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The Test Kitchen had its inaugural dinner in St. Louis back in December and Relish was fortunate enough to get a seat at that table. Of the eight or so “underground” dinners we’ve attended, this one received top honors: in execution, service, menu, and atmosphere.
The second Test Kitchen dinner will be held in a few days and we understand a one-a-month schedule is in the works. More on that below, but first some background:
The KC-based Test Kitchen is the latest iteration of the local underground restaurant (UR) movement, a dining experience that's gaining in popularity here, albeit slowly. Including The Test Kitchen, there are four local UR organizations that we know of (referenced in Relish here). For the uninitiated, the hallmark of the UR is secrecy—where off-the clock chefs prepare aggressively-themed menus in unusual (and often oddball) venues, with event specifics being disseminated a few days (or even a few hours) before service. UR dinners are therefore an act of faith--but an exciting and rewarding one.
Jenny Vergara, a foodista, food writer, and founder of The Test Kitchen, enlisted the help of local beverage guru and Proof Academy co-founder Chad Michael George to help with the event's imbibables (as well as help her open a few doors here). We must admit that TK’s rules, regs, and general swagger had gained just enough altitude to allow for a fiery crash and burn on this side of the Show-Me state, but that didn’t happen—several months later, the memory of that first event is still vivid.
From a venue standpoint, Vergara’s intent is to show locals “a part of your city you haven’t seen before,” and in her selection of Gregg Goldman’s photo studio at 5200 Shaw on The Hill, she hit a screaming home run: 14-foot ceilings, stark but elegant flat black walls, and a 100-year old wooden bar fabricated from a single piece of Brazilian mahogany. According to Goldman, for years the building was the home of the Northern Italian-American Men’s Club. If those walls could talk, paesan…
Vergara encourages Test Kitchen chefs to really push the envelope, to try items and techniques that might not be prudent-- or cost effective. Monarch’s Josh Galliano was the inaugural chef and his fifth of seven courses that night--a poached sable with carrot puree, vadouvan, cilantro bavarois and a real rarity, cockscomb--hammered home Vergara's intent.
The date for the next Test Kitchen event is this Sunday, May 22, location TBD (the only detail Relish could finagle is that it's "a former restaurant that will soon be restaurant again"). The guest chef for this go-round is Kristopher Janik of Robust.
To get a hallowed seat at the table is a somewhat-involved, four-step lottery process (detailed here). The lottery drawing for seats for Sunday's event is today at 5 PM, so anyone interested in attending should drop an email here, like right now, as there may be a few spots still available. However, as these dinners have been limited to 20 guests, it’s not too early to get in the queue for a future event.
Relish again welcomes Ms. Vergara and The Test Kitchen to this side of the state… now if we can get her side to pronounce "Missouri" properly, we will have made some real progress.
Photographs by Kevin A. Roberts
