MABEL SUEN
Squatters Cafe favorites return, with a Tiny Chef twist, at this weekend's benefit brunch for Planned Parenthood.
Bulrush and Tiny Chef, two of the city's hottest restaurants, are collaborating for a cause this weekend. Chefs Rob Connoley and Melanie Meyer, the restaurants' respective owners, have teamed up for a pop-up brunch this Sunday with all proceeds going to Planned Parenthood.
The event, which runs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., brings back several favorite dishes from Connoley's popular Squatters Cafe, an intentionally temporary daytime restaurant that closed in the fall of 2018. For this Sunday's pop-up, the chefs are reimagining Squatters Cafe's dishes, adding a Korean inflection that Meyer teases "will make your taste buds dance."
"Rob approached me about doing a collaborative brunch, and we agreed to make it a benefit, because we love doing these," Meyer says. "We decided on Planned Parenthood because it is very dear to both of our hearts."
Diners have a full menu of brunch favorites to choose from, including biscuits with creamed kimchi gravy, braised lotus root with pork belly, and cinnamon rolls with miso butter. Of course, no Squatters pop-up would be complete without a return of the Squat Tart, Connoley's version of a pop-tart. For the pop-up, the brown-sugary pastry has been reimagined with the addition of yuzu kosho, a fermented citrus-chile condiment.
Connoley and Meyer have also partnered with local artist and former Planned Parenthood employee Amy Osgoode, who designed the menu's comic-book-style theme. Osgoode, too, donated her time in support of the cause.
Reservations for the brunch can be made via Bulrush's Tock site. Guests select a time slot, choose whether to either park and dine or enjoy their meal at home, then pre-order dishes. The event has a limited number of available spots, so prospective diners are encouraged to plan ahead.
"We've already sold out time slots, so get it while it's hot!" Meyer says.
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