Sunday Dinner Club - Taco Night at Half Acre Balmoral

 

I like Sunday Dinner Club and have been to many of their events.  Their regular space above Honey Butter Fried Chicken is nice and cozy, but it's also fun when they do a collaboration with Half Acre Brewery.  Most of the time they will do it at Half Acre's original location on Lincoln in Lincoln Square which is still in operation, but they recently decided to hava Taco Night at Half Acre's newly opened tap room on Balmoral in Bowmanville which is part of Half Acre's Production Brewery.  While the address for the brewery is on Balmoral Ave, and there is a sign there, the entrance is actually a block north on Rascher.  There is a parking lot on Rascher which is surrounded on three sides by brewery, so it's easy to see that this space is much bigger than their original space.  There is also a large bike rack at the front of the parking lot, which I really appreciated.  Entering from the parking lot leads to a long hallway which passes by the windowed kitchen and eventually into the taproom.  The bar is on the same side of the room as the entry hall and stretches the length of the room, as opposed to the bar at the Lincoln taproom that is basically in a corner.  The room is brick walled with a light wood bar and floor.  There is also a wood frame on either side which support open rafters and joists.  It looks both unfinished and very open and lodge-like.  There are also a couple of windows on the bar side that look into the brewery itself.  At the time that I was there, it was filled with palettes of highly stacked cans.  There were lot of palettes, but there were passages between them so you could see just how deep the space was.

I sat at the bar because it allowed me to follow the action better and gave me better access to the bartenders so I could more easily ask questions.  The wall behind the bar had a large wood covering that was the same color as everything else that was engraved with parallel lines of decreasing length making an interlocking triangle pattern.  Half Acre was engraved at an angle in one of the triangles.  It was a cool design and could keep someone's eyes busy for a while.  Generally when I go somewhere several times, I try to try something different, even if I have a favorite on the list, because what's to say that I won't find another favorite among the new things that I try?  There were a lot of new things on the beer list that I hadn't tried, so there were a lot of things to try.  I started with Longhouse Belgian Single.  I am much more familiar with Dubbels, Tripels, and Quads then Singles.  All of these start with Singles, so I decided to see how their single was.  Like many Belgians, it had a nice head.  It was slightly foggy and flavor wise reminded me of a light Tripel with a light, sweet, malty flavor.

As this was Taco Night, I couldn't not have a beer called Taco Day.  Taco Day was what they called a Wakatu Pale Ale.  I had no idea what that meant when I ordered it, so of course I had to ask.  Taco Day, is apparently a Single Hop Beer, and they use it to experiment (kind of like Old Irving Brewing's Trendii Series).  For this version, they used Wakatu Hops, a New Zealand Hop Varietal.  They also dry hopped the beer with Wakatu Hops.  The beer had a nice citrus lime flavor and medium bitterness.  While I was enjoying Taco Day, my Tacos came out.  They were very definitely not authentic Mexican.  I would probably call them authentic Midwestern.  Having said that, they were very good, though.  Built inside Fried CornTortilla Shells,  the tacos had some good quality Spiced Ground Beef, Lettuce, Tomato, Cheddar, and Sour Cream.  The tacos (We were served two) were served with Black Beans and Spanish Rice, which were much closer to authentic Mexican and had a good texture and flavor.  While I was enjoying my tacos, I ordered my next beer.  We got four, in total, with the meal.  I had a Dopee IPA, one of the more clear beers that I have had from Half Acre.  It had the nice bitterness of a good IPA with some nice herbal flavors.

To finish things off and to pair with my dessert, I went with my biggest beer, Bivouac Double IPA, which, in actuality, is kind of small for a Double IPA at 8.1%.  Having said that, it was full bodied and slightly sweet, though it did have a dry finish.  This, I paired with a cookie that I saw recently in SDC's Pizza Night.  It was a Lemon Frosted Cornmeal Cookie.  It was very good with Pizza, it also finished a very nice Taco Night.

I always enjoy Sunday Dinner Club's dinners, so I will continue to go to them.  It's also a lot of fun with Half Acre because I get to try a variety of beers.  The Balmoral facility is very cool and I will have to return and try some of their regular fare. 

Bar Takito

Having grown up around Mexican culture, I am kind of picky about Mexican food.  Generally, I am more picky about low end Mexican food (because that is what I am most familiar with).  But I also can be pretty picky when a restaurant is trying to bring something low end upscale.  I do really appreciate, though, those restaurants that can do this.  There are a few restaurants that are trying to do this with Tacos.  Big Star and Antique Taco do this well.  I had heard of another that people raved about, Bar Takito, which started in Wicker Park, but which has since moved to the West Loop.  I have been interested in visiting it since it's days in Wicker Park, but I had not made it there.  Recently though, an opportunity presented itself and I decided to try it out.  Located in a hot area, it was pretty busy on the Friday night that I went.  The entrance is on the side of the building through the large patio.  There was road construction occurring when I went so it might have been that the front entrance just would have been difficult to use.  The building largely uses wood in structure and design and looks, with the timber slabs used on the walls and floor, like a frontier saloon.  The tables on the patio are typical patio furniture.  The tables used in the dining room are long, white, and rectangular, and look both modern and kind of cheap with white formica tops and steel legs.  The seats are, depending on the table, either white plastic chairs, or fire engine red.  The chairs along the long bar are steel and also painted fire engine red.  It was Friday and pretty busy, so I sat at the bar.  Not that I wouldn't have sat at the bar in any case, but in this case, it was just easier.  The menu specializes in Tacos, but there are also shared plates, ceviches, and vegetables.  I knew that I wanted to get tacos, but I needed to decide what kind of tacos I wanted and if I wanted anything else, so I started with a cocktail.  Being a Mexican inspired bar, there were a lot of Margaritas with some other Tequila/Mezcal drinks, and a small selection of non-Tequila based drinks.  I have never been a fan of Margaritas, so I decided to go with a non-Tequila Drink.  Called Violet! You're Turning Violet, It was a very bright red-violet drink containing Rebel Yell Rye, Blueberry Grenadine, Lemon, Lavender Spice Bitters, and Bee Pollen.  It was pretty good and tasted very much of blueberries, very tart and sweet.

While I was enjoying my cocktail, I decided on my appetizer and tacos, both of which arrived at once.  For my appetizer, I decided on Papas Fritas, which is what potatoes are called in Spanish.  While there were other things besides the potatoes in the description, I though that I was getting fancy French Fries.  This was not the case.  They were closer to stuffed potatoes.  The dish was Crispy Peruvian Purple Potatoes, Spicy Cheese Sauce, Pork Belly, Parsley, and Garlic Mojo.  It was crispy, spicy, salty, cheesy, and very good.  While the presentation was a surprise, I really enjoyed it.  For my Tacos, I went with Octopus Tacos with Popcorn Tortillas, Polenta, Dried Chorizo, and Arugula.  I am not a fan of popcorn, so I was a little concerned about the tortillas.  Other taco tortillas used Pepitas, which I like, but I was interested in the Octopus, so I decided to take a chance.  While the popcorn could be tasted, my problem with popcorn is the texture and as it was ground, it was not an issue.  Between the polenta and the tortilla, the taco tasted strongly of corn.  It was good, but it was a little unusual.  The octopus used a single tentacle for each taco (I was served three) which was cooked perfectly.  It was savory and tender with very little rubberiness.  The arugula added a peppery flavor which went well with everything.

While I liked the food here, it has a vibe of a place to be seen at which is really not something that I am interested in.  I would be happy to try more of there tacos, but I don't know that I would return on a Friday night.    

San Diego - Day 1

I made a quick trip to San Diego recently, and while other issues took first priority, where we were going to eat was important.  I had never been to San Diego, but I had been interested in it for a while.  It is a military town, specifically a Navy town (and I was in the Navy) and the military influence is obvious for those familiar with it.  It is right on the border with Mexico so there is also a very Mexican influence, and it is a sea, desert, and mountain town.  I knew ahead of time that it had a pretty good beer scene (and a pretty good punk rock scene), so I was interested to see what there was to see.  I will say that the city was surprisingly small and there was much less traffic than I would have expected.  Living in Norfolk, Va, another big Navy town, for four years, the traffic was much worse, so I was very surprised with how easy it was to get around.  We arrived in early afternoon and decided to grab some tacos while making a plan of attack and went to a place called Sarita's Taco Shop in Spring Valley.  The place was small and simple like a typical taco joint, with counter service and seating for about 20.  Generally, when I go to a taco joint in Chicago, I plan on ordering three tacos for a meal.  I did notice that the prices for a taco here were significantly more than the tacos in Chicago, but I also knew that prices in California are a bit more expensive than those in Chicago, so I decided to play it safe and assume that the tacos here would be the same size as those in Chicago.  It would also allow me to maximize the number of tacos I tried.  They had some interesting types of tacos, so I wanted to try what I could and ordered a Cabeza (Head), Birria (Goat), and a Shrimp Taco.  This place is also known for Carne Asada Fries, so these were ordered as well.  A big reason that the tacos cost more than the standard Chicago taco was that they were enormous.  The three tacos and the fries covered our small table.  I started with something that I knew that I would like, the Shrimp Taco.  The shrimp was chopped, shelled (obviously), topped with Pico de Gallo, and served in two tortillas with limes on the side.  The shrimp was sweet and the Pico tasted very fresh, crisp, and slightly spicy.  The lime added a nice contrast of flavor.  After the shrimp, I went for the Birria.  I had had goat before and liked it, but I had never had a birria taco.  Also served in two tortillas with limes, the goat was tender and shredded.  Texturally, it was like pulled pork, but it tasted nothing like that.  Goat has a slightly gamy flavor and it seems to have been braised in a red salsa because it was red and slightly spicy.  It was topped with Cilantro and Onions.  It was very good and I would happily try it again.  I had seen Cabeza Tacos at taco carts around town, but I had not had the opportunity to try one.  I know that the idea of what it is, the meat off of the skull of a cow, might put some people off, but it's meat and I had no problem with the idea of it.  It was served like the Birria, with two tortillas, limes, and topped with cilantro and onions.  It did, however, have the strongest flavor of the three tacos and was the richest.  As it was the third of three large tacos, it didn't get finished.  The Carne Asada Fries I tried (a few times) and they were very good.  It was like Mexican Poutine with crisp fries, chopped and grilled spicy Skirt Steak, Sour Cream, and Cheese.  While it was possible to eat it by hand, a fork did really help.

After we had accomplished what we came out to accomplish, it was time for a drink or two (and some food to help soak up the alcohol).  I had wanted to go to Pizza Port, a regionally famous chain of brew pubs associated with (although independent of) Stone Brewing located in the area known for both their beer and their pizza with many located on the beach.  Fortunately or unfortunately, I read the map wrong and we went to an area where I thought there was a Pizza Port, but was mistaken.  We went to Coronado, a peninsula on the ocean with a lot of Navy presence.  It is very pretty and while we did walk around, it would have been nice, if we had had the time to explore some more.  Luckily, we discovered that there is a brewery located on Coronado, the surprisingly named Coronado Brewing Company.  Located on the north side of the peninsula near one of the many naval bases, it is a low-slung brick building with a Naval/seaside theme.  It was pretty busy, so we had some time to look around before we were seated.  The floors were tile and there was a lot of polished wood that looked very vintage and reminded me of a sailing ship.  Looking into the brewing area, I was very surprised to see Copper Brewing Kettles.  Most kettles nowadays are stainless or aluminum.  There are advantages to copper, it removes sulfites, and provides a micronutrient for the yeast, but it is expensive and the actual differences are small.  It does look really cool in the brewery though.  They also had a one quart canning machine for crowlers (can half-growlers) behind the bar which looked pretty cool.

Before I was seated, I took a look at the beer list and saw that I flight would be in order.  I started, while we were waiting, with a Stay Kolsctal Kolsch.  It was light with a nice flavor, slightly fruity, with a dry finish, and would be a great summer beer.  When we were seated, we went with flights.  It could have been possible to choose 5 IPAs and while I like an IPA, it is generally not my first choice.  I like to experience other flavor profiles than simply hoppy.  Having said that I did choose a few IPA variations.  My list started with Waste the Day XPA, an experimental pale ale that varied the hops from batch to batch.  This batch was lightly hoppy with a slightly funky flavor.  It continued with Waylaid White IPA which was light, starting with a citrus flavor and finishing with a Belgian Saison funk, Conquista IPA (a collaboration with Cigar City Brewing of Tampa Florida, a collaboration I have to wonder how it happened), Sealift Hefeweizen. and Old Scallywag Barleywine, which was my favorite and had the highest alcohol content.  My partner's flight was similar although exchanged Stay Kolsctal Kolsch for the Waste the Day XPA and the Undertow Hoppy Red for the Conquista IPA.  The beers were all very good and despite having several IPAs, they were all very different and they did have several beers that were not IPAs.  As I had had a very large lunch, food was not big on my mind, although I figured that it probably would be a good idea to eat,  I decided to go with an appetizer (which turned out almost big enough for a full meal), the Calamari which were served with Lemon, Tartar Sauce, and Cocktail Sauce.  Despite being breaded and fried, they were some of the tenderest calamari that I have ever had.  The breading was crisp, but the calamari just melted in my mouth.  While I was served both tartar and cocktail sauce and did try both, I thought that these were better with the spicy sweet of the cocktail sauce.  The rest of the menu had a variety of seafood, as well as salads, burgers, pastas, and pizza and did look good.  My partner ordered a fish taco and some very good mussels (not pictured) in a garlic pilsner sauce and served with crispy garlic bread.  Everything was very good and we left nicely full to end day one of our trip. 

 

Summer House Santa Monica

I seem to have been going into the last several restaurants that I have gone to skeptical.  I really hope that it doesn't become a trend.  I received a gift certificate from friends to any Lettuce Entertain You Restaurant for my birthday.  While I was happy to receive it, I tend to be a little skeptical of most of the restaurants in the group because, while the food is generally pretty good, it also feels kind of dumbed down to me.  I took some time to consider which restaurants in the group I would feel least skeptical about that I haven't been to.  From the much shorter list, I chose Summer House Santa Monica, a California Wine focused restaurant in Lincoln Park with an casual vibe and a very eclectic menu.  The space is very open with the front of the restaurant with garage doors opening onto a patio.  The walls were white slat boards that reminded me of a seafood shack on the beach.  The floor was cement and much of the furniture was similar to patio furniture.  The look was very casual which extended into the dress of the wait staff, blue jeans and navy blue gingham shirts.  Much of the dining room had a large skylight, the rest was open with exposed ventilation and trellises.  The wine list features a lot of reasonably priced California Wines as well as cocktails and beer.  While there was some nice looking wine on the list, I wasn't in the mood for wine and ordered a cocktail to start things off.  My drink was called High Tide and featured Few Breakfast Gin, North Shore Aquavit, St. Germaine, Lemon, Tarragon, and a Cucumber garnish.  While it wasn't listed, I think it also had some tonic water, because it was sparkling.  In any case, it was cool and very refreshing and I enjoyed it while I perused the food menu and waited for my order.

Looking at the many choices on the menu, it took a little thought to decide on how I wanted to construct my dinner such that it was something that I might like and actually made sense.  I decided start with Ahi Tuna Tostadas which came, in addition to the raw Ahi Tuna and crispy Corn Tortillas, with Watermelon, Thai Chili, Avocado, Crema, Cilantro, and Lime.  The plate came with five tostadas built on tortilla chips about the size of Tostitos.  The chips were very crunchy and the tuna was tender, flavorful, and fresh.  It did taste good, although admittedly, the watermelon did get lost among the other flavors.

One of the categories listed on the menu was Little Vegetable Plates.  It didn't look like I would be getting much in the way of vegetables with my other plates, so I decided to order some vegetables.  Among the choices were Caramelized Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Cauliflower, Fire-Roasted Beets, and Elote-Style Sweet Corn.  In my mind, considering my dinner, I thought that the Brussels Sprouts would have made the most sense, but I frequently have Brussels Sprouts when I go out, so I decided to go in a different direction and ordered the Fire-Roasted Beets.  The beets did have an obvious pairing with Goat Cheese, but there were some surprises with Hass Avocados and Red Apples.  Everything was topped with Watercress and then served with a Mustard Vinaigrette.  I like beets and think the pairing of beets and goat cheese, while obvious, is also very good.  The bitter greens also make sense.  The apples and avocado, while a surprise, paired very well, the sweetness of the apple pairing well with the earthy sweetness of the beets and the texture and flavor of the avocado pairing well with the goat cheese.

With my entree, I could have gone any number of directions from sushi to seafood to sandwiches to fish tacos.  I decided to split the difference somewhat and went with Orecchiette and King Crab, which was served with Candied Lemon, Chives, Lardo, Parmesan, and Fresno Chilies.  This was excellent and may have been my favorite dish.  The aroma of crab was obvious when the plate came out and the candied lemon showed prominently and paired well with the crab.  The orecchiette was perfectly al dente and liberally coated with parmesan cheese.  The slow medium burn from the Fresno chilies made for a nice finish.

Sitting with the idea of a casual restaurant, the desserts were similarly casual with an Ice Cream Sandwich, a Chocolate Cake, a Roasted Apple, Ice Cream, and a Cookie Counter.  Nothing on the menu was really speaking to me, but I did want to finish with something sweet so I settled on the Handmade Ice Cream Sandwich.  It was made with two Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, and lots of Chocolate Chips.  When it came out, I was surprised at how large it was, about 6 inches in diameter.  There was also a lot of ice cream which was liberally covered with chocolate chips.  I was again surprised at the crunchiness of the cookie and the softness of the ice cream.  This did make it a little difficult to eat, because biting into it tended to squeeze the ice cream before the cookie broke, so you had to watch to make sure you didn't lose any ice cream.  Having said this, it was very good and a lot of fun to eat and there were plenty of chocolate chips that jumped off to eat on their own.

I will say that while the food was good and the staff was friendly, I had a little problem with the pricing versus the casual atmosphere.  A casual restaurant should be a little less expensive.  While the food served was appropriately priced, it was too nice for a casual restaurant.  While I may return, because it is friendly and the food is good, it won't be a solo endeavour.     

Antique Taco

Tacos are very simple and taquerias are everywhere in Chicago.  They are like hamburgers in that most people like them and you can find them everywhere.  Just about anyone in Chicago could easily walk to at least one taco joint.  At their most basic, a taco is simply some meat in a tortilla.  Because tacos are very basic though, it leaves a lot of room for creativity.  A couple of places that serve what are essentially gourmet tacos have opened in the same neighborhood (Wicker Park) within the last couple of years.  I wrote about Big Star previously, I will talk now about the other, Antique Taco.  When Antique Taco opened (it opened several months after Big Star), an article asked whether there was room for two gourmet taco joints in Chicago.  I would argue yes, because while the tacos served at both places may be similar, the restaurants are very different.  While Big Star is a Honky Tonk that plays a lot of classic country music (on vinyl) in a converted garage, Antique Taco is a vintage store front that has a lot of antiques.  The storefront is located on a corner and has windows on two sides.  There is a patio on one side that consists of several long picnic tables surrounded by a fence made of old pallets.  Inside, there is a "passageway" that leads from the front of the restaurant to the rear where the counter where orders are placed is located.  The menu is written on a board behind the counter as well as printed on cardboard takeout menus.  The space has a tin roof which is painted white and hanging lights as well as exposed ventilation.  There is a bookcase next to the counter that looks like a shelf that might be seen in an old general store that holds a variety of  small antiques.  The counter looks as if it is made from recovered wood.  The tables are old heavy wood and the seats are backless and made of very heavy wood.  I made my order at the counter and since it was a very nice day when I went, I decided to eat on the patio.  As is the case in other restaurants, my drink (or should I say "drink") arrived first.  I got a Horchata Milkshake.  Horchata is a sweet rice milk drink served with a lot of cinnamon.  It is not normally frozen though.  This was not completely frozen, it was frozen like a milkshake is supposed to be.  The fact that it was frozen is not a complaint, it was a milk shake and is supposed to be frozen and it was very good.  It was sweet and creamy and had a lot of cinnamon and tasted as I would expect a frozen horchata to taste. 

For my dining pleasure, I ordered two types of tacos, Carnitas and Market Mushroom.  The Carnitas tacos arrived first.  There were two tacos per order.  The Carnitas Tacos came with Carnitas Taco with  an Adobo Rub, Tamarind Glaze, Spinach, Red Onion, Avocado, and Queso Fresco and were topped with a nice and crispy piece of Bacon alomg with a slice of lime to provide some citrus brightness.  The adobo provided some spice, the tamarind added some tanginess, the spinach and avocado provided some vegetal flavor as well as some color, and the bacon provided bacon because everything is better with bacon.

I finished things off with my Market Mushroom Tacos.  While I like mushrooms, these were a lot better than I expected.  The mushrooms were whole cooked button mushrooms.  Because whole mushrooms were used, smaller mushrooms were used than those that you would normally find in a package of mushrooms in the grocery store.  They were tender, well seasoned and perfectly cooked.  In addition to the excellent mushrooms the tacos had Guajillo Cream, Arugula, Radishes, and a Spicy Tamarind Sauce on the side.  The ingredients of the tacos were crisp and fresh and it was like eating a mushroom salad by hand.  

Antique Taco is nice and friendly and they use flavor combinations that provide a tasty variety with each bite.  The food here is good and I would be happy to return.

Big Star

I have mentioned Paul Kahan before.  The man is like culinary royalty in Chicago.  He is a James Beard nominated and award-winning chef who owns five restaurants and a very fine bar (or four restaurants and two bars depending on how you want to count it) all of which are very different and all of which are very good.  While he is well known in the fine dining world with Blackbird and avec, his last two places, Big Star, and Publican Quality Meats, have been decidedly lower end (The other two places are The Publican and The Violet Hour).  Having said that these restaurants are decidedly lower end however, does not mean that they are any less good.  I went to Big Star recently for some tacos and beer.  Located in the heart of Wicker Park, actually located right next to Wicker Park, there really isn't much to say about the building.  It looks like an auto service garage, complete with two big garage doors.  The walls are cinder block and painted white and there is a big vintage Taco sign with blinking lights on the back wall.  The bar is very large nice and serves on all four sides.  There is a really nice selection of whiskey and tequilas and it has a turntable playing vintage vinyl.  The patio is very large as one might expect of a patio that occupies the former parking lot of a service garage.

The menu is fairly small and features tacos at a very nice price.  While the average person will eat three or four tacos, it is still fairly inexpensive.  While I said that I came for tacos, I also had to get some beans.  They weren't refried beans as you might find in most taquerias but it was really good anyway.  Besides the pinto beans, it had bacon, tomatoes, poblano peppers, onions, and was topped with queso fresco and cilantro.  It was also served with fresh corn tortillas.  It was kind of sloppy transferring it to the tortillas, and it was good eating it straight out of the bowl that it was served in, but tortillas and beans are a natural match.

Of the other things that I ordered in or on tortillas, I had two tacos and a tostada.  I started with the tostada because it was vegetarian and I thought I would start light.  I don't remember what it was called but it had huitlacoche, chihuahua cheese, onions, and arugula.  Huitlacoche is a fungus that grows on corn and has a very short season.  It tastes like mushrooms obviously, but it also has a slight corn flavor.  The arugula was lemony and wasn't too peppery, so I assume it was a new cutting.  It was very good.  The first taco that I had was a Taco de Panza which is a crispy pork belly taco with tomato guajillo sauce, onions, queso fresco, and cilantro.  It was spicy, and crispy, and chewy, and the pork was nicely sweet.  As with any pork belly, it was great.  The other taco was a Taco Al Pastor which was a marinated and spit roasted pork shoulder with  grilled pineapple, grilled onions, and cilantro.  The marinade was kind of spicy but it went well with the tang of the pineapple.

Everything was very good and I really liked it here.  The decor was very low end and the food was cheap but it as very well prepared, and despite the fact that it was pretty loud, the music selection, mostly old country, was also very good.  While there are frequently long lines to get a seat, it is still a viable option for some very good tacos and a drink or three.