Garlic scallops with crisp garlic and clarified butter. 

Pop-up restaurants have something special. Perhaps it’s the scarcity — that it’s only available a couple days in a week. It could be that it’s a treasure hunt to find one. You feel like you belong to the elite who are “in the know.” It’s an opportunity for delicious food. A pop-up chef needs to be good, or people won’t seek them out. Pop-ups can be held at fun, unique locations. My dining companion and I had the pleasure of going to a recent pop-up at Elixir Wine Company.

Pop-ups have been around for a long time, although they have become more prevalent in the past few years. Originally called “supper clubs,” these temporary restaurants are set up in any space that can hold several tables — from a former factory to a private home. Josh Podwils, executive chef and owner of Loyauté began doing pop-ups about two years ago. His first pop-ups were at the Seven nightclub. Since then, he has had pop-ups at Tetherow, the Hollinshead barn and at someone’s private residence.

As his pop-ups began selling out, Podwils had plans to start looking for a brick-and-mortar restaurant space, but COVID-19 pushed out his timing. He had been working at Brother Jon’s Alehouse downtown until it became necessary to stay home to care for and teach his two small children. When the opportunity to do pop-ups at Elixir came his way, he had the chance to get back to his passion of cooking fine-dining French cuisine.

“Elixir is a great place for a pop-up as it has a great commercial kitchen upstairs,” Podwils told me. Elixir Wine Company’s owner, Kirk Ermisch expressed that he is hoping to attract more chefs for pop-ups at the retail wine store. He said that he’d be happy to host all levels of chefs, including students who are trying out their skills. After the June success of the Loyauté pop-up, it has become a regular event every Friday night.

Although Elixir Wine Company is located on a busy corner across from the Box Factory, the building and tables are set back from the street, and it feels as though you are seated in a garden. Candles, fresh flowers and hand sanitizer sit on each table. For now, the area only accommodates 16 guests.

Some items on the menu are available every week. Others depend on what produce and other ingredients Podwils finds at the farmers market and Locavore. Unlike some pop-ups that are a set number of courses for a fixed price, you can pick how many courses you want. Choose from a few dishes in each course — starters, salads, entrees and dessert.

We opted for two starters—the torchon and cherries, and garlic scallops—and skipped the salad. Torchon refers to the cooking method of the foie gras au torchon, in which the liver is poached in water. The tender foie gras slice was topped with flake salt and served with pickled bing cherries and arugula. The cherries’ tart sweetness played against the buttery torchon, and the leafy arugula adds a bit of pepper flavor. It was a beautiful dish, yet I might have enjoyed the texture contrast of a couple of toast points to go with it.

Our other starter was seared, large garlic scallops covered in clarified butter and subdued crispy garlic whose hint of flavor didn’t overpower the dish. Italian parsley finished this simple but tender seafood small plate. Delicately balanced, it was a perfect starter and not too rich.

As we watched fresh salads go by, we questioned our choice to skip the salad course. The grains of paradise (aframomum meleguta spice) salad looked fresh and lovely. Goat cheese, strawberries, hazelnuts and basil add flavors that are certain to be enhanced by the cardamom-like grains of paradise — definitely a unique salad preparation.

Loyauté offers a pasta entree on each menu. This week was gourmet mushrooms atop black pepper pappardelle with fresh Parmesan white wine garlic sauce.

We opted for the lamb and fig sauce entree. Three medium-rare pieces of juicy lamb were drizzled with a fig-port sauce. Sweet fig and oaky port flavors stood up to the herb crusted lamb. The lamb was set on purple herbed fingerling potatoes with fresh, crisp oiled asparagus tips and a half fig sitting on top. The sides were tasty, yet allowed the lamb to steal the show.

We finished the meal with the lavender creme brulee. It was sweet, soft perfection. The hint of lavender in the creme brulee was like a little surprise on the tongue. Typically this dessert comes with a crisp, torched shell, but this was lightly caramelized for a more delicate flavor. Northwest berries balanced the creamy dessert. It was served with airy lavender macarons that reminded me of delicate violet candy.

Sushi pop-up restaurant

Another popular pop-up is Kusshi NW. Chef Ian Skomski had a regular Sushi and Sashimi pop-up at White Water Taphouse in downtown Bend. During the pandemic shutdown, Skomski switched to a takeout pop-up. He’d offer his menu for pickup three days a week. As the Taphouse has opened with outdoor seating, Skomski is looking at how to integrate a takeout and dine-in option as well as coordinating school and other details we all are dealing with. Kusshi NW is on hiatus presently but will pick up at any time. It’s expected to start on Fridays and extend from there. For the most current information follow @KusshiNW on Instagram or on their Facebook page.

Many pop-ups are word-of-mouth — feel free to let me know if you hear of others.

Reporter: barb@barbgonzalezphotography.com

The Loyauté pop-ups will continue on Friday nights as weather permits. They are looking into a way to keep it going into the fall. For now, there is a single seating at 6 p.m. but if the 10 p.m. restaurant restriction lifts, they will consider offering a second seating each night. To learn more or make reservations for upcoming pop-ups, go to https://www.elixirwinegroup.com/events. Here you can find future pop-ups at Elixir Wine Company. Find future Loyauté pop-up events on the Loyauté Bend Facebook page or Instagram at @loyautebend.