The Single Gourmet of South Florida

By Lenny DellaRocca (Forum Staff)

41 year old Reena Sheres doesn’t like to go to bars.  But the single Parkland resident doesn’t want to sit home on Saturday nights.  So she joined The Single Gourmet, a tri-county organization whose members meet for dinner at some of the areas restaurants.  But not just any restaurants.  The organization boasts taking its members to only the finest dining establishments that have been hand picked by its owners.  Among the area restaurants that the group has attended are Primavera Ristorante and La-Traviatta in Fort Lauderdale, Martha’s and Revolution 2029 in Hollywood, La Vieille Maison, Nick’s Italian Fishery and Chop House, Auberge Le Grillon, and Mesan Madrid in Boca Raton, Capriccio’s in Pembroke Pines, Churchill’s in Cooper City, Chowder’s, P. August, and Flavor’s of Italy in Coral Springs, Brook’s in Deerfield Beach, and Benvenuto’s in Boynton Beach.  I’ve gone to five dinners so far and I think it’s a fabulous organization.

Barbara Brodsky, 47, of Coral Springs, agrees.  She attended a dinner at La Stella’s in Sunrise where she met Joe Selin.  During the cocktail hour, a usual part of The Single Gourmet’s dinners, Selin 55, walked over to Brodsky and began talking to her.  Brodsky said that though he appealed to her, she decided to play hard to get.  She could see Selin was about to come over, so Brodsky had a friend jokingly put his arm around her.  It didn’t deter Selin who approached her anyway.  After a bit of conversation, he won her phone number.  ”He called me the next night” Brodsky said.  She admits to being a little scared the first time out at a Single Gourmet dinner, but quickly felt at ease.  I’ve been to other singles’ parties and dances.  It was like a meat market.”  But The Single Gourmet is very different.  “This is a very non-threatening atmosphere. I felt like I was going into my living room. She said joining the group is worth the $99 annual membership and the $35. – $55. dinner affairs.  The price always includes tax and tip, some wine, appetizer, soup or salad, and dessert along with the entree.  Sometimes even valet parking is included.  As far as Selin and Brodsky, they seem to be an item.

” He’s very affectionate.  He’s very romantic,” Brodsky said.  The Single Gourmet is headed up by Barry Adelson and Laura Simoncini.  Not quite a franchise, it’s a national organization with 27 chapters.  Adelson are both veterans of the singles club industry and own the rights to the South Florida chapter of The Single Gourmet which covers Broward, Palm Beach and Dade counties.  ”We gointo a restaurant we think might be good.  We don’t say anything to the owner.  When we are done eating, we pay the bill and if it’s a great place to eat, we ask for the owner or manager and ask if they’d be interested in hosting our group,” Adelson said.  They choose about one out of every three restaurants they try. The restaurant owners and managers don’t mind hosting the club because members fill the entire restaurant.

Singles 20 – something to 80 – something are seated at tables with those in their age group. Adelson and Simoncini look for ambiance as well as the quality of the food, he said. “We don’t just pick a restaurant out of the phone book. ” While the South Florida chapter has over 2500 members, only a portion of that amount gathers for any one evening.  Some nights there are 75 members out for dinner, other nights there are more.  “It’s very organized. At Brook’s (a DeerfieldBeach restaurant) we had more than 125 people,” Simoncini said.  ”We’re like a roving army of critics,” Adelson said.  The roving army comprises many folks from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties.

Boca Raton resident Selma Cooper,  joined the club about six months ago and plans to stay.  “It’s a great class of people,” she said of the other members in the group. Aventura resident Joe Gennaro, is divorced.  The former firefighter and paramedic joined The Single Gourmet not because of the food, but to meet interesting people.  ”You meet bright, articulate, friendly people at the dinners,’ he said. He hopes to find romance.  “All my friends are married.  I feel like a fifth wheel. I’m looking for a compatible wheel,” Gennaro said.

Laurie Wainer, of Sunrise, joined The Single Gourmet to meet new friends and explore new places to eat, not to meet the man of her dreams, she said.  I was looking for another social outlet,” she said.  So far at the four dinners that she’s attended, she’s met some new friends with whom she’s exchanged phone numbers. “There’s always new people to meet,” Wainer said.

The dinner events are held on a weekly basis and sometimes 2 – 3 times a week.  Adelson and Simoncini compile the reservation forms from the members, make the reservations at the restaurant and handle the payment.  “All the members have to do is show up,” Adelson said.  Other club events include wine tastings and cruises. This years trips were to Sicily and Jamaica.  ”Next year will be the wine country of France,” Simoncini said.  In the future Single Gourmet members will be invited to cabaret shows, opera’s, cruises, plays, dances, concerts, comdey nights and sporting events.