Me, oh, Milo! What's cooking with Frejo?

The Ellison Hotel's executive chef is paving a delicious path

Stopped by Milo at The Ellison Hotel last week to deliver a prize to Food Dood Feed subscriber Bob Slater, but ended up winning a lunch tour of chef Nathaniel Frejo’s menu.

Frejo took the stove at The Ellison last fall, following the departure of chef Josh Valentine. He took over a gorgeous dining room in a chic boutique hotel that opened in 2019. Before either Valentine or Frejo arrived, chef Joseph Royer was consulting on a menu for the restaurant and veteran restaurateur Chris Lower consulted on design and operation. That dynamic duo with Saturn Grill and The Metro Wine Bar and Bistro down the street still contribute.

This informal tasting was truly a treat because it not only involved some truly delicious bites of food, but because it gave me an audience with the Moore-born and raised chef who developed his culinary chops in Springfield, Mo., from the early-aughts to the 20-teens.

He returned with his family in 2013 to run the kitchen of a chain in Yukon before working at Rococo between 2018 and ‘19. From 2020 to 2022, he managed dining services for the Best Western and helped launch a concept for the RiverSport Foundation and work as executive chef for Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services.

Now he’s back in his own kitchen, and to begin our tour, Frejo started us with mussels served with house-made chorizo and green chile pico. Mussels made right make my heart sing; these birthed an opera.

Then he served us as good a rendition of catfish as you are likely to find in this catfish-crazy diningscape. This is a new addition to the menu, which lovers of a crisp, tight cornmeal batter will love. Had it as a cutlet and also on a taco. I’d eat it anywhere you try to hide it.

The Bison Bolognese served over Della Terra cresta de gallo pasta was inspired. Bison integrated robustly with mezcal tomato sauce, a smattering of cotija cheese, and a dollop of cilantro pesto. The Shrimp and Grits dance a lovely circle around the bowl thanks to roasted tomato Creole sauce.

I’ll have another dispatch tomorrow with coverage from the Big Monday of collabs and more news and notes from around the 405 diningscape.