Bradley Kilgore At J&G Grill | Bal Harbour, Miami

Bradley Kilgore is back where he feels most at home–in the lofty world of fine dining.

The 27-year-old became chef de cuisine of J&G Grill at St. Regis Bal Harbour this summer after a brief foray into the pop-up world with Brad's BBQ, where he made killer Kansas City-style ribs.

Kilgore first cut his teeth in Kansas City as a line cook while barely a teenager. Back then, he says, "I thought the chef was the lead cook at a breakfast joint– I had no idea what it meant."

Fast forward: Kilgore has spent most of his career at fine dining restaurants, including Laurent Gras' L20 in Chicago and Azul at the Mandarin Oriental.

A few dishes on J&G Grill's new fall menu are strictly Kilgore's creations, albeit through Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Asian-influenced lens. Creamy burrata is puréed with preserved lemon in a lush heirloom tomato, burrata and shiso oil salad ($20).

Bradley Kilgore pours lobster bisque into a bowl of butternut squash foam and lobster.
Kilgore also distills layers of coconut, lobster, butternut squash, red curry and lemongrass into an exquisite bisque ($19).

Other dishes derive more directly from Vongerichten's oeuvre, like a scintillating marinated beet salad with goat cheese panna cotta ($18) and a spice-encrusted snapper bathed in mushroom stock, Banyuls vinegar and brown butter reduction ($35).

A meal at J&G is rarefied dining worth the glitzy price. The plates may be small, but they're precision-crafted; you will savor every bite prepared by Kilgore's meticulous hands.