Review: Ignore the Allure, Skip the Rice Table’s Pop-up Dining

By Minna A in Food on May 13, 2011 7:00PM

We Chicagoist foodies are always ready to jump into new restaurants and new food trends. I started reporting on food truck rules and regs early in the game, and are always ready to review new types of ventures. Lately, pop-up dining has become the showstopper, with famous and up-and-coming chefs setting up temporary restaurants all over town. Pop-up dining can be an amazing opportunity for restauranteurs without restaurants to get in front of the public, or for authentic ethnic cuisine to find places to shine. Unfortunately, new and trendy doesn't always mean good - and pop up restaurants, without an established infrastructure behind them, can come with their own set of challenges. Recently, I visited The Rice Table, an Indonesian catering company that sets up a BYOB pop-up restaurant experience twice a month, and it wasn't a great experience - an important reminder that just because an event sounds great doesn't mean it will be great.

Service - The Rice Table sets up at Sip Coffeehouse on the near west side. Since The Rice Table doesn’t run a restaurant full-time, I entered into the dining experience with an open mind and a more relaxed, casual approach. This quickly disappeared when my companion and I we’re told that despite our reservation, the only space available was outside, where our table and the one other table outside were consequently ignored. After waiting nearly an hour for service, we asked to be reseated at a vacant table that had yet to be cleared. Once we we’re inside, our focus shifted to getting ahold of a bottle opener for our wine.

Once our waitress appeared, we we’re told that the only corkscrew had gone missing and that there were no longer clean glasses available, but that our prix fixe menu would arrive shortly. We waited. And then some more. Finally a small bowl arrived, with about 10 pieces of krupuk, or fried prawn crackers (approximately the size of a puffed potato chip), hardly enough for one, let alone two, famished diners.

Food - Now, we must note, the website and table menu advertise Indonesian cuisine as uniquely distinct from other cuisines, and advertise their prix fixe menu as plated on small plates. In reality, plates were served picnic-style topped with fist-sized portions sandwiched on top of, and next to, each different course and plopped on the table with no real explanation.

Still, we we’re excited to try to the supposedly unique food and maintained high hopes for the quality of the dishes; in reality, more than half the portions were cold (only one was supposed to be) and what’s listed as the first course, steamed white rice, was only available when requested. The Ayam Rudjak, spicy braised chicken in a red coconut curry sauce, was devoid of all of the promised flavors of spicy, coconut and curry. The Mie Hun Goreng, stir fried vermicelli noodles with vegetables, lacked “uniquely” Indonesian flavors, and tasted very similar to Vietnamese or Filipino food.

A quick count of the foods on the table made us realize that at least one, and possibly two, of the promised dishes we’re absent with no explanation from the waitress. Despite the lack of menu items and service, we we’re asked to pay the total cost - only the second and last time we ever saw our waitress - and shuffled out the door.

Review - Despite the appeal of advertised unique pop-up dining of Indonesian cuisine, this is an event you should skip. But if you have the patience and have a desire to try for yourself, head on over to Sip Coffeehouse tonight to try a higher priced menu with fewer courses. We recommend you bring your own glasses and corkscrew.

The Rice Table will host another pop-up dining restaurant at Sip Coffeehouse, located at 1223 W. Grand, from 7 - 9 p.m. Dinner is $18, and cash only.