Others, not so much. We’ve all experienced the agony. You sit down at a restaurant you’ve been dying to try, peruse the menu, and narrow your choice down to the braised pork belly, the grilled lamb chops, the cornmeal-fried chicken, and the seared scallops. Or the porterhouse, medium-rare of course. Come to think of it, the roasted butternut squash ravioli sounds good, too.

Rachel Lipton, Andrea Samlin, and Jordan Zelesnick feel your pain. Every time the trio of Instagram food bloggers get together for dinner, they want to order . . . everything.

It was while sharing a particularly delicious bowl of fish ceviche at Puerto 511 that their new company, Tapas in the City, was born. It’s dedicated to bringing more of restaurants’ menus to the masses. They host multi-course dinners at city restaurants, during which diners shed the shackles of ordering just one dish, and instead, indulge in several. The women try to pick places that are relatively new, and they work with the chefs to choose the set menu, which always includes a vegetarian option.

“We think of tapas more of like a small plate for yourself,” rather than a shareable dish, says Samlin (@Bmore_Hungry). “A young professional couldn’t afford to order everything off the menu, nor could they eat it all, so we thought picking signature items would be more appealing.”

That was clear on Wednesday, when the trio of city-dwelling 26 year olds hosted their third dinner at Sammy’s Enoteca. Like the first two (and the next one, on August 25 at Cava Mezze), it was sold out.

“It makes it more affordable because you can try a little bit of everything and not have to worry about spending 20 bucks on this, and 20 bucks on that,” said Austin Rose, of Mt. Vernon. “Rachel has been posting these amazing pictures of food on her Instagram (@LiketheteaEATS), so we had no choice but to come.”

He’s glad he did. For a flat fee of around $50 (which included three drinks and gratuity—non-drinkers pay less), he and the other 30 or so guests each enjoyed their own six-course small plate meal. Sausage and rapini, risotto with wild mushroom, watermelon salad with feta and mint, gnocchi in Bolognese sauce, and duck ravioli were among the dishes chef Sam Curreri served at his new Fells Point restaurant, which opened three months ago.

“We’re not typically a small plates restaurant—being Italian, it’s almost like an oxymoron,” Curreri says. “This gives us more exposure.”

As the night progressed, conversation flowed at the large communal table and a few other smaller ones. The women take great care to make all their guests, most of whom are millennials, feel welcome.

“With all the young people who are going on dates on apps like Tinder and Bumble, this is a great activity,” says Zelesnick (@jzeats) “Or for people who just moved here and don’t know anybody, this is a great way to meet people.”

And get to know some new food.

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In keeping with the restaurant’s traditional farm-to-table vibe, Cunningham’s chefs will be preparing a three-course meal (parts of which are sourced from Cunningham’s own Cockeysville farm) that will begin with artisanal cheeses, house-made pickles, fresh-baked breads, local jams, and porchetta. Also on offer: an amuse-bouche of butternut soup topped with a house-made nutmeg marshmallow. For the main courses, guests will be served Parisian gnocchi with shaved pecorino, and braised short ribs with butternut squash and horseradish whipped potatoes. Seasonal fruit pies and tarts with fresh ice cream are the featured desserts.

The prix-fixe menu also includes The Brewer’s Art and Union Craft Brewing beer pairings to compliment the rich flavors of the fare.

Tickets for the pop-up feast are $39 and can be purchased online in advance. 

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The Union Mill restaurant is collaborating with the husband-and-wife duo Kyle Bailey and Tiffany Macissac of Birch & Barley, GBD, and Arsenal in D.C.

Tiffany’s sought-after GBD doughnuts, pictured, will also be available on Friday morning from 7-11 a.m. They can be pre-ordered by the half-dozen ($14) at Artifact or purchased a la carte.

A
special breakfast item includes the “Uncle Buck,” a sausage, egg, and
cheese sandwich on a maple-doughnut bun. Are you drooling yet?

For reservations, call 410-464-8000. Walk-ins are also welcome.

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Sarah,
a former sous chef at Maggie’s Farm, will team up with chef Andrew
Weinzirl to present a menu for the dinner that is being billed as an
Anti-Valentine’s Day event. It is the second in a monthly pop-up series.

The menu includes salt cod brandade, French onion soup, pictured, and foie-gras steamed clams. Guests can order a seven-course prix fixe for $70 or sample dishes a la carte.

Matthew Weaver, an owner and beverage director of Maggie’s Farm, will also be offering craft cocktails for guests to enjoy.

Le Garage is scheduled to open in April.

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For that Monday only, Fork & Wrench will be transformed into a Mexican cantina with an a la carte menu
to match. Diners can choose dishes like smoked-trout taquitos and
corn-chip soup to start, shrimp a la plancha and rib-eye veija for main
courses, and caramel flan and fried ice cream for dessert.

Seating starts at 6 p.m.

Contact Fork & Wrench to make reservations.

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The
dinners will be held on February 6, 7, and 8. There will be two
seatings at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. And, good news, reservations will be
taken.

At an earlier Artifact collaboration with D.C.’s Toki
Underground, diners lined up to get a seat at the first-come,
first-serve dinners.

The upcoming “takeover,” as Artifact tweeted
today, comes at a good time for Jonah. This week, Pabu had to close
temporarily due to damage caused by a water leak, according to its Facebook page. It may take seven-10 days to re-open for dinner.

In the meantime, if you haven’t had Jonah’s great food, now is the time at Artifact Coffee.

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Two
dinners remain in the series, which features spelt ramen. They are
being held tonight and Saturday, starting at 6:30 p.m. and serving until
the ramen is gone. It’s first come, first serve, and from what we are
hearing, lines form early to get into the Clipper Mill restaurant.

Dumplings, desserts, and cocktails are also on the menu, all priced a la carte.

Future dinners will seek to put a local interpretation on different cuisines. We can’t wait to see who Spike partners with next.

In
the meantime, Artifact already has other events coming up: “Bowl & a
Beer” on January 22 and One Pot Dinners with a Beer for $8 on January
29.

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