Prequel, Pop-Up Facilitator in Chinatown - Hosting Pop-Ups While They Wait for Permanent Spaces

[brr]

Anyone been? Hamilton Johnsons new place / pop up? We have reservations tonight

[DonRocks]

Anyone been? Hamilton Johnsons new place / pop up? We have reservations tonight

If you could get a feel for what Prequel is like, I'd really appreciate it. Is it a full-time pop-up host?

[brr]

Yes, Prequel seems to be a full time pop up host for both DC and non DC restaurants. Dining room is nothing fancy - about 8-10 tables. Service is basically a one man show the host/bartender/waiter/GM Bryan (?) is a nice guy who holds it all together despite his many hats and is happy to answer all types of questions about Prequel.

The food was very good. I've always liked Hamilton's touch and I think he puts together a great menu. One of my initial takeaways was that literally everything on the menu appealed to me, something I can't say for many restaurants lately. Our party of 4 split the following for appetizers: a charred romaine lettuce (very good), an oyster stew (very good but could have been great with a little more seasoning), foie gras on french toast (very good but could have been great with a thicker and less overdone piece of french toast) and fried sweetbreads on waffles (very good).

For entrees we had roasted oregon morels on grits w duck egg (very good), icelandic cod (very good to great), seared scallops (very good to great) and lamb chops (very good).

We would go back and hope to see Hamilton in his own place in the near future.

We skipped dessert and had a post dinner cocktail at Brick and Mortar - a bustling little cocktail bar in the basement of the same building.

[gibmrm]

I have made a reservation for Prequel/Honeysuckle, probably dining alone. Do you think it is a good option, or is it one of those places where a party is almost a necessity given that the whole purpose is to share multiple smaller dishes? Any reason you skipped the desserts? Unappealing?

[brr]

its a very small room but the portion sizes are actually quite generous and perfectly appropriate for a solo diner - we shared because we like to try everything, i don't necessarily think its the modus operandi - I can't fully recall if we were just stuffed or didn't find the desserts appealing - enjoy!

[Josh]

Jessica Sidman has a preview up on Poke Pop DC, which will be...a pop-up Poke restaurant in DC.  Fellow H St. NE resident and DR.com denizen Logan Hollers is one of the partners behind the venture, along with local chef Kevin Tien.

I wish Logan the best of luck, and will try to get over there this week.

[Bart]

How do you pronounce "Poke"?  One syllable that rhymes with "joke"?  Or two syllables that rhymes with "okay"?  Or something else?

[Deac]

I've never been to Hawaii, but I've always heard it as poe-kay, rhymes with okay.

[funkyfood]

Someone's gotta open up a "James K. Poke" spot

[Simul Parikh]

2 syllables, at least on the Big Island. Good luck Logan! I'll try to stop in on Thursday!

S

[lion]

Interesting!

[lhollers]

20 hours ago, JoshNE said:

Jessica Sidman has a preview up on Poke Pop DC, which will be...a pop-up Poke restaurant in DC.  Fellow H St. NE resident and DR.com denizen Logan Hollers is one of the partners behind the venture, along with local chef Kevin Tien.

I wish Logan the best of luck, and will try to get over there this week.

First of all, thanks Josh!! We're hoping DC gets into the poke wave, and we've noticed for a while a niche that seemed like it could be filled. We'd love to have you in Thursday or Friday!

19 hours ago, Deac said:

I've never been to Hawaii, but I've always heard it as poe-kay, rhymes with okay.

Nailed it. I've always it seen it phonetically as POH-kay.

19 hours ago, Simul Parikh said:

2 syllables, at least on the Big Island. Good luck Logan! I'll try to stop in on Thursday!

S

Thanks Simul! Would love to have you in to one (or all) of the events!

Oh, and, also - here's the event invite with a little more info. Please do give a ton of feedback, whether that's here on DR or through contacting me personally - Kevin's an amazing chef with a sterling resume, but we, of course, want to put out the best product we can. Customers' honest opinions will help us do that!

We're also on Twitter and Instagram at @pokepopdc!

[DonRocks]

9 hours ago, lhollers said:

First of all, thanks Josh!! We're hoping DC gets into the poke wave, and we've noticed for a while a niche that seemed like it could be filled. We'd love to have you in Thursday or Friday!

Considering your main competition may be Hula Girl for the time being, you may not have much to worry about. 

Glad to see the entrepreneurial spirit, Logan! Good luck and congratulations in advance.

[lhollers]

9 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Glad to see the entrepreneurial spirit, Logan! Good luck and congratulations in advance.

Thanks, Don!! We would, of course, love to have you make it in if you can (and that goes for everyone on this board).

Cheers!

[Josh]

On May 3, 2016 at 0:30 AM, DonRocks said:

Considering your main competition may be Hula Girl for the time being, you may not have much to worry about. 

Glad to see the entrepreneurial spirit, Logan! Good luck and congratulations in advance.

Don't give short shrift to District Fishwife, who puts out a damn fine poke at Union Market.

[DonRocks]

25 minutes ago, JoshNE said:

Don't give short shrift to District Fishwife, who puts out a damn fine poke at Union Market.

Acknowleged! I did not know District Fishwife served poke, and I have little doubt they surpass Hula Girl.

[Bob Wells]

I'm the last person to claim expertise on Poke, but another option is Taste of Aloha up in Arbutus.

[Simul Parikh]

So, I'm a prequel investor and have never been there for a meal (went for investors opening party). 

I love me some poke and so was looking forward to this. Brought Satellite Will, his fiance, and his sis. Had a bunch of credit to spend there.

We all got the Korean poke. Not by choice. They had run out of all but that and the tofu and none of us wanted tofu (there were 4 options on the menu). Ordered a bottle of wine. The poke came out and we hadn't gotten our waters, nor the wine. The poke was damn good. Fish was fresh, veggies were delish, and rice cooked perfectly. I don't want to gloss over this. It was really, really good. I want this place to open up as a fast casual, ASAP. 

My problem with the night was Prequel. Before I met my friends, I got a drink and it took forever to pay for it. They don't have enough staffing. We didn't get our waters and wine until almost everyone was done with their food. Why? Because the person taking orders (of a very long line) was also responsible for beverages. I asked 3 people for the wine. The last gentleman realized how ridiculous this was and finally got it for us. Took it off the bill. 

I don't know how prequel is on most nights. If this is typical, I feel a lot of pop-ups are ill served by the understaffing. I want to reiterate that the food was good, but people that are less forgiving than me could have their evening marred by this, and they would forget about how good the meal was.

So, LH- get this place out of pop up zone and make it a reality in the district! I think you will kill it.

[DanielK]

Was there a wait for a table? I want to try this next Friday, but I'm trying to do it on the way to a DC United game at 7p, so I don't have a huge window of time. Doable?

I did notice that you can buy tickets ahead of time to guarantee the entree you want, but that doesn't include a table/time reservation, just a food reservation.

[Simul Parikh]

Not really a wait for a table, there is just a line up to order and then you sit down. It's in the upstairs dining room, but I think I saw people in the downstairs bar with poke, so there was definitely plenty of space. I didn't realize there was tickets for the event - I just walked in. Seems like it is completely sold out. 
 

 

[lhollers]

12 hours ago, Simul Parikh said:

We all got the Korean poke. Not by choice. They had run out of all but that and the tofu and none of us wanted tofu (there were 4 options on the menu). Ordered a bottle of wine. The poke came out and we hadn't gotten our waters, nor the wine. The poke was damn good. Fish was fresh, veggies were delish, and rice cooked perfectly. I don't want to gloss over this. It was really, really good. I want this place to open up as a fast casual, ASAP.

So, LH- get this place out of pop up zone and make it a reality in the district! I think you will kill it.

Simul, thanks so much for the kind words!

We were way busier than we anticipated yesterday, leading to us running out of ahi and yellowtail earlier than we planned - sorry about that. Really glad to hear you loved the Korean bowl, though! That salmon was on point... Also, if you make it back in, the Mexican bowl (the one with tofu) was actually one of customers' favorites yesterday - a little spicier than the other bowls, and the crisp fried tofu is an awesome pair with the creamy avocado. Give it a shot!

Thank you again for coming in, and we'll hope to see you again soon!

Cheers!

[lhollers]

52 minutes ago, Simul Parikh said:

Not really a wait for a table, there is just a line up to order and then you sit down. It's in the upstairs dining room, but I think I saw people in the downstairs bar with poke, so there was definitely plenty of space. I didn't realize there was tickets for the event - I just walked in. Seems like it is completely sold out. 
 

10 hours ago, DanielK said:

Was there a wait for a table? I want to try this next Friday, but I'm trying to do it on the way to a DC United game at 7p, so I don't have a huge window of time. Doable?

I did notice that you can buy tickets ahead of time to guarantee the entree you want, but that doesn't include a table/time reservation, just a food reservation.

DanielK:

Lunch was slammed - definitely waits, but everything there is to go (I mean, you can stay and eat at Prequel if you want to, but everything is boxed up to go) and there was a line from 11:15 am until 1:30 pm or so. Dinner last night was a little more chill...I'd recommend against getting the advance ticket, as they led to the only two service snafus we encountered yesterday. If you're going to be in between 6:00 and 6:30 (which it sounds like, if you're headed to the game at 7:00), you should be completely fine getting a seat by just walking in.

That said, yesterday was the first day, so please check back on here before taking that advice as gospel - if we crush again today, next Friday might be busier than yesterday and today.

Thanks!

[DanielK]

5 minutes ago, lhollers said:

Dinner last night was a little more chill...I'd recommend against getting the advance ticket, as they led to the only two service snafus we encountered yesterday. If you're going to be in between 6:00 and 6:30 (which it sounds like, if you're headed to the game at 7:00), you should be completely fine getting a seat by just walking in.

That said, yesterday was the first day, so please check back on here before taking that advice as gospel - if we crush again today, next Friday might be busier than yesterday and today.

Thanks!

Yup, we would try to get there about 5:45 or 6, so I'll wait to hear about reports tonight. Congrats on the opening!

[DonRocks]

Prequel's website is here.