Big Bad Chefs Debut Israeli Street Food

Top Chef Eli Kirshtein from Atlanta was a welcome guest last night at the inaugural night of John Currence’s Big Bad Pop-Ups. Kershtein will be cooking Israeli street food (see menu at bottom of page) through Saturday. Photo courtesy of City Grocery Restaurant Group.

Atlanta Top Chef Kirshtein joins Currence at first night of Big Bad Pop-Ups

By Tad Wilkes, Nightlife & Lifestyles Editor

tad.wilkes@hottytoddy.com

John Currence has turned his The Main Event office and catering kitchen into Big Bad Pop-Ups while City Grocery restaurant on the Square undergoes renovation. The promotion entails a full month devoted to Currence and guest chefs serving up various takes on different street food cuisine.

Big Bad Pop-Ups will run for four weeks, Wednesday through Saturday beginning January 9. The doors of The Main Event, located at 1005 North Lamar Boulevard, open at 5:30 p.m. and close at 10 p.m. during the promotion.

The first week kicked off last night, January 10, 2012, when Chef Eli Kirshtein from ENO Restaurant & Wine Bar in Atlanta, and also of Top Chef fame, treated diners to Israeli street foods (see menu below).

In coming weeks, guest chefs Kelly English from Restaurant Iris in Memphis and Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman from Hog & Hominy in Memphis, along with Currence, will bring their unique culinary slants to the table at Big Bad Pop-Ups.