Breaking Bread, Family Style-With the help of Ripe in Portland, Oregon, strangers dine family style with soon-to-be friends

By Maura Conlon-McIvor

You’re invited: Come sip a glass of Merlot and join other guests at a long, communal table aglow with candles. You’ll make the acquaintance of fellow diners—an actor, an architectural engineer, a physician, a pet sitter—as you pass bowls of innovative cuisine served family style.

Gather ‘round: “We knew right away the idea of gathering for supper would catch on,” says chef Michael Hebb, who runs Ripe with his wife, executive chef Naomi Pomeroy. “These dinners bring out the best in everybody.”

First course: In 1999, Hebb and Pomeroy launched Ripe, a catering business featuring organic Pacific Northwest cuisine. It’s since bloomed into their popular Gotham Bldg. Coffee Shop.

Come again: Portlanders who have savored the Family Supper may email reservations for the next open date and invite new guests to the simple-chic setting where the menu is never disclosed in advance. Plus, you never know who else will show up. “It’s nice having that element of mystery,” says one guest. “It makes for a ­magical evening.”

RSVP: Family Suppers cost $20 per person; contact RipePDX.com. Midnight Supper and Public Supper are also offered. Ripe catering: (503) 493-9500.