The last Portland pop-up I attended happened to be a possible preview of the changes coming up to Revelry and additions of Cambodian food to the PDX food scene. Recently, I attended another pop-up from a dining experience producer called Serenade working together with Chef Nic Marazit who is working on opening Piccone’s Corner. So this is a bit of a preview too perhaps of what might be on the Menu at the soon to be open bar and butcher spot in February.
A reservation and pre-payment of $89 bought you a ticket to the Tournant space. The Serenade concept for their pop ups are that each event brings together good food along with good music, with different chefs and musicians curated by the people behind Serenade. Here’s my perspective from this Spaghetti Western dinner theme, where the idea was old school Italian food and old school American folk music. Dinner included a welcome cocktail with appetizers, four courses, and a live musical performance.
Upon arrival for the first 45 minute reception time, guests first spotted the chefs still flame grilling the main course (at that point it had been almost 3 1/2 hours on the fire), a Wallow and Root Porchetta.
A spread of bites was available as we received a ticket for our welcome cocktail they called The Henderson, with Angel’s Envy Bourbon, Ruby Port Syrup, Angostura Bitters, Orange Bitters. Part of the appetizer spread included samplings of the possible cured and prepared pork products to come from Piccone’s Corner, alongside housemade pickles and crudites.
There was also platter of winter squash topped Carta Di Musica bites assembled for our enjoyment as guests picked seats among the communal tables.
Then it was time for the family style meal to begin: platters were generally for every six people. The first course was a classic tried and true winter chicory Caesar salad with anchovies, breadcrumbs, extra parmigiana. 
Next course to the table was a hearty housemade sourdough fusilli with Wallow & Root sausage and bean ragu. It made me wish that the dinner wasn’t family style and that I could get a bowl of this just for me. Cooking pasta for 40-50 people all at once is no small feat, and although there was a wait for this course it was very worth it. The pasta was all perfectly al dente as they tried to master the huge boiling pots for the party. The sauce seems simple from the description but was comforting and homey.
This was then followed by one of the two main stars of the evening, the Flame roasted Wallow & Root porchetta, crispy vegetables, and pork gravy. 
The other star was the music. Our music course was up next, with a concert featuring two musicians, three time Grand National Fiddle champion Luke Price and Jonathan Trawick, a 3rd generation guitar picking Ozark musician. 
The sweet ending was a dessert of Almond semifreddo, amaretto caramel, almond cookie.
Check out the Serenade website or follow them on Instagram to hear about future events – including this summer an event that includes not just dinner and music, but also rafting or one that includes glamping!
If you were going to request Serenade to put together a dinner theme with a chef and a type of music, what would you want to see?
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