Twenty four amazing All Access Foodies joined together for an incredible evening of food, beverage, and community at La Tiendita for our second ever Secret Dinner. We had so much fun spending time together.
Our second Secret Dinner sold out in under one minute, unbelievable!!! Our goal was to bring something new, fun and adventurous to Tallahassee, and I think we accomplished that mission!
3 Elements To Our Secret Dinner –
- members pay up front with zero knowledge of where they’re going
- members receive an email with the address the day of the event
- members are given a custom, prix fixe menu upon arrival
Our Secret Dinner At La Tiendita
When I met up with Chef Leon for lunch a few months back, I naturally put the chef in charge of selecting a location, and he chose none other than one of my favorite restaurants, La Tiendita. I asked him to make recommendations on what to order, even though I already have my favorites, and it was fun to listen to him carry on while browsing the menu about their unique flavor profiles and high quality ingredients.
This place is also a who’s who every time I’m in there – recognizing people that are very well known in the food industry enjoying a meal at this festive restaurant. While looking around at all of their beautiful decor, I knew we had to host our next Secret Dinner at this vibrant, colorful, tasty location!
Quick note before you scroll on – Secret Dinners are exclusive for our All Access Foodies only. Tickets for our next Secret Dinner will go on sale to our subscribers very soon! Check out our previous Chuck’s Fish Secret Dinner, they exceeded our expectations!
Massive photo dump and more details ahead….
The ultimate goal of our Secret Dinner series is to 1. bring a new concept to Tallahassee 2. introduce All Access Foodies subscribers to restaurants that are either new to them, or menu items that they may have never tried, and 3. spend some time at a long table together, building community. The majority of members that attended had never been to La Tiendita, and the rest, myself included, were introduced to popular menu items that were new to us.
I know the word authentic gets passed around a lot with debates on who’s cuisine is “the most authentic”. Search our group and you’ll find that La Tiendita is always highly regarded as authentic Mexican food, with no debates otherwise. Many local chef’s have made the “authentic” claims on La Tiendita’s behalf, and I trust their judgement.
What I love best about these Secret Dinners is the creativity that goes into the custom menus – offering menu favorites, as well as moments for the chef to go off script and play, serving dishes that are a bit more distinct than their fare we all know and love.
Nora served up an incredible, custom prix fixe menu featuring authentic Mexican favorites as well as a few Brazilian treats. Her husband Sid is from Brazil, and they feature a shop inside of their restaurant full of Mexican and Brazilian goodies. In addition to the amazing food, they also served up a tasty Sangria, followed by a Caipirinha, the Brazilian national drink! One local bartender noticed my Instagram post about this cocktail and with excitement, mentioned that he doesn’t know of any other restaurant in town that serves this refreshing beverage.
La Tiendita’s Secret Dinner Menu:
Mexican Tropical Salad – Mango, Avocado, Tomato, Jalapeño, Mix Green Leaf And A House Vinegar
Ensenada Fish Tacos – Freshly Battered Fish, Cabbage, Pico De Gallo, Red Onions And House Guacamole Salsa
La Tiendita Oaxaca Mole – Not Your Regular Mole! A 37-Ingredients Mole Sauce Cooked With Chicken Over Mexican Rice, Topped With Ajonjoli
Nora’s Rice Pudding – Sweet Creamy Rice Pudding Topped With Cinnamon Powder
Cócteles Especiales – A Hibiscus Fruit Sangria & A Caipirinha – The National Brazilian Drink
Everything on this menu was new to me except for the fish tacos!!! I order fish tacos everywhere I go, and these are the best I’ve ever had. Nora’s 37 ingredient mole sauce was incredible over their fall off the bone chicken, and as I always say, I have no idea what they steam their rice in, but it’s delicious, so full of flavor!!!
For our Secret Dinners series, we hope to offer a wide array of cuisines from multicultural backgrounds, ranging from super casual to elegant wine pairing dinners!
What an incredible experience! Thank you so much to Nora and the entire La Tiendita team for the amazing, huge portions of delicious food, unique, refreshing beverages, and wonderful service, to Dave Barfield of Lonely Fox Photography for these incredible images, and to our All Access Foodies for joining us for such a fun-filled, beautiful evening.
Find La Tiendita at:
Socials – Website, Facebook, Instagram
Address – 1840 N Monroe St, Tallahassee, FL 32303
Phone – (850) 523-1494
Find Dave Barfield of Lonely Fox Photography at:
Socials – Website, Facebook, Instagram
Phone – (850) 583-1824
