coronavirus

Take-out with a Mission: Cobaya Delivers

Photography By David Rosendorf | April 08, 2020

Awaiting pickup at Ariete

Creative take-out menus – DIY pizza and taco kits – get attention from diners looking for something different. But elegant pressed duck accompanied by creamed yuca followed by a candy cap mushroom flan?

That was on the special take-out menu for the recent Cobaya underground dining club experience.

Typically, the group engages a chef for a special evening of dining at an undisclosed location, then sells tickets for the event. Because demand far exceeds available seats, there's a lottery.

Cobaya At Home carried a different message. “As we all navigate our way through this epidemic, Cobaya is looking for ways to support our local restaurant community, and also to still eat well. Obviously we can't host an event right now, as gatherings are off the table and restaurants are only open for takeout and delivery. But ... what if you could shelter in place and still participate in one of our Cobaya dinners? And, what if you could help restaurant industry workers affected by the COVID-19 crisis at the same time?”

Open to all, the meal had a $100 price tag that included dinner for two, with 20% of the proceeds going to an in-house restaurant employee relief fund.

Photo 1: Cobaya meal

Photo 2: Pressed duck, salad, creamed yuca

Diners who bought tickets discovered the restaurant was Ariete in Coconut Grove. David Rosenthal, one of the Cobaya founders, says everything worked incredibly well for a first-time effort.

“We had a fantastic response, we were looking to sell 35 ducks and we sold all but one on two days' notice,” he says. “Pickup times were staggered out over two hours so they didn't have any more than five people showing up every 20-minute interval, so everyone could practice good social distancing.”

Dinners came with simple reheating instructions. “Honestly, I was floored at how well the duck turned out,” he says. “Warmed through but still rare, crispy skin — really close to what you get in the restaurant.”

Dessert was the candy cap mushroom flan, a creation of chef Michael Beltran, served with whipped cream and cookie crumbles.

Rosendorf says they’re planning to host another Cobaya to-go event, and if the demand is there, they’ll do it regularly until things get back to normal.

“It was great to be able to provide folks a great meal, provide a restaurant some business, and provide some money for displaced workers, even if we couldn't all get together.”