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Local chefs start pop-up restaurant 

Pop 46 kitchen

From left are Andrew Webber, Heidi Webber, and Will Torres.

Chefs Will Torres and Andrew Webber launch the ultimate side gig – They call it Pop 46

Local chefs Will Torres and Andrew Webber are supplementing their day jobs to bring pop-up dining to San Luis Obispo County. Pop 46 Restaurant will present its next inventive, “chef-driven” dinner on Sunday, Oct. 19, at Pier 46 Seafood Company in Templeton with two seatings at 6 and 8:30 p.m.

Pop-up dining in SLO CountyLaunched in July, Pop 46 takes over existing restaurants during off-hours, using their kitchens to create extraordinarily inventive, one-time-only dinners unlike any other on the Central Coast. The effect is something like a serendipitous journey into the imagination of a classically-trained, outrageously-inspired chef with every possible tool and ingredient at his fingertips.

“We started Pop 46 as a venue where we could create whatever food we wanted in different venues around the Central Coast,” said Webber, who works days at the Restaurant at Justin Vineyards & Winery along with Torres, who is executive chef. “We liked the idea of not being confined to one space and the flexibility that allows us. Plus, it’s a relatively low-risk way to get our name out there and challenge the traditional way restaurants start up.”

With its inaugural dinner, titled Dinner #46, Torres and Webber presented a five-course menu paired with Rotta Wines at Pier 46 Seafood Company after hours.

menu of pop-up kitchen

This is a sample menu. Actual items on the menu for the next event are subject to change.

For the Oct. 19 dinner, titled Dinner #47, Torres and Webber will once again present five vibrant, globally influenced courses based on inspiration from local markets and purveyors.

(See attached proposed menu – subject to change based on availability of ingredients, of course.) The optional wine flight will include a limited selection of the Central Coast’s finest producers.

Following in the footsteps of Los Angeles radicals like Ludo Lefebvre of Ludobites and Trois Mec, Pop 46 is a new concept for San Luis Obispo County. “The low overhead of the pop-up concept allows certain things that brick-and-mortar restaurants don’t,” said Webber. “Because we’re only open for one night and the menu is completely different each time, we can be extremely creative and try things we would never be able to on a nightly basis,” which, he added, includes his and Torres’ dream of eventually inviting other chefs to play in the kitchen for future events.

But Pop 46 is far from a one-trick pony. “We’d like to do Dinner #48 in San Luis Obispo, and we’re looking at different formats – we don’t want to get locked into doing wine dinners all the time,” Webber said. “Maybe burgers or tacos in a more laid-back environment.”

Tickets for either seating of Dinner #47 on Oct. 19 at Pier 46 Seafood Company are $80, with an optional wine pairing for an additional $35, tax and gratuity not included. Reservations may be made at Eventbrite.com. For more information on Pop 46 visit http://www.facebook.com/PopFortySix.

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About the author: Publisher Scott Brennan

Scott Brennan is the publisher of this newspaper and founder of Access Publishing. Follow him on Twitter, LinkedIn, or follow his blog.