Frisee aux lardons

The sous-chefs heading the kitchen at Eastern Standard Kitchen and Drinks are an accommodating group. Even on a busy Red Sox game day, when they're likely to turn out up to 700 meals at this Kenmore Square restaurant, the cooks will put dressing on the side, substitute frites for salad, and cook your steak any way you ask. But there's one dish on which they won't accept substitutions, says sous-chef Dante Cantalupo.

Assembling Eastern Standard's version of the classic French frisee aux lardons ($11) is a carefully planned task. During the time it takes to poach the egg that tops this bistro salad, the kitchen crisps precooked sweetbreads in the fat used to render bacon for the lardons. They dress the frisee with the warm bacon fat, add a splash of Banyuls vinegar, toss in the sweetbreads, bacon, and a handful of toasted hazelnuts, then plate the salad, lift the egg from its poaching liquid, and lay it on top. "Everything has to line up," says Cantalupo. So before you think of ordering your dressing on the side, consider the choreography you'll interrupt. And the delightful composition you'll miss. Eastern Standard Kitchen and Drinks, 528 Commonwealth Ave., 617-532-9100. -- LEIGH BELANGER