Uncle Launches Meat 'n' Three Summer Pop-Up Series at The Block in RiNo

“It has a fun name, it has a fun history, it brings us all back to our school days,” says Kraig Weaver, co-founder of the Block Distilling Co. at 2990 Larimer Street. That's where you can find the new Meat ’n' Three pop-up series from Uncle and Hop Alley owner Tommy Lee on Fridays and Saturdays this summer.

Conversations between the Block's bartenders and Uncle's kitchen staff led Weaver to meet up with Lee, resulting in a half-joking proposition of launching an Asian-inspired meat-and-three concept. “That’s what really started to get us excited about it, when we had an idea that neither brand was doing by itself,” Weaver says.

A meat-and-three is a staple dining style in the South where diners pick a protein of choice accompanied by three sides. It's popular at casual social gatherings and common among barbecue crowds.

In developing the menu, Lee and Graham Lloyd, the sous chef at Uncle's LoHi location, were inspired by the restaurant's original eclectic Pan-Asian menu from 2012, which is very different from its current sleek ramen shop model.

When he opened Uncle over a decade ago, “My goal was relevant to my travels in Hong Kong and what I liked being a mid-twenties person in Denver — something fun and casual,” Lee recalls, and that's the vibe he wants to re-create now.
Lee has been a staple in the local food scene for over a decade. Uncle LoHi was his first venture, and he added a second location in Wash Park in 2019. In 2015, he introduced his second concept, Hop Alley in RiNo, which has earned many accolades, including a Bib Gourmand designation in Colorado's first Michelin Guide last year.

Born and raised in Colorado to Hong Kongese parents, Lee was brought up with a deep love of food. His father, a now-retired CU Denver professor, is an excellent cook who set a high standard for him at a young age. With over 25 family visits to Hong Kong (plus a six-month stay when he was in his twenties) as well as periodic visits to aunts and uncles in France and England, Lee developed an insatiable taste for adventure.

The first iteration of Meat ’n' Three's menu reflects that worldly view. There are two mains to choose from: a Thai-inspired curry with smoked brisket from top local barbecue joint Smok and a vegetarian yellow curry tofu with mushroom chile jam, pickled mustard greens, red onion and cilantro.

Both are served on cafeteria-style trays with a chile crunch cucumber salad, creamy sesame potato salad, sweet-and-sour eggplant and Lee’s signature steamed buns, which are lightly brushed with butter and dusted with furikake.
Dessert is provided by Wheat Ridge bakery GetRight’s, our 2024 Best of Denver pick for Best New Bakery, in the form of personal-sized lime pies. The involvement of the bakery's chef/owner, Matt Dulin, is also a reunion of sorts: He was once a sous chef at Uncle’s Wash Park location.

The menu will rotate every four weeks or so. Other dishes to expect throughout the summer are black pepper-glazed pork shoulder and lemongrass chicken, as well as five to six more rotating sides.

The pop-up is stationed inside the shipping container outside of the Block's tasting room, but the plates will be ordered inside at the bar, which added a new cocktail to pair with Meat ’n' Three's fare. One Night in Bangkok is a specialty boba milk punch made with the distillery's Spring Gin, Thai tea, lemongrass, sweetened condensed milk and bubbles. It will also be pouring classic highballs and plans to introduce more pop-up-inspired libations throughout the summer.
Meat ’n' Three isn't Lee's only side project; he says he has approximately ten other pop-ups and collaborations planned this summer.

Both Lee and Weaver credit the pandemic shutdown of 2020 for hitting a reset button in the local food scene that has led to so many collaborative projects in the years since. “Everyone had to adapt. That’s when we started doing things out of our comfort zones, because we had to, out of survival,” Lee says.

“At times you have to step back and look at what is happening, what you’ve created," Weaver concludes. Seeing the community come to events like Meat ’n' Three and connecting over the food and drinks, "that is the most rewarding part, for sure.”

Meat ’n' Three will pop up at the Block Distilling Co., 2990 Larimer Street from 5 p.m. to sell out on Fridays and Saturdays through August 31. For more information, follow @unclerestaurant and @theblockdistillingco on Instagram.