After a first course of fluke crudo with summer squash, vanilla and sherry, the pasta-focused menu includes chickpea cavatelli with tomatoes, fenugreek and ricotta salata; smoked scallop scarpinocc (a filled pasta); squid ink agnolotti (a kind of ravioli) with chorizo, clams and greens; and pasta alla carbonara with slow-cooked egg yolk, guanciale (a type of bacon) and Pecorino-Romano. A “Textures of Summer Peach” dessert includes bay laurel gelato, kaffir lime, crème fraîche cake and vin santo (an Italian dessert wine).
“I’ll be heading to various farmers markets throughout the week to pick up produce for our menu,” Bereika says, adding that the produce sources include Cabbage Hill, Tomten, Deer Run and Ringer farms, as well as Amy’s Garden and Agriberry.
The scallops and fluke will come from Reliant Fish Co. in Jessup, Md. “I've been working with them for the past two years and think they have some of the best, freshest seafood around,” he says. Olde Salt clams, grown off the coast of Chincoteague, will be purchased from Rappahannock River Oysters.
Maher notes that Tanya Cauthen of Belmont Butchery is making chorizo for the dinner.
“It's shaping up to be a very special event,” he says. “We're noticing it's a bit of a strange time in the city, as we're not getting huge amounts of interest like Meddle [Bereika's earlier pop-up at Roosevelt] and spoon 1.0 [Maher's pop-up at Pasture] got. ... We're optimistic though. It'll still be a great night of food."
Assisting Maher and Bereika will be chefs Aaron Hoskins of 2113 and Ryan Evans.
“We're thankful to [Pescados owner] Todd Manley, [chef de cuisine] Jon Watts and the rest of the crew over at Ironfish for opening up their restaurant to us,” Bereika says. “They've been incredibly accommodating, and I think they're just as excited as John and I are about Sunday's pop-up.”
He adds, “Melissa Krumbein [owner of Kitchen Thyme] has been a huge help with ticket sales and making sure that there's space for us to work at Kitchen Thyme. Also, a handful of Richmond chefs and cooks have offered up their time to help with prep as well as working Sunday night's service. It's great to have the support that our peers are providing.”
Tickets, $65 each, can be purchased at Kitchen Thyme and 2113, or ordered online.
