Bixi Brewery

 

It has been 3 years in the making, but I was very happy to see Bixi Brewery (pronounced Be-She) open recently, so I invited a couple of friends to try things out, which we did a few weeks ago.  Named for Bixi, a Dragon god with a tortoise shell, that supports great weights (like buildings and bridges), and images of which are rubbed for good luck.  The space is a two floor operation with very different designs on each floor.  The first floor has a bar on the left side and looks more typically like a bar.  There is an image of Bixi in front of the Chicago skyline done in black and white behind the long bar, which was done by a former Marvel comic artist.  There is also much table seating with the furniture also white with chrome legs.  The brewing area is in a glassed off area at the front of the bar, near the front.  Going up the stairs, the second floor also has a large bar off to one side, but the space looks more like a restaurant dining area than the first floor with a high ceilings, a large skylight, a rooftop dining area, green walls, and an area that looks like a salon, for a more intimate experiencce.  Having said this, you can eat and drink on both floors.  The bar has a large shelf with liquor on several shelves, with the high ceilings, I have to imagine that a ladder is necessary to get to the higher shelves, though I didn't notice one when we were there.  The tables, walls, and shelves on the second floor were also white, though there was a variation upstairs in that there were more colors involved than black and white (with some chrome).  There was some plant life as well as the green walls, which, although they did look very good, were artificial.  The salon area used green wallpaper with a plant-like design, the furniture looked like vintage 20th century salon furniture, i.e. upholstered couches and chairs with dark upholstery.  While the salon did look comfortable, the portraiture hanging on the walls, like the ape in the robe and flowered headdress were a bit odd.

Owned by Bo Fowler, who also owns and runs, and Owen and Engine, an English-Style Gastropub, and Fat Willy's, a barbecue joint, she decided to go in yet another direction with the food served, that being Asian.  Fowler, who was born in Korea, decided to work on a menu that was closer to her heart when creating this brewery and restaurant.  Most people don't think of beer when eating Asian food, the issue was to create a menu that would pair well with beer and to make beer that invokes the ideas and flavors of Asian fare.  While the menu looked really good and we discussed what we wanted to order, ordering the beer was much easier, between us, we all ordered flights which covered everything.  They had flights of three four and five.  I wanted to try as many as I could, so I had a flight of five.  I was able to try all of the beers, but I only ordered five.  Bixi covers many of the most common ale styles, with a lager also on draft, and augmenting many of their beers with Asian flavors.  The major styles that were missing was the Stout or Porter.  Though the first beer on their menu was a dark ale, it was a dark ale and not a stout or porter, and while it was good and was actually a favorite, it was definitely not a stout or porter.  It used Roasted Wheat, Caramel, Smoked Malt and was augmented with Szechuan Peppercorns.  Unspoken Rule was a Lagered Farmhouse Ale with Pearled Jasmine Tea.  Sanchez Therapy, another Farmhouse Ale was spiced with Cucumber, and had Melon forward aromas.  Against the Cross was probably the most mainstream and undifferentiated beer.  It was a classic American-Style IPA, which really reminded me of Bell's Two Hearted Ale.  My other favorite beer that I ordered for myself was surprisingly a Lager, which I normally find pretty boring.  This was augmented with rice like many American Macro Lagers, and at the front it really reminded me of Miller High Life, but the rice that was used was Jasmine Rice, which gave it a very distinctive flowery rice flavor.  The other beers served were a Summer Pale Ale, a Wit, and a Wheat beer, which were all pretty good.

The food menu (as well as the mural going up the stairs) was created by Kimski chef Won Kim.  While Chef Fowler and Chef Kim are both Korean, and the menu does include Korean food, it also includes, Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese, as well as American with Asian influences.  We started out with Oysters, which can't really be put into one menu except for seafood.  They served two different types of oysters each from East and West Coast.  We all ordered different Oysters, I ordered a Beausoleil Oyster, which is an East Coast raised in New Bruinswick.  I normally like raw oysters, and my dining partners liked theirs, but I apparently picked wrong, because I found it a little on the strong side.  For our other appetizers, we went with Kimchi Mandu with Mushrooms and Leeks, Momo with Chicken and Curry Spices, and a Chicago Beef Bao, which were all served at the same time.  All were very good with a lot of good flavors, though I think that I favored the Kimchi Mandu best.

Our main course was a Ssam Plate.  It was offered as a half or full size.  Because three of us would be sharing, We decided to get a full order and were still surprised by the size. Ssam means wrapped and it is generally meat wrapped in leafy vegetables.  For this plate we were served a lot of Leafy Vegetables, Scallion Pancakes, Char Siu (Korean Barbecued Pork), Asian Pears, Carrots, Peppers, and Bao.  It reminded me of the Korean version of Fajitas.  It was fun combining different things and tasting the different flavors.  There were several different types of greens with different flavors and it was fun to try different combinations.  I was generally taking a piece of char siu, a piece of pancake, some greens, some vegetables, and pile it all into the bao.  While I probably wasn't eating Ssam correctly, I was able to try the different flavors and textures, together and individually, and it was all good.

Bixi is a very nice looking space, and while they don't do groundbreaking beer, it is good, and it goes well with the food that they serve.  I will have to return to try more of the menu.

Vincent - Tasting Collective Dinner

 

About 8 years ago, a restaurant specializing in Belgian food, Vincent, was born.  When I heard about it, something that was pretty easy because it got a lot of buzz, I thought it was named after Vincent Van Gogh.  This is actually kind of funny, because Van Gogh was Dutch and not Belgian, so there isn't much reason to name a Belgian restaurant after him.  FYI, the restaurant was apparently named after the owner's dog.  After a time, the buzz died down and I actually thought that it closed.  This disappointed me a little because I had actually wanted to go there.  I was surprised, then, to receive an email inviting me to a Tasting Collective Group Dinner at Vincent.  I was excited to see that it was still open and quickly signed up for a dinner.  Located on a side street and not on a corner in Edgewater/Andersonville, it's kind of off the beaten path, but it easy to find.  I discovered quickly that while it is still a bistro, it no longer specializes in Belgian food, though there is a definite northern European spin on what they serve.  The space is small and intimate with hardwood floors and divided into two rooms.  The room in which you walk is dark and very much more old school European.  This room has the host station and the bar in the back and it looks very cozy.  The main dining room, where I dined was also small, with seating for about 60 people.  It was had high ceilings, mismatched hanging lights and some interesting wall art.  One wall was covered in hanging mirrors, but the main event in the room was the wall hanging above the table at which I sat.  There was a sculpture that looks like like a deer head hanging on the wall, except that no animal has anything to do with it.  The form of the head is wrapped in gold foil, the hardwood frame looks like painted cloth, and the large antlers, which take up a large amount of air space are made of flowering tree branches.  The restaurant has a curated list of cocktails and beer, with a slightly longer list of wines.  Because Tasting Collective is a large group, when a dinner is planned, we will take over the restaurant, so the available drinks are curated even more.  While I will generally lean toward gin drinks, I will look to see what drink sounds most interesting to me.  There was a Mezcal drink on the menu that interested me, though it sounded very much like a drink that I had had recently, so I decided to go with the gin drink that they had on the menu.  Called Sneaky Peach it was sweet, had a  strong peach flavor and was made with Broker's Gin, Cynar, Peach, Raw Ginger, Lemon, Mint, and Soda.  While the peach flavor was strong, there was enough cool spice from the ginger and mint to make it more than a one dimensional drink.  It was pretty good despite being a little sweeter than drinks that I normally go for.

Tasting Collective dinners are made slightly easier for the kitchen by being served family style with each plate serving three or four people.  We quickly learned that that the kitchen had gone into "overwhelm" mode as the course sizes were enormous.  For our first course, we were served a heaping salad with Bitter Greens, Pickled Beets, and Apricot Dressing.  It also tasted as if Walnuts were used, though they were not mentioned on the menu and I did not bite into one.  I am generally not a huge salad fan, but the beets and the apricot dressing helped give it some flavor.  While it was just a salad, it was a pretty good salad.

Our next course was a favorite of mine, Blistered Shishito Peppers, which we were again served a large amount.  Shishito Peppers are interesting in that, for the most part, they are very mild, however, about 1 in 10 have enough spice to give you a surprise while eating it.  It doesn't reach any level that you might call hot, but it is a surprise when wolfing down peppers that have no burn at all to encounter one that has a slight burn.  While the majority of the peppers were not hot, I was surprised with two, one of which was the first one that I ate.  The spiciness of the dish was augmented by Togarashi dressing which added a slight bite to everything.  While there was a slight bite from the Togarashi, you could tell when you encountered a spicy pepper, because the togasrashi remained on the outside, and with the pepper, there was a slight delay from the spicy bite.  These were very good and I probably ate more than my fair share, but my dining partners were all slightly spice-phobic, so the fact that I was happy to eat them was fine with them.

Our third course was melon, and while I am a little leery when I see melon on a menu because I dislike cantaloupe, I will still eat it.  This melon was not cantaloupe and I am not actually sure what kind of melon it was, but it was good.  The Fresh Melon was served with Burrata, Chia Seeds, and Edible Flowers.  The fruit of the melon was slightly sweet, but it was seasoned with salt and a something like paprika.  The burrata was light and creamy and the chia seeds interestingly gelled together.  It all provided an interesting combination of flavors and textures and I enjoyed it.

For our next course, I wish I had known ahead of time that I could have asked for a leftover box because we were again overwhelmed.  It was our one pasta course and it was again served in a huge size.  Called Poblanos Pappardelle, it started, obviously with Pappardelle Pasta which was served with Summer Squash, Poblano Peppers, Zucchini, and Tomato Aubergine (Eggplant) Sauce.  It was very fresh,  had a lot of flavor, and we unfortunately sent much of it back because there was a lot left to eat and we were starting to get full.

 

On our menu, the last item, the pappardelle, and the next item, Charcuterie were switched, but the chef made a game day call to switch them because he thought that serving three entrees in a row would overwhelm the diners even more than he was doing with the large serving sizes.  As it was, with the amount and different types of charcuterie we were served, we were still overwhelmed.  We were served Chicken Liver Mouse, Pate, and a Terrine with Tomatillo Jam and a large amount of Toast made from Housemade Bread.  It was all good, though I think that I liked the Terrine on Toast with Tomatillo Dressing best.

And then came the whole fish.  We were served a whole Roasted Branzino which was served with Mussels.  When it came out, many of the diners, myself included, puzzled as to how we would attach the fish.  The Mussels would be very easy, but no one was looking forward to fileting a fish for a group.  Luckily we didn't have to worry about it for long because one of the servers came over with a very sharp knife and removed the head, opened the skin, and removed the bones.  The flesh inside was very tender and flavorful and the mussels and broth complemented it very well.  This whole fish was shared among four of us and while we did eat most of it, there was still a significant portion left over.  While it was good though, I would not take fish home.

With the last savory course, I hit the wall and needed a box.  We were served a Roasted Rack of Lamb with Licorice Gastrique and Roasted Turnips.  It was divided into four, but my dining partners were also feeling pretty full and while I took a few bites, I ended up taking much of the plate home as my dining partners were not interested in taking home a box.  It was tender and very flavorful and the turnips were also very good.  I enjoyed it at the restaurant and then for a later meal.

While I probably could have eaten all of my lamb, when I got to dessert, I would have then been very uncomfortable.  As it was, I ended up full, but I was going to be able to handle dessert without much discomfort.  We were served Panna Cotta with Fresh Cheese and Peaches.  The Panna Cotta was fairly standard and maybe even a little boring, but with the fresh cheese, some salt, and the peaches, it bumped it up and made for a very good finish.  I really liked the food here and will have to return to try more and also to compare to see if their normal serving size is extra.       

The Kennison - Brunch

 

 

 

The Hotel Lincoln has gone through a recent makeover.   Located across the street from the southern part of Lincoln Park, I ride by it frequently, though I haven't stopped there or the restaurant that is located on the main floor since that restaurant was Perennial Virant.  Paul Virant left that restaurant a couple of years ago to focus on his restaurants in the western suburbs and it closed shortly thereafter.  The Hotel was in the process of it's makeover, so I guess a new restaurant, The Kennison, made sense.  The hotel has taken on a definite kitschy vibe with a Wall of Bad Art behind the Check In Desk, which is itself kind of kitschy, made from old dresser drawers (or at least using old drawer faces to front the desk).  Even if you aren't coming for a stay, the hotel lobby is amusing and is worth a look.  The Kennison is located next door to the lobby and is accessible through a hall or through it's own entrance outside.  The restaurant doesn't follow the look of the hotel and has a clean and classic look with a lot of brickwork and brass and steel trim.  It also has a nice patio, but The Air and Water Show was going on at the time, so it would have been loud.

There were only going to be two of us for brunch, so I decided to sit at the bar.  The chairs were comfortable and the bar was at a good height to eat at, plus I like to watch the bartenders working.  For our cocktails, we started out with a nice and spicy Bloody Mary and Sting Like a Bee, which was also kind of spicy, using Mezcal, Raspberry, and Jalapeno Honey, with a Rosemary garnish.  Both were pretty good, though the Sting Like a Bee was a little sweeter than I normally like.

For our shared dish I ordered something simple, a Croissant.  It was light, fluffy, and flaky and was eventually served with Raspberry Jam and Whipped Butter which they initially forgot to bring out with it.  While the jam and butter were excellent and did improve the croissant, the croissant was good enough on it's own that I would have been happy to eat it as it was.

 

Our entrees, on the surface, seemed like brunch standards, Chilaquiles and Eggs Benedict, but both of them had a significant twist, so they were not your standard Chilaquiles or Eggs Benedict.  At it's most basic, chilaquiles is simply tortilla chips fries in salsa, generally Salsa Verde.  It will frequently have Chorizo, Avocado, and will be topped with Eggs and Queso Fresco.  Chilaquiles does not have beans.  This version fried the tortilla chips in Salsa Roja and used Pulled Pork instead of Chorizo.  It was topped with Queso Fresco and a Fried Egg and it didn't have beans, so it qualified as Chilaquiles, but it was different.  It had a brighter flavor than the standard chilaquiles, though it was good.  Eggs Benedict are frequently served on an English Muffin with Ham, a Poached Egg, and topped with Hollandaise Sauce.  This version was served on Corn Bread with Chow Chow (a pickled vegetable relish).  With the cornbread and the chow chow, and a lighter hollandaise sauce, this was sweeter than I would normally have expected.  It also was served with Home Fries which were nicely crispy and had a nice savory flavor.

The Kennison has a very nice look, the staff is friendly, and the food is interesting and fresh.  While I did enjoy my brunch, they could improve by scaling back on the sweet flavors a little. 

Mi Tocaya Antojeria

 

 

When most people think about Mexican food, they frequently think of street food like tacos, burritos, and tamales.  Mexican restaurant that serve these in Chicago are ubiquitous and are almost as common as the hot dog joints which are almost on every corner.  All of these things are Mexican, but Mexican food is much more than this as can be seen in places like Rick Bayless' places, Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, and other restaurants like Chilam Balam and Dos.  Mi Tocaya Antojeria, located in Logan Square, aims for a place that, while not quite fine dining is definitely much more than street food.  Mi Tocaya is a Spanish term of endearment meaning "My Namesake" so, Chef Diana Davila named her restaurant after herself in a backhanded manner.  An antojeria is a place that serves antojitos.  I was first introduced to antojitos when I was visiting Peru.  There, antojitos were grilled skewers of meat or vegetables, some of the most popular of which were the beef hearts and the alpaca.  When I was there, I thought that antojitos were specifically grilled skewers, but I have since learned that antojitos literally means "little cravings."  Mi Tocaya Antojeria is Chef Diana's namesake and serves small plates.  Located on the boulevard near the square, it's small and very much a neighborhood restaurant.  It has a great patio in front (behind a steel gated fence) over looking the boulevard that would be great to enjoy a summer afternoon or evening, though it rained on the day that I came, so sitting on the patio wasn't really an option.  I walked in and sat at the bar overlooking the grill where Chef Diana was working.  The place is very colorful with murals and framed art hanging throughout the restaurant.  Notable to me was the painting of Wonder Woman surrounded by several other paintings done in various abstract styles, and the neon sign of Mi Tocaya hanging on the rear wall.  The drink menu has beer, wine, and cocktails, the beer focusing on Mexican Lagers with a few local craft beers, the wine having a Spanish Red, White, Rose, and Cava, and the Cocktails focusing on Mezcal and Tequila.  Looking over the cocktail list, I saw something that I had to order simply for the name of the Mezcal used, though looking at it again, I see that it was also a spin on my favorite cocktail, The Last Word, so it was a double win.  The name of the drink was Chicana 2.0 and it contained Peloton de La Muerte Mezcal, Finn's Gin, Yellow Chartreuse, Maraschino, and Lime.  In bike racing, the peloton is the main group of cyclists who are riding together and jostling for position, so Peloton de la Muerte is the peloton of death.  The Last Word is Gin, Green Chartreuse, Maraschino, and Lime.  The drink was essentially The Last Word with Mezcal added.  Having compared it to The Last Word, it definitely does not look like The Last Word.  Served on ice as opposed to the Last Word being shaken over ice and served clean, it was red as opposed to The Last Word's yellow-green color.  It was tart, sweet, and a little savory, with a slightly smoky finish from the mezcal.

The food menu is broken up into "Antojitos", small bites, Tacos, and "Antojos", what are essentially medium plates.  I went for a sample from each category, aiming for what might be considered some of the most challenging items, starting with Peanut Butter y Lengua, which was exactly what it sounded like, peanut butter and beef tongue.  The beef tongue was peeled, sliced into large pieces, like something I might expect to see on a skewer, and topped with Jamaica Pickled Onions and Grilled Radishes. The beef was tender, the onions were tart and sweet, and the thinly sliced radishes had a nice crunch to them. The peanut butter was spread around the plate, so you could avoid much of it if you wanted to.  It did have some spice, so the combination of beef, onions, and spicy peanut butter kind of reminded me of Thai food.  While I assume it was hoped that the beef and peanut butter would be eaten together, I did try them separately to get individual flavors.  Everything was good on it's own, but it was also very good all together, and I did make sure to eat most of the peanut butter.

For the tacos, there were some standards like the (beer can) chicken and the cochinita pibil, but they also had an oyster taco that really looked interesting and I would have gotten if it were not for the Milpa Taco, what was essentially a veggie taco similar to something that my grandmother used to make.  It was Grilled Butternut Squash, Chiles, Pinto Beans, and Corn Crema, on a Corn Tortilla.  My grandmother's version added zucchini and pork, but the same flavors were there.  It was very good and brought back some nice taste memories.

My main course was the most complicated to eat (and pronounce).  Called Tuetano con Sabores de Caldo, it was Roasted Bone Marrow and Short Rib (with microgreens and carrots) served on a Homemade Flour Tortilla.  I like roasted bone marrow, it's essentially beef butter, but it does some work to eat it because it has to be scraped out of the bone.  With this, the bone was presented on top of the tortilla and kind of buried with the short rib, greens, and carrots, so I had to unbury it because eating it in the bone would have been impossible.  After digging it out and rearranging things so I could eat it, it was very rich and good.

The dessert list was very short and hit a couple of Mexican classics, Flan and Tres Leches Cake.  Flan is very similar to Panna Cotta, and while I like it, I will never turn away a tres leches cake, a cake soaked in three milks, cream, condensed milk, and evaporated milk.  This tres leches, called Kristoffer's Tres Leches Cake, is made by Kristoffer's Bakery in Pilsen and has been name checked by Rick Bayless as his favorite tres leches cake.  This cake was very heavy with cream and milk and covered with a light chocolate frosting and served with an edible flower.  It was very rich and good and made for a great finish to a very good dinner.  It was a lot of fun and I will definitely return.  There is a lot more to try on the menu.