Pop Goes the Restaurant

August, 2011

It’s a trend…a hot one…but is it a fad? From coast to coast, chefs in major cities have been joining the pop-up restaurant craze. A pop-up is a temporary restaurant...it could be a try out for a more permanent restaurant, something like a “food exhibit”, or a one-night, one-week or one-month stand. So, does restaurant-quality food need to be confined to the traditional restaurant model? The answer is quickly becoming no.

Pop-ups give temporary homes to novel ideas and unique talent that may not have the resources to plunk down capital on a permanent home. The genius of the ever-changing restaurant is that it is always new, and hard-core foodies will want to experience every one!

Even Top Chefs have jumped on board. Top Chef Masters’ contestant Ludo Lefebvre has been orchestrating pop-ups in Los Angeles since 2007 and has recently taken the concept on the road in a Sundance Channel program called ‘Ludo Bites America’. New York’s Bodega was a one-night-only pop-up from Top Chef alum Dale Talde. Staged in a space on the Bowery, Bodega was a project that culminated from a “why not try it out” concept into a full-fledged food frenzy. With a makeshift kitchen outfitted with immersion circulators and a crew of Dale’s kitchen buddies, the restaurant turned out a multi-course meal to an invite-only crowd. Highlights included a rack of venison with buttermilk crumble and milk-style ramen with pork belly. The pop-up was so successful that the team hopes to turn out a longer run.

For less connected chefs, pop-ups are a way to test new dishes, let off some creative steam, expand their brand to new neighborhoods and otherwise take risks without the hefty up-front investment required for a traditional restaurant. For customers, pop-ups mean access to new dishes, as well as the thrill of taking part in something fleeting.

Creativity and innovation can be easier to execute with a pop-up than a traditional restaurant, which needs to satisfy repeat customers searching for their favorites. Dan Moody, a San Diego-based chef, got his feet wet in the pop-up scene cooking for Chef Ludo. When Moody decided to strike out on his own, his first thought was to go pop-up. "I get to be more playful," Moody said. "At a restaurant, you have to think about how it would work operationally for a long period of time."

"I think what makes pop-ups hot and trending is the ability for a chef to come out and do something people wouldn't normally get. People get to see a chef's creativity, completely unconstrained," Moody said. Opening a pop-up isn't without hassles or risks. Each city has its own set of rules when it comes to securing licenses and permits. For temporary restaurants in unconventional spaces, chefs are wading through gray areas of the law.

Pop-ups are quickly moving from fringe to mainstream...even Martha Stewart has gotten in on the action, opening a pop-up pie shop in New York for two days in March to celebrate a new book of pie and tart recipes.

Locally, we have had some versions. Technically, every ‘special’ menu at a restaurant could be considered a pop-up. On Valentine’s Day, Easter brunch or New Year’s Eve, most restaurants go away from their traditional menus to give the diner something interesting. But they do not reinvent the restaurant. Catered affairs come closer as they can be held in non-traditional locations with special menus, but the mass-produced foods with little menu options aren’t truly restaurant experiences.

Macon Food and Culture’s own Chef’s Table (a monthly dinner for 12-15 people) was very close. The dinners were held either at a restaurant or a remote locale and featured an entirely unique menu. A rustic Italian meal in the courtyard of the Blacksmith Shop served by Natasha...an al fresco affair at the Sidney Lanier Cottage with Lee Clack’s seafood and ales from Highland Brewery...are two examples of the Table’s past offerings.

A true pop-up happened at Lemongrass in Downtown Macon when they gave their kitchen over to the staff of the former Bert’s Bistro (which previously occupied the space) for a single night. Billed as ‘A Taste of Bert’s’, the former owner, Allan Bass, was once again at the helm pouring wines for his loyal customers.

Emboldened by the success of that evening, Chef Tom and his crew are planning to have a pop-up at Lemongrass the third Tuesday of each month! On August 16th, Lemongrass will become NOMA (New Orleans Macon) and be serving a unique twist on French Cajun cuisine. The menu will include muffaletta sliders, andouille corndogs with Creole mustard, fried calamari po’boys, a traditional jambalaya, pan-seared red fish with tasso gravy and grits, beignets, chicory coffee, Abita beers, poached pears with sabayon and more!

The plan for September is to build off the NOMA event and see what the adventurous diners at the August pop-up want next. Ideas include twists on American classics (baked lobster mac and cheese, anyone?), an old school steak house with dry aged hand-carved cuts or a true Latin cafe incorporating recipes from all over South and Central America. The possibilities truly are limitless!

For reservations to NOMA, please call Lemongrass at 478-257-6464.

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May