“Do you want to come with me to a top-up dinner at The Strip Club?” my friend Kris Vruno casually asked one day.

“Absolutely!” I replied, with just a little too much enthusiasm.

I have always been a fan up pop-ups. Though the trend has been co-opted by everything from non-traditional museum exhibits to random performance art pieces to shopping experiences and more, the pop-up has and will always be the domain of the restaurant world. Pending on the culinary brains behind it, a pop-up can run the gambit from a restaurant trying out a new menu, a chef previewing a new concept, or a chance for the kitchen staff to let their hair down and have fun in the kitchen.

All of these things, and more, happened on Monday night at The Strip Club in St. Paul as co-owners Tim Niver and JD Fratzke threw the first of two pop-up dinners in honor of Saint Dinette, their new restaurant opening in Lowertown St. Paul later this year (or “mid-soon” as they like to say).

Continue reading →