FOOD and music go together like sunshine and growing flowers and Bermuda has plenty of all four for people to enjoy. Food, music and good times are on the menu at Greg's Steakhouse every Thursday night from 7:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. as Greg Wilson, owner of Greg's Steakhouse, runs Bermuda's only supper club.

Supper clubs are nothing new to the dining experience; however a supper club in Bermuda is new to the scene.

Supper clubs were first made popular in the 1930's and 1940's in the United States. The first record of a supper club was in Beverley Hills, owned by Milwaukee native Lawrence Frank. The clubs are known for their lavish meals and for the amazing entertainment provided during the course of the night. Dinner at a supper club can be an all night event as people come in, enjoy a drink and some tasty appetisers, and listen to some of the music and feast on an entrée dinner fit for a king.

Mr. Wilson, proprietor of Greg's Steakhouse, spoke with the Mid-Ocean News regarding the exciting new dining opportunity that can be found on Thursday nights.

He said: "The summer supper club series is a collaboration of great music, live entertainment and great food all together in one place. It's sponsored by the Department of Tourism, it is quality entertainment, and it's something which will go on from May through October and we are negotiating now to carry it through for the rest of the year."

Mr. Wilson also talked about some of the entertainment that can be found at the supper club noting: "We have, in my opinion, Bermuda's best female vocalist Bermuda's First Lady of Soul Miss Sheila Smith. She is accompanied by Mr. Tony Bari who is one of the best vocalists and keyboardists on the entire island.

"What we do is we take the restaurant and turn it into a supper club environment where every Thursday night we dim the lights, pull down the curtains, light the candles and focus on Sheila and Tony as they perform.

"The performance lasts for three hours. They start at 7:30 and continue on until 9:00 when they take a half hour break. They come back at 9:30 for the second half performance and then they go right along until 11 p.m.

"All the while you can sit and dine during their performance. They play contemporary music mostly with a jazz theme. It's very easy and laid back especially earlier in the evening while most people are dining. After 9:30 that's when we expect the club side to come out a little more.

"Sheila and Tony pump it up a little bit and the performance is a little more exotic. We have a lot of patrons who come and have cocktails and sit and relax and just enjoy the environment and the atmosphere that we've created here."

Mr. Wilson explained how he first became interested in the supper club environment. He said it was due to his parents exposing him to the scene as a child that he eventually came up with the supper club concept for Greg's Steakhouse. Mr. Wilson said: "Supper club is nothing new. It's something I did as a kid with my parents years ago many times. Growing up as a kid I remember going to the United States and different parts of the world with my family and many times I remember at the age of eight or nine years old sitting in a supper club with my parents. We'd enjoy great food and we'd see performances ranging from single female vocalists all the way up to 22 piece bands performing while we were dining. It's always been a part of my culture growing up to be in a supper club environment and that was the whole concept behind creating the supper club environment here at the restaurant."

Mr. Wilson said the menu at the summer supper club series is well-rounded and there is "something for everyone on it". He also talked about the multi-cultural aspect of the cooking and some of the new menu items. Mr. Wilson said: "Predominately we are a steak house and we feature certified Angus Beef Steaks which are definitely the best in the world and anyone who's had one of our steaks can attest to that fact.

"We have rack of lamb, fresh Bermuda fish always, and we also carry and serve a lot of unique items like fresh oysters, mussels, clams and other seafood.

"Even when it comes to the vegetarians we have a tremendous number of dishes for them on our bill of fare. The chef can really cook up a storm when it comes to creating vegetarian dishes.

"The bottom line is that at Greg's Steakhouse we serve just about everything. We are multi-cultural in terms of our food and if you look at our kitchen you will see we have staff members from 11 different nationalities working together. We try to feature every one of those cultures on a monthly basis. We are the steakhouse that has a little Indian, Sri Lankan, Jamaican or a little English flavour. We definitely diversify and our customers really enjoy it."

When asked about the local response to the summer supper club series Mr. Wilson said: "It's been phenomenal. We have a tremendous local following and once the word gets out it spreads like wildfire. Now we are starting to see the tourists become involved too. We've approached the concierges, the front desk people, and doormen from the hotels and cottage colonies and invited them to come by and experience the supper club first hand. That way they have an opportunity to explain to their potential guests, or potential guests of ours, what to expect when they come to Greg's Steak House, especially for our supper club series."

Mr. Wilson hopes people will take advantage of the summer supper club series and added: "This is something that is totally unique; it's something that Bermuda is not used to seeing on a regular basis. Many times the performers, especially Sheila and Tony who are well known throughout the island and have a following, are asked where people can see them perform on a regular basis and we are proud to say they can find them right here at Greg's Steak House.

"We invite everyone, Bermudians and tourists alike, to come by Greg's Steak House and enjoy our supper club series."

Greg's Steakhouse Summer Supper Club Series runs every Thursday from 7:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. until October 16.