Nashville Pop-Ups and Supper Clubs

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Sycamore Pop Up Dinner at Jackalope Brewery

Recently I’ve been hearing of more and more pop-ups popping up! So far I’ve only made it to a couple of the local ones, but I’ve pledged to myself to try to make it to several, if not all of them, this year. Looks like it’ll be fairly easy to get a jump start on that pledge in the next few weeks as there are several of them happening! Here’s a look at some that are on my radar:

Sycamore January Pop Up Dinner

Date: Sunday, January 27th
Location: Cafe Fundamental, 1115 Porter Road – VENUE CHANGE – New location: Flyte, 718 Division St.
Price: $70/person (includes four courses with cocktail pairings)

In my recent blog post about Ada St in Chicago, I mentioned that I’d be telling you more about Sycamore, a series of pop up dinners hosted by Tony and Caroline Galzin. Sycamore is actually the working title of their restaurant concept – a restaurant they plan to open here in Nashville in the hopefully not-too-distant future. While they work toward that goal, they’re putting together these pop up dinners to benefit various partners in our community.

In fact, they plan for Sycamore the restaurant to be more than just a for profit restaurant too, making philanthropy a fundamental part of their business.

The upcoming four course, family style meal will feature various cuts of lamb from Philip’s Pharm, craft cocktails from PourTaste mixologists Jon and Lindsay Yeager, and will benefit Hands On Nashville’s Urban Farm.

For the menu, ticketing, and more details, jump over to the Sycamore website.

 

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Chef Tony Galzin rolling out fresh pasta during the Sycamore pop up dinner at Jackalope

 

 

Riffs and Smoke Et Al February Pop Up Restaurant

Date: February 1st
Location: to be revealed to ticket holders on January 28th
Price: $65/person (includes four courses)
BYOB (No alcohol provided)

 riffs-pop-up-jerk-shrimp-scallops

Riffs Jerk Shrimp and Scallops from March 2012 pop up dinner

 

A Riffs pop-up is actually one of the only local pop-ups I’ve attended already. And let me tell you, it was an incredibly delicious experience- one that is definitely worth repeating! It’s no secret that I’m already a pretty big fan of Riffs. Remember this? Or this? Or this?

So I was excited to hear that Carlos and BJ, the chef/owners of Riffs, are planning a series of pop-up restaurants this year, and the first one is right around the corner. And seriously people, this one is gonna be greater than great. Why? Because they’re teaming up with Shane Autrey of Smoke Et Al, who I also happen to think is a genius. Remember this? Or this?

While the exact menu is a secret, just know that each chef will create a course that reflects their own unique personality, and then all three will collaborate on a trio for dessert.  Also a secret is the location. Patience. All will be revealed when the time is right ;-)

Ticket information is available on the Riffs website. Note: guests who purchase tickets early can sign up for preferred seating and have the opportunity to interact with the chefs.

A percentage from each seat sold will be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.

 

vivek supper club

 

Date: February 16th, 2013
Location: Nashville Farmers’ Market Market House
Price: $60/person for dinner OR $85/person for dinner with drink pairings

In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that Vivek is a friend of mine. Over the last couple of years, we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well through food blogger meetups and events, and I’ve said to him more than once that he should be a professional chef. He’s that good.

But, alas, he has no desire to be a full-time chef. Instead, he created Vivek’s Epicurean Adventures Supper Club so he can “play” chef once a month! Sadly, my schedule has yet to jive with his, so I haven’t yet been able to attend one of his successful five-course dinners. But that will soon change. I’ve got this one on my calendar already, and I’m not going to let anything get in my way!

To be the one of the first to get the full details on upcoming supper clubs, sign up for his email list on his website., follow on Twitter, and/or like the Facebook page.

Also, be sure to check out this great article on StyleBlueprint for more about Vivek as well as some other pop-up options, including Mangia, which I wrote about last year.