supper club, anyone?

Welp. As if I need or can handle it, my latest obsession? Supper parties. I have gone down a rabbit hole of food, fashion, and culture from the 40s and 50s, and I just can't help myself!

It could be that secretly I am a foodie, a budding food critic just waiting to burst from my shell and begin my prolific career across the country and, ultimately, the world once my palate fully matures. Or it's possibly the fact I love loads of vintage fashion. Whichever, it lead me to Lawrence Frank and my newfound love of the supper club era.

Lawrence Frank was the founder of the famous Lawry's The Prime Rib located in Beverly Hills and namesake for Lawry's seasoning; he is credited with introducing supper clubs. Though supper clubs were the most popular in the midwest, the first club appeared in Beverly Hills during the 30s. The supper clubs were known for their uppity image but were notably affordable and were thought to initially gain popularity as the country was coming out of prohibition, and its citizens were ready to celebrate! Guests would arrive at the clubs for cocktail hour, enjoy Old Fashioneds and Grasshoppers and maybe a steak dinner, then stay through the evening into latenight hours, where they were always entertained. 

Though these were called supper clubs, I've read that the emphasis was not on the meals. In fact, the meals could have been better, leaving those in attendance there for the social aspects rather than the cuisine. While you could have gotten a meatloaf or a fried fish, the evening was made special by all the fellas in crisp, pressed slacks and tailored shirts with shined loafers. Ladies in hip-hugging pencil skirts and silk shirts, hair curled to the gods. 

Getting all slayed and spending the evening with a spouse or friend sounds like a good time. Prohibition had ended, so we know the drinks were fire. However, I cannot accept that food wasn't the focus at a supper club, especially when America and its cuisine were fighting to be established. Now that covid has finally decided to end her terror, many supper, or dinner, clubs and parties are beginning to resurface, causing a reemergence of what was. And since celebrating one another with food and libations is a tradition for humans as old as the Earth, it seems fitting.

I want in. Also, you should too. Stay tuned!