Welcome to Try This Now, a new feature in which Gut Check writers recommend new dishes, drinks and more that you need to try right now.
And when I say right now, I mean right now or at least very soon: Owner and chef Kevin Willmann changes the menu often at Farmhaus (3257 Ivanhoe Street; 314-647-3800), so I can't guarantee that what I ate last night will be exactly the same on next week's menu.
The dish ($15) is a piece of escolar poached in traminette (a semi-dry white wine) from Chaumette Winery, butter and dill served with grilled asparagus and two grilled blue prawns. The poaching liquid turns the fish, already very fatty by nature (notoriously so, for some), decadently luscious.
The asparagus was plump and strongly flavored -- grilling might be my favorite preparation of this vegetable -- but it was the blue prawn that made the dish. These were far more flavorful than run-of-the-mill shrimp, with a beguiling briny sweetness. As an added bonus, they were served head-on, so you could suck out the tastiest juices as you would with a crawfish.
I wish I had a picture of the dish, but this was a review visit, and I generally don't bring my camera to those. Also, I must note that Willmann busted my anonymity years ago when I reviewed Erato on Main in Edwardsville. So if you're the paranoid type, you can take this recommendation with a grain of salt.
Seriously, though, this dish rules. Go!
