Photography by Greg Rannells
Sandy Talley isn’t a professional chef, and Marie Jary isn’t a sommelier. Neither is a restaurateur. Yet both were remarkably calm as they prepared to serve a seven-course, wine-paired meal to a packed house at Demitasse 665, their restaurant that, for three weeks in December, was the hottest culinary ticket in town.
Perhaps the couple’s lack of nerves came down to the fact that the temporary restaurant was an outgrowth of the monthly dinners they host in their home, where members of the public receive a gourmet meal in exchange for a suggested donation. When it’s held in a home, the experience is labeled a private supper club or an underground dinner. But when it’s moved to a commercial space for a few weeks—in this case, the old John’s Town Hall space in The Dorchester—it becomes the food world’s latest craze, one that has intrigued professional culinarians the world over, including the likes of New York restaurant owners Danny Meyer, Daniel Boulud, and Thomas Keller: the pop-up restaurant.
Ten nights into Demitasse 665’s 12-night run, word of St. Louis’ first pop-up had spread, and the bar area filled with a sense of anticipation as guests arrived in groups of two and four. Jary welcomed diners with a glass of champagne, and soon the group of strangers was making introductions.
Remarkably, the room had been a vacant, grease-covered bar and grill just weeks earlier. Now, after a thorough scrubbing, some minor repairs, and a cosmetic freshening, it was a setting fit for fine dining. Charcoal-gray walls accented by warm gold frames and rich mahogany furniture—all borrowed from Talley and Jary’s home—lent the space an air of cozy sophistication. “It was a miserable place, but the space resonated with me,” Talley says. “For someone else, it would’ve looked impossible. But as an architect, it was easy for me to design and to do the work. The space really added to the experience.”
That coziness extended into the dimly lit dining room, where guests chose their seats at a long communal table with 20 formal place settings. A murmur ran through the room as Talley, aided by a kitchen brigade and a service staff comprising friends, family, and one culinary student, sent out a first course of pillowy sweet-potato gnocchi topped with brown butter and fried sage. By the time the fifth course’s grilled green beans with pepper-garlic zabaglione arrived, the chatter had steadily grown into a friendly din of conversation and laughter.
Punctuated by Talley’s brief introduction of each course and Jary’s explanation of her chosen wine pairings, the jovial mood lingered until Talley emerged from the kitchen to a round of applause. As guests began to depart, a few stragglers lingered at the table, savoring the conversation as they sipped coffee from the restaurant’s namesake: beautiful and dainty demitasse cups collected by Talley’s mother.
“We call it an experience,” Talley explains. “It’s good food and drink, yes. But it’s also the communal table, talking to new people—this is exactly what we would love to find if we were traveling. This is the kind of food and the kind of dining we love.”
Two nights later, it was over, the furniture returned to the couple’s home. The restaurant had gone as quickly as it had popped up.
But the experience was a memorable one for those lucky enough to secure a seat, as well as for the hosts. “By day three, I thought, ‘I don’t think I’d do this again,’” says Talley. “On day six, I said, ‘This is pretty interesting.’ By day 12, I was saying, ‘Let’s do it again!’ It was more than both Marie and I could have expected, in ways we never expected. Total fun.”
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RECIPE
Sweet-Potato Gnocchi With Brown Butter and Fried Sage
Serves six
1 ¼ pounds russet potatoes, whole
¾ pound sweet potato, whole
1 large egg
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
¹/³ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese,
plus more for serving
1 ½ to 2 cups all-purpose flour
¹/³ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup sage leaves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake the russet potatoes and sweet potato on a sheet pan until tender. Let them cool slightly, then peel and push them through a potato ricer onto a sheet pan, spreading the potato in an even layer. Cool.
Lightly flour two or three large baking sheets or line with parchment paper. In a small bowl, beat together the egg, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Gather the potatoes into a mound on the sheet pan and form a well in the center. Pour the egg mixture into the well, then knead it into the potatoes. Knead in the cheese and 1 ½ cups flour, until mixture forms a smooth but slightly sticky dough. Lightly dust the top with flour, and cut the dough into six pieces. Form each piece of dough into a half-inch-thick rope. Cut the rope into half-inch pieces, gently roll each piece into a ball, and lightly dust with flour. Repeat with the rest. Turn a fork over and hold it at a 45-degree angle, with the tips of the tines touching the work surface. Roll each gnocco down the fork tines, pressing with your thumb, to make ridges on one side. Once formed, transfer them to baking sheets.
Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet. Add the sage leaves and fry until crisp, about 30 seconds. Transfer to paper towels to drain, and season lightly with salt. Add the butter and ½ teaspoon salt to skillet and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil, add half of the gnocchi, and stir. Cook about 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the gnocchi to the skillet with the butter sauce. Cook remaining gnocchi in same manner. Then heat all of the gnocchi and butter sauce over medium heat, stirring to coat. Divide into warm bowls. Sprinkle with fried sage and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Recipe Courtesy of Sandy Talley, adapted from a recipe by Melissa Roberts in Gourmet Magazine
