The Dishtectives is Like a Book Club But for Food Lovers

A group of up to twelve friends visits a new restaurant each week to "dishcover" new places.

4 hours ago

Jamie Coelho,

The Dishtectives at Persimmon.

The Dishtectives is like a book club, except the focus is food. Every Wednesday, a group of twelve to fourteen people book a reservation for a different restaurant in Providence. They bring their “Dishcovery”-branded, black notebooks and pens, and take over a large table to socialize, share dishes and discuss the food. The group of friends of all ages – from late-twenties to late-seventies – all met at Warwick Country Club, but in the winter, when the country club kitchen is closed, they gather at local restaurants.

The Dishtectives was started this winter by Marc Lundeberg, who works in health care. He bonded with the group of people at Warwick Country Club when he joined in June of 2025. “I chose that club because I was not just blown away by its location by the water and its activities (golf, tennis, paddle, pool, aquatics, kayaking and nice little private beach), but by its members,” he says. “I was asked to join a group of members who would meet in the club on Wednesdays for drinks and dinner.”

But the Warwick Country Club clubhouse closes in January for the cold winter months through March. “I said: ‘So, what are we going to do now?’ and the idea was born to continue with our Wednesday social club, but take it on the road,” Lundeberg says. “Given Providence is becoming more and more of a foodie destination, the ‘Dishcovery’ initiative was born.” They have visited many Providence restaurants, including Palo Tapas Bar, Fleur, Mill’s Tavern, CAV, New Rivers, Sarto, Bacaro and Persimmon, with many more to come.

“It’s all about local friends, who share a love for food and drinks (all of them, in fact, being very good cooks in their own right!), and ‘dis(h)covering’ the evolving local food scene,” he says.

While they have visited about eight restaurants since January, they hope to continue the ritual as a monthly gathering into spring and summer. They discuss the meal at the table while dining, then record their thoughts in notebooks. The Dishtectives also came up with a rating system — involving everything from quality and quantity of food to creativity of cocktails and quality of service – then they average the results for a group rating.

The possibilities are endless. “We are also talking about formalizing the need to write a review of the restaurant on Google, after we have visited,” Lundeberg says. “In fact, perhaps, some new restaurants even want to invite our group of ten to twelve Dishtectives and have us ‘dishcover’ their new restaurant. We could play a really useful role to make new restaurants and bars get kickstarted with reviews by locals for locals.”

I visited Persimmon on Hope Street in Providence with the group, where we took over a large part of the bar side of the restaurant. We ordered several appetizers, and the restaurant tailored the small bites to feed eleven. A plate of ten deviled eggs (one abstained) with smoked trout mousse, trout roe and dill and twelve potato croquettes stuffed with cheese and braised greens made their way around the table, followed by portions of salmon belly tartare with crispy rice and Ossetra caviar. Everyone ordered a different main course, then some offered to portion out bites to those who wanted to sample something different from what they ordered.

Croquettes at Persimmon.

I went with my favorite, Persimmon’s black spaghetti, made with squid ink, which is one of Persimmon’s signature dishes, mostly because I selfishly wanted everyone else to try it to see how terrific it is. Other favorites included the oven roasted Atlantic sablefish, Hudson Valley foie gras with Asian pear, apple, quince and braised duck neck rillette, and the seared lamb loin and braised lamb breast with parsnips, sweet peppers, cippolini onions and lamb jus.

Black spaghetti at Persimmon.

We were all full, but didn’t hesitate to order a multitude of desserts from the incredible pastry chef, including one that starred the restaurant’s namesake, an olive oil cake with whipped brown sugar, blood orange ‘veil’ and persimmon sorbet. Other indulgences included the chocolate chess pie with bergamot mousse and burnt honey Medjool ice cream, and an apple tarte tatin with cereal milk ice cream and puffed rice.

In the end, the group recorded their rating results and loved Persimmon. “We have a shared appetite to ‘dishcover’ the local food scene that everyone is proud and curious about,” Lundeberg says. “As this is our first season, we have found our way and have been surprised how committed everyone has been.”