It wasn’t Neal Fraser’s first ride on the Test Kitchen rodeo, so for his second stint at the mega pop-up, he was able to fine-tune his approach, which resulted in a great meal for the lucky diners who managed to snag a prized table on the exclusive night sponsored by BlackboardEats. Fraser’s five-course, $55 menu featured dishes like steelhead trout tartare on chive blini, wild striped bass with farro verde, and wood oven-roasted quail with cherry rosemary stuffing, but it was his Kabocha Squash & Roasted Chestnut soup that impressed me most. The rich, season-specific soup had deep flavor that was heightened with a drizzle of saba, a sweet grape reduction that added a note similar to dark cherries.
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It was no surprise that Fraser incorporated pork into his menu. After all, this is a chef who has demonstrated hog butchery on more than one occasion. For one of his bar bites, he featured crispy strips of pig ear served with Romesco dipping sauce. However, in the case of the soup, he used pork sparingly, as a smoky bacon bit accent. This dish bodes well for Grace, which should reopen downtown, in St. Vibiana’s rectory, next year.
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Dose of Vitamin P spotlights my favorite pork dish from the previous week.