5 awesome group dining experiences to meet locals and eat great while traveling

So your boss finally let you take that coworking vacation? After you find the perfect workspace, you'll still be thinking about socializing, and more importantly, eating. Or maybe you're a regular traveler looking for something more exciting than another T.G.I.Friday's. Regardless, you should know about the new wave of supper clubs at your disposal. Though secret, underground dinners were all the rage a few years ago, today's supper club has been professionalized and globalized — these meals are inclusive, not exclusive. That's great news for savvy travelers who get the chance to dine with locals and have new experiences on the road. Read on for the coolest ways to eat and mingle on your next trip.

1.EatWith. No matter where you're traveling, there's probably an EatWith meal to join. The company offers events in more than 150 cities around the globe, from Boulder to Barcelona to Budapest. Carefully chosen chefs might be talented amateurs or Michelin-starred professionals and venues range from private homes to public spaces. Some recent events include a $33 "Mexican market brunch" in New York, and a $64 "Night of white truffles" in Berlin. There's no fee to join EatWith. Would-be diners (who are mostly locals of whatever city you're in) fill out a quick profile on the site, so you're able to scope ahead of time who's bought tickets — and who you might want to grab a seat next to.

2. Feastly. Everyone wants to be the Airbnb of their industry, but Feastly actually comes kind of close. Calling itself a "marketplace" for chefs and eaters, the company lets cooks who've applied and been vetted design menus and set prices for upcoming events, from a $12 Italian aperitivo hour to a $55 four-course steak and wine dinner in New York. Culinary classes that teach skills like stuffed-pasta-making are also popular — and hands-on activities are a great way to flir- I mean, socialize. Similar to Airbnb, guests rate hosts on a five-star scale and leave reviews after events. Feastly is currently in New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington, D.C., with plans to expand to other cities.

3. Chaos Cooking. Obsessive types who require complete control in the kitchen should probably skip this — it's called Chaos Cooking for a reason. Everyone else, listen up: Picture a potluck, but one where everyone forgot to cook their food ahead of time and is jostling for prep space and sharp knives, and borrowing cilantro and olive oil from other cooks. That's what Chaos Cooking feels like, and it's lots of fun. The free events started in Brooklyn and have since been expanded by enthusiastic members to other places, including Panama City and Cambridge, England. If you're traveling somewhere and want to join in the fun, sign up ahead of time and fill out your profile completely, to make sure hosts (who generally welcome everyone into their homes) send you an invite. The payoff is you'll be mixing with a fun crowd of almost exclusively locals. If this sounds intriguing but you have no time to grocery shop, occasional paid events like Chaos Mussels or Chaos Sushi provide all the necessary ingredients and equipment—just show up.

4.Dinner Lab. Imagine having dinner in an abandoned paper mill or an old church. Dinner Lab, which sells memberships in 30-plus U.S. cities, can make that happen. Buying into the dining club costs $125 to $175, depending on the city, and then you the chance to buy tickets for pop-up events that combine up-and-coming chefs (often sous chefs at well-known restaurants), unusual venues, and a bunch of strangers. The average dinner price is $65, which includes drinks, tax, and tip. This one's a great option if you travel around the U.S. a lot. Though members must choose a home market, a membership entitles you to buy into events happening weekly from Kansas City to San Diego — and soon, internationally.

5.Tasting Collective. This brand-new company is fresh out of the start-up incubator and currently holding events only in New York. But with expansion plans in the near future, it's one to keep an eye on. A $99 membership isn't necessary if you want to buy tickets to dinners at well-loved restaurants — like Acme, Bar Bolonat and Miss Lily's in New York — but it does get you perks like invites to members-only feasts and discounts at cool food-related companies. Dinners are served communally and generally veer off from the regular menu, so even if you've dined somewhere a dozen times, you'll probably eat something new, and meet some new people while you're at it.

Jenny Miller is a freelance travel and food writer based in New York City. Read more of her work at jennymiller.org and keep up with her travels on Instagram and Twitter.