What will be the most exciting food trend for 2011, and into 2012? We have already seen it in fashion, and it seems to be catching on in the food world, the “pop up”. The forward thinking Drake Hotel has sniffed out and executed this trend, and you can already go check out the first in their conceptualized dining, thanks for Chef Anthony Rose’s Summer School Dining Hall menu. The Dining Roadshow, as the folks at The Drake are calling it, will feature a seasonally changing menu and décor in the dining room at one of the cultural and food centres of Toronto’s westend.

“Chef Rose, alongside Drake’s dedicated culinary team, is taking his internationally inclined and locally focused approach to comfort food “on the road” with a restaurant-within-a-restaurant. The new space will feature different concepts, covering everything from a kitschy spin on a high school cafeteria to a colourful trip to Chinatown circa 1940s Los Angeles. These special, temporary menus will change every few months along with the design, packaging, music and performance art.”

A group of us were treated to a sampling of about 70% of the current menu, and I must strongly encourage you to head down, as class is in session and Professor Rose is dishing out his style of knowledge on a plate. Here are some of the things we tried (photos: Connie Tsang)

There be booze in them there juice boxes.

Tomato Soup!

The Nurses Office

Cowboy Steak from Cumbraes. This was one of the best steaks I have had in rfecent memory. Period.

Passion Flakey. Yes, you heard me right.  

The restaurant will flip and change concepts on September 8^th, so book your tables now to check this great scene out. Drake’s Dining Roadshow launches Thursday, June 23 and will be open from Tuesday through Saturday with the first seating at 6 p.m. and the last seating at 10:45 p.m. Call 416.531.5042 ext.1 for reservations.