The Story of Yakitori: Jarrett Stieber's Latest Pop Up

Monday, March 9, 2015

Last week I was among the lucky folks that got tickets to Chef Jarrett Stieber’s March Yakitori Supper Club before they sold out. I went there expecting some undeniably delicious local food but what I got was so much more!

We pulled up to the address off of Arizona Street and saw the Pop Up Prince standing by the gate in the freezing cold waiting to let us in. He led us around back to an immaculately decorated urban loft owned by his friends Alex & Ruby (an amazing local musician). They welcomed us with drinks, great conversation and a beautiful ambiance. Alex’s mom is an interior decorator and that really shined through - his loft has style rivaling some of the nicest Atlanta restaurants.

The draw of these intimate supper clubs is just that, the intimacy. It's a great feeling to be invited into someone's home for dinner. As Alex and I chatted, I was thrilled to hear he was a Garnish & Gather fan. “This is what I love about hosting the parties.” he told me, "Things I love just end up showing up at my house, like Garnish & Gather.”

Chef Jarrett’s girlfriend, Hallie, was behind the bar with a signature cocktail and wine from Idle Cellars. The folks at Idle Cellars are good friends of Alex and Ruby, which goes to show that these dinners are all about keeping it in the family. You almost never see Jarrett without Hallie close by, working just as hard behind the scenes. They are the epitome of a team and their passion for sharing food with folks shines through.

Jarrett is obviously no stranger to this form of renegade dining. He has built his reputation as Pop Up Prince by transforming otherwise normal spaces into intimate dining experiences. But Jarrett just recently started his hand at these yakitori parties and has seen each sell out as soon as it’s announced. They are centered around the idea of Japanese street food. But even more than that, they are centered around the idea of people. “It’s cool to see how people come together when they walk in.” Jarrett said. “That’s why we love this, because food and drink bring people together. There is so much creative outlet here and everybody is engaged in a very positive conversation about good food."

This dinner was a spaced succession of food on a stick with a smorgasbord of dipping sauces. Introducing the dinner, Jarrett warned us not to fill up on the first round. “Pace yourself,” he said, “there is still another hour or two of food coming.” Luckily we heeded his warning and had one of each yakitori stick. The first round was chicken thighs and bok choy and it just got better from there, featuring local farms like our friends at Woodland Gardens & Riverview Farms.

As each round came out, I piled more sauces on my plate and soon the whole table was talking about what combination of sauces went best with which skewer. My personal favorite was the Sweet Potato Miso, but the crowd favorite was Kewpie, which Jarrett described as a Japanese mayo. By round three, my plate began to resemble a paint pallet more than a dinner plate. “No sauce is designed for any one thing,” Jarrett explained, “which leaves room for being creative."

Anyone who has cooked from one of his G&G meals knows that Jarrett is a purist when it comes to food. His Garnish & Gather recipes are simple yet unexpected. Sam, a fellow yakitori diner and board member of Global Growers, described it best: “He lets the food speak for itself. It’s even evident in the photos that he takes."

The good news is, they’ve been so wildly popular that starting in the summer, Jarrett hopes to start offering 2 a month. Don’t miss out! Follow Eat Me Speak Me on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter to get tickets to your first yakitori supper club and watch our menu for his next meal.