The last flourish of late-summer produce has beckoned visiting chefs to the Hudson Valley for a diverse series of culinary events taking place over the next few weekends. This round-up of local food pop-ups has some culinary all-stars dishing up a wide variety of cuisines from Japanese omakase to authentic Indian cuisine and open-air wood-fire cooking.
Taikun
August 18-19
At Lower East Side sushi restaurant Taikun, chef Ferianto Ciu dishes up unforgettable and ever-changing 13-course omakase experience. Ciu brings his sushi chops upstate for a two-night pop-up with a little bit of mystique—the dinner will take place in an undisclosed apple orchard in the Catskills. On August 18 and 19 from 6pm to 8:30pm, attendees can enjoy a premium omakase experience with drinks for $195. The 13-course menu will highlight Japanese classics such as otoro, a fatty tuna dish; sawara, a Spanish mackerel smoked with hay grass; and Hokkaido Hotate, sea scallops with charcoal salt. Each dish will have a beverage pairing, including sake and Sicilian red wine. To reserve your spot, email your party size, date, and time to Taikunsushi10@gmail.com. Once your reservation is confirmed, the location will be revealed.
Junoon x Santa Fe
August 18-20 at Santa Fe Woodstock
Few restaurants ever earn a Michelin star, fewer yet in their first year of business. But when Junoon erupted onto the Flatiron District’s dining scene in 2010 with its upscale Indian concept, heads turned, mouths watered, and the rave reviews poured in. For the second year in a row, Junoon will bring its acclaimed and authentic Indian cuisine to Woodstock for a three-night pop-up at Santa Fe. Akshay Bhardwaj, who has run the restaurant with his father since its opening, is joined by fellow chef Gustavo Tzocx and talented mixologist Hemant Pathak. Using late-summer produce, the Junoon team will curate a three-course menu with cocktails to match. If you’re feeling daring, try the ghost chili chicken tikka, with spicy, tandoor-cooked chicken thighs served with a smoked carrot-coconut puree, and carrot salad. The summer saag is another standout, made with farm-fresh kale, mustard greens, swiss chard, broccoli rabe, spinach, and tempered spices. For dessert the banana baba beckons: this orange blossom-soaked cake is dished up with jackfruit custard, and a pistachio kulfi. Each plate will be paired with hand-crafted drinks by Pathak. The experience is $95 a person.
Chile Con Miel & Callisto Present: CAMPO at Callisto Farm
August 26
This upcoming pop-up at Callisto Farm in High Falls will showcase ancestral cooking methods as six chefs come together to prepare regional dishes outdoors using earth, water, and fire in a bucolic location on August 26. The pop-up brings together a group of Latinx chefs to pop-up at Callisto Farm, an 1800s dairy farm recently restored by designer and real estate developer Amalia Graziani. Overlooking the rolling hills of Shawangunk Ridge, the 88-acre property with its iconic barns, flowers, and vegetable fields provides a scenic setting for this meal. Tony Ortiz, the culinary artist behind Chile Con Miel, on Mexican cuisine using French techniques with a Northern Californian twist. Among the chefs are Maricela Vega, a multi-award winning chef, who has garnered the title of best new chef in Atlanta by Atlanta magazine; and Pri Aguilar, who focuses on comfort food using seasonal ingredients and manages ice cream pop-up Nueva Yolk; a well as Romina Ruiz, Gerardo Gonzalez, and Antonio Ramirez. CAMPO is a single-seating event beginning at 5pm.
Nine Chefs, One Table
September 3
Chef Einat Admony, owner of modern Israeli restaurant Balaboosta, will host a Friends of James Beard Benefit Dinner in Kerhonkson on Sunday, September 3, starting at 4:30pm. Herself a three-time James Beard award-winning chef, Admony will prepare an end-of-summer harvest meal with beverage pairings, entertainment, and raffles for $270. She is joined by eight other premium chefs, among them Johnathan Zaragoza, Chicago-based Mexican chef and owner of Birrieria Zaragoza and El Oso; Esther Choi, owner of Korean-inflected restaurants Mokbar and chef and partner of Ms. Yoo; and Silvia Barban, “Top Chef” contender and chef/co-owner of Fort Greene Italian restaurant LaRina.
