Spork on Penn Ave has been a favorite for many years, the kind of place where we celebrated anniversaries and proudly brought out-of-town guests. We were truly stunned by the quality of their new dinner concept, launched less than a month ago. Through a series of carefully orchestrated appetizer bites, multiple small entrées, and desserts, each paired with your choice of alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages, the entire Spork team delivered a unique, elegant and immersive dinner experience. We can hardly wait to see how the chef's tasting menu evolves, especially during the Spork garden season! 

How many restaurants serve not only perfectly executed favorites, often with a creative twist, but also inspire you to fall in love with something new? Spork has done all of that. We discovered this chef-owned restaurant, tucked on the corner of Penn Ave. and S. Graham St., in 2018. We happily followed the evolution of the Spork menu, initially focused on charcuterie and shared large and small plates, to a more traditional appetizer, salad, entrée format -- punctuated with small complimentary bites to amuse the mouth (amuse-bouche). 

Spork amuse-bouche

For at least two committed seafood/octopus-avoiding friends and relatives, the famous Spork crispy octopus had them coming back for more (and ordering their own so they would not have to share). How did the chefs manage to get the inside of that tentacle to be so tender, beneath that pleasing crispy char? Initially, it was paired with an Asian slaw and either a poblano or red pepper foam and sausage ('nduja or chorizo). Then later, with Latin trimmings. Simply delicious, and visually stunning as well! 

Crispy octopus with (left) roasted red pepper spuma, crispy leeks, Napa wasabi slaw, chorizo or (right) charred corn esquites, feta, fresno lime mayo, hot honey, crispy leeks, chorizo

So when Spork announced they were shutting down with the last service on our anniversary in September 2024, various sets and subsets of our family reserved multiple farewell dinners. But we need not have worried. After remodeling for a rebrand as One by Spork, the stage was set for an even more amazing eating and drinking experience.

The new tasting menu, which on our day included five appetizers, seven entrées, bread, three desserts and 10 drinks, was simply amazing. The drink pairings were particularly impressive, as seven of the 10 involved carefully crafting both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options that were distinct in flavor, yet both perfectly complemented the food. 

Read on for a play-by-play with photos. Or better yet, book your own experience!  

We found out that each week one dish will be swapped out for a new creation, so reading on will not be too much of a spoiler, as the entire menu will shift with the season. Right now, it is rich with kojis and other methods of fermenting, preserving and enriching flavors for winter enjoyment.

Chef's Choice Tasting Menu - Happy New Year edition

As we drove down Penn Ave, we noted that the Spork garden, parking lot across the street and outside appearance of this corner establishment were mostly unchanged. 

Bar and lounge

Upon walking in, the concrete bar, with lots of interesting glassware, was still situated behind the greeter's kiosk. But now, there are a series of inviting low tables arrayed to the right below the windows. We had a choice of sitting at the bar, where we could watch the bartender Cecil create a sparkling nonalcoholic welcome beverage, or along the window for the first four welcome bites or appetizers.

Welcome cocktail & bites

As one of the early arrivals, we were able to watch the process of carbonating the cider-based welcome beverage. This consisted of verjus blanc, or white grape juice, flavored with apple juice, agave, pomegranate, and punctuated with malic acid and winter spices that I believe included cinnamon or star anise.

Chef Christian Frangiadis personally served out the first welcome bite -- a brothy concoction containing something orange and some sort of smoked fish nestled in an edible charcoal colored crispy shell. That first bite was truly amazing, and set the scene and standard for the remaining dishes. Although each appetizer was delicious, various members of our party kept remarking on "the one in the crispy shell."

My daughter thought there was something with sea bream in it when she enjoyed her dinner 6 days before ours, but on our menu, this delight matched up with the smoked bass truffle tartelette (I know, because I called a few days later to ask). 

Next we enjoyed a tasty fried ball in a spoon, supporting slice of succulent meat atop a smear of sauce. This was hatoyaki, a Spork invention. Inspired by takoyaki, an octopus-based dish, this dish featured squab instead. Apparently squab is hato in Japanese - hence hatoyaki.

Picked red onions and crispy, salty pork bits adorned the next offering, a tartelette featuring duxelle and prosciutto. Hard to go wrong with mushrooms, onions, herbs and butter -- classic ingredients in a duxelle, or with crispy proscuitto bits.

And a round hors d'oeuvre version of a BBQ turkey taco with possibly a mustard sauce and pickled pink ?beet wrapped up the casual welcome bites. Given that the smoked turkey mole really pulled us in back in 2018 when we first ate at Spork, it felt a bit like a homecoming revisiting another bite of Spork turkey!

One round table

After enjoying the initial drink and appetizers in the bar and lounge area, we migrated to the large central table that now dominates the room.  The walnut countertop that used to separate the dining area from the open kitchen remained relatively unchanged, although various pasta machines and a centrifuge are now arrayed in this area.

The table is not a huge round table as one might envision, but consists of a curved circular bar-like countertop that seats up to 16 people. There is a narrow opening in the back facing the kitchen, and a central round prep table. The dishes are plated/finished, or in some cases cooked in the center, with everyone able to watch and chat with the chefs. 

The spacing is generous, and maintains a sense of privacy for groups despite sharing a common table. I could converse with people seated up to 3 seats away on either side, but it was also very easy to focus on your own group. It did not feel like we were crowded at a communal table, and everyone had a front row seat for the explanations and food prep.

The last welcome bite was served at the table with the first of the course-specific paired drinks. The smoked cauliflower tuille was a beautiful dish. The tubular tuille containing the smoked cauliflower was styled like a small log sitting on square of plain pasta, complete with grain lines curving around a stump and little oak-leaves tacked on by a stiff, tasty piped cream. The tuille and pasta were delicious dragged through droplets of a tasty dark red-brown glaze.

Beverages

Once seated, guests are asked to select the One pairing of alcoholic beverages, or an N/A (non-alcoholic) pairing. My husband selected the One and I selected the N/A, so that we could taste both offerings. In all the drink photos below, the One pairing is on the left with the N/A pairing on the right. 

The wait staff also kept our additional glasses filled with a choice of still or sparkling water. Although I initially declined the sparkling water (the bubbles and flavor of many sparkling waters frequently feel a bit harsh for my taste), I recalled that Gwen in Los Angeles had a whole menu devoted to waters from different sources. 

I am so happy that I asked for a sample of the sparkling water. It was a clear, refreshing, flavorless water with delightfully fine bubbles. A google search revealed that Splendor water comes from a natural aquifer in the Ecuadorian rainforest, having filtered through the volcanic rocks of the Cotopaxi. I truly enjoyed this water, and wish I had asked the source of the still water as well.

Lamb Tartare & Rosé

As the chefs prepared the next dish, stuffing a small upright mold with various ingredients, and then unmolding on a base of thin crispy round, spiced crackers, we were presented with the drink pairings. The golden-amber NV Schloss Gobelsburg Brut Rose was an Austrian sparkling wine, a bit citrusy and woodsy. I preferred the 'Rose' Sparkling N/A wine, which had similar herb notes, but was a bit sweeter. 

The unmolded dish consisted of the smoothest, silkiest pieces of lamb, which formed a small cup holding bits of Rovey corn, egg, onion, capers and scallions. This was an amazing blend of bright, tangy flavors, that was particularly good with the spiced crunch of the ?rye? crisps.

Generally, my husband and I avoid raw meats and fish - a medium beef steak is about the only thing I routinely enjoy that is not fully cooked. But given the special nature of this dinner, of course, we wanted to taste this first entrée,  It was so delicious, we ate every last bit! 

Koji Coated Sweetbreads & Gin or Tea Highballs

As we watched the team effort involved in plating the next dish, piping the horseradish cream, and laying out other colorful accompaniments, Cecil presented us with the next pair of drinks. The One pairing involved an orangey-yellow highball with the Roku Japanese gin, tomato-honey, champagne acid, a horseradish distillate to pick up the flavors of the cream, and Genmaicha tea. Genmaicha tea combines the fresh flavors of green tea with a nuttiness from roasted brown rice. Although it is hard to remember, I thought he said that they did something to replace the water in the gin with matcha and tomato-honey.

This was absolutely superb. The N/A option contained the same flavors, including some koji to mirror the coating on the sweetbreads, but was a little sweeter. This was one of the rare situations where we both clearly preferred the alcohol-containing version with all its gin aromatics.

The final touch came from the open kitchen behind, as they brought service containers filled with hefty chunks of crispy sweetbreads to add to the plates. These Koji coated sweetbreads were delicious with the horseradish cream, and a rich brown sauce below. The pioppino mushrooms with their subtle pepperiness, and a pretty beet honeycomb tuille completed the dish. The sweetbreads were one of my daughter's favorite dishes. 

Miso Halibut & Uni or frothy butternut beverage

Although we enjoyed every dish, and cleaned every plate (it was that good!), this dish just edged out the chicharrones as our favorite dish of the evening. 

The portion of halibut was absolutely perfect, with a red miso sauce torch-caramelized onto it, served with a wonderful, slightly spicy, bright yellow sauce and some tasty bits crumbled over. A deconstructed ravioli was also present on the plate, with sage and containing the hoppin john beans. 

The halibut was paired with the 2022 Stolpman 'Uni' white blend from California, which apparently has  a bit of "marine minerality" that pairs well with sushi. Neither of us liked this wine, particularly since the N/A beverage was one of our favorites.  

I cannot recall what went into it, but the menu they gave out at the end lists "Butternut squash, miso maple, apple".  I do know that it also had some specks of brown butter floating on the minimally frothy top. Truly an amazing mixed drink that complemented the miso halibut perfectly.

Rye Ramen & sake or Amazake rice beverage

The next entrée made full use of the bunsen burners and beakers arrayed on the lower level of the curved countertop in front of each seat. The house made Rye Ramen had been freeze-dried, along with the Peruvian bay scallop and King crab. 

After the ramen was cooked, the remaining spices in each jar was added to the cooking water to form a rich amber broth, and the entire concoction served with a dish of amped up furikake seasoning on the side. While I enjoyed the noodles and seafood with the entire serving of furikake, drinking the delicious broth at the end with the perfectly paired beverages was the highlight of this dish for me.

This was paired with NV Okunomatsu Ginjo sake, silky and rich.  The N/A option consisted of Amazake, a rice beverage made from koji, steamed rice and water that is also known as sweet sake. These drinks looked totally different, the sake a clear liquid and the Amazake, a mysterious opaque liquid in a low earthen dish. On its own, I preferred the sake. 

Both the sake and the Amazake paired exceptionally well with the seafood broth, but now I slightly preferred the Amazake.

Heritage Chicharrones & New York sours

Next Cecil worked on preparing the meringue topping for our New York sours at the small central prep table. These delectable drinks were paired with a superb dish that took 55 h of preparation!

The alcoholic version featured Calvados, persimmon, asian pear, and fuji apple, and the 'One' nonalcoholic sour also reflected these fruity flavors. Both versions of the drink were topped tableside with a frothy red wine meringue through which a sweet-tart granita had percolated. 

The anticipation built as we watched the chefs apply a series of colorful sauces to a plate. I wish I knew what each of the colorful sauce dots on the plate were. The dark brown ones were undoubtedly the black bean glaze, but what were the medium brown and red-orange sauces? 

The dish itself consisted of a succulent cube of pork belly paired with a transcendental spindle formed from layers of thin, succulent potato slices with an amazing flavor and texture. This was described as fondant potato in the menu, and this dish of heritage chicharrones and fondant potato was my son's favorite dish and a very close second for us.

The sauces were so delicious, that we asked them not to clear our plates. We saw that we would be having bread next, and wanted to mop up every last drop of sauce. 

Bread & butter

We each received a baton of slashed crusty bread, probably made of rye (it is hard to recall as the evening was full of smells, sights, flavors and information). They had done something to take out all of the bran, making it into a soft flour. 

I feel pretty proud that I was able to use some of the bread to soak up the chicharrone sauce, enjoy a bit of it with the butter, and save most of it for the upcoming pasta sauces. 

And the koji butter was a standout -- so delicious that I ate the last bits of it straight off the butter knife!

Elk in Pasta Baskets with red wine

When he learned that we were saving our chicharrone plates so we could mop up the sauces with the bread, chef told us we should save some bread for the sauces of the upcoming pasta course. 

This dish featured elk from a hunting trip in a cabin owned by chef's friends. A mixture of techniques including curing, sous vide, smoking and confit were used in its preparation. It was another beautiful dish. The pasta basket holding the elk was a bit too al dente for my taste, although I realize it needs rigidity to stand up to the contents. 

The sauces were simply amazing, one made with Nebbiolo wine and the other featuring tomato. I think my husband and the man celebrating his wife's birthday next to us might have actually licked their plates.

The sommelier Sarah presented us with my husband's favorite wine of the evening, a 2019 Irpinia 'Ischa Piana' Aglianico bottled by Salvatore Molettieri in the Campania region. Apparently the Aglianico grape can be a substitute for Nebbiolo, and this wine was delicious both on its own and with the elk and sauce. The N/A pairing tasted distinct, but was also quite good although we preferred the wine. The N/A Domaine One house red drank [sic] was enhanced with a subtle addition of sichuan peppercorns along with other flavors. 

Wagyu & rice-washed old fashioneds

The final entrée consisting of Australian A5 Wagyu steak in a pool of a delcious medium brown sauce, with a spoon of salty trout roe. As the evening was wrapping up, chef chose to lighten this up with an airy souffle, gently flavored with a Roquefort and bits of collard green.  

This delicious plate was well complemented by both the rice-washed whiskey old fashioned, or the N/A rice-washed cocktail featuring two kinds of tea, one a smoked tea. 

These two options tasted quite different, but both offered a smokey complexity that paired exceptionally well with the beef.  Once again, I was very happy with the N/A option.

Desserts and finishing up

The first dessert course, like the final welcome bite, was served at the big round table, paired with an amazing after dinner amaro. It consisted of a scoop of milky white Maple-Amazake Oat Milk Ice Cream served atop a spiced (?gingerbread) cookie with a smear of bourbon black apple butter on the bowl. Maple leaf candies were scattered across the top. 

This was paired with The Yetti, consisting of a mix of yuzu liqueur and Meletti Amaro. I enjoyed my taste of my husband's Yetti so much that I made sure to ask for my own glass, which I found out there was no N/A option (other than the cute little cups of hot chocolate in the lounge area).

Following the first dessert course, we migrated back to the little lounge tables, which had been set beautifully with little orange poppyseed cakes, topped with apricot, and garnished with a cherry sauce and milk foam. In hindsight, what we thought might be based in ube, or purple yam, was probably the milk foam. 

Dessert came with flutes of Moscato D'asti, which we enjoyed very much, and tiny cups of hot bean-2 bar milk chocolate cocoa, topped with marshmallow fluff. The hot chocolate was spiked with Amaro for the One pairing, but we preferred the N/A hot chocolate.

We enjoyed conversation in the lounge, and had ample time to digest and metabolize. When my husband felt he had recovered from the drinks enough to drive, we settled our bill and received our own copies of the menu and a little box containing two fantastic filled chocolate treats to enjoy later. 

The cost?

We loved Spork enough that we booked our reservations before they published the price of the experience. I have to admit, $275 was a bit of a shocker (it boils down to $225 on the day of the experience due as the booking fee is subtracted).  But most chef's tasting menu prices do not include the drink pairings, which can easily go for more than $100.  At Spork, the drinks are included. Moreover, as outlined above, each drink is specially created to reflect and enhance the flavors of each dish, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions are superb.

While the bottled drinks included some fantastic options, the unique cocktails and non-alcoholic options were simply amazing.

Although it was a lot of food -- five appetizers, seven entrées, bread, three desserts and 10 drinks -- we all felt great afterwards. Not overstuffed, but well-content. And we slept exceptionally well. The evening was crafted in such a way that none of us had heartburn, as often happens after a fancy dinner.

Was it worth it? 

As with everything else in life, the answer to this question depends upon your interests and priorities. It's easily in the range of the $250 Lost Creek Farm fundraiser dinner we attended to support an educational kitchen for heritage cooking in WV (and the chance to meet Abra Berens, author of Grist and other cookbooks). It is also towards the lower end of the range for tasting menus at Michelin-starred restaurants. Although Pennsylvania does not pay Michelin to rate its restaurants, we brought guests familiar with the dining scene in France and Hong Kong to Spork last fall, and she felt that Spork was Michelin-star quality. $275 is coincidentally the price I paid for a 50 min massage with tip in Vail a few weeks ago. While I was happy with the massage, I would far rather enjoy another dinner at One by Spork. 

Our take:  

Having had our first One by Spork dinner experience, we are absolutely looking forward to returning. We thoroughly enjoyed this unique three-hour culinary experience complete with drinks, and the opportunity to meet and talk to the creative people involved. 

🐾 Love2Chow Tips: be curious and ask questions. The explanations of each dish and drink can go by quickly, and it can be hard to remember what they did. At the end you will receive a more detailed menu, but the hows and whys of what they did to create each dish and drink will not be otherwise recorded.

🐾  Don't eat too much on the day of, but don't let your stomach shrink either. My husband drank diet sodas to keep his belly expanded, but I opted to eat a small lunch.

🍃 Green Tips: my daughter got full before the final entrée, so we came prepared with small takeaway containers, but we ended up eating every last crumb. I am sure they would have been happy to wrap something up as well, but we like reusing containers we already have.

Have you tried One at Spork, or have a favorite chef's tasting menu elsewhere? 

Please post comments below or photos to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter 

Tag @love2chowblog and hashtag it #love2chow 

All photos and content © 2025. 
All Rights Reserved. Contact admin@love2chow.com for permissions.

https://www.love2chow.com/2025/01/one-by-spork-culinary-delight-to-rule.html