The Perennial's Upcoming Pop-Up Clues Us In On Opening Menu

The Perennial, the upcoming opening from Mission Chinese Food alums Anthony Myint, Karen Leibowitz and chef Chris Kiyuna that "champions progressive farming" is inching closer to opening, and there's a pop-up to prove it. It's the first look at what kind of food to expect from the super sustainable spot that will have its own aquaponic greenhouse, a "living pantry" and farm partnerships, and it's definitively vegetable-forward. Only one dish of six has meat (lamb), but Kiyuna assured that "they're all very hearty in their own way" with "big, satisfying flavors."

The menu — in full here — includes aquaponic crudites, ratatouille, smoky sweet potato with mushrooms and lamb neck cassoulet. "I'm pained to call it comfort food because that has so many other connotations, and that's not necessarily what we're doing, but there's a satisfaction factor for sure," Kiyuna told us. He called it a "relatively good example" of the larger menu to come, though this is a very pared-down version. "We're not going to be a white-linen, Michelin-star situation, but I feel like people are really going to have a good night out and the food can be an occasion," he explained. "We want people to relax. You start talking about climate change and that can be stressful all by itself, and we're very conscious about not making it a doom-and-gloom restaurant." Right now the team is aiming for a late October opening, though there have been a lot of unforeseen delays. Stay tuned for more details.