Anna Roth

Chai-masala pot de creme with rose and huckleberry syrup from Marla Bakery.

There's been no shortage of deliciousness coming out of pop-up Marla Bakery, run by former Nopa pastry chef Amy Brown and Joe Wolf formerly of Wise Sons. But one thing that consistently stands out is baking duo's pot de cremes in various flavors. French for literally "pot of creme," it's a rich custard reminiscent of panna cotta or creme brulee without the sugar crust, and is usually pretty forgettable. Not here. The first time I had one was at the third anniversary of Pal's Takeaway -- it was chai-masala flavored, with just a hint of warming spices topped by a soothing rose and huckleberry syrup, and was startlingly good.

See also: Earl Grey and Panna Cotta Make Beautiful Music Together at Cowgirl Creamery

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Molly DeCoudreaux Photography

The stylish digs of the Mission's Dandelion Chocolate.

Good news, pie fans: The ladies of Three Babes Bakeshop will be heading into the kitchen at the Mission's newish chocolate factory, Dandelion, next week. Instead of focusing on chocolate, they'll be making fruit-focused desserts adorned with nibs, chocolate shavings, and more -- but chocolate fans don't fret, there will be a chocolate cream pie with whipped cream spiked with Almanac's Biere de Chocolat. Yum.

See also: Dandelion Chocolate Smoothies Contain Real Cacao Fruit
Almanac Pairs with Dandelion Chocolate For New Biere de Chocolat
Dandelion Chocolate: Now Open!

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Ben Mesirow

The pop-up is the latest in a long tradition of trends which attempt to subvert the tropes of the restaurant system. Following in the footsteps of revolutionaries like gourmet food trucks and frozen dinners, the goal is to provide restaurant-worthy dishes outside the standard rubric of the restaurant experience, and without all of its inherent hassle and pretension.

Regardless of their aim, though, the fact of the matter is that this city is crawling with pop-ups, and in an effort to help you decide which ones are worth the wait in line we bring you the first in a new series of occasional reports:

Rice Paper Scissors at Mojo Bicycle Café
The Pop-up: Rice Paper Scissors
The Host: Mojo Bicycle Café, every Thursday from around 6 until 10ish
The Cuisine: Vietnamese street and comfort food
The Experience: The first thing you'll notice at Rice Paper Scissors at Mojo is the parklet and the proliferation of red stools thereabouts.

That might be the precursor to the most prescient observation you'll make during your visit -- there are two vastly different experiences to be had here. When the weather is nice, the tables set on the wood planks protruding into busy Divisadero are inviting, somehow both secluded and the center of the party. On days like these, when the sun is still shining at 7 and your mind is pleasantly clouded by Death & Taxes, it almost wouldn't matter if the food wasn't great.

See Also: Food Truck Bite of the Week: Line-Caught with Fish Tacos from Cholita Linda
Rice Paper Scissors Pops Up For Anthony Bourdain
Lunchpad: Adventurous Sandwiches and Candied Bacon in Hayes Valley

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Pete Kane

Lunchpad's Turkey Drizzle sandwich.

When you think "noir" and "lunch," what comes to mind might be two crooks plotting a heist over ten-cent coffee in a greasy spoon somewhere.

That's changing at Hayes Valley's relatively new arrival, Noir Lounge -- which occupies the former Frjtz. As a wine bar that opens mid-afternoon, looking to ensnare the theater crowd, Noir opted to fill the noontime gap with The Lunchpad, a sandwich-heavy weekday pop-up.

See also: Noir Lounge in Hayes Valley is Open and Showing the Giants Game Tonight

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J. Schell

Grab a blanket, grub, and sun at Off the Grid: Presidio Picnic

Civility isn't something you associate with food truck events, but are you really looking for "wholesome" among the carts? Part of the fun is the mass of humanity, the snaking lines, the comparing of food tips with strangers, and the discovery we have more room in our stomachs than we previously thought. Food trucking is the culinary equivalent of music festivals: you do it for the communal social experience as much as for the performances.

Showcasing a more refined side to the trucks are two events: Off the Grid Presidio Picnic (with full drink menu!) and Fiveten Burgers making a pop-up appearance (get a taste of what the future brick and mortar location may bring) at Trace.

See also: Food Truck Bite of the Week: Hoofing Burgers at Fins on the Hoof
Food Truck Bite of the Week: Porchetta Nachos at The Whole Beast
Food Truck Bite of the Week: Fiveten Deep in Burgers

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Flickr/arnold | inuyaki

Belly, get in our belly.

The Galley, Justin Navarro's pop-up at Clooney's, has acquired a cult following for serving vegan flatbreads and French onion soup sandwiches at a dyed-in-the-wool dive bar on lower Valencia. (He also pickles eggs, if you want to get really old-school about it.)

While most pop-ups aspire to brick-and-mortar status, Navarro's teaming up with chef/photographer Wes Rowe to advance along another route: a four-course prix-fixe "Belly Dinner" on Sunday, April 21. For $27, some 20 diners at each of the two seatings can enjoy salmon belly, lamb bacon (over arugula and potato soup with crème fraîche), BBQ'd pork belly with pickled slaw, and a dessert of strawberry rhubarb pie and Jelly Belly ice cream.

See also: American Bao Bar Extends Pilot Series at Nombe and Southpaw Through June

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Tamara Palmer

American Bao Bar takes over Nombe on Mondays through June.

Blair Warsham, a white boy originally from Atlanta who has French training and been cooking underground in San Francisco via his "guerilla dining" company graffEats, channels his passion for Asian cooking with American Bao Bar. He began the pilot series of this new project, which has aspirations to go brick and mortar, in February and is now extending his current schedule for it through June: Mondays from 7-10 p.m. at Nombe and Tuesdays from 7-10 p.m. at Southpaw BBQ, both located in the Mission. Each offers the same family-style menu for $37.

See Also:
- Eastern Addition Previews The Summit's Return

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Anna Roth

Smoked octopus with watermelon radish kimchi at a recent Liholiho Yacht Club.

Reservations are now available for three dates at the much-lauded Liholiho Yacht Club, the loosely Hawaiian food-themed pop-up thrown by chef Ravi Kapur at State Bird Provisions. I went a few months back and am still thinking about the five spice-braised pork belly and the deep-fried quail with honey sauce served as mains, though each of the 13 dishes in the three-course, family-style meal was delicious. Make your reservation on Urbanspoon for April 21 or May 5 (it looks like the 28th is already booked).

See also: Liholiho Yacht Club Now With Island Cocktails
Ravi Kapur's LihoLiho Yacht Club Pop Up Is Like a Hawaiian Childhood

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Anna Roth

Fresh Mattarello tagliatelle resting on a specially made rack.

Mattarello, a local artisan pasta company named for the rolling pin that Italians use to roll pasta, will be holding a pasta shop pop-up this Saturday, April 6 at Biondivino from 3-6 p.m. The menu will include nests of fresh pasta like tagliatelle, pappardelle, whole-wheat fettuccine, parsley-garlic tagliatelle, and bigoli for $4.50 each, as well as garganelli and orecchiette for $5 each.

There will also be bigger dishes like tortellini with brodo ($12) and lasagna with ragu ($9) to take and cook at home, as well as jars of freshly made ragu and tomato sauce for sale ($8 and $5 respectively).

See also: Berkeley Bowl Pasta Uses Beets as Magic Ingredient
How to Eat Flour + Water Pasta for Around $1 Per Serving

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Anna Latino

The mighty Kronnerburger with bone marrow and a side of fries.

This week's review is on hamburger pop-up Kronnerburger at Bruno's in the Mission, but if you live across the Bay, want to try it, and can't be bothered to make the BART trip, you're in luck: Chef Chris Kronner is taking his burgerly skills to Oakland this Friday for the Creative Growth Studio Party during Oakland's Art Murmur.

A $30 ticket gets you a Kronnerbuger, fries, a drink ticket, and music by Shock (tickets and more info available on Kronnerburger's Facebook page).

See also: Kronnerburger: Succumbing to the Cult of the Burger
KronnerBurger: A Bloody Good Pop-Up

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