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Q&A: David Anthony Temple

The allure of underground dining, a popular trend in San Francisco and New York, is all about the mystery. David Anthony Temple — also known as “Chef DAT” — calls himself the “only person in Dallas who does the true underground dining scene.” The Lakewood resident hosts dinners once or twice a week, each at a different house whose address is known only to the 30 to 40 people invited by email the day of the dinner. When the invitees show up to the dinner, which is BYOB, they are treated to a fiveto 12-course themed meal. There is no menu. The dinner guests are then sworn to secrecy about the location of the event, pay (in cash, DAT doesn’t have a credit-card machine), and leave — hopefully after having a great time, eating good food and meeting new people, DAT says.

How do people get invited to these dinners?

It’s really simple — you go to my website, which is chefdat.com, or send me an email and say “put me on the list.”

When did you start underground dining?

I started doing dinners at other people’s houses years ago. And having the invite list and the emails — I started doing those maybe over a year ago. [I’ve been] consistently doing it once a week since December. We sometimes do two to three a week.

What inspired you?

It kind of was organically grown. There’s really no method to the madness. I thought I could do it. I thought I knew enough people in town, [and] I thought I had enough emails so I could just start emailing and people just come. And it just worked. And I just kept going from there.

Describe the underground dining experience for you. What happens during a typical dinner?

People come, meet other people — 90 percent of the time people don’t know each other. We get everyone seated, [and] there’s no menu, they don’t know what’s coming first. The first course comes out, I make my announcement, “Our first course is …” We do that about six times. Usually it’s six courses. Sometimes I do ones with 12, nine Some people pay and leave; some people stay and talk to the new best friends they made at their table. Usually I go and finish cleaning the kitchen and then go out and chat with them.

Do you want the experience to be mostly about the food or the social aspect?

The food is the main star. But I think the coolest thing is the relationships people make. I think it’s so funny! People become best friends at my dinners! And they would have never met unless they had come to the dinner and sat at a communal table together.

Why do you say that you’re the only person in Dallas who does the “true underground dining scene”?

Because I do it once a week at least. I know people who do pop-up dinners like once a month or every other month or quarterly. That’s not what true underground dining is. The thing about underground dining is that it’s something more consistent. Every single day, they’re working on that.

What are your next projects? I saw on your website that you’re starting a restaurant.

My next project is a restaurant, yes. We are hoping to open in the Deep Ellum area. I’ll still do the underground dinners even when I get the restaurant open. We’ll probably do them at least twice a month. With a little more finance coming in the door, we can get more expensive dinners done. We’re going to expand to have bigger menus for the underground dinners.

Tell me more about the restaurant. Why is it going to be called “Twenty Seven”?

Twenty-seven is my age and the age of my favorite musicians that have passed away (Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, Cobain, Winehouse). We will have no menu at Twenty Seven. You will make your reservation via phone or internet and choose your menu by “field” (vegetarian), “land” (rare meats and game), or “sea” (seafood).

—NICKIKOETTING

Arthritis prevents 91-year-old Melvin Martin from getting around. He wants to move from a chair to his motorized scooter, and it takes him several pumps to motivate his body up from the chair. His wife, Lora, encourages him, “You’ve got it, honey.” Finally, Melvin says “oof!” as he stands, and he shuffles his feet to the scooter. Lora says she loves Melvin like she’s never loved a man before. The Martins are newlyweds. They were married Sept. 23 at the Vickery Towers, the retirement home where they live, inviting all the other residents as their guests. Melvin, a World War II Army veteran who worked 40 years for U.S. Gypsum, has been married twice before. But this is 89-year-old Lora’s first marriage. She says she felt pressure to get married in the 1940s and ’50s, but she never gave into it. “I never saw the right one,” Lora says of her previous suitors. “I was waiting since I was 21.” Melvin chimes in: “Wasn’t I lucky?” The Martins met in the dining room at Vickery Towers. They started sitting at the same table together two years ago, and they found they were compatible. What was their courtship like?

“It’s hard to explain, honey,” Lora says. “We just enjoyed each other, and we’ve never had a harsh word with each other.” On her wedding day, Lora wore a pink gown, donated by the Bridal Shop on Mockingbird. She had a three-tier bridal cake, and Melvin’s groom’s cake was so delicious, they didn’t even get a piece for themselves. The Martins go to exercise class together. They like to see the singers and dancers who come perform for them at Vickery. And they like watching sports on TV — baseball, football, golf. Frequently, Melvin’s 58-year-old son Greg comes to take them out to eat or grocery shopping. And they like to cuddle. But mostly, they just enjoy one another. “I love the companionship I have with Melvin,” Lora says. “To love each other, and to be loved.” Melvin agrees: “I feel the same way.” The Martins aren’t the only newlyweds at Vickery. Another couple, Jerry Calhoun and Alma Howard, both in their 80s, were married at Vickery Towers Oct. 15. —RACHEL STONE

VIDEO Watch a video of these two love birds getting married.

Visit lakewood.advocatemag.com/video, or scan this code to watch it on your mobile.

Construction Woes

Lower Greenville businesses are hunkering down until roadwork is over

When the $1.3 million Lower Greenville improvements are completed at the end of this year, there will be wide sidewalks, potted plants, bike racks and on-street parking. It will be more pedestrian friendly and, hopefully, will draw more people to the restaurants and bars. For the time being, however, business on Lower Greenville stinks. Construction crews have blocked southbound traffic from Richmond to La Vista until Nov. 26. And northbound is no picnic. It’s dusty and bumpy. The street is narrow. The sidewalks are treacherous or altogether blocked. Busi- nesses have put up signs imploring, “WE’RE OPEN!” “We’re all open,” says Ricardo Avila of Mextopia. “It just looks like a warzone down here.” The Tex-Mex restaurant, at the center of the construction, has closed for lunch temporarily. Construction and business was just too unpredictable to make a lunch service worthwhile, Avila says. Co-owner Michelle Andrie says business is off 50-70 percent. But landlord Madison Partners has worked with them on rent, and they’ve helped with things like the “OPEN” banner and reconfiguring the patio. “It’s been pretty painful for most of our tenants, but they’re also excited about having a nicer street at the end of the day,” says Jonathon Hetzel of Madison Partners. None of Madison’s tenants have closed because of construction, Hetzel says. Kush lounge has closed temporarily while it seeks a zoning variance from the city. Clay Hartman opened his beer boutique and tavern, the Bottle Shop, on Greenville near Richmond a few months ago. He knew when he signed the lease that construction was impending. The street improvements were a selling point for him, but the construction ordeal has been more painful than he expected. “It was fine until they closed our sidewalk for the whole month of September,” he says. “People avoid the area, and we’re not getting the typical traffic. But October has already been better.” The good news is construction is on track to finish ahead of a Dec. 31 deadline. The sewer pipes are under the east side of the street, and most of the work on that side already is finished. So crews now are working on the less complicated west side. Business owners are holding out hope that once the street is improved, business will be better than ever. “It hasn’t been hunky dory for anyone,” Hetzel says. “It’s temporary pain for an ultimate payoff.”

—RACHEL STONE