Pot Pies and Food on a Stick From Chef Kim Canteenwalla of Honey Salt Pop Up Downtown

Even a seasoned chef sometimes wants to test out new dishes before committing to a new restaurant. Enter Kim Canteenwalla, who is Eater Vegas’s Chef of the Year in 2015 after opening Honey Salt, an Eater 38 restaurant from the chef and his wife Elizabeth Blau in Rampart Commons. Now he’s testing out two new ideas — one dubbed Play Dough with pierogies, pastries, pies, and more and a second called Picks, Sticks & Fingers with skewers and finger foods. Both pop up at Vegas Test Kitchen, the experimental restaurant that brings in chefs to test out their new ideas, in Downtown Las Vegas on Wednesdays starting March 31 until April 21.

Play Dough goes deep on doughy dishes such as Yukon gold potato pierogi with caramelized onions and horseradish crème fraiche; vegetable samosa with coriander and mint chutney; Shepherd’s pie with wagyu beef, mashed potato, and cheddar cheese gratinee; Quebecois tourtiere with minced Duroc pork, caramelized onions, and sweet pepper relish; Maine lobster pot pie with savory spinach, root vegetables, fennel, fingerling potatoes, and brandy cream; organic chicken pot pie with carrots mushrooms, peas, and fingerling potatoes; and bananas Foster cream pie with Valrhona chocolate and spiced rum. Dishes start at $7 up to $21.

Honey Salt added a pot pie night back in November, bringing chicken and lobster versions on Tuesday nights after 5 p.m. starting at $37 for two courses.

On the Picks, Sticks & Fingers menu, everything comes on a stick. Elote-Mexican street corn on the cob with cojita cheese, chili mayonnaise, cilantro, and lime; Vietnamese sugar cane shrimp with ginger lemongrass, lime leaves, and bird chili; Todd’s lobster corn dog with bang bang mustard; a pork belly bao bun with soy glaze, scallions, and sesame seed; lamb kofta with pomegranate, cucumber yogurt and sumac; chicken tikka masala with cilantro and mint chutney; vegetable biryani with basmati rice and almonds; and a watermelon margarita popsicle make the menu. Those dishes range from $4 to $15.

The event takes place on Wednesdays from 4 to 9 p.m. with tickets available online, although walk-ins are welcome.

• All Coverage of Vegas Test Kitchen [ELV]

• All Coverage of Honey Salt [ELV]