A pop-up with a mission that'll stick

Pop-up restaurants are a concept that have been recently gaining in popularity throughout North America. Following tradition (ahem Food Trucks), Boston has been a little slow on the uptake...

Thankfully though, a crew of young entrepeneurs and food enthusiasts have made an important step towards kickstarting a veritable foodie trend.

About four months ago, the guys behind Dore Creperie thought it was high time that someone popped up in an empty spot at 1 Beacon street.  What better way to make a presence than by being the first ever pop-up crêpe shop in Boston?  The concept is simple enough, pick an idea that people will find both intriguing and familiar, and fill your work place with an open-minded atmosphere where anything feels possible.  

Last Saturday, I was fortunate enough to experience their genius and enthusiasm first hand at one of their Crêpe classes. These were a part of Dore Creperie's mission and purpose - to spread the word on the feasibility of pop-ups and the food business in general.  It doesn't always take a huge sum of money and a team of fancy backers and interior designers to get something like this up and running.

The class started with a brief introduction to crêpes, a food stuff dating back to ancient Roman civilization, and their inspiration behind the pop-up.  I was impressed to see that at no point throughout the lesson was there a crêpe-void...they always had something tasty on the griddle. Above we have a crêpe with raspberry compote, goat cheese and walnuts:)

We were then put into two groups, the class being about 8 people strong.  Four of us started with a lesson in making batter - a simple enough procedure that I (with my fairly basic cooking skills) may even try out at home.

Then we headed to the griddles for the real fun!

There were no intimidating tutorials, it was pretty much grab and go! The toughest decision was whether I wanted to make a sweet or savory creation...

In the end I went with savory ( I figured there would be enough sweet to follow!). I made a delicious concoction (if I do say so myself:) ): a savory crêpe filled with prosciutto di parma, bacon (couldn"t resist), blue cheese, spinach and pesto...it was really a fab combo. 

One of the things I love about these classes is that you inevitably end up meeting some great people who share at least one interest with you. In this class, we decided to share our creations and so I also got to try a buffalo chicken, blue cheese and celery crêpe, as well as a pretty interesting sweet creation from Holly.

I was happy to have picked a savory crêpe to begin with because shortly thereafter, Vilas, one of Dore Creperie's creators, made three communal dessert crêpes - upon my request, we tried the S'mores (pictured above),

The Elvis Presley - peanut butter, bacon and bananas...and why not first sautée the bananas and bacon together!? This is an example of the culinary experiments that go on at Dore Creperie!

And finally their Bananas Foster...with a special treat of real rum! I could not stop myself from eating even though I was so full!

In the end, my limit had been reached and we were all quite happy to sit and chat for a little while longer.

I am so happy I got to squeeze in a crêpe class...because the only downfall to a pop-up, is that they eventually move on.

This does not mean to say that Dore Creperie will leave without one final POP! This coming Saturday the 19th, they will be having a free crêpe day to thank everyone for coming in and supporting the project.  Stop by 1 Beacon Street anytime between 1 and 3 and you will be rewarded!

Let's hope these guys don't take too long before opening up another Pop-up...the sky is the limit, and I think this is what they are all about!