VIRGO New York

San Francisco’s Virgo Supperclub Is on the Cusp of Its Big TV Moment | Eater SF

"What started as a low-key birthday request evolved into a recurring, theme-driven dinner-party experience run by Lara Ortiz-Luis and Garrett Schlichte: an inventive six-course plated meal with wine pairings, decorations, and rotating themes like Botanical Disco. Their playful, irreverent food—often inspired by pop-culture prompts such as The Devil Wears Prada (including a pavlova and a lemon curd dessert built around a line about eggs)—reflects complementary cooking styles rooted in Ortiz-Luis’s family restaurant and bakery background and tends toward tangy, briny flavors with seafood, pickles, and fresh produce. Standout items have included lemon ricotta dumplings; pumpkin miso butter with black sesame balls; a zhushed-up halo-halo with caramelized plantains, multi-colored boba, and pandan pavlova; and a confited-and-fried potato pavé served with cultured sour cream and MSG cheekily named “I Fucking Love Sour Cream.” A spicy shallot aioli known as “Fuck Sauce” is a dinner-party favorite. The duo emphasizes accessibility over pretension—describing the food as “slutty, spooky, slurpy, and crunchy,” accommodating allergies, and pairing thoughtfully conceived drinks like a tomato water martini or a tom yum bloody mary (with nonalcoholic options available). Branded by the constant vibe of “unctuous botanical disco,” Virgo Supperclub is unapologetically irreverent, gay, and multicultural; Schlichte’s appearance as a finalist on America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation has raised the club’s profile, and the pair are now looking to expand into larger, better-equipped spaces, scale up, and collaborate. For event updates they post at @virgosupperclub and virgosupperclub.com." - Dianne de Guzman