The crumbled Criolla Kitchen saga continues: it ends up some of the crew have banded together and are launching a weekly pop-up in the Mission called THE WESTWOOD POPUP in the former B3/Winemakers’ Speakeasy space. GM Hans Purohit, chef Jonny Becklund (previously Randy Lewis’ sous chef), and Rob Renteria, along with some of the waiters and back of the house people from Criolla are all on board. The extreme locavore concept is based around sourcing products for the restaurant right in the Mission: from the farmers’ markets to the fish markets, plus breads from Arizmendi, and cheeses from Lucca and Mission Cheese.
You can take a look at the menu here, which includes small bites (all $6) like deviled eggs with pork cracklings and jalapeño relish and radishes with bone marrow butter and smoked salt; starters (all $8) like fried smelts with sweet pickle tartar sauce and beef tartare, quail egg, and caper berry; entrées include roasted chicken, new potatoes, sautéed greens, jus ($16) and a grilled flat iron steak ($17) with melted leeks, tarragon-garlic aioli, fries, along with a cheeseburger ($12), dressed, caramelized onions, horseradish aioli, and fries.
The team has been doing a ton of cleaning and painting to get the space freshened up, and you will see work from local Mission artists on the walls. The restaurant is opening for dinner this Wednesday April 11th, and plans to start brunch in a few weeks. Dinner Tue-Sun. 1152 Valencia St. at 22nd St.
Seating at The WestWood Popup; photo by The WestWood Popup.
