5 Things to Know About Dominique Ansel's Dessert Tasting Project U.P.

On Friday evening, Cronut master Dominique Ansel flipped a switch on the second floor of his new Dominique Ansel Kitchen in the West Village and a table descended from the ceiling. The table dropped for the first edition of U.P. (it stands for Unlimited Possibilities), Ansel's new eight course-tasting only, weekend only, dessert and cocktail spectacle. Interested in checking it out? Here's what you need to know:

1. The inaugural menu is titled "first memories last forever" and it's all about firsts: First jobs, first kisses, first heartbreaks. Ansel and his team are taking this to the extreme. That first kiss course is sip-able — either from a stubbly or smooth bowl, depending upon who your first kiss was with:

Our "First Kiss" dish on the U.P. menu is served in beautiful bowls by @foodjetaime - one that is a smooth ladies' cheeks, and a stubbly one to represent men's cheeks, depending on who you're kissing. There's a mint panna cotta surprise at the end (because every first kiss should be a French one!). And to match, a buttered popcorn rum and coke, a throwback to your teenage days of making out in a movie theatre. #upfirst

A photo posted by dominiqueansel (@dominiqueansel) on Jul 18, 2015 at 7:07am PDT

And, if that doesn't paint a clear enough picture, the Wall Street Journal notes: "Getting to the final prize — a tiny portion of panna cotta — required a kiss of the so-called French variety." Plus, the cocktail to go with it — a buttered popcorn rum and coke — "is a throwback to your teenage days of making out in a movie theatre," says Ansel.

2. But, before diners get started on those "firsts" there are baby veggies set on the table, sans silverware for snacking:

The table is set! We're serving a little garden of micro vegetables to start - because mom always said to eat your veggies first before you can have dessert #upfirst

A photo posted by dominiqueansel (@dominiqueansel) on Jul 17, 2015 at 4:59pm PDT

3. The first job course — made of nougat and praline — looks like Tetris. (Perhaps, because that's how people slacked off at work in the '90s).

[Yelp]

In reality, it's supposed to be more of a bar graph that represents life at that phase:

#firstjob #firsts @dominiqueansel #unlimitedpossibilities #up #firstdesserttasting

A photo posted by Samantha Pearson (@samantha91389) on Jul 17, 2015 at 7:26pm PDT

4. Early reports indicate that Ansel is in the house, helping assemble plates before diners' very eyes. He's also available for selfies:

#firstdesserttasting @dominiqueansel 's #kitchen #unlimitedpossibilities #up #thankyousomuch #amazingexperience #firsts

A photo posted by Samantha Pearson (@samantha91389) on Jul 17, 2015 at 8:04pm PDT

5. Tickets are about as hard to come by as Cronuts in the early days. The 48 tickets for each weekend are sold on Mondays at noon, seven weeks in advance — and this week they were all sold out 90 minutes in. They're exclusively on Tock for $85, plus $35 as a drink supplement. So far, Eater hasn't spotted any on the black market, but Cronuts did pretty well there....

Can't make it? Here's a video of the dishes