Pop-up darling Jook Sing now has a permanent home at Steady Pour

Chefs Mike Yuen and Tony Gao of the popular pop-up Jook Sing are putting down full-time roots as the new culinary directors of Steady Pour in Minneapolis.

Known for their fresh take on Chinese American cuisine, the two have put their spin on the cocktail den’s food menu, complementing the restaurant’s top-tier bar program and warehouse-chic space.

But perhaps what’s most important for diners to know: They now take dinner reservations — including plenty of available seats for Valentine’s Day.

Both Jook Sing and Steady Pour started with a duo and a dream. For Steady Pour’s Ari and Jeff Seidenstricker, it was the chance to create a cool cocktail experience tucked into the back of a brick building in a part of northeast Minneapolis not known for its nightlife (2125 E. Hennepin Av., Mpls).

“My wife and I are not seasoned restaurateurs,” said Jeff Seidenstricker. “It’s been an evolution.”

They signed the lease in late 2019 and then the pandemic forced a big pivot in the spring of 2020. After selling mixers and hosting small events, they were eventually able to open as a bar/restaurant with a mobile bartending arm. But over the next six years, Steady Pour has remained an under-the-radar destination.

The Seidenstrickers built their business while holding pop-ups featuring up-and-coming chefs. The next generation of major restaurant players — Little T’s, Nixta and Vinai — hosted dinners there before going full time with their ventures.

Jook Sing’s food is a tribute to the chefs’ experiences growing up in the 1980s Midwest as children of Chinese descent. Pantries were stocked with Chinese ingredients as they were begging for American dishes for dinner. “There was soy sauce in the spaghetti,” Gao said.

“It’s the American version of Chinese food,” Yuen said. “It’s also a time capsule of something you could find in 1980s Chinese cuisine.”

“We draw so much from our childhood,” Gao said. “We trying to put that nostalgic feel into our food. Nothing we make is ever going to be ‘authentic’ Chinese. We don’t really understand what ‘authentic’ even means. It’s nostalgic and authentic to our experience.”

That blend of nostalgia and flavor creates dishes that are bold and new yet somehow familiar. And Twin Cities diners have noticed. Although Jook Sing pop-ups often sold out, the chefs weren’t ready for a full-time restaurant and the overhead that comes with it.

When the Seidenstrickers approached them with the opportunity to become Steady Pour’s culinary directors, it was the next evolutionary step for both businesses.

“Steady Pour is the kind of friend hangout where dinner can grow and expand as more friends show up. Other places, that growing table would be annoying. We have space for that,” he said. “Combine that with their flavor profiles — food that’s snackable, craveable and turns into a whole meal that’s an event itself. It’s a 10 out of 10 match."

As the new culinary directors, Gao and Yuen reached into their greatest hits and seasoned it with their career experience.

“We talked about what this opening menu should be,” said Yuen. “We wanted to start with a punch and some of our greatest hits. The menu will progress into something that’s specifically Steady Pour.”

For now that includes the chow fun noodles and dishes that fit with Steady Pour’s ready-for-a-fancy-event vibe, like a crudo and steak frites. The food is built to pair with the often-changing cocktail list that’s filled with riffs on classics, like an olive-garnished teeny martini or a frothy rum flip.

The collaboration makes for a new dining experience and a restaurant that’s no longer flying under anyone’s radar.