SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) — They don’t advertise. They do have a web site but with no phone number listed. And, they are the hardest ticket in town to get.
CBS News 8’s Marcella Lee goes inside San Diego’s secret supper club, Cellar Door.
Logan Mitchell is a self-taught chef who cooks up a storm inside her Normal Heights kitchen. A table for ten in the living room is set by her husband, Gary McIntire.
Welcome to Cellar Door, a private and somewhat secretive supper club.
“Nobody knows what they’re eating until they sit down,” said Logan.
“If you're willing to be a little adventurous and not have any control over what you're eating, then it can be a really fun experience for people that have that sensibility,” she said.
Logan and Gary have been serving gourmet, five-course dinners to San Diegans for the past five years.
Logan is the cook. Gary is the drink master.
“This is Aperol. It's a grapefruit liquor and I'm going to mix it with champagne,” said Gary. “It’s super refreshing. A nice way to start your meal.”
“Who doesn't love sharing a meal around a table with friends? Being able to bring that kind of joy into people's lives is really rewarding,” he said.
Preparing a meal like this takes a lot of work – hours or sometimes days.
“These are pork tenderloins. They've been curing for two days in salt, pepper, thyme, and fennel seed all crushed up,” explained Logan.
But the real work is getting a spot at the table. Before you can eat you have to get on Cellar Door’s private email list.
Thousands of San Diegans have signed up. When the email blast goes out, the ten seats full up fast, usually within a few minutes.
“It's so much different than going to a big restaurant where you're just sitting as two people, not really interacting with the chef or anyone else,” said one of Cellar Door’s dinner guests.
“Usually you get to meet a group of people you've never met before or you can come here with a group of friends,” said the guest.
If you do a little detective work on Google, you can figure out how to find Cellar Door San Diego. The dinners cost in the range of $80 to $100. Payments are technically treated as donations.