Hey folks,
Erin here, filling in for Stephanie during the month of January, which is either the best or the worst month, depending on who you ask. Personally, I'm not a fan!! But I am pleased to be here, in your inbox, for the next few weeks.
Recently, I've been thinking about my all-time favorite restaurant experiences, and have realized there are some recurring themes. The meals tend to start with a round (or two) of cocktails and snacks. There are probably three to five other people at the table, to better enact the move of ordering the entire menu and sharing it family style (every plate, small or not, is one made for sharing, as far as I'm concerned). Often, there's one showstopping protein to anchor the feast. It's probably light on dessert but generous with the after-meal drinks to encourage lingering and — at that point of the evening — lively conversation. My ideal restaurant meals, in other words, tend to feel like a really great dinner party.
It's fitting, then, that Eater is bringing a bit of that dining-out vibe to dining in with the launch of our new section entirely devoted to dinner parties. Throughout the year, we'll be visiting the trends that bring the dinner party into the modern age (for example, catering has gotten so much cooler than you think). We'll unveil totally achievable hacks and ideas that make the specter of hosting less stressful and more celebratory. A few times a year, we'll guide you through the how-tos for hosting a dinner party centered around one highly specific theme; hint: for February, you'll want to grab your Lactaid.
I'm particularly excited for Eater Dinner Party because — and this is a safe space to admit this, I assume — I've never hosted a proper dinner party that wasn't a potluck, or that didn't involve simply ordering takeout. (That time I held a Friendsgiving in my basement apartment in Queens, which resulted in a gorgeous turkey but did not have space for anyone to sit down and actually eat, does not count.) And although I am not a New Year's resolutions-type person, with this inspiration in hand, maybe 2024 will be the year my dining table finally sees some dinner party action.
Here now, some of my favorite reads from the past two weeks. If you liked this email, please forward it to a friend or encourage them to sign up here.
