EatWith: It's like Airbnb, for dinner

Eating alone isn't my favorite thing. To me - maybe it's my Italian heritage - food is best enjoyed shared, over lively conversation with old and new friends.

Food and friends are the idea behind EatWith, a community-marketplace website that matches traveling and local eaters with hosts who cook and serve a meal in their home.

Think Airbnb, for dinner.

I stumbled upon the website while planning a trip that included two solo nights in Trastevere, in Rome, Italy. I also checked out similar sites, like Feastly, Side Tour and VoulezVousDiner. EatWith seemed easier to use, and covered the most cities, more than 150 worldwide. The site also lets you see photos of prospective hosts and their food, read reviews, and pay by PayPal.

Two months before departing, I booked a 42-Euro dinner. EatWith added 15 percent to cover administrative costs. Total price tag: about $55.

The flight of stairs to the apartment of sisters Barbara and Federica Passacantilli led to a homey living room filled with candles, art, three set tables - and 16 other dinner guests. The varied group included one Italian neighbor, tourists from Australia, Germany and Toronto, as well as three chickies from Brooklyn celebrating 30th birthdays.

Wasn't long before all 17 of us were gabbing away as Barbara and her helpers served a multi-course meal of pasta with zucchini, red and white wine, and tiramisu for dessert.

As with all EatWith meals, there was no tipping or money exchanged after dinner, which, combined with the conviviality of the group, made it feel like I was dining with friends.

EatWith is an income producer for the Passacantilli sisters, who host guests five and six nights a week. But not every host feels the same. In Philly, there are four hosts active on EatWith. Arielle Friedlander and Rachel Sakoff signed up with the site last year. They've since done a handful of meals at their Center City apartment.

"We were already hosting dinners regularly for friends," said Friedlander, a health coach. "Rachel is a dietician, so we're both into healthy food. A friend of hers was doing it in Brooklyn, so we thought we'd give it a try. We just love to cook for people and show that healthy cuisine is delicious."

The longtime friends might serve a kale-infused gin Collins to start, then a salad of foraged watercress with roasted grapefruit, or a brightly flavored watermelon gazpacho. Their meals are vegetarian with vegan elements and generally run about $43. "I'm sure we should be more aware of food costs," she said. "But we just cook what we love."

Not just anybody can be an EatWith host. The startup company, founded in Barcelona in 2013 by Israeli-born Guy Michlin, expands strategically and requires either video or photos of a prospective host's food, setting and cooking style, along with the submission of a detailed application. While being a good cook is a must, EatWith isn't just about food, explained Michlin.

"I got the idea when I was traveling with my wife and one-year-old daughter in Greece," he said. "After many days of tourist traps, we were invited to a local family's home for dinner, and it was the highlight of our trip.

"It was the feeling of someone local opening the door for you, sharing his life for a few hours, that was so memorable," said Michlin, who now lives with his family in San Francisco. When he returned from the trip, the idea of creating a global and accessible platform to replicate that authentic experience was born.

Why would a visitor or someone local to a city known for its amazing restaurants - a place like Philadelphia, Barcelona or Rome-want to dine in someone's home? "It's really a fun adventure," said Samson Tam, a self-taught cook passionate about food and entertaining. Tam recently moved to his hometown of Vancouver, where he's hosted seven dinners for a mix of tourists and locals.

Tam's dinners are BYO gourmet affairs that run about $45 and might start with a fried wonton stuffed with duck confit, or salad of arugula, grapefruit and pine nuts, before moving on to a sous-vide rib eye with asparagus and fried yams. For dessert, he's served crème brulee and cheesecake.

"I don't really think about the food costs," said the twenty-something mechanical engineer who lives in the False Creek section of town, a foodie haven known for its colorful Granville Island public market, where everything from local cherries to smoked Pacific halibut is for sale.

"I love to cook, and I love the social aspect of EatWith. If you're adventurous, and especially if you're traveling solo, you'll definitely meet fun people and have a great time," said Tam.

Some hosts, like Philly's Alex Garfinkel, actually are professional chefs who host dinners in pop-up spaces to help drive customers to their catering business. Garfinkel hosted his first two EatWith dinners July 26 and 27 at Balboa, a test-kitchen and venue in Fishtown.

Garfinkel's fine-dining background includes a decade working in restaurants such as Le Bec-Fin and Lacroix. He started catering after back and knee surgeries, and has been holding pop-up supper clubs around town and dinners outside at Bucks County's Plowshare Farm. EatWith dovetails perfectly with his vision.

With space for up to 24 guests, Garfinkel offers two different kinds of experiences. "We do a $35 meal, which might be fried chicken served family-style or a dim-sum feast, or we do a multicourse upscale dinner for between $75 and $100," he said. The chef uses fresh, seasonal, locally produced ingredients for his ricotta gnudi and crisp lamb belly over a purslane salad with nasturtium and roasted garlic sauce. His dessert options have included fresh berries with olive-oil cake and cinnamon dulce de leche.

"This is really an alternative way to dine," said the chef. "It's nothing like going to a restaurant. You are eating with strangers and making new friends over delicious food. The response I'm getting from the guests is just fantastic."

Arielle Friedlander agreed. "We've done four dinners, and each one has been a wonderful experience with both locals and tourists at the table," she said, "It's just a really fun way to connect with new friends over food."