so many tweets about it being so "cool" at SXSW I did not dive into finding out what to expect and wanted to be surprised. With that said, I was unaware that chicken would not actually get served at the pop up restaurant.The one time I do not research a pop up event this happens. I would not have gotten there so early if I knew this. On a positive note, they did however provide us with curly fries (and the fries were actually tasty). For free. 
I will say this was more of a pop up museum of the Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant rather than a standard pop up restaurant. I can't front, I'm sad I did not get to try some chicken but it was kinda astounding seeing the replica of the set. It was like we were actually in the southwest and in this extremely nice and wholesome chicken joint that was really a front for drug money. It was pretty freaking awesome to have experienced it.
Here are (5) reasons why you should eat pasta that was cooked in a giant cheese wheel:
I will say this is something every cheese lover should experience. One time in their life. There are so many restaurants all over the United States now that offer this. To find your local cheese wheel/cheese boat pasta download the Yelp app and have a grand ole' cheesy time.
Location: Basta Pasta >
Last month I attended a secret event called Dîner En Blanc. It's an event not many people know about or have even heard of until you know someone who's been to it or you've seen tons of people dressed in white meeting in the same location. Certainly commuters near the Flatiron district were curious as to why tons of adults were meeting in the park dressed from head to toe in white (men and women) with what seems to be luggage all around us. This is what commuters saw when they walked by Madison Square Park (one of the many meeting spots around New York City) on a Thursday at 5:30pm:[video width="720" height="1280" mp4="http://tameekaeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/IMG_8418.mp4" poster="http://tameekaeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Screen-Shot-2016-10-30-at-9.56.03-PM.png" loop="true"][/video]I think the mystery of it all is what keeps the event going. Even though I can enjoy a bit of mystery in my life, I have a bit of a type A personality and I like to be prepared for things in advance. Not having full details on what to expect I spent days before the event studying lot's of blogs and subscribing to multiple white party themed Pinterest boards to get tips on what to bring, what to wear, and how to set up my table.After the event I realized there are tons of people like me out there and tons of people who need a lil less mystery in their lives when it comes to one of the most exclusive parties in New York City so I created this post for people like me.I've broken down the basics of Dîner En Blanc by using a familiar set of "Who" "What" "When" "Where" "Why" and "How".
Who? -- Who Started Dîner En Blanc? 
I would also suggest adding as much originality as possible to what you are wearing. Add lights, birds, feathers, big hats, stones, anything creative to your outfit (and table) to stand out in the sea of white. I say this because you'll make a lot of friends quickly. One of my friends whom I sat with said something very true about Dîner En Blanc: "this is like a prom for adults". When I walked around everyone was dressed so elegantly, dancing, laughing, eating and having a ball. It really did remind me of a prom. And I loved every minute of it (once we all sat and got settled).Speaking of getting settled, earlier I mentioned "gathering the basics". Gathering the basics when it comes to Dîner En Blanc means you are given a list before hand of items you will need to bring with you to have dinner which are:
If you do bring food that needs to be on ice I suggest small lunch box type of items and ice packs. One big mistake I made as a first timer was bringing a full sized cooler filled with food and ice. At one point myself and my cooler almost tumbled down the subway stairs so I highly recommend purchasing a sturdy set of wheels for a very small cooler or obtain a backpack cooler. And, if you are in New York you will be going to the secret location via the subway so your "luggage" of tables and chairs may have to fit through the turnstile. Keep things compact.When it comes to alcohol, New York City has pretty strict rules about drinking in parks so we were instructed not to bring alcoholic beverages but to purchase them at the approved vendor. This years main vendors were Moët and Apothic wines.
To my surprise, there were no detailed education sections or history lessons on ice cream. Instead of walking around reading or listening to a guide, your 5 senses were intrigued. You were given sweet treats in every room you entered, and the whole place was decked out in hip ice-cream themed art work. Which is quite refreshing. It's out of the norm when one thinks of a traditional museum visit.Ticket prices were about $18USD per person and the full experience lasts about 30-40 minutes. You are usually grouped in with several people and are instantly greeted with the flavor of the day ice cream. The two attractions that stood to me the most were "The Edible Balloons" and "The Sprinkles Pool".If you follow food trends, you'll know that this one of them. There are several Youtube of people enjoying edible balloons at dinner tables (mainly in Chicago) so when I saw them being made here I got really excited because this was one thing I could scratch off of my food bucket list. Unfortunately, this still remains on my list because I failed at eating the balloon. I tried twice and ended up with sticky glasses and sticky hands. One day I'll succeed, but it was fun watching and hearing everyone eat their balloons and talk to each other with the funny helium voice.
