John Tesar Hosts an Underground Dinner

The raging trend of underground dinners, secret supper clubs, and pop-up restaurants continue. The most recent chef up, I should say under, is John Tesar. While he waits to finalize details on Spoon, the restaurant he plans for Preston Center, he’s keeping in culinary shape by hosting a series of underground dinners. Last Saturday night, Tesar popped up at The Milestone Culinary Center where a sell-out crowd of around 55 people got up close and personal with JT. The menu was classic Tesar with a few novelty acts thrown in. The wine was classic Scott Barber.

Below, every picture tells the story.

Pre-game: The chef explains the menu. He said: "This is not necessarily indicative of what will be on the menu at Spoon." Yeah, sure!

We had to drink this . Sommelier Scott Barber recommended it.

Novelty: Smoked Trout Roe and Smoked Uni with Duck Egg & Bottarga. This arrived with a transparent lid, revealing the swirling smoke within.

Main Line: Pan Roasted Arctic Char with Spring Pea Emulsion, Pea & Pearl Onion Salad with Truffled Pea Tendrils. Tom Spicer's pea tendrils atop the crisp wild arctic char.

Novelty: Homemade Fusili with Red Wine Braised Octopus Spicy Tomato Sauce & Bone Marrow. Could Octopus go mainstream in Dallas?

We didn't get drinking orders from sommelier Scott Barber to drink this, but we did share it with him.

Main line: Pan-Seared Braised Beef Tongue with Potato Purée & Wild Mushroom Ragout. Indicative of how a good chef can elevate beef tongue to the approachability of a standard muscle cut.

Unfortunately my dessert of Peanut Butter Mousse, Chocolate Peanut Crumble, Cocoa Nib Coulis, Caramel Cream & Chocolate Ice Cream was eaten too quickly for my camera to capture it.

I was an invited guest at this event. Great service was provided throughout the meal by the staff of Milestone Culinary Arts Center.

With Spoon Bar and Kitchen due to open this summer, Tesar may host three more underground dinners in the interim. E-mail here to get on the announcement list and expect all of them to sell out.