Chef Cyrus Keefer, formerly of Fork & Wrench and Birroteca, will be opening his own restaurant in Hampden. The 25-seat
Piqué will feature seasonal cuisine with French and Asian influences. We attended the Piqué pop-up at Sotto Sopra last week and were treated to a selection of the chef's dishes.
We started out with passed apps, including fried chicken liver tacos (which should become a Thing), steak tartare, and Keefer's now-famous escargot buns. Then we sat down to six courses, all of which were flavorful, imaginative, and elegantly presented. Not to mention beautiful. See photographic evidence, below.
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| Pork belly dumpling, whiskey vinegar, dashi crema |
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| Insalada Bianca - cippolini onion, pickled mushroom, cauliflower, tart apple, mascarpone |
I loved the subtle touches in the meal, the crisp soy nuts in the salad, the roasty sunchokes in the duck dish, the silky little shrimp on the chawanmushi (egg custard) dish.
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| Tender octopus - tomatillos, green curry, coconut poached potato |
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| Egg custard, marinated tomato and olive, smoked olive oil |
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| Duck pot au feu, roast turnips, black garlic, ginger, Thai basil |
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| Spice cake, caramel, meringues |
If you'd like to support Chef Keefer's endeavors, he has a
Kickstarter to raise funds to open the restaurant. A high-end French/Asian place will be a new concept for 36th Street, don't you think? And a welcome one, indeed.
Posted on Minxeats.com.
