If you've followed my blog long enough, you'll know that I love pop up dinners! Back on October 16 (oh my gosh, where did this month go?!) was Occupy Common 2.0, where five different chefs came together to put a pop up dinner together! So much fun. As the food will never be replicated, I thought I'd share some quick thoughts & pictures of the yummy eats from that night!

{menu}
First plate of the night was by Chef Andrew Cowan of Hundred Bar Kitchen: pickle brined, duck fat fried chicken with kimchi & honey drizzle. Unfortunately, having to plate so many dishes meant that the chicken arrived to the table cold, and the skin soggy. However, there was no trace of duck fat smell or taste in the chicken - quite peculiar as it was what I was most looking forward to. The kimchi was spicy and crisp, but without the familiar fermented flavour, so this dish was unfortunately a miss for me!

Second up was Nathan Saurette's of the Enjoy Center's creation: charred brussels sprouts and lentil salad tossed with maple dressing, topped with porchetta and squash bread. This one I was dreading. I hate brussels sprouts with a passion. But after tasting this dish, maybe I don't hate brussels sprouts themselves, but rather my mothers brussels sprouts. The miniature cabbages were charred to perfection, while the maple dressing gave them a sweetness that paired perfectly with the smoky flavour. The porchetta was tender and had delicious crispy skin attached to it - the dish left me wanting more!

Next to the table was by Edgar Guitterez of Tres Carnales Tacqueria: steamed lamb shoulder with tamal de elote, chile de arbol and pumpkin seed sauce. I'm still debating whether this dish or Nathan's was my favourite for the night. The tender, flavourful lamb atop the soft tamal de elote was so tasty, I'd eat it again in a heartbeat.

Stu Chell from Amber's Brewing cooked up the fourth dish: stout brined corned beef on rye with a waldorf slaw. Let me tell you this, I was SO FULL at this point, I had no idea how I was going to finish this plate! Thankfully my food baby was prepared to grow and I was able to taste the mustard and corned beef together. It was a nice dish, but definitely too big of a portion to eat this far in the meal. Need I mention that every single dish had protein up to this point? I was ready to explode and was begging for dessert to come.

Last but not least was the dish from executive chef of The Common, Jesse Morrison-Gauthier: shropshire blue cheese with syrup & oat biscuits, rhubarb, celery and cherries. I was hoping for more of a dessert to end off the meal, but this one was nice too. Not being a big blue cheese girl, I did try it, and it was waaaaay potent! Where were my cheese loving friends when I needed them? Anyways, the biscuits were tasty - soft and pliable, and not too sweet. Topped with the rhubarb and cherry jam, I was a happy girl.

The next pop up dinner at The Common is happening this upcoming November 20, 2012. Breakfast for dinner! Who's in?!