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List of Closed Door Dining Spots Worldwide
Casa SaltShaker
Salon for Food and Conversation / Salón para Comida y Conversación
Buenos Aires, Argentina
December 5-8, 2012
Comments from some of the guests:
"Thank you again for having us in your wonderful home last night for dinner. It was an experience we won´t forget. The company was great and we left speaking about how delicious the food was as well. When I return to the states, I´ll send some pictures of the dishes you cooked up and a group picture of the table that you can share with the others from dinner." - M.Y.
"Thank you! We loved the dinner. Everything was amazing, especially the beet soup, which I cant stop thinking about. Your dinner & good company was definitely one of the highlights of our vacation. We will definitely post on trip advisor! Thanks again." - W.D.
"It was great. Thanks for having me! I''v rec''d it to some others at my hotel." - L.E.
"Thanks again for dinner, the food/ wine were amazing." - S.A.
"Greetings from Iguazu. We had a terrific time at your home last night. The group was very congenial, the food and wines were excellent. J... is eager to see the recipe for the walnut and berry tart, which we both loved. We both belong to Trip Advisor and will be posting very positive reviews when we get home and have easier Internet access. We´re not sure when we´ll be back in BA, but when we are, you can bet we´ll be joining you for dinner. One question: We really enjoyed meeting everyone at the dinner last night but were wondering how often you turn down people who ask to be part of the group because they don´t seem compatible? All the best," - A.T.
[My response: Glad you enjoyed and thanks for the rave! It's pretty rare that we turn someone down - people are kind of self-selecting for this type of event. Someone really has to come across as a person I don't want in our home, purely based on how they phrase things or what they're requesting, for me to say no. In fact, the last time I can recall doing it was last New Year's Eve when someone sent me a list of what he expected us to do for him and his two friends for the evening to make it special the way they would at home. It was clear that I'd made the right choice when for the entire week they were in Buenos Aires they called me on the phone every couple of hours to curse at me for having turned them down, and threatening how they would destroy our business. Never heard from them again after that, I suppose they told a bunch of friends not to come here. The most common thing is more if someone has dietary restrictions that I just can't meet, either in general, or on a given week's menu - generally that tends to be the vegans and the gluten-free folk, plus anyone who's allergic to garlic, onions or peppers, which I simply won't cook without. And in that case, I know the other puertas cerradas well enough to know who to steer them towards instead of us that can handle their diets better than us.]
"Thank you again for a wonderful night. I have written a review on Trip Advisor that will hopefully do it justice." - A.M.
"My wife and I dined at chef Dan Perlman's Casa Salt Shaker during a recent visit to Buenos Aires. After communicating by e-mail we were given the address, and showed up without knowing what to expect, as it was our first experience with "closed door dining". We were welcomed by Dan and Henry and invited into their home, where we met our fellow diners, who were comprised of travellers from around the world. After a pre-dinner cocktail, we were served a five course meal with matching wines, that far exceeded our expectations. With each course we were delighted by the quality and presentation of the food, that came paired with well matched and enjoyable wines. Dan's take on a South American seafood casserole was simply sublime, and his Beetroot soup with Chilli ice cream was delicious. I highly recommend this for anyone with a sense of culinary adventure, who enjoys meeting interesting people." - A.M. via TripAdvisor
"We are from melbourne and had an absolutely lovely time with you and henry! Enjoyed the food, loved the wine and the company. Sorry to hear you receive such a negeative review - in my experience people will find something to complain about always if they are those sort of people! No matter what the experience! I think ur doing a fabulous job and we would come back and recomend you also! Take heart in all the many many positive reviews u receive, there is always the small few who will have a horrible time even if find themselves in paradise.
Thanks for the fun time we had with you!" - M.B. [Reference was to vitriolic 1-star fake review on TripAdvisor, however, it was removed by TA shortly thereafter when they determined it violated their guidelines.]
