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Restaurants

Pop-up Restaurant Debuts Wednesday

By Liz Biro, posted Nov 13, 2013
(Photo by Liz Biro)

A pop-up restaurant aimed a featuring Wilmington-area chefs and diverse cuisine appears Wednesday night at downtown’s Dixie Grill.

The 6-11 p.m. dinner by the new business Port City Pop-ups features various options for each of the four courses to be served. Giving pop-up diners choices is a key feature of Port City Pop-ups, owner Jeffrey Porter said.

 

“My whole presentation on the whole [pop-up restaurant] thing is a little bit different,” Porter said. “There will be a different chef, different menu and different venue every time we do it.”

 

With 21 years of cooking experience, including his current stint as Bluewater Grill executive chef, Porter will head Wednesday night's kitchen crew.

 

Guests choose from three appetizers, two soups or two salads, three entrees and two desserts. Among selections are tempura tuna skewers served over arugula with wasabi, pickled ginger and sesame soy reduction; a creamy soup featuring chicken, poblanos and butternut squash; wild-caught salmon over fall vegetable risotto with pineapple salsa; and pumpkin tiramisu.

 

Dixie Grill, 116 Market St., will be transformed for white tablecloth service, Porter said. “It almost reminds me of [the former] Deluxe next door,” Porter said of the nearby, late fine-dining establishment that recently became home to Perkeo Wine Bistro.

 

Some Dixie Grill servers will work the dinner, and Porter said he expects to have Dixie Grill owner Brian Mayberry behind the bar.

 

A New Hampshire native who followed family to Wilmington, Porter, 35, said he has worked at various restaurants over the course of his career, but he wanted to get behind a pop-up so that he and other chefs in the area could step outside their comfort zones and expand their cooking skills. Working with different cuisines and chefs provides everyone involved, including diners, with an educational opportunity, Porter said.

 

Wednesday's dinner costs $55. For ticket information, click here.


The next dinner will be scheduled after the holiday season, Porter said.

 

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