I’ve been dreaming of attending a small-plate, multi-course dinner for years. It has been on my radar since watching Chef’s Table in 2017. Earlier this month a long awaited dream became a reality. Edgar and I attended a SHIFT pop-up held at The Lucky Accomplice in St. Louis, MO.
Chef Logan Ely runs SHIFT, formerly a restaurant which is now a pop-up concept.
Our meal consisted of 14 different courses with 8 different alcoholic drinks. We chose to get the alcohol pairing which was well worth the cost.
Our first course set the tone for the whole meal: a tonic of dried summer flowers. It was sweet yet sour with notes of berry. I knew from this dish that we were in for a wild ride.
When they brought out the Japanese broth I didn’t have high expectations. As soon as I took a sip I realized that broth can, indeed, rock your world. The fermented potato flatbread was one of my favorite courses.
The gin cocktail was easily my favorite drink. I mean just look at it. Perfect combination of flavors and not too sweat. If I had to pick a favorite course (not an easy task) it was the hominy grits. Edgar’s favorite was the confit maitake mushroom with chicken butter- which was so rich I forgot I was eating a mushroom.
We had two desserts: a whipped blue cheese with yogurt and black sesame fudge. Both were perfect endings to a fantastic meal. If you happen to be in St. Louis and available on a SHIFT pop-up night, do yourself a favor and GO. It’ll be worth it.
