What Happens When

Given that the concept of the constantly changing restaurant space already imbues NYC culture, I think it is brilliant to have a space that actually institutionalizes the idea. It's a fancy restaurant that completely changes chefs, menus, and interior design every month. I wouldn't go so far as to say this restaurant deserves a Michelin star or something like that, but I would definitely come back from time to time just to see how it changes and evolves. Here's what we had under the care of Chef John Fraser:

Laertes Cocktail: Rum, allspice, honey, and lime garnish

Amuse Bouche: Split pea soup w black truffled butter, Onion dip with croutons. Ants on a log with quince and walnuts

Course 1: Potato skins of fingerling potatoes and pork sausage, Roasted cauliflower salad with grapes and feta

Course 2: Lamb with barley leeks and chestnuts, Veal sweetbreads with rice

Dessert: Rice pudding with horchata and citrus marmalade, Popcorn creme brulee with salted butter

Lots of really unique flavors. And I would venture so far as to say these baseball-sized sweetbreads are the best sweetbreads I've ever had.

As I was eating here, hours ago, in a weird and contradictory fervent quest to pace myself, I was struck with the panicked realization that I wouldn't possibly be able to remember all the different ingredients and tastes that combined to make this such an amazing food event. But now, home and sated and recovering from that gastro-high John Fraser's creations instilled in me, I realize, that's not the point.

Do not, whatever you do, assume this means that the food was in any way lacking. This meal - the 3rd "movement" of nine planned in this pop-up Nolita restaurant - is without hesitation one of the best dining experiences I have ever had. But that's exactly what this was: an experience.

What Happens When isn't so much serving up a great meal (but, oh my god, how was that chicken so succulent and moist?) or great drinks (was that lavender salt around the rim of my cocktail?) or great service (did the waitress really call me "cute"?) as it is serving up a culinary dreamscape.

The small, dark space on Cleveland becomes a minimalist/surrealist 1880s French tavern straight out of Renoir's impressionist masterpiece. [See their web site to see the inspiration for Movement No.3.] A pink-and-green awning covers part of the room; modern-yet-elegant light fixtures hang from the ceiling. A headless mannequin sports a Victorian dress next to a white coat-rack with two bowler hats perched atop. The waiters wear white jackets over Picasso-esque striped shirts; the hostesses have black corsets over their modern garb.

Is this 1880s France? No. It's not even trying to be historically accurate. And that's the amazement of it. It is a smooth, rolling juxtaposition of tastes, sounds, and sights. It is as impressionist as Cezanne's landscapes, and I am positive the French masters are lauding the concept - so closely aligned to the Impressionist movement - from on high.

The food - I chose shellfish salad and poulet - is what you imagine France at this time to be, but what you also know it wasn't. The only way I can describe it is dream-like. The loose, careful, relaxed interpretation gave me that wonderful feeling we get upon waking from a fabulous dream, sleepy synapses abuzz with the dual knowledge that what we experienced wasn't real, but so marvelously creative.

Fraser and his group have created a comfortingly deconstructed and non-tech experience, which just also happens to be tasty as all holy hell. Utilizing the freshest ingredients (mussels that almost melt in your mouth, herbs that sparkle greenly on your tastebuds), the perfect, hitherto-incongruous combination of flavors (olive oil and lemon with almond cake), and the simplest, attentive service (dessert, after you choose from the cart, is plated and prepared tableside with pastry-chef precision), What Happens When is not a restaurant. It's an experiment in satisfaction.

I waited until morning to complete this review, because I wanted to make sure I hadn't been drugged into false praise. Not so. From the amuse bouche that started the evening to the macaroon that ended it, this was one of the most perfect meals I have ever been lucky enough to experience. I absolutely had to fight the urge, upon getting my coat from coat-check, to thank all involved for allowing me the opportunity to pay them for such an event.

If that's not alternate-reality, I don't know what is.

Temporary pop up by John Fraser from Dovetail; the entire concept including the interior will change monthly until it's over in 9 months. Decor is cute; a bit of the Fat Radish vibe. Fun lamps with newspaper clippings! The menu is a prix-fixe of 2 courses plus a dessert cart. Started with an amuse of celery and yellow pea soup with a twisted brioche type of bread; all very fresh. Not sure what type of cuisine it's supposed to be but looked very noveau-American to me.

On to potato skins which came with pickled sausage and beer fondue; enjoyed the potato part of it but was more partial to the arctic char. I love dill so the cod with some type of fishballs, dill, and squid was my favorite although I also tried the lamb loins which were equally tasty. The leek with the lamb was particularly good. I overheard the table next to me ask for vegan so looks like they accommodate special diets.

For dessert there was a cart with three choices; chocolate tarte with salted caramel, Meyer lemon Bavarian creme which came with meringue topping and kumquats and a cheesecake. The cheesecake was light and fresh with huckleberry in the middle (may have been boysenberry) and the bavarian creme was basically a panna cotta. This was almost identical to the kumquat panna cotta at The Mulberry Project; seems like kumquats are trending. Not too many exciting options on the drink list; although there are 2 daily cocktails that rotate. One was an olive type martini and the other a tangerine concoction. Professional service.

I'd come back next month; curious to see what's next.

When I heard of John Fraser's project I was immediately intrigued. To intertwine art and food to such extent that the restaurant itself is a changing installation.. I knew I had to check it out! So for last weekend's celebration with a friend I suggested we come here.

The concept alone serves as a testament to Fraser's creativity. I am in love with his idea! The entire space, the background music, the decor, even the staff's uniform gets reinvented every month along with the menu and cocktails. It's like experiential art installation and it's interactive not just through the dining experience but also because patrons can provide suggestions that can serve as kick starters for the next movement.

We dined on the last night of movement 3, which was inspired by a French impressionist painting. The atmosphere is very lighthearted and it felt like I stepped into an indoor picnic. The white furniture and pastel colored decor gave the air a very summer-like feeling. The music was very eclectic ranging from classical boleros to Latin beat.

For cocktails my friend ordered the Helena, a prosecco cocktail heavily tinged with vanilla, and I had the Diana, made with bourbon and tea. They both suited the summer-like theme but it was rather sweet for me so I had a glass of wine after my cocktail.

The meal started with an amuse-bouche (I was particularly fond of the chard omelet) and fresh off the oven garlic knots. Originality: 5 stars, Presentation: 3.5 stars, Taste: 4 stars. Then my friend had the artichoke dip and deviled eggs and I had the shellfish salad in anchovies vinaigrette (O: 4 stars, P: 4 stars, T: 4.5 stars). The shellfish was really fresh and delicious. For our main course my friend chose the veal braise (O: 4 stars, P: 4 stars, T: 4.5 stars) which was very tender and uniquely accompanied by a green pea paste. I had the Cornish hen jambalaya (O:4 stars, P: 4 stars, T: 4.5 stars) which had very bold flavors in comparison to the rest of the meal and I enjoyed it a lot. Before dessert we were served a palate cleanser of strawberry jam and creme fraiche. I thought that was very original and very chic. For dessert my friend had the milk chocolate tart with orange and espresso (O: 4.5 stars, P: 4 stars, T: 5 stars) and I had the sour cream tart (O: 5 stars, P: 4 stars, T: 4.5 stars) which I enjoyed very much for the texture and the flavor.

Bottom-line: It's pricey but worth checking out. I'd love to go back for another movement. Because of the creativity and the unique concept I'm tempted to give it 5 stars but the food itself is not mind-blowing, though definitely a solid 4 stars.

It was worth it to wait outside in the cold!

So, I get there for my 5:30 reservation and the staff was having a meeting which means people waiting outside freezing.
The hostess was really nice and very apologetic about the whole situation.

They finally let us in and oh god! what a delicious and succulent feast!
I obviously ordered the potato skins after reading the reviews, but let me tell you something, it is all about the sausage served with the potatoes! they were absolutely delicious!!

I also had the lamb which was one of the best ever, it came with chestnuts!! I would cut a piece of lamb and chestnut, bite it and oh good! Perfection! yuuuummyyyy

Ready to go and visit them again for a second round! ;)

I have been hoping that having a little bit of time to reflect on my trip to What Happens When would enable me to really establish what I thought about it. But I'm still somewhat confused.

We went for 19th-century-Southern-France month, which I believe is still currently ongoing. The food was all good, with the exception of a seafood salad that was mysteriously coated in slimy anchovy goop. (One person at our table loved it; I was more repulsed than I have been by any restaurant dish in a long time.) Otherwise, some of it was boring-- all of the chicken and fish dishes-- while some of it was extraordinary-- all of the vegetable and meat dishes. The vegetable bouillabaisse in particular was a standout. John Fraser REALLY knows how to cook his vegetables.

The cocktails, however, were rotten. The fancy gimlet tasted like a watery, bland gimlet, and not at all fancy. The scotch cocktail was sweet and bland-- like watered down, flat cola. The cocktail of champagne and absinthe was at least drinkable, but not that interesting, since it tasted like nothing but absinthe. (To the restaurant's credit, they apparently noticed that we didn't care for the cocktails and took them off the bill.)

Now, as for concept and decor. Some of the choices are whimsical and frivolous-- like the giant awning that looms over most of the dining room. Some of the choices are understandable but counterproductive: our wine was served in wide-mouthed glasses that made it impossible to smell the wine, and therefore made it lose flavor. We surreptitiously swapped our water into the wide-mouthed wine glasses and used the bowl-shaped water glasses to hold our wine. It made a huge difference. But guests shouldn't have to innovate around a bad choice in glassware.

And some of the choices are whimsical but incredibly distracting and odd-- like the choice to put all of the waitresses in black corsets. I still haven't quite been able to figure out what the corsets were supposed to imply, and we were unable to get a straight answer from the staff. I'm pretty sure they didn't evoke whatever the restaurant was hoping they would.

As for the bottom line: Did I mention that John Fraser cooks amazing vegetables? To a certain extent I would follow him wherever he was cooking them and eat them however he was cooking them. But the food, decor, and service here were nowhere near as extraordinary as what I've experienced at Dovetail. That said, I had a good time-- but that's because I go to a lot of fancy restaurants, so I enjoyed trying something interesting but hit-and-miss, and analyzing its success and failures with my dining companions. If you don't already go to a lot of fancy restaurants, you definitely shouldn't start here. Consider this the Schoenberg of haute cuisine.

I was taken here for my birthday when it was movement 4 where it was influenced by the South and Jazz music. The whole concept of tailoring an entire experience from music, decor and food to a theme for a restaurant was well executed here.

The staff were all super friendly and the execution was simplistic but conveyed a great atmosphere. Food was well prepared and despite not knowing that the utensils were in the little cubbies attached to the table, everything else was well thought out and explained.

Their take on the oyster po boy and soft shell crab was certainly different and definitely not something I would describe as particularly Southern, despite their own descriptions. What can't be contested though is how it tasted irregardless to how it may have adhered to traditions.

It's unfortunate that this place closed, I was seriously looking forward to seeing what future movements would bring.

FAN-EFFING-TASTIC! Go there now and have the melt in your mouth short ribs with cheddar polenta! I promise you, you will never be the same again.

What happens when?:

- The waitress is so enamoured with the food, she has us in ecstatic expectation before we even begin?
- The champagne ordered is delivered a little warm - but no problem, a complimentary new bottle is put on ice immediately, and we are told to sip the first champagne until the new one is ready?
- The amuse bouche makes our toes curl?
- The garlic knots of bread are so delicious that our party orders three rounds of them?
- The entrees bring a hush to the table, broken only by the occasional "mmm"..."aaahhh" or "mind if I have a taste of that"?
- The waitress brings round a dessert trolley with tantalising treats and plates them in front of our very eyes?

I'll tell you what happens...a memorable evening of flavours that explode in your mouth or build up slowly in layers of deliciousness. I will be mulling over this meal for days to come....

I will 100% back my statement that this has been my best meal in NYC so far. Came here with my friend Sarah P. (my favorite dining partner as she a)has amazing taste and b)can make any meal more fun brulee than it should be)

The place is just perfect. From the overall vibe of the location that shuffles in an out every 30 days to the details of the setting. Look up at your table and see recipe cards attached to the lights. The wall in the back near the bathrooms has the names of every investor in the restaurant through John's Kickstarter a project.

Now the food. Try and get it all if you can. Go with 3/4 people and just split it. We had the potato skins and the cauliflower, the monkfish and the lamb and then of course the popcorn creme brulee for dessert that I almost passed out over for being so amazing.

If you can, come here before it closes. I'm dying to come back when it gets warmed and see how the place transitions.

4.5 stars, only because of the insane noise level. The food, the creativity, the space, the service--that's a 5.

We went with a couple I will refer to only as "The Insiders," because of their connections in the restaurant world. That means we may have gotten special treatment, but everyone seemed to be taken care of nicely by the knowledgeable and thoughtful staff.

The design--black walls, animal prints on the floor, rubber-band-bedecked menus, mossy tableaux hanging from the ceiling, DIY silverware drawers--is quirky and somewhat mysterious, seemingly done on the cheap. None of it does a thing to dampen the raging noise, unfortunately.

I'm still in shock over what a great value this place is. At $58 (prix fixe), WHW could be offer the minimum. But no: They start you off with a champagne cocktail before you can even think about the regular cocktail list (based on "A Midsummer Night's Dream"; I tried the delightful Titania, with gin, lemon, and allspice). Then a brilliant 3-part amuse bouche (is that really pumpernickel soup?), then buttery rolls . . .

Are you still with me? Good, because it's time for the mushroom app. The plate looked like a forest floor, but the taste! Earthy, succulent, the hazelnuts dusted on top adding the perfect contrast.

Mr. Insider scraped his plate clean; that's how good the salt-baked celery root entree was. Come to think of it, all our plates ended up spotless: Husband's trout was incredibly moist and flavorful, Ms. Insider's fois gras disappeared, and the only thing better than my short ribs was the creamy polenta underneath.

Desserts are served from a trolley, and it's fun to watch the staff plate them for you. I was unsure about the chocolate dessert, but it grew on me as I stole some from others. My lemony clafoutis was out of this world; and the panna cotta was a refined creamsicle. The cheese plate was stinky, which made Mr. Insider very happy and the rest of us happy that he was happy.

If you can't get to WHW for this month's menu, come for next month's. With food this good, I feel confident in recommending it, sight unseen.