Here’s how to snag seats at TV Top Chef John Tesar’s “Best of Spoon” pop-ups

The guy who earned early acclaim for his way with seafood then recreated himself as America’s King of Steaks is mind-melding both in a series of seafood-focused pop-up dinners to wind up the year.

“I’m bringing Spoon back,” Tesar told the Hatch a few days ago while cooking at Central Market Fort Worth’s 15th Anniversary dinner, held in CM’s cooking school classroom. Stirring a giant pot of roasted pheasant risotto while FW chef Jon Bonnell plated a first course of axis venison carpaccio, Tesar said fans of his acclaimed Spoon restaurant, which shuttered in 2014, have asked him to bring back some of his classics.

“I love steak, but I also love seafood. It’s time to do both again,” so he’s hosting a series of prix fixed multi-course seafood dinners to meet demand. The first pop-up is this Friday night, on the patio of his restaurant, Knife.

“I’ll be using several different locations for the pop-ups,” said Tesar, who plans to limit the number of guests to 20. The dinners will run about $135, plus optional wine pairings. Since they’re pop-ups, the location will may not be disclosed more than a few days in advance of the event, but Tesar says he’s committed to these dates: October 28, November 9, November 14, and November 17th. He also told the Hatch that he’ll be cooking a Feast of the Seven Fishes this Christmas season.