Serpentina Serves Up a Deadly Good Time

Recently, an out-of-towner asked me an interesting question, "Why does Detroit have so many pop-ups?". I stopped for a second and said why not? Pop-ups give culinary up and comers the chance to bring new foods, tastes, and dining experiences to the people before they are ready to open a brick and mortar space. They give them a chance to figure out "how to do it right" and they give a few lucky people who attend the event a chance to sample something before everyone else has access. These culinary experiences also give chefs the chance to test their skills and try something new. They are not limited to a set menu, which means that the chefs can play around with the foods that they make and the places and ways that they serve them. We have seen a lot of people do some really cool things with food (shout out to Khana for making a delightfully delicious burrito for me at Marble Bar last weekend), but we have never seen someone create an experience quite like the one that Serpentina staged for us to enjoy last week.

Last Wednesday evening, we headed up the Jam Handy on a warm summer night for a 7-course meal that celebrated all things dark and macabre. The evening was billed as an early century sideshow experience and it delivered from every angle. The 30 person table that was located in the middle of the room was decorated with red roses, black vases, and little gold mirrors that were used to serve us the first course of the night, vanity. While we ate, we enjoyed ring and fire dancing performances and drinks that were bubbling over with dry ice. The chef created 7 different courses to pay tribute to the 7 deadly sins of vanity, lust, greed, gluttony, wrath, sloth and envy. They also offered vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options so that everyone who wanted to indulge could do so. The food was excellent, the portions were fair and the service was excellent. It was hard to believe that this was the first time that they pulled this off, but it a good sign of things to come. They do not have another pop up on the books yet and the opening date for the brick and mortar space is still TBD, but you can follow Serpentina here to make sure that the second that they announce something you can get tickets to experience this one for yourself.

Vegan Envy

Vegan Gluttony

Vegan Lust

~S