Shh.

All you loyal Volume One readers have, of course, heard of guerilla gardening, but have you heard of guerilla dining (aka the “popup restaurant” phenomenon)? It’s all the rage in Madison, at least according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The way it works is that a chef, often someone who’s looking to open up a restaurant but wants to test the waters first, sets up an online group looking for people that are willing to try some of his or her tasty eatables. The group grows, through word of mouth or internet avenues or what-have-you, and then each secret diner is e-mailed/Facebook messaged/tweeted the confidential date and location of the meal. They often take place outdoors or in private homes, or sometimes in established restaurants which have been loaned out for the occasion. Everyone meets, they eat, they talk about the food, and then the whole operation disappears after dinner. Poof!

A bit of controversy has emerged over these culinary tactics. According to that WSJ article, the Health Department kind of frowns on this sort of thing – and they have internet access.

What we at V1 want to know is this: is Madison the only Wisconsin city getting in on the secret meal action, or does Eau Claire already have a covert network of secret chefs preparing experimental dishes? I guess announcing it kind of defeats the purpose.

P.S. This is how they do it in New York City.