New Orleans: The city’s new food speakeasies

Pop-ups are a nationwide trend, but temporary, semi-underground restaurants have “found a special home in always-informal, up-for-anything New Orleans,” said David Thier in Garden & Gun. Among the first was Pizza Delicious, started in a back alley by two crisp-crust-loving Tulane grads. Now that their operation has gone fully legal, these operations are proudly upholding the pop-up tradition.

We’ve Got Soul Chef Tres Barnard once cooked under New Orleans legend Paul Prudhomme. Now he commandeers the kitchen in the back of Marie’s Bar every Friday night from about 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Don’t wait until closing if you want his barbecue pork cake, served on sweet-potato puree and topped with a sunny-side-up egg. He also makes a chicken-fried steak “so peppery, crispy, and rich that you’re almost afraid of it.” 2483 Burgundy St., (206) 398-9214

Sentiments Wine and Cheese Dive The room above Feelings Cafe is transformed four nights a week into a Francophile wine and cheese bar. The brainchild of a Whole Foods employee, it might be “the most French thing in a city that specializes in that feeling.” 2600 Chartres St., (504) 945-2222

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Tsai Aron Chang’s Tsai is a traveling show: Chang moves from home to home, bringing followers with him as he cooks vegetarian-based dishes inspired by Taiwanese street food. Locations are posted on Facebook; “bring your own bowl if you want to.” Like other not-quite-legal pop-ups, Tsai technically doesn’t charge for the food but suggests a donation. tsainola.wordpress.com