Cheesy Big Apple
Cheetos pop-up eatery opens for three days
NEW YORK — Gourmet fun or just plain cheesy?
A three-day pop-up restaurant devoted to Cheetos opened in Manhattan on Tuesday, with every table already booked with diners ready to pay between $8 and $22 for such creations as Cheetos meatballs, Cheetos crusted fried pickles, Cheetos tacos, Mac ’n’ Cheetos and even Cheetos cheesecake.
“I worked hard to incorporate Cheetos into every dish and not just say, ‘Oh here’s a dish with a sprinkle of Cheetos on top,’” said celebrity chef Anne Burrell, who was given the task of coming up with the menu for The Spotted Cheetah. “I really tried to think about the flavor of each Cheeto and what would pair really well with it.”
But the question seemingly on everyone’s orange-coated lips is: why?
Makers of the popular puffed cornmeal snack say the pop-up idea came after executives noticed Cheetos fans posting their own recipes incorporating the crunchy treat on social media.
Burrell, host of Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America and other programs, showed off some of her dishes.
Crumbled Cheetos are part of the breading on chicken Milanese and fried green tomatoes. A garnished Cheetos beverage accompanies a grilled cheese, tomato and bacon sandwich that gets an extra crunch from Cheetos. Desserts feature the cinnamon sugar Cheetos variety known as Sweetos.
Melissa Abbott, a vice-president of the Hartman Group, a consumer research firm, said the Cheetos restaurant is partly a reaction to the emphasis on health in today’s food culture.
“All of the salad and juice bars and all that ... At some point you have to balance the scales a little bit and have some fun.”