John Currence Hosts 'Big Bad Pop-Ups' in Oxford, MS

Now that John Currence's acclaimed Oxford, Mississippi restaurant City Grocery is temporarily closed for a kitchen remodel, the chef is making using of the time by hosting a series of pop-up dinners in which guest chefs try their hand at various types of street food. The Commercial Appeal reports that Currence is bringing in a bunch of fellow Southern chefs to work out of his catering kitchen while that of City Grocery is being renovated, an improvement he says "is long overdue."

Atlanta chef Eli Kirshtein is up first with this week's pop-up, followed by Memphis chefs Kelly English of Restaurant Iris, and Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman of Hog and Hominy. Currence and the City Grocery team are taking a weeklong shift, too, with an American menu with "things like burgers and hot dogs, some kind of shrimp or lobster corn dog," according to Currence. The event's Facebook page warns, "Expect to see 4 types of cuisines: Israeli Street Food, Louisiana Cookin', Italian Cooking with Southern Roots, and kicked up American Classics." Here are all the details.

January 9-12: Eli Kirshtein of Atlanta with Israeli street food
January 16-19: City Grocery's own team with American street food
January 23-26: Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman of Memphis' Hog and Hominy "cooking Southern food with an Italian influence"
January 30 - February 2: Kelly English of Memphis's Restaurant Iris serving "Dirty, filthy Louisiana street food" such as boudin dogs, yaka mein and a po'boy covered in oxtail gravy

Currence tells The Commercial Appeal that the menus will all be a la carte and "a diner can expect to have a full meal for about $20 each week."

· Big Bad Pop-ups in Oxford [The Commercial Appeal]
· All John Currence Coverage on Eater [-E-]