Greetings fans of Asheville’s best restaurants, we wanted to drop a line to document a couple of cool pop-ups nearing their end and to fill you in on what a pop-up is, if you don’t already know. Those of you familiar with the concept know that Asheville’s best restaurants throw these shindigs more and more frequently these days, as is the trend in major culinary markets nationwide. For you all, here is the info on current pop-ups in Asheville:
The Final(For Now) Punk Wok at Buxton Hall BBQ, Monday 2/29
Punk Wok was the extended pop-up chef Elliot Moss ran at MG Road the year or so prior to opening Buxton Hall BBQ…featuring wild exploration of Asian cuisine, atmosphere, music and of course drink in it’s own world upstairs own the Remingtin Room. Definitely off the beaten track of the normal Buxton Hall experience.
Poly Pop at MG Road Wednesday 3/2 and 3/9
These will be the final two dates of a short series involving chef Nohe Weir-Villatoro, formerly of King James. The first two were fabulous, and the rumor mill indicates that Nohe might be headed out of Asheville to a bigger city so these two night will be your last chance to check out the cuisine from one of Asheville’s best young chefs. Drink and decor will of course match the Polynesian/Pop culture schtick of the playful and adventurous menu.
Salt and Smoke, Sundays 12-3pm at Burial Beer
Josiah and Shannon McGaughey offer their exploration of European + Southern locavore cuisine with a new menu every couple of weeks and the unique idea of giving the food away and letting you tip what you want to. Check this one out soon, Salt and Smoke will become a restaurant later this year.
Velvet and Lace at Buxton Hall Thursday 3/3
This was an all ladies concept run as a series at MG Road for a while and is making a reappearance at Buxton Hall with MG Road’s manager Erin Hawley and bartender Daniela Diaz making guest performances with DJ Night Nurse, tarot card readings and fortune telling with more atmosphere and presumably some edible treats that will somehow be in line with the theme and prepared by a lady chef. This one should be fun and a unique night out.
Sundays and Mondays at Sovereign Remedies
Every Sunday night Sunil Patel of Urban Patchwork Farms gives chef James Albee the night off and cooks an Indian Supper featuring his own produce along with lots of regulars and love and of course drinks. Every Monday is Pizza Night, and believe us, this is exceptional pizza as one would expect from Albee’s pastry background and experience with European traditions. Pizza night includes the sort of ‘Pizza Night’ atmosphere you would expect.
For those of you still reading and wanting to know more about pop-ups, these are usually pretty cool affairs. The pop-up concept gives chefs and beverage gurus the chance to work outside the box of their restaurant’s concept in a no strings attached fashion. These are the kinds of events where creativity gets turned up a notch or three and all five senses are taken into consideration. Generally speaking they are like visiting the restaurants you know and love in a slightly to extremely altered dimension. Asheville’s best restaurants are offering more and more of these events, don’t be afraid to pop in to a pop up.