It’s (appropriately) time to get the first taste of Cycle.
First up this weekend? Veteran local chef Tracy Dempsey and Hey Joe Filipino Street Food.
Last night, Phoenix’s first, official pop-up restaurant concept debuted Downtown in the recently vacated, reimagined dining space inside the evolving and Lexington Hotel. As the name Cycle alludes, each week may bring surprises both subtle and dramatic, with chef and resulting menu changes often taking place spontaneously until the space’s “sell-by” date arrives late this summer.
Cycle's debut includes Hey Joe Filipino Street Food and Tracy Dempsey.
During the month of April, Cycle initially intends to play exclusively on the weekends, when a diverse range of personalities will assume both the interior kitchen’s helm, as well as the front driveway, where popular food trucks might be parked outside for more fast-casual dining experiences.
Adding to the spontaneous, community-oriented vibe of the sly enterprise, a handful of local artists will be creating what they do best, in temporary on-site studios just down the hallway.
Simply put: roll in, grab a bite and explore.
This weekend brings a contrast in tasty grazing, with authentic (and sometimes adventurous) Filipino street eats courtesy of Hey Joe, paralleled outside the hotel’s front entrance, offering everything from mung bean popsicles and pork lumpias (think egg rolls), to more subtle offerings like “chicken ass.” A sit-down menu of more tactful, though equally delicious, offerings courtesy of seasoned local kitchen maestro Tracy Dempsey will also be available. The yin to a feathered posterior’s yang, you could say.
For Dempsey’s contributions in particular, with a thrifty price point of $7 each, diners can satisfy both their savory and sweet cravings for well-crafted, premium-quality food sans any usual pretension (all food will be served on paper plates). On the savory side of her menu, think smoky salmon rillettes, Lisa G’s storied meatballs (the recipe being from the same, now defunct Coronado restaurant by the same name), or soul-warming bacon and Gruyere tarts, assembled with meat from venerated local purveyor Tender Belly.
Considering Dempsey’s known mastery in the world of pastry, expect no letdowns with tempting dessert items like quirky cookie platters, bright lemon tarts and cheeky s’mores cupcakes.
With an ability to book reservations online, diners will now be able to secure seats in advance at Cycle. Or, at least as far in advance as we are led to know, as Cycle intends to regularly update its website with each new or upcoming evolution as it materializes.
Cycle intends to transition from the current weekend-only service to daily service, beginning in May.
