Embark on a Culinary Adventure at One by Spork
- Max McCrory
- Apr 30
- 5 min read
There is truly no other restaurant like One by Spork in Pittsburgh right now. In late December 2024, the restaurant formerly known as Spork transitioned into One by Spork and began offering a 16-seat, chef’s tasting menu experience. Each course is a taste and texture adventure crafted by James Beard Award-nominated Chef Christian Frangiadis. He utilizes top-quality ingredients (many of which are grown on the Bloomfield property) and his many high-tech cooking tools (such as several fermentation cabinets, a dehydrator, a freeze dryer, and a rotary evaporator) to create the most memorable meal you’ll surely have this year. The incredible bar team, with Cecil Usher at the helm, whips up inspired beverages (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic) to match the flavors present in each course, and each drink is just as impressive as the food.
The experience begins in the casual, cozy lounge area, where you’re served a myriad of small bites along with a nonalcoholic welcome cocktail—lychee sparkling, made with lychee, pear, and verjus blanc. The light, fruity drink paired well with everything we tasted before the main meal. The welcome bites are meant to prepare your palate for the umami adventure ahead. When we dined at One by Spork, we sampled a hatoyaki (essentially a takoyaki—a deep-fried ball filled with tender octopus), a BBQ turkey taco, a duck rillette empanada, a smoked bass charcoal tartelette, and a smoked cauliflower tuile, which was our transitional bite and was served in the main seating area. Some of these bites I enjoyed more than others. The hatoyaki, duck rillette empanada, and smoked cauliflower tuile stood out as my favorites. These three bites were brimming with unique, savory flavors. The other two were certainly tasty (nothing you eat at Spork could be classified as bad) but weren’t to my taste. Your experience at Spork and what you love (or don’t) will depend on your individual taste buds.
After we made our way to the round table facing the kitchen and ate our final welcome bite, the show really began. Our first course was the lamb tartare, which set high expectations for the rest of the meal. Steak tartare is one of my favorite dishes, so I was excited to try a version of it that I’d never had before. The raw lamb added both slightly gamey and earthy flavors that enhanced the savory nature of this dish. Each bite was rich and velvety on the tongue with a nice crunch from the rye cracker and was reminiscent of spring with the other elements of the tartare. I know the menu is ever-evolving, but I hope the lamb tartare stays on the menu for a long time.
The second course featured charred octopus as the centerpiece with a chorizo hash. The octopus was smoky from the grill, and the chorizo hash perfectly complemented it. This dish was simplistic, but it was filled with meaty flavor.
A miso Chilean sea bass was on deck for the third course. The miso glaze on the sea bass paired nicely with the butternut squash puree and Hoppin’ John (a Southern peas and rice dish). This entire course was bursting with earthy flavors, and the sea bass had the perfect buttery texture. While this dish was delicious, it wasn’t my favorite. I often find sea bass boring, even when it’s both tender and well-seasoned.
Our fourth course was rye ramen, and it was the most fun, as we got to watch it being prepared. The kitchen team prepares fresh rye ramen noodles ahead of time and then freeze-dries them. Diners watch as they rehydrate the noodles in a savory, salty broth in a beaker right in front of them. It felt like a delicious chemistry lesson. The ramen was paired with a Peruvian bay scallop and king crab, which added an explosion of umami. I loved watching this dish being made, and I wish that more of the courses had been like this one.
The fifth course was dry-aged, fresh duck served with a dauphine potato and roasted carrot. The duck sat in a peach squash-miso reduction, which brought out the earthiness and sweetness of the duck. The dauphine potato and roasted carrot paired well with the duck and reminded me of the traditional pairing of meat, potato, and vegetable, but done in an inventive way.
I was getting a little food fatigue by the sixth course—heritage chicharrones—but I rallied through. It was very difficult, thank you for asking. This course was served with a fondant potato and black bean glaze. The chicharrones, while prepared well with a nice crisp, were rather unmemorable compared to the other courses.
The final course before dessert was certainly the most luxurious. It was Australian A5 wagyu served with a Roquefort-spring onion soufflé and a spoon of caviar. The wagyu was cooked to perfection. It was a perfect medium-rare and melted in my mouth. It was prepared simply with minimal seasoning, so the flavor of the meat really shone through. While I love a soufflé, I’m not the biggest fan of blue cheese. Thankfully, the flavor of the Roquefort was very subtle, and the green onion flavor really stood out in the soufflé. The soufflé was fluffy, and the spoonful of caviar to dip into it added another layer of decadence. It was the perfect end to the savory portion of our meal. One of Chef Frangiadis’ goals was to infuse umami into every course, and he definitely achieved that.
Both dessert courses turned out to be some of my favorite dishes of the meal. Our first dessert—a goat cheese ice cream mochi—blew my mind. The combination of two of my favorite things—mochi (a sweet Japanese rice cake) and goat cheese—made for a winning dish in my opinion. The mochi was bursting with creamy and tangy flavor from the goat cheese. The sumac cashew brittle underneath added a crunchy element, while the loganberry gel added a fruity sweetness. This was a standout moment from the meal for me.
The meal finished off with a corn flan, served in the lounge area. This course was a mix between savory and sweet. It also had great texture contrast between the flan and the cornbread crumble scattered across the dish.
A highlight of the meal was certainly all of the fabulous drinks (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic) that Usher procured and concocted. There was a fabulous selection of wines, including Rosé Impérial from Moët & Chandon and 2023 Akarregi Txiki Txakolina Rosado (a Spanish rosé). Usher even had a ‘rosé’ sparkling nonalcoholic wine for those partaking in the N/A experience. Many of the later courses were accompanied by cocktails, such as a highball made with Maggie’s Farm white rum and a ‘One New York Sour’ made with cognac and calvados (a French apple brandy produced in the Normandy region). The nonalcoholic cocktails included a smoked paprika milk punch and a highball. Many of the processes to make each cocktail, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic, were just as inventive as many of the dishes.
One by Spork is an incredible meal well worth the $275 per person (not including tax and gratuity) price tag. Chef Frangiadis and the One by Spork team are a well-oiled machine creating an unforgettable experience, and many of the courses left me in awe of what everyone in the kitchen was capable of.
If you’re intrigued, it’s easy to make a reservation on One by Spork’s website (onebyspork.com). Your meal won’t be exactly the same as mine, as Chef Frangiadis aims to deliver a different experience every time, but there’s no denying it will be full of unique flavors and preparations.
This restaurant was chosen independently for review and was not selected as part of any paid promotion or advertising agreement. This review reflects the writer’s personal experience and opinions, and they were not compensated in any way by the restaurant to write this review.
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