metro >> out to eat Pop-up restaurants crop up, enchant and then disappear. Lynne Konstantin Contributing Writer O n the same page as many heavy- hitting cities across the globe, including New York City, Los Angeles and London, Metro Detroit and Detroit proper have been infused with pop-up retail shops, galleries and more. Gaining steam as a creative business outlet that allows designers, artists and entre- preneurs to either test the waters with a product or concept or tease the public with a little bit of some- thing fantastic and leave them wanting more, the pop-up concept lends itself intrinsically and brilliantly to local innovators, includ- ing restaurateurs. Pop-up restaurants, and other out-of-the-box din- ing concepts, have been cropping up everywhere, often for a mysteriously magical meal and then disappearing like it was just a delicious dream. Like a private party with Above: Ketoprak an elite (read: the quick- (Batavian est of the in-the-know to rice noodle) reserve a ticket) guest list, at Komodo pop-up restaurants are the Kitchen creative answer for every- one from professional Right: A float- chefs who guest an event ing edible to budding entrepreneurs, orchid from and they are popping up Komodo everywhere from muse- ums and galleries to bake- Kitchen houses and bars. Born in Indonesia, Gina Onyx was des- perate for a traditional home-cooked meal when she headed to art school in Chicago. "But this was 1989:' she says. "There were no Indonesian restaurants, and it was impossible to get the spices I needed to cook for myself' Years later, after moving to Michigan with her husband, Onyx met Deanne Iovan and April Boyle, and both fell in love with her cooking, which they sampled at dinner parties Onyx loved to throw. "They wanted to do dinner parties larger scale," she says. "They said, 'You do the cooking, and we'll throw the party: So we did. Then Deanna asked me to cook for her wedding" Cooking for three days, with volunteers helping her in a hired-out professional kitchen in Ferndale, Onyx threw a fabu- lous feast for 250 people. "We started talking about opening a 28 December 5 • 2013 iN restaurant, but we knew it was high-risk:' Onyx says. "I grew up watching a lot of family members open restaurants, and I know how hard it is." "So Boyle told her friends about the pop-up restaurants she had heard about in New York and L.A. "It's brilliant:' Onyx says. "We all have families now, and open- ing a restaurant just isn't the answer for us. "But this is a smart idea. We put no money down on a space; we bring in A Tashmoo Biergarten music, decor — everything to create a genuine Indonesian experience — and see what people think of it. We can talk to cus- tomers about the food, and we can all be passionate about it and share this unique experience:' Onyx, Boyle and Iovan's creation, Komodo Kitchen, offered its first pop-up event at Pinwheel Bakery in Ferndale. All 22 seats sold within a day. Since then, they have filled venues from Detroit's Museum of Contemporary Art, the Oakland Bar in Ferndale to the Tea & Spice Exchange in Birmingham and spe- cial events including a Valentine's Day tiki bar — and coming soon, a Komodo Week at Treat Dreams in Ferndale. Open seating is often up to 100 for approximately $35 each, two weeks in advance on its website (komodokitchen.com ). Tickets these days sell out within two to seven minutes. The best part for Onyx? "Now I have suppliers who can get me even the most exotic herb. I can even do a whole Indonesian street food event if I want to. And I can share a bit of my culture with my children:' Similarly out-of-the-box, (revolver) is not a pop-up restaurant, in that it doesn't move around. Rather than focusing on a spe- cialty cuisine, like Komodo Kitchen, (revolver) offers an ever-changing rotation of guest chefs to do what they love in their own space in Hamtramck (find them online at revolverhamtramck. com ). Just opened in late September, (revolver) works in the style of a table-d'hote (host table), rooted in the family-style communal meals of 17th-cen- tury French country inns. Owners Tunde Wey and Peter Dalinowski, neither of whom are chefs, were interested in open- ing a restaurant together, but more along the lines of carry-out street food. "The idea was percolating in the back of our minds:' says Wey, when they came upon the space on Joseph Campau that shaped the concept for them. Lending itself to the simple, rustic set-up of a hand- ful of six-top tables and one 12-top table, all lit by exposed-bulb chandeliers, the space's intimate feel allows diners to luxu- riate in the menus of firmly established and up-and-coming chefs in an environ- ment intended to be social — whether you know your neighbors or not. Two seatings each Friday night range in culinary styles with five- to six-course meals ($35-40) by guest chefs includ- ing Dave Mancini, owner of the Eastern Market's Supino Pizzeria, Nick George (Dr. Sushi), Phil Jones of Colors in Harmonie Park, Komodo Kitchen and more (hence the name revolver — no guns). "When we eat, it starts with the food; but it's not just about the food:' Wey says. "It's about the people, the music, the atmo- sphere, the great ingredients. That's why we opened. We want to celebrate the best of the whole experience and the possibili- ties of what food and dining can be:' ❑ Creme Of The Pop-Up Crop CHARTREUSE This once-a- month gourmet raw vegan (meaning fruits, veggies, nuts, oils and vinegars that cannot be heated beyond a cer- tain temperature) supper club pops up throughout Detroit, from farms to the atrium of the Fisher Building, and features live music and local art- ists. Chef Corinne Rice's four-course menus include exquisite pairings, including watermelon gazpacho and crab cakes with Creole slaw. "I feel like I'm part of this growing food movement in Detroit, where people are trying new things and expanding" Rice says. "But I am also trying to let people know they can enjoy vegan food and not sacrifice anything" Chartreusedetroit. corn. GUNS + BUTTER Craig Lieckfelt, a Clinton Township native who trained at New York State's Culinary Institute of America, has served up exquisitely styled and executed 12-course meals at venues as far-flung as Midtown's Shinola showroom and Corktown's Brooklyn Street Local to New York City and Mumbai, India. His pop-up dining experience, Guns + Butter, a stop on Anthony Bourdain's summertime tour de Detroit and soon-to-be brick-and- mortar location in Downtown Detroit, was built on the idea of developing Great Lakes cuisine (inspired by visits to Detroit's Eastern Market), from pil- lowy pierogi, walleye and wild game to a "liquid" salad of pressed water- melon cubes and smoked-tomato ice. Gbdetroit.com . TASHMOO BIERGARTEN An American Indian word meaning "meeting place" Tashmoo's family- friendly communal tables and bench- es (made from recycled materials) are inspired by Europe's traditional beer gardens. Except this one offers beverages produced by Michigan microbreweries — and artisan foods by local vendors. Five open-air lots in Detroit's West Village welcomed more than 7,000 visitors the first fall that Tashmoo popped up, in 2011, inspir- ing Tashmoo to work toward the goal of creating a permanent, three-season beer garden in the West Village. Tashmoodetroit.com .