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

One course demands you to French kiss a bowl, another looks like Tetris.

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Evan Sung

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:

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:

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).

dominique ansel up tetris

[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

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

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

Dominique Ansel Kitchen

137 7th Avenue South, New York, NY

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