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Pop-ups continue to flourish in the culinary world across the U.S., serving as an exciting way to experience new dishes, cuisines, and chefs in impermanent settings. Here in New Orleans, the pop-scene is stronger than ever, evidenced by the number of pop-ups that have become, or are on their way to becoming, full blown restaurants. It can be hard to keep track of all the exciting independent kitchens and pop-ups to try, so here is Eater’s guide to New Orleans’s most exciting pop-ups so far in 2022.
Some of the operations below have weekly pop-ups across the city’s many breweries and bars, some are available for preorder and pickup on designated days, and some offer home delivery. As always, be sure to check social media pages for the most up-to-date information.
Did we miss an exciting new pop-up in New Orleans? Let us know. This list will continue to be updated.
10 Cent Baking
Cake, pastry, and ice cream pop-ups continue to dominate the city’s pop-up scene as they did in 2021, a year when many now-popular kitchens rose to prominence: Bayou Saint Cake, Lagniappe Baking Co., and Rahm Haus, to name a few. 10 Cent Baking is from local bartender turned baker Gillian White, specializing in layered cakes extravagantly adorned with flowers, fruit, and swirls of colorful frosting — these are wedding-worthy cakes. White is also selling pistachio-cardamom galettes for Carnival season, available for preorder and pick up on designated days. Email order requests to 10centbaking@gmail.com.
Get Your Mom and Dim Sum
Serving some of the most exciting new Chinese-American cuisine in town is Get Your Mom and Dim Sum from chef Chef Andrew Lu, found throughout the week at Miel Brewery, Second Line Brewing, Oak Street Brewery, Zony Mash Beer Project, and Urban South. See the pop-up’s full schedule here and follow along on Instagram for a chance to try his dim sum: the famed dan dan dumplings, shrimp cakes, spiced pork and apple dumplings, and black pepper beef and mashed potato dumplings have been among recent offerings.
Kimi Bakes
We are beyond excited about Kimi Bakes, Kimi Nguyen’s baking operation that specializes in cream puffs, honeycomb cakes, and crepe cakes; baking that is self-described as “a mixture of French inspired pastries incorporating Asian styles.” She’s particularly known for her cracked cream puffs — French choux pastry with a craquelin cookie crust and an added cream of varying flavors, seasonal and custom. Current specialties include cream puff king cakes, mini bánh bò, and crepe king cake. The next pop-up is Sunday, February 6 at Coffee Science; follow on Instagram for future dates.
Kusina NOLA
Finally, thanks to Kusina, the ube everything craze has hit New Orleans, in the form of show-stopping ube cheesecakes, crinkle cookies, flan, and more. These gorgeous creations are available thanks to former Shaya cook Michael Bruno and his partner Ruby Ruhala, who operate their Filipino-inspired kitchen throughout the week at spots like Gasa Gasa, Parleaux Beer Lab, Pepp’s Pub, and Miel Brewery. The ube desserts are generally available via preorder and pickup, but the kitchen onsite at bars and breweries serves a savory menu; dishes like pork adobo, crispy adobo turkey necks, and spam fried rice. Follow on Instagram for preorder information and pop-up schedule.
Milkfish
Cristina Quackenbush’s delicious Filipino pop-up, Milkfish, continues to thrive, fresh off her feature in Lisa Ling’s new HBO documentary, ‘Take Out,’ in an episode where Ling explores the history of Filipino-Americans in New Orleans. Quackenbush can be hired to put on a private Filipino Kamayan feast at your home, and beyond that, Milkfish can be found at Bywater Brew Pub on Wednesday nights and on Saturday nights at 12 Mile Limit.
Only Flans
A flan-specific pop-up is essential to any good pop-up scene, right? Ely Navarro Hernandez, who’s cooked in local kitchens like Mopho and Luke, started her Only Flans pop-up during the pandemic after receiving rave reviews, and has been showing up at holiday markets, the Bywater Market/Trap Kitchen, and at Parleaux Beer Lab since. The particularly creamy flans have previously come in sweet potato, salted caramel, and even a black flan with squid ink — and currently, a king cake flan, of course. Follow on Instagram for preorder, pickup, and pop-up info.
Txow Txow
Adam Mayer’s Spanish pintxos pop-up Txow Txow has been around for a few years now, but it continues to reach new heights via experimentation — currently, the Donostia Supper Club. For this dinner series, Mayer is collaborating with the Campfryer, a pop-up by James Robbins, for 3 nights of seven-course dinners over Valentine’s weekend (one of Mayer’s previous collaborators for the Supper Club was Eater’s pop-up of the year in 2021, Rahm Haus). In addition to Donostia Supper Club dinners, which will take place over three days monthly, Mayer is still popping up with Txow Txow, most often at Parleaux Beer Lab, and occasionally with Latke Daddy, his latke pop-up, at spots like Barrel Proof. See here for Supper Club info and reservations, and follow on Instagram for pop-up appearances.