What Happens When

Ok, so I am very far behind in my reviews, and this pop-​up has already shut down, but I am posting this loving ode in a hope that it may be resurrected. I absolutely loved the concept behind this restaurant; the menu, décor, and theme adjusted monthly, providing dinners with an ever-​changing experience. My visit was during their «Movement # 3», which was modeled after a French-​style garden party from the 19^th century. Though we were seated in an event space, we could easily have been under a tent in someone’s yard, surrounded by strands of patio lights. A family-​style atmosphere was created through tight quarters, which made it virtually effortless to engage with fellow diners at neighboring tables, just as we did while joining in on a happy birthday serenade. The waitstaff was also engaging and personable, while dressed to fit the theme. The experience was furthered through the slow service, which made this more of a relaxed evening than anything else.
We started our journey back in time with inventive takes on classic cocktails. Our $ 58 prix fixe meal began with a beautifully presented Artichoke Salad, which contained large artichokes, crisp haricot verts, and a vinaigrette made from aioli and saucisson sec. The other starter option was a Shellfish Salad that included perfectly-​cooked shrimp and scallops, tossed with fennel and olives, and served with a creamy anchovy dressing. These decadent starters were followed by country-​style entrees such as the perfectly grilled Fluke and Scallop combination, which was accompanied by vegetables provencale. The Veal dish was extremely tender and served with peas and chickpea fries, all cooked in a blend of herbs de provence. Our desserts were enjoyably prepared tableside. An Almond Cake was topped with crisped, toasted almonds, and the Chocolate Cake was just as delightful.
What Happens When was another masterpiece created by Chef John Fraser of Dovetail, located on the Upper West Side. What can I say, the man is a genius that can transform a meal into a culinary journey of epic proportions. I only wish that this creative concept was still around…

I was taken here for my birthday when it was movement 4 where it was influenced by the South and Jazz music. The whole concept of tailoring an entire experience from music, décor and food to a theme for a restaurant was well executed here.
The staff were all super friendly and the execution was simplistic but conveyed a great atmosphere. Food was well prepared and despite not knowing that the utensils were in the little cubbies attached to the table, everything else was well thought out and explained.
Their take on the oyster po boy and soft shell crab was certainly different and definitely not something I would describe as particularly Southern, despite their own descriptions. What can’t be contested though is how it tasted irregardless to how it may have adhered to traditions.
It’s unfortunate that this place closed, I was seriously looking forward to seeing what future movements would bring.

I got to eat here the day before it finally closed — movement 4.5.
SIMPLE but DELICIOUS FOOD. GOOD SERVICE.
If you didn’t get to eat at this pop up restaurant, you missed out.

What a pleasure to be able to checkout this transient space — we booked a month before our scheduled trip to New York, but were sadly informed the night before that they had lost their liquor license. :(
Still it was beautiful, though the main dining room was totally empty, the back patio was tented and featured a beautiful chandelier. The fourth movement inspired by jazz was captured well through the menu. The space and atmosphere didn’t really sing the same tune though I imagine a lively crowd and bourbon fueled evening would be central to this concept.
The food was beautiful and service was great. I hope they get their liquor license back soon!

Been to the first and third movements. It’s temporary in a small space on Cleveland Place. I like the fact the restaurant changes the menu and décor every thirty days. Why not, something new to try at least once a month.
The first movement we attended was with two friends of ours and we enjoyed the winter inspired meal. It was a while ago, so I can’t remember what we had. But the food was delicious, and the service was a bit discombobulated as other stated.
But the third movement, second visit, was inspired by a French Impressionist Painting of a garden. Matisse I think or Monet, one of those artsy types from the turn of the 20^th century. It was a group of six of us and we all enjoyed the meal. The French inspired dishes were simple yet all was cooked to perfection. Everyone raved about the chicken.
Looking forward to more visits in the next few months.

When I heard of John Fraser’s project I was immediately intrigued. To intertwine art and food to such extent that the restaurant itself is a changing installation. I knew I had to check it out! So for last weekend’s celebration with a friend I suggested we come here.
The concept alone serves as a testament to Fraser’s creativity. I am in love with his idea! The entire space, the background music, the décor, even the staff’s uniform gets reinvented every month along with the menu and cocktails. It’s like experiential art installation and it’s interactive not just through the dining experience but also because patrons can provide suggestions that can serve as kick starters for the next movement.
We dined on the last night of movement 3, which was inspired by a French impressionist painting. The atmosphere is very lighthearted and it felt like I stepped into an indoor picnic. The white furniture and pastel colored décor gave the air a very summer-​like feeling. The music was very eclectic ranging from classical boleros to Latin beat.
For cocktails my friend ordered the Helena, a prosecco cocktail heavily tinged with vanilla, and I had the Diana, made with bourbon and tea. They both suited the summer-​like theme but it was rather sweet for me so I had a glass of wine after my cocktail.
The meal started with an amuse-​bouche (I was particularly fond of the chard omelet) and fresh off the oven garlic knots. Originality: 5 stars, Presentation: 3.5 stars, Taste: 4 stars. Then my friend had the artichoke dip and deviled eggs and I had the shellfish salad in anchovies vinaigrette (O: 4 stars, P: 4 stars, T: 4.5 stars). The shellfish was really fresh and delicious. For our main course my friend chose the veal braise (O: 4 stars, P: 4 stars, T: 4.5 stars) which was very tender and uniquely accompanied by a green pea paste. I had the Cornish hen jambalaya (O:4 stars, P: 4 stars, T: 4.5 stars) which had very bold flavors in comparison to the rest of the meal and I enjoyed it a lot. Before dessert we were served a palate cleanser of strawberry jam and crème fraîche. I thought that was very original and very chic. For dessert my friend had the milk chocolate tart with orange and espresso (O: 4.5 stars, P: 4 stars, T: 5 stars) and I had the sour cream tart (O: 5 stars, P: 4 stars, T: 4.5 stars) which I enjoyed very much for the texture and the flavor.
Bottom-​line: It’s pricey but worth checking out. I’d love to go back for another movement. Because of the creativity and the unique concept I’m tempted to give it 5 stars but the food itself is not mind-​blowing, though definitely a solid 4 stars.

We, humans, are ultimately creatures of ennui. I wonder if cockroaches ever despair of their mundane life of scuttling around and being smashed under slippers — well, I suppose it is rather thrilling to be running for your life all the time; hence, the Hollywood doomsday movies. Prozac, Zoloft, instead of introducing any more chemicals, an organic carefree and bohemian stint to sow the oats may be the antidote for a middle-​age crisis. Having a limited life span, is not necessarily limiting, but can be quite liberating, as it forces one to live more fully and creatively (and here, there is the safety net in the form of Dovetail).
Amuse Bouche
The light and creamy green onion gazpacho breathed spring onto my table; yet a sinking saltiness immediately betrayed — just like the fickle New York weather. The diminutive cube of chard omelet had a red pickled stalk, which elevated it from a plebian kitchen counter item. The spoonful of lemon balm gelée was sufficiently irksome in taste and texture — further aggravated by the few salt crystals — to have neutralized any calming properties the herb might have.
Garlic knots
The hot rolls were admirably chewy and sweet, which implied homemade dough. The melted shreds of parmesan and oil were, however, a little too slick for a light spring day.
Rabbit in Filo — Yogurt, dates, fresh garbanzo beans
The lean, poor Easter Bunny was presented in two ways — Rolled-​up leg and shredded breast in pastry — and there was little that the thick yogurt and sweet dates could do to the haplessly dry meat. The roll of leg — with the skin on to add flavor — was over-​salted, while the shredded meat was flavorless. The filo dough was crispy on the top but lukewarm and papery for the rest.
Vegetable Bouillabaisse
A truly impressionistic rendition, the head note of the soup was its acidity. Then, the sweetness of the pureed vegetables, aided by a subtle spiciness, started to seep through to the palate. Finally, the third note was the delicately garlicy ramp. Each vegetable was cooked proficiently: The fiddlehead ferns crunchy and bitter; the potatoes starchy and pillowy; green peppers paper-​thin and refreshing; the red peppers tender and sweet; and the tomatoes perfectly concassé for a change. However, the star of the vegetables was the fennel, cut into thick wedges, which perfumed the bouillabaisse with its herbal and grassy aroma and provided meaty bites to the soup. The accompanying crispy croutons were drenched in oil, but the rouille added velvetiness to the spring song of soup.
Almond Cake — Whipped Cream and crumbled Florentine
I have yet to understand the allure of olive oil cake, and even more so, of having such a dense and starchy cake as a dessert. Hungry still after a full course, are you? Even dressed with vanilla-​bean speckled whipped cream — losing its head, by the way, for sitting out in a warm April evening — and brittle Florentine, The almond cake’s drabness cannot be disguised. It would have been better off with a hefty scoop of ricotta and tangy marmalade as a breakfast.
Milk Chocolate Tart
The wondrously liquid milk chocolate — the consistency of a hardening chocolate fondue — was daintily encased in an exquisitely thin cacao shell. The rich milk chocolate was intensely sweet but not childishly saccharine like a Hershey’s bar, and smartened up by the barely sugared crust. The case should have rested here; instead, a few broken pieces of meringue were dropped, almost accidentally, on the tart. If it were done on purpose to provide textural contrast, it should have been properly crumbled and more evenly distributed. Sometimes withdrawing and refraining require even more skills than addition.
Sour Cream Tart
Sour cream, sitting out in the warm room, was as attractive a woman pasted with a full make-​up under the Florida sun: the cream was runny and greasy, and incredibly inelegant. Take a jar of sour cream, mix in the sugar, and dump it on some crumbled graham cracker; then leave it under the library lamp for one hour. Voila, you have the sour cream tart. The key to cream is temperature control, which at What Happens When seems to have been sacrificed in the name of wagon service. Yes, I do reminisce the good old days when wagon service was the norm (which eerily coincided with the quite demise of dim sum carts); however, in the good old days, there was no such horror as a sour cream tart.
Macaron with homemade grape jelly
Obviously, everyone had to get into the macaron scene. What Happens When’s version was so unpleasantly powdery and floury that it could not have been made with almonds. The mysterious dark red paste was equally disagreeable, which I was informed, to be homemade grape jelly. «Ah,» the table sighed in unison: We were just talking about how tasteless grapes in New York could be.

I have been hoping that having a little bit of time to reflect on my trip to What Happens When would enable me to really establish what I thought about it. But I’m still somewhat confused.
We went for 19^th-​century-​Southern-​France month, which I believe is still currently ongoing. The food was all good, with the exception of a seafood salad that was mysteriously coated in slimy anchovy goop. (One person at our table loved it; I was more repulsed than I have been by any restaurant dish in a long time.) Otherwise, some of it was boring– all of the chicken and fish dishes– while some of it was extraordinary– all of the vegetable and meat dishes. The vegetable bouillabaisse in particular was a standout. John Fraser REALLY knows how to cook his vegetables.
The cocktails, however, were rotten. The fancy gimlet tasted like a watery, bland gimlet, and not at all fancy. The scotch cocktail was sweet and bland– like watered down, flat cola. The cocktail of champagne and absinthe was at least drinkable, but not that interesting, since it tasted like nothing but absinthe. (To the restaurant’s credit, they apparently noticed that we didn’t care for the cocktails and took them off the bill.)
Now, as for concept and décor. Some of the choices are whimsical and frivolous– like the giant awning that looms over most of the dining room. Some of the choices are understandable but counterproductive: our wine was served in wide-​mouthed glasses that made it impossible to smell the wine, and therefore made it lose flavor. We surreptitiously swapped our water into the wide-​mouthed wine glasses and used the bowl-​shaped water glasses to hold our wine. It made a huge difference. But guests shouldn’t have to innovate around a bad choice in glassware.
And some of the choices are whimsical but incredibly distracting and odd– like the choice to put all of the waitresses in black corsets. I still haven’t quite been able to figure out what the corsets were supposed to imply, and we were unable to get a straight answer from the staff. I’m pretty sure they didn’t evoke whatever the restaurant was hoping they would.
As for the bottom line: Did I mention that John Fraser cooks amazing vegetables? To a certain extent I would follow him wherever he was cooking them and eat them however he was cooking them. But the food, décor, and service here were nowhere near as extraordinary as what I’ve experienced at Dovetail. That said, I had a good time– but that’s because I go to a lot of fancy restaurants, so I enjoyed trying something interesting but hit-​and-​miss, and analyzing its success and failures with my dining companions. If you don’t already go to a lot of fancy restaurants, you definitely shouldn’t start here. Consider this the Schoenberg of haute cuisine.

What happens when I turn 25? I get taken to a spontaneous, spur of the moment restaurant in Nolita! Awesome way to start off my old lady era. :)
I’ve heard only great things about this place — and for a good reason. It’s just one of those places where you have to take everything into account. It’s not only about the food experience, the restaurant is itself an experience, an artistic movement. And WHW seriously delivers. The food here does wonderful things to your senses. *To start: Frog Legs atop a potato, leek and mint soup. The frogs legs were more like little drumettes. Thoroughly tender, with just a touch of mint. Even better, I got Brian to try it. See? It does taste like chicken — but better!
Next, the Short Rib. If there’s a polenta dish on the menu, you better bet I’m going to order it. The meat was juicy, but a tad on the salty side. I’ll take salty over bland though. I adored the creamy, cheesy, polenta. I could’ve had a whole tub of that alone. And strangely, the highlight of the dish? The side of broiled broccoli and radishes, served in tin foil. Clearly, this touch of homeliness won me over. The simplicity of the butter sauce, mmm I only wish they gave me more.
And finally, the dessert cart rolls around and allows you to finish off your meal in a content manner. We actually got three deserts (don’t judge me) because it was my birthday. I can’t complain…25’s going to be a great year.
* I came when WHW was wrapping up Movement Two.

As I was eating here, hours ago, in a weird and contradictory fervent quest to pace myself, I was struck with the panicked realization that I wouldn’t possibly be able to remember all the different ingredients and tastes that combined to make this such an amazing food event. But now, home and sated and recovering from that gastro-​high John Fraser’s creations instilled in me, I realize, that’s not the point.
Do not, whatever you do, assume this means that the food was in any way lacking. This meal — the 3^rd «movement» of nine planned in this pop-​up Nolita restaurant — is without hesitation one of the best dining experiences I have ever had. But that’s exactly what this was: an experience.
What Happens When isn’t so much serving up a great meal (but, oh my god, how was that chicken so succulent and moist?) or great drinks (was that lavender salt around the rim of my cocktail?) or great service (did the waitress really call me «cute»?) as it is serving up a culinary dreamscape.
The small, dark space on Cleveland becomes a minimalist/​surrealist 1880s French tavern straight out of Renoir’s impressionist masterpiece. [See their web site to see the inspiration for Movement No.3.] A pink-​and-​green awning covers part of the room; modern-​yet-​elegant light fixtures hang from the ceiling. A headless mannequin sports a Victorian dress next to a white coat-​rack with two bowler hats perched atop. The waiters wear white jackets over Picasso-​esque striped shirts; the hostesses have black corsets over their modern garb.
Is this 1880s France? No. It’s not even trying to be historically accurate. And that’s the amazement of it. It is a smooth, rolling juxtaposition of tastes, sounds, and sights. It is as impressionist as Cezanne’s landscapes, and I am positive the French masters are lauding the concept — so closely aligned to the Impressionist movement — from on high.
The food — I chose shellfish salad and poulet — is what you imagine France at this time to be, but what you also know it wasn’t. The only way I can describe it is dream-​like. The loose, careful, relaxed interpretation gave me that wonderful feeling we get upon waking from a fabulous dream, sleepy synapses abuzz with the dual knowledge that what we experienced wasn’t real, but so marvelously creative.
Fraser and his group have created a comfortingly deconstructed and non-​tech experience, which just also happens to be tasty as all holy hell. Utilizing the freshest ingredients (mussels that almost melt in your mouth, herbs that sparkle greenly on your tastebuds), the perfect, hitherto-​incongruous combination of flavors (olive oil and lemon with almond cake), and the simplest, attentive service (dessert, after you choose from the cart, is plated and prepared tableside with pastry-​chef precision), What Happens When is not a restaurant. It’s an experiment in satisfaction.
I waited until morning to complete this review, because I wanted to make sure I hadn’t been drugged into false praise. Not so. From the amuse bouche that started the evening to the macaroon that ended it, this was one of the most perfect meals I have ever been lucky enough to experience. I absolutely had to fight the urge, upon getting my coat from coat-​check, to thank all involved for allowing me the opportunity to pay them for such an event.
If that’s not alternate-​reality, I don’t know what is.

4.5 stars, only because of the insane noise level. The food, the creativity, the space, the service – that’s a 5.
We went with a couple I will refer to only as «The Insiders,» because of their connections in the restaurant world. That means we may have gotten special treatment, but everyone seemed to be taken care of nicely by the knowledgeable and thoughtful staff.
The design – black walls, animal prints on the floor, rubber-​band-​bedecked menus, mossy tableaux hanging from the ceiling, DIY silverware drawers – is quirky and somewhat mysterious, seemingly done on the cheap. None of it does a thing to dampen the raging noise, unfortunately.
I’m still in shock over what a great value this place is. At $ 58 (prix fixe), WHW could be offer the minimum. But no: They start you off with a champagne cocktail before you can even think about the regular cocktail list (based on «A Midsummer Night’s Dream»; I tried the delightful Titania, with gin, lemon, and allspice). Then a brilliant 3-​part amuse bouche (is that really pumpernickel soup?), then buttery rolls…
Are you still with me? Good, because it’s time for the mushroom app. The plate looked like a forest floor, but the taste! Earthy, succulent, the hazelnuts dusted on top adding the perfect contrast.
Mr. Insider scraped his plate clean; that’s how good the salt-​baked celery root entrée was. Come to think of it, all our plates ended up spotless: Husband’s trout was incredibly moist and flavorful, Ms. Insider’s fois gras disappeared, and the only thing better than my short ribs was the creamy polenta underneath.
Desserts are served from a trolley, and it’s fun to watch the staff plate them for you. I was unsure about the chocolate dessert, but it grew on me as I stole some from others. My lemony clafoutis was out of this world; and the panna cotta was a refined creamsicle. The cheese plate was stinky, which made Mr. Insider very happy and the rest of us happy that he was happy.
If you can’t get to WHW for this month’s menu, come for next month’s. With food this good, I feel confident in recommending it, sight unseen.

FAN-​EFFING-​TASTIC! Go there now and have the melt in your mouth short ribs with cheddar polenta! I promise you, you will never be the same again.
What happens when?:
— The waitress is so enamoured with the food, she has us in ecstatic expectation before we even begin?
— The champagne ordered is delivered a little warm — but no problem, a complimentary new bottle is put on ice immediately, and we are told to sip the first champagne until the new one is ready?
— The amuse bouche makes our toes curl?
— The garlic knots of bread are so delicious that our party orders three rounds of them?
— The entrees bring a hush to the table, broken only by the occasional «mmm»…“aaahhh” or «mind if I have a taste of that»?
— The waitress brings round a dessert trolley with tantalising treats and plates them in front of our very eyes?
I’ll tell you what happens… a memorable evening of flavours that explode in your mouth or build up slowly in layers of deliciousness. I will be mulling over this meal for days to come…

It was worth it to wait outside in the cold!
So, I get there for my 5:30 reservation and the staff was having a meeting which means people waiting outside freezing.
The hostess was really nice and very apologetic about the whole situation.
They finally let us in and oh god! what a delicious and succulent feast!
I obviously ordered the potato skins after reading the reviews, but let me tell you something, it is all about the sausage served with the potatoes! they were absolutely delicious!
I also had the lamb which was one of the best ever, it came with chestnuts! I would cut a piece of lamb and chestnut, bite it and oh good! Perfection! yuuuummyyyy
Ready to go and visit them again for a second round! ;)

I will 100% back my statement that this has been my best meal in NYC so far. Came here with my friend Sarah P. (my favorite dining partner as she a) has amazing taste and b) can make any meal more fun brulee than it should be)
The place is just perfect. From the overall vibe of the location that shuffles in an out every 30 days to the details of the setting. Look up at your table and see recipe cards attached to the lights. The wall in the back near the bathrooms has the names of every investor in the restaurant through John’s Kickstarter a project.
Now the food. Try and get it all if you can. Go with ¾ people and just split it. We had the potato skins and the cauliflower, the monkfish and the lamb and then of course the popcorn crème brûlée for dessert that I almost passed out over for being so amazing.
If you can, come here before it closes. I’m dying to come back when it gets warmed and see how the place transitions.

If you want to read in more detail about this restaurant, read this NYT article:
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Very cool concept. Temporary restaurant with a changing décor and menu? I’m intrigued. So when one of my good friends invited me to join her for a10:30 pm reservation she made, I said YES.
The theme was suppose to be Nordic (I think) — really liked the clean, minimalist décor — black walls which was offset by the white chairs and tables — it looked very modern and chic. Looks like a great place for a date — if a guy takes me here, I’d be pretty pleased ;)
The food was AMAZING. It was a prix fixe menu of $ 58/​person. Not bad considering the quality of the food you were getting.
Here’s what we got:
1^st course: arctic char (fennel aspic, preserved lemon), oysters (beet mignonette, sunchokes, arugula)
2^nd course: lamb with barley leeks and chestnuts, veal sweetbreads with rice
Dessert: popcorn crème brûlée with salted butter
They also gave us little samples (is this called something?) of split pea soup and onion dip with croutons.
ALL very delicious. Would especially love to have more of the split pea soup and the onion dip and the lamb. and the crème brûlée… mmm. pretty much would love to have the whole meal again actually :)
Definitely a must-​check out! I can’t wait to see what they will have next month. Might just have to visit this place monthly for the next few months.

What happens when… you take a really talented chef with an imaginative mind and give him a space that’s only available for a limited amount of time?
A lot could happen. Or maybe not happen.
Opening a restaurant is a daunting experience or at least you’d have to think so as so many try and fail in this city. Doing it and then retooling it monthly creating an ever-​changing canvas of creativity is almost (totally? universally?) unheard of.
Lucky for us, they were willing to take this on and not only embrace the temporary nature of the space but really collaboratively develop an environment that has a sense of community… sounds cheesy, but I really feel it, and makes this place more than just a meal… an actual experience.
What Happens When delivers in all the ways you hope it will… at least in the ways I hope it did.
When I go in with the expectation of eating well I want to feel like the food was created with love and passion. You can tell when emotion has gone into a restaurant venture and I believe you can taste it.
In my visits, I felt like WHW envelopes visitors in passionate, DIY-​style environment that serves up carefully selected wine and crafted cocktails and delicious food all with a technique that seems to feel perfectly imperfect — if that makes sense?
It’s only month one and I’ve been several times and eaten my way through most of the menu. Highlights: monkfish, hen, the trio of amuse bouche, all the cocktails (and I mean all of them), char, potato skins. But honestly, I enjoyed it all.
If you love food and are looking for creative inspiration (no matter what field you are in) then I suggest you haul it on over here as soon as you can. What is on the plate is worth the journey alone.

This was really one of the best dining experiences I have had in the city. Simply the concept of a temporary installation with a changing menu and décor was inspiring, especially to my husband, the architect. He thought, and we agreed, brilliant to have us seated in essentially a huge 1:1 scaled blueprint.
We started by perusing the menu for cocktails. I opted for the gin petunia (I may be making the name up, but it was gin based, sweet and delicious) while Nelly and Georges started with the Irish car bomb. Despite being smooth with bourbon, porter, and walnut liqueur, Nelly found it too strong, handed it to Georges and ordered my gin drink.
Then moving on to the food, we decided to order three appetizers, and three main dishes to share. We ordered the arctic char, cauliflower salad with grapes, and the potato skins with beer and cheese fondue. As main dishes we ordered the monkfish for one, the lamb loin and the guinea hen.
We were started off with pizza garlic knots and a trio of amuses bouches. The garlic knots were warm, buttery and crispy and left us speechless. The trio of amuse bouche started with a pea soup with truffle oil, an onion dip with crackers and pickled ramps to dip with, and finally a blue cheese and celery concoction called «ants on a log» like nothing I have ever tasted before. Already, there was a flavor of molecular cuisine, a theme which would reappear in dessert.
The appetizers met with mixed reviews. The cauliflower salad was a burst of flavor perfectly complemented with the grapes and trumpet mushrooms. The potato skins were literally paper thin skins fried to golden brown perfection and swimming in a perfectly deep beer fondue, topped with sorrel and pickled sausage. The arctic char was the only thing we did not agree on. Georges loved it, while I found it gelee and slightly tasteless, and Nelly disliked the texture.

The main dishes, however, were the real deal. The monkfish was perfectly cooked and flaky in a creamy rich sauce. The lamb loin was Nelly’s favorite, and was paired with crispy lamb belly. The guinea hen was fried and decadent, and the buckwheat pancake was incredible.
For dessert we had the Popcorn Crème Brulee and the chocolate cake as well as the cheese plate. The chocolate was deep and rich topped with marshmallow and graham crackers, and the Popcorn Crème Brulee was crispy and reminiscent of my childhood.
Overall the meal was seriously excellent, and I cannot wait to come back every month both to see the venue and how it changes, as well as the menu! For people with a high threshold for culinary stimulation this place is both whimsical and inventive, and I highly recommend it!

Given that the concept of the constantly changing restaurant space already imbues NYC culture, I think it is brilliant to have a space that actually institutionalizes the idea. It’s a fancy restaurant that completely changes chefs, menus, and interior design every month. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this restaurant deserves a Michelin star or something like that, but I would definitely come back from time to time just to see how it changes and evolves. Here’s what we had under the care of Chef John Fraser:
Laertes Cocktail: Rum, allspice, honey, and lime garnish
Amuse Bouche: Split pea soup w black truffled butter, Onion dip with croutons. Ants on a log with quince and walnuts
Course 1: Potato skins of fingerling potatoes and pork sausage, Roasted cauliflower salad with grapes and feta
Course 2: Lamb with barley leeks and chestnuts, Veal sweetbreads with rice
Dessert: Rice pudding with horchata and citrus marmalade, Popcorn crème brûlée with salted butter
Lots of really unique flavors. And I would venture so far as to say these baseball-​sized sweetbreads are the best sweetbreads I’ve ever had.

Phenomenal venture! A temporary restaurant/​installation that transforms every 30 days for 9 months, What Happens When was everything I had hoped it would be. Although the menu isn’t extensive, every dish is perfectly conceived and executed.
My friend ordered a cocktail while I ordered a Norwegian Porter to start. The porter was nice with hints of chocolate and tobacco which helped in easing me into my starter, the potato skins (with sausage and beer fondue) while my friend sampled the oysters (with beets purée). Perfect. Then the guinea hen (with carrots and turnips) and the lamb loins as entrees. Perfect. Seriously. The guinea hen was tender and flavorful. Paired with the vegetables, this was a great item (especially when the garlic knots with melted cheese came out to help sop up some of those delicious juices!)
But dessert!!! The four dessert options (served on a cart and assembled table side) of the evening was a chocolate tart (with marshmallow and graham crackers), popcorn crème brûlée, Vanilla rice pudding (with horchata and citron-​marmalade), or a cheese platter (which wasn’t the most popular option, I suspect). The chocolate tart was my friend’s selection ’cause it reminded him of smores (and who doesn’t like smores!!!) while I couldn’t pass up a rice pudding with hints of horchata and citron.
Honestly, I think this place is a hit and I can’t wait to visit again to see what they come up with next.

Temporary pop up by John Fraser from Dovetail; the entire concept including the interior will change monthly until it’s over in 9 months. Décor is cute; a bit of the Fat Radish vibe. Fun lamps with newspaper clippings! The menu is a prix-​fixe of 2 courses plus a dessert cart. Started with an amuse of celery and yellow pea soup with a twisted brioche type of bread; all very fresh. Not sure what type of cuisine it’s supposed to be but looked very noveau-​American to me.
On to potato skins which came with pickled sausage and beer fondue; enjoyed the potato part of it but was more partial to the arctic char. I love dill so the cod with some type of fishballs, dill, and squid was my favorite although I also tried the lamb loins which were equally tasty. The leek with the lamb was particularly good. I overheard the table next to me ask for vegan so looks like they accommodate special diets.
For dessert there was a cart with three choices; chocolate tarte with salted caramel, Meyer lemon Bavarian crème which came with meringue topping and kumquats and a cheesecake. The cheesecake was light and fresh with huckleberry in the middle (may have been boysenberry) and the bavarian crème was basically a panna cotta. This was almost identical to the kumquat panna cotta at The Mulberry Project; seems like kumquats are trending. Not too many exciting options on the drink list; although there are 2 daily cocktails that rotate. One was an olive type martini and the other a tangerine concoction. Professional service.
I’d come back next month; curious to see what’s next.