The pop-up has become a key part of many new Baton Rouge eateries’ tool belt, but that doesn’t mean an older brand can’t jump in the game.
This Sunday, Ruffino’s will be hosting its first pop-up at Cane Land Distilling, serving up three courses of brunch dishes with specially concocted recipes exclusive to the event. Chef Peter Sclafani says the idea sparked after partying at Cane Land‘s expansive tasting floor and patio and being impressed by the space—and the spirits. When whiskey and rum hit his palate, the epicurean gears started turning.
“As soon as you taste some of [Cane Land’s spirits], they just kind of lend themselves to food,” Sclafani says. “When I taste wine, I think about what I want to eat with it, so I think the same thing kind of happened when [Cane Land founder Walter Tharp] did a tasting for us. I thought, ‘Oh, man, this would be great with this; I’d love to use this in this way.’ That’s just how I taste it.”
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The menu for the event features some of Ruffino’s brunch staples like braised pork cheeks and Belgian waffles but also some fresh takes incorporating Cane Land liquor: pork tenderloin with Parade Spiced Rum and fig glaze, bread pudding with Red Stick Cinnamon Rum sauce and pecan pie made with Original Mississippi Floated Whisky.
While the goal of a pop-up is usually to gain exposure for an up-an-coming brand, an established restaurant like Ruffino’s can still find a use for them. Sclafani says pop-ups like this one can show off the capabilities and range of Ruffino’s catering team to “go anywhere and do anything,” even if that means an a la carte brunch for 150 people.
He’s also hoping to engage new customers for whom the restaurant’s Prairieville-adjacent location may not be convenient.
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“At Ruffino’s, especially in Baton Rouge, we end up with customers who are regulars,” he says. “They come in all the time, they live close by the restaurant. So it’s just about going into the other side of town, going downtown a little bit, to expose us to people who may not come to Ruffino’s on a regular basis. And it’s something we can do at a little bit lower price point than maybe we would normally do at the restaurant.”
Though it’s a first for the restaurant, it definitely won’t be the last. Sclafani doesn’t have any hard details to share yet, but says he’s “always open to possibilities,” and the brand is eyeing future collaborations with Cane Land and other locations for pop-ups.
The boozy brunch pop-up, complete with craft cocktails by Cane Land, will be 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24, at the distillery, 760 St. Phillip St. Click here to view the full menu.
