Did this: Pitch/Fork pop-up dinner

Welcome to Pitch/Fork, a new experience in pop-up dining! This fun dinner, hosted by Thieves in the Night and chef Chris Bailey, is centered around the concept of “synesthesia,” when one stimulated sense affects another. The idea was to combine a five-course meal with music by indie-folk power duo Foreseeable Futures. Taking it a step beyond dinner and a show, the band actually chose songs for each course, and chef Chris conceptualized his menu around how each dish would work with the music.

Apparently we weren’t the only ones who thought it was a cool concept; the $30 dinner held Friday night was sold out with nearly 50 people in attendance.

Chef Chris Bailey (left) hails from Portland, by way of Hawaii. After a stint in the restaurant biz, he’s been doing pop-ups in Portland and branching out into a more creative form of culinary experience. He returned to the islands about a month and a half ago, and literally stumbled across Kakaako Agora as a venue for his pop-up. “I was walking around Kakaako and found this place,” he says, and adds that he’d like to see the pop-up dining scene return to Honolulu.

Phil Potter and Anna Sachs (also a couple in real life) share a passion for the subtleties and harmonies of music. Their soothing but lively sound was perfect for dinner music.

Time to get started! Expert servers hustled to get each course to the diners.

Chef Chris prepares one of the courses, a colorful ramen dish infused with nasturtium, (with a couple leaves for garnish) wild amaranth and a green soup made from sweet potato greens and butter. He said this dish drew inspiration from the gardens of his youth.

The ramen dish. Isn’t it pretty?

Chicken roasts in a pan just outside in a setup for the fourth course. The whole pop-up operation reminds us of camping, but with much tastier results.

Some of the diners.

Chef Chris prepares the bird, which will be served with a coconut/tumeric sauce and butter-soaked turnips on a plate accented with tinta de calamar (black squid ink.)

Fire!

A bird’s-eye view (get it?) of the diners.

Dessert was a delicious purple sweet potato pudding, topped with condensed milk and marshmallow sauce, seared.

Foreseeable Futures goes into party mode with its last song.

The band poses for a picture after dinner

A few of the diners with the chef.

After tonight’s sold-out dinner, chef Chris says he’s considering making this a series, so if you missed out this time, stay tuned, or send an email to thickasthieveshnl@gmail.com for access to its mailing list and more information.