Check Out the Menus For The Progress, Opening Tomorrow

After some weekend test dinners, State Bird Provisions' Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski are just about ready to open up their new next-door spot The Progress to a hungry public, with a target street date of tomorrow night. That means we've got some menus for your viewing pleasure. As previously discussed, the dining format at The Progress is sort of a dinner-party answer to State Bird's cocktail party; each group pays a set price based on the number of dishes they want ($52/person for five, $79/person for eight, $108/person for the whole shebang), with dish sizes tailored to each party so they can be served family-style.

Like State Bird, the menu (which also owes inspiration to Brioza's chef de cuisine John Becker and Krasinski's co-pastry chef Mikiko Yui) is packed with creative and unusual ingredients, ranging from mushroom dumplings in a sauce made from sake lees to a romesco made from smoked prunes and served with dried duck. And while there's no quail, there is squab, spiced with garlic and served in lettuce cups. Desserts include jasmine-poached fruit with plum jam and ricotta whey. Here it is in full:

At 12 pages, the beverage menu is a bit more sizable, so we'll point you here to check it out. Of special note: unlike State Bird, The Progress has full liquor, and some fascinating-sounding cocktails from bar manager Bryan Hamann, like a martini with smoked olive juice and rosemary oil, and a Negroni with umeboshi vermouth. The original creations sound pretty crazy too, like a concession-themed cocktail with popcorn-infused rum and cherry cola syrup. On the wine side, GM/wine director Jason Alexander has sourced scads of unusual European bottles, with a sprinkling of innovative California winemakers.

For more on The Progress, stay tuned later today and tomorrow, when we'll have photos of the space, intel on reservations, and an interview with Brioza and Krasinski.