In this day and age of social media mania, where everything done is captured and posted, it is rare to see an event that asks for you to put away your phones. This is Unplugged- Buried But Not Dead. A unique event where a group of industry professionals have come together with the desire of helping guests to be present and focused in the moment and on those who share it with them. This is their first run, a Halloween party hosted within the event space of the old Wildebeest.
The invitation was a little vague, simply asking guests to dress up and be prepared to surrender their phones. Hard copy invites were also sent out, explaining something similar. Each envelop included a red zip tie, which you were asked to bring to the event. Sadly, the Canada Post strike had my coming to my door late. Luckily there were more than enough ties at the hostess booth, when you checked in, on the actual day of the event.
These red ties would be used to secure our phones within little red and white plastic cages. That then would remain within reach at our tables, but to not be used.
Instead, they had a professional photographer roaming the narrow restaurant space all throughout the evening, capturing the moment with his camera. There were also disposable digital cameras available for each table to share and use. This would replace our phones to help capture the evening’s moments. The photos were then uploaded on to the photographer’s website for you to retrieve the following day.
I appreciated the quick turnaround time, but did not like the actual experience of taking the photos or think their quality worth the effort.
Having experienced the era of photo developing, I forgot the inconvenience of the act. To not be able to see what you are taking a photo of and know that you did a good job gave me anxiety as a reporter. In the moment, I couldn’t tell if I was over using the flash option, and wondered if the photos were in focus. Was I too close? What if someone was not in the composition? I did take the extra time to close one eye and look through the plastic lens of the viewfinder to make sure everything was in frame. And even then there was no actual frame to reference.
In the end, either my photos were horrible or I didn’t even take them. Because despite the number on the camera increasing each time I push down on the button, I did not see my photos on the online album. This is despite noting that the other photos uploaded were blurry. So this experience only taught me to trust only myself and take my own photos regardless of the event. Because at the end of the day I enjoy the writing and reporting aspect of the activity, just as much as I do the activity in itself.
Tickets were $86.69 per person and surprisingly it did not include any drinks. They were not made available to the pubic, and the event is invite only. There were no beers, mocktails, or cocktails available for purchase. Outside of water, your only option was wine by the bottle.
Considering how robust the wine menu is, I am assuming this is how they made majority of their profits. Many of the wines obscure brands that I’ve never heard of and with labels I have never seen at my local liquor store. The selection was mainly young reds and whites. Handful of sparkling options, no rosé, but an orange instead. Of the reds the majority were blends, none of the big bold Bordeaux grapes I wanted when I was looking for a heavier mouth feel. But it is just as well, as without a list of the menu items at the table. I didn’t know how to pair one to the other.
We did get a copy of the menu ahead of time, but with our phones locked up there was no way to reference it. This was 10 courses, majority of which were a single bite.
I find that at such an event with only live music, no entertainment, and individual groups at their own tables you really have to drink to create your own fun. Therefore between our group of four we each got a bottle to share with the table. Once again despite all the choices, it was hard to have them match our plates, nor were the servers able to help. In the end, we were just drinking for the buzz anyways.
We got two bottles of the orange wine because our non-wine drinker liked it as the sweetest option. In search for a more savoury red, I settled for one that had a blend of Syrrah, Merlot, plus others. This did help cut into our double pate course below. The best bottle of the night was our first Merlot blend as a simple and easy table wine. As far as price goes, I did appreciate that majority of the bottles were $60-$70, with a couple in the $90-$100 range. Not affordable, just more approachable than at most specialty pop-up events like this.
As for food, our first course was “Beet Me Red”, and I will give them credit for the thematic names of each dish. Blood-red beet tartare with capers, harissa heat, on a crisp. I like how the latter was meant to mimic muscles, and it even had barnacles on it to boot. It was a novel idea, but I found it too hard compared to its softened topping. Not to mention, we would see it again in another dish down the road, which made it feel like a copout and easy way to shortcut a course.
I enjoyed the “Lick My Trufflipop” the most. This was a pumpkin ball on a stick that was cheesy and sweet with a truffled finish.
I couldn’t tell that the “I’d Unshell” was a tender scallop char by flame, smeared with carrot purée, and topped with tapenade. It was but a sliver served on a heavy weighted black spoon.
The “Raw and Wild” aptly described the hand-chopped elk, spiced with juniper and mustard on a black crisp, then drizzled over with pepper aioli. Nothing all that distinguishing here, but tasty enough.
The “Choked and Smoked” is beet-cured and smoked salmon seasoned with blood orange, fennel, and black sesame. It looked like a lovely plate with two strips of vibrant red ruby cuts of salmon. However the fish was tough and slightly rubbery, whereas I expected it to be a lot more lush given its colouring.
“Penetrate My Pate” is chicken liver mousse on and apple tart with cranberry and walnuts. Our table absolutely hated this one, complaining that the two element didn’t jibe. Rich umami and dessert-like sugars. With the neon red cranberry gel drizzled overtop, this reminded me of a brain, and I thought it fitting for the occasion. Flavour-wise, if you don’t like salty and sweet contrasting combinations this one isn’t for you. Ironically, this was actually the largest course of the evening, and we were all hungry enough to dig in. Prior to this, everything else had been 1 to 2 bites that really weren’t all that satisfying or filling.
And just went we passed on the pate above, we got more with the “Spread em, u Know u Want to”. Mushroom pâté with onions and a balsamic finish that lingers. The added layer of cream and crunchy bits topping it did help to temper some of the more robust flavours however, at this point, we didn’t need the similar taste and texture twice. Also, this is where the black mussel shape chips made another appearance. So once again, this dish felt thrown together.
“Stuffed Duckky Style was duck confit stuffed tight in phyllo with black kale and sage, topped with a pomegranate and molasses. This ate like a savoury cannoli, a meaty two bite balanced out by the fruity pomegranate seeds.
The “Bone Me Marrow Deep” was our meat course, and the only one that was an entrée portion. A medium rare prepared bison steak with marrow butter, a parsnip spread, and red wine jus. The flavour was a nice salty and savoury, but I found the meat could have used more tenderizing. It was hard, dry, too tough, and the sides really didn’t do much to accent it.
Dessert was the “Pumpkin Cream Orgy” a thick and heavy panna cotta coated in brown butter caramel with hot pecans and a dark tuile. A decadent end to this meal, but without any pumpkin. I enjoyed the warming topping and the crunch of the nuts; but would have liked the pudding-like panna cotta to have been lighter, to balance out the sweetness of all the caramel over it.
In short, this was an interesting experience, but not one that I particularly enjoyed, giving my interest in food, drink, and writing and documenting of both in detail. However? I do like this premise and it as an excuse to get people disconnecting.
https://www.unplugged.house/
