18 April 17th-April 23rd, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Baked and Bougie Weed-infused supper club makes Phoenix debut. BY MIKE MADRIAGA “ If I started a club where I put weed in food, would anyone come to that?” chef Aliya Waldman pondered on Facebook about nine years ago. Her post racked up over 200 likes and a flood of affirming comments. What began as a half-baked idea quickly sprouted into a full-blown culinary concept. The Chartreuse Dinner Club, a cannabis-infused, four-course culinary adventure with vintage style and tons of flavor, was born. The concept started in New York before moving to St. Louis. Now the club is making its Phoenix debut. The 32-year-old chef invites dinner attendees to her and her beau’s mid-century, space-age-deco- rated home, where you can toke, talk and taste alongside up to seven other guests as you light up and settle in. Waldman is calm and clearly in her element as she preps and plates each dish in her open kitchen. She occasionally cracks a joke, and even if you aren’t high yet, you’ll still get a good chuckle. Guests are encouraged to ask questions, swap stories or kick back and enjoy the show. Embarking on an experience On the 20th of each month at noon, Waldman posts the upcoming month’s menu on Instagram. Prospective diners slide into her DMs to request a seat and plop down $175 to secure their spot. Slots are generally filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The exact location? Undisclosed until customers pay via Venmo. It’s all part of the mystique. Think Phoenix raves of the ’90s, reimagined for 2025 cannabis and culinary culture. On a recent visit, we played along to better grasp the whimsically high-minded adventure. I messaged Waldman about an inter- view. She replied promptly, and we set up a time. I asked if I could bring along a buddy — a cannabis enthusiast — to vibe with us. I mentioned that I’d need my food non- infused since I was on assignment. She was totally game. Her DM followed, confirming the time with the address of her Phoenix home, tucked in a quiet neighborhood. “I’ll have you enter through to side door and through our ‘Tunnel of Bud’ light tunnel so you get the full experience,” the DM instructed. We all met outside by the fence before walking on a pathway under a series of LED-lit arches. Then, we hung a left, weaving through an elevated table and stool setup, a mid-century-inspired hanging rattan chair and a low and sleek modern sofa. “Welcome to the Chartreuse Dinner Club,” says the chef. Candles flickered atop side tables, a bird feeder trickled nearby and a palm tree swayed gently in the background. The space practically whispers “chillax” as diners catch the scent of fresh ganja and whatever Waldman is cooking in the kitchen. Sliding open the glass door and stepping inside, Waldman shows us the mid- century-inspired dining room packed with kitschy collectibles. An eight-seat dinner table is topped with more candles. A wooden puzzle-like runner spans the table’s length, flanked and topped with plates, silverware and large wine goblets. There are also coloring books and crayons. “This is the club,” she says. “This is my baby.” The vibe is playful yet elevated, the perfect fusion of nostalgia and novelty. The canna-feast For the club’s Phoenix debut, there will be three $175 four-course dinners held on April 16, 18 — and, of course, 4/20, National Weed Day, which sold out immediately. This month, the first course is black truffle-roasted potatoes, whipped feta, braised bok choy and gochujang corn sauce. The latter two were a part of Waldman’s childhood. “In St. Louis, I grew up in front of an Asian market,” she recalls. “I’d get ingredi- ents there and rework it in the food at home.” She admits her Jewish parents weren’t exactly master chefs. By the time she was a teen, she took matters into her own hands using a slew of seasonings and ingredients from the market. One of her go-to ingredi- ents was, and still is, gochujang, a savory, sweet and spicy fermented staple in Korean cuisine. The second course is seared sesame- crusted ahi tuna with dashi miso crema, snap pea and red cabbage slaw. During our interview, Waldman prepared one of her go-to comfort dishes and the third course of her April dinner menu: pumpkin chili crisp pasta with prosciutto panko crumble and Pecorino Romano cheese. “It’s a saucy, savory pumpkin sauce blended with chili crisp,” she says. “You get that little kick, and the prosciutto adds just the right amount of umami.” While we sampled the non-infused version, she noted that for official dinners, the medical grade cannabis supplied by local dispensary Sunday Goods is added via an olive oil drizzle on top of the noodles. “This dish has gone through a lot of versions,” she explains. “Everything I make evolves over time, but the pumpkin base and crumble have been club staples for years. I even put a little cinnamon in the chili crisp to give it that warm, elevated finish.” Global inspiration While Waldman’s culinary journey began in St. Louis, she sharpened her skills after moving to New York in 2016. There, she worked inside a high-volume food truck, eventually discovering that the hustle of cooking was only part of what she loved. “That’s also where I was like, this is not only cooking, but I’m talking to the customers, and they’re coming to the back door of the truck, checking on me to see how I am doing. I’m hearing about their grandkids or whatever,” she says. “And that’s when I said to myself, ‘I need to do something intimate, private dinners, and that’s where I can really talk to these people.’” She also worked at restaurants and took advantage of readily available flights out of New York to travel to Spain, India, Portugal, Israel and beyond. She often returned with bags of rare spices and herbs that inspired new dishes. Cannabis, she says, helped soothe and fuel her creativity. Waldman combined her love for cooking, her global flavor inspirations and the sense of community she built through the food truck to launch the Chartreuse Dinner Club in Brooklyn. When she returned to St. Louis shortly after the pandemic, she continued devel- oping the concept. “In St. Louis, we sold out every single month for three years,” she says. “It was a new menu each time, and regulars formed real connections. They’d come in as strangers and leave as friends. I want to build that same community here in Phoenix. I’ve noticed no consistent cannabis fine dining scene here Chef Aliya Waldman created The Chartreuse Dinner Club, a weed-infused dinner series held at her home. (Mike Madriaga) One of Waldman’s go-to comfort dishes is her pumpkin chili crisp pasta with prosciutto panko crumble and Pecorino Romano cheese. (Mike Madriaga) >> p 19 ▼ Food & Drink
