We’re fans of seeing chefs take over spaces in off-hours to have some fun, and this one lands right in that pocket.

Mæst Food is setting up a small-format Vegetables & Flowers dinner on March 28, built around early spring ingredients and a close collaboration with ceramic artist Nathalee Paolinelli. Instead of resetting the room, her sculptural vessels and floral arrangements move in across the counter, and the meal unfolds inside that.

Tomoko Tahara is cooking. After time through kitchens like AnnaLena, Published on Main, and The Acorn, and periods in Copenhagen and Tokyo, she’s built her own path. This dinner is the latest expression of her long-running plant-based pop-up series.

The menu moves in that early-spring way, a bit green, a bit preserved, still shaking off winter. Spruce, magnolia, cherry blossoms and many other signs of spring will appear. Expect hazelnut “ricotta” with green strawberries and morels. Japanese milk bread with smoked butter. Celeriac worked through coffee shoyu tare with truffle and fermented elements. A spruce-led palate cleanser, followed by a sunchoke semifreddo to close.

The setup will be cool – guests will be seated within the installation, moving through the courses while surrounded by Paolinelli’s work. Uneven edges, tactile surfaces, forms that sit somewhere between object and sculpture – you’ll probably spend as much time looking around as you do at your plate. Plus, each guest leaves with one ceramic bowl, which gives the night something to hold onto. Our guess is that tickets will go quickly. Find out everything you need to know here.

Saturday, March 28 | 5:45pm (limited number of seats left) & 8:15pm | Modus Coffee, 112 W Broadway | DETAILS