Heavy Table Hot Five: Sep. 16-22

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Each Friday, this list will track five of the best things Heavy Table’s writers, editors, and photographers have recently bitten or sipped. Have a suggestion for the Hot Five? Email editor@heavytable.com.

shepherd-song-banner-ad-horiz-3The Hot Five is a weekly feature created by the Heavy Table and supported by Shepherd Song Farm.

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Jane Rosemarin / Heavy Table
Jane Rosemarin / Heavy Table

1-new - oneSmoked Tomato Soup from The Bachelor Farmer
The puree is smooth and simple. Its tomatoes, grown in the restaurant’s rooftop garden, are lightly smoked, which tempers their sweetness while adding depth. Centered in the bowl is a wedge of medium-ripe Alemar Bent River cheese that has been breaded and fried. The breading picks up a coating of soup without becoming soggy. A spoonful of runny cheese, crisp breading, and smoky-sweet soup with a few bits of chive has everything the palate longs for.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Jane Rosemarin]

James Norton / Heavy Table
James Norton / Heavy Table

2-new - twoFestbier at Fair State Brewing Cooperative
Oktoberfest beers can get boozy and / or sweet in a hurry due to the malt-forward character of the beer and the common brewer’s instinct to “stick ’em with the seasonal big guns!” Not so the 5.7 percent ABV Festbier at Fair State, which is pleasantly crisp, autumnally toasty, and eminently drinkable by the pint. (We ordered a half glass to start and immediately regretted it, as it went down in a few smooth and lovely gulps). This is our new go-to flavor for autumn.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

3-new - threeSzechuan Chicken Dumplings at Tea House
We’ve raved up the best-in-the-metro kung pao at Tea House before, but on a recent return trip, it was the house-made Szechuan Chicken Dumplings that won our hearts. Tender and delicate with a pronounced but balanced lingering heat (plus a Szechuan peppercorn buzz) and complemented by green onions, these are easily among the tastiest dumplings in a city full of them. Along with Hong Kong Noodle, Tea House has shot to the top of our chart for Chinese-American food.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]

Becca Dilley / Heavy Table
Becca Dilley / Heavy Table

4-new fourCoffee-Rubbed Wood-Fire-Grilled Lamb
Full-flavored, pleasantly earthy, and tender — our quartered lamb paired well with its coffee-and-spice rub and the warmth of the coals powering the Grill of the Gods at Chef Camp. This was one of those dishes that brings together a range of skilled artisans: camp cook Noah Barton (the chef who opened and built the powerhouse that is Chino Latino, and is now working at General Mills), the farmers of Shepherd Song, and the coffee importers and roasters at Tiny Footprint. If you’re going to grill for a crowd, you may as well go big and bold.
[Last Week on the Hot Five: #2 | Submitted by James Norton]

Ted Held / Heavy Table
Ted Held / Heavy Table

5-new -five300 IPA by Fulton Beer
As someone who always found Fulton’s original IPA, Sweet Child of Vine to be too malty and too mild, I was floored by their other, newer IPA, simply called 300 ($12 per six-pack). Tastefully bitter and profoundly floral, the complex Mosaic hops all but mute any malty sweetness. Originally intended as a celebratory one-off to be available in the tap room only, we’re thrilled to see it bottled up and added to Fulton’s permanent collection.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Ted Held]