Chefs from two of San Francisco’s most popular restaurants – Rich Table and Bar Tartine – are doing their own four-course pop-up at the Hopscotch Annex June 23 and 24.
Chris Wolff, who works at Bar Tartine, and Jon Tu, who works at Rich Table, met while working together at Viajante, a restaurant in London. Neither have been in the Bay Area very long, and both live in Oakland, “so of course we wanted to do our pop-up in Oakland. I just think it’s more interesting over here,” said Wolff.
As for their menu, “We want it to be something totally new. We’re not using anything that we know or do at either Bar Tartine or Rich Table,” said Wolff.
The $55 meal will include a gin-based cocktail made with parsley and honey; two amuse bouches; fresh bread and cultured butter; marinated and grilled squid with creamy fermented turnip greens, celery root and snap pea kosho; nasturtium and burrata soup; aged ribeye and rib cap with hearts of palm and jus; and a soaked lemon cake with honey ice cream and wheatgrass.
The beef course in particular is getting extra attention. Each cut will be prepared in its own way; the ribeye portion will be cooked over a charcoal grill with rendered bone marrow and infused with garlic, thyme and seaweed.
“It’s a simple dish but we’re really focused on the preparation and making the meat really stand out,” Wolff said. “Our goal is for people to say ‘Wow, why doesn’t everyone cook meat like that?’ And to make a beautiful piece of meat taste even better than it already is.”
Coffee and petit fours will also be served.
Additional wine pairings can be bought for $35, with winemaker Dave Yates from Santa Barbara’s Jaffur’s Winery on hand to pour and introduce the wines.
Calling their approach “light and modern,” Wolff said “We like the idea of challenging ourselves by not using a lot of fat or sugar.”
Tickets for the dinner they are calling “Journeymen: Not Exactly Lightweights” are available here.
The Hopscotch Annex is next door to Hopscotch, at 1915 San Pablo Ave., (at 19th Street), Oakland. Connect with the restaurant on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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