POPPIN EATS Pop-up Restaurants in NOLA
By Steven Melendez
New Orleans has always been a place where it’s easy to find good food in what would be unusual places in other cities, from gas stations and pharmacies to movie theaters and concert venues. Local bar food is, well, generally pretty good too, and it’s gotten even more exciting as of late with more drinking locales offering food from pop-up kitchens that set up shop in or outside of their establishments, sometimes just a few nights a week.
ALTHEA-MARIE’S CATERING CO. Various Locations including Evangeline Lounge (4501 Toulouse St.), QiQi’s (1515 Aline St.), and Pepp’s Pub (706 Franklin Ave.) As the name suggests, founder Tyronne Green says his long-term goal is to operate his own catering facility. For now, this pop-up, which got its start during the coronavirus pandemic, is serving up delicious food including generous portions of fried fish and shellfish, as well as bar food classics like burgers, wings, and quesadillas, at a variety of locations around New Orleans. And if you’re wondering where the name came from, Green says it’s a tribute to his two late grandmothers.
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“Both were my great culinary influences,” he said. “Althea was my savory side, and Marie showed me all of her baking and baked goods.” Follow Althea-Maria’s on Facebook to see where they’re popping up next. QUEEN TRINI LISA’S Portside Lounge (3000 Dryades St.) Lisa Nelson got her start selling food from her native Trinidad and Tobago and elsewhere in the Caribbean when she owned a convenience store on St. Claude Avenue and would make the dishes to share with her family. “Customers keep coming in; they want to know what’s the smell that coming from the kitchen,” she said. The island-style cuisine—items like doubles, the traditional chickpea sandwiches on turmeric flatbread, and jerk chicken with sides like rice and beans, fried plantains, and Caribbeanstyle spinach—quickly became a business of its own. Now, she has a regular pop-up at Portside Lounge, the Central City tiki bar and music venue, generally serving up her food on Thursday, Friday,
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Generally posting menus on social media, and with some offering traditional bar items like tacos or burgers while others sell less common fare, these outlets give rising chefs a place to hone their craft and diners a way to try a greater variety of food, often while still hanging out at their favorite places around town. Here are a few of them:
Area eateries like Portside Lounge host pop-up restaurants.
