Beatnik - Brunch

 

 

 

 

A Beatnik was the name given to the counter-culture of the late 1940s to early 1960s and those that embraced it.  They were worldly, open, artistic, pushing back against the ideas of the time and embracing many ideas and philosophies from India and Asia.  They were the Hipsters of their time.  The restaurant, Beatnik, in West Town, tries to embrace this aesthetic with it's design, menu, and soundtrack.  I decided to go there for a weekend brunch, just before the lock down started, because I had heard a lot of good things about it and I wanted to get there while I still had a chance.  Things started before I even entered the building.  It was very easy to recognize because of the colorful shelter at the entrance.  The door opens to an atrium with glass walls and a cracked tile floor.  The cocktail lounge is to the left and the dining room which the atrium opens to in the middle of the room is mostly to the right.  The room is large and basically open with antique brick walls, unfinished ceilings, and a lot of plant life and parasols.  Many of the dining areas start with large and heavy wood tables, which was what ours was, and the seating consisted of a lot of wicker and cushions.  There is a large skylight at the front of the room, where many of the parasols are located, with the back of the room lit with large crystal chandeliers and candlelight.  There were several large semi-enclosed booths against the walls, that employed Eastern motifs, that would seat about 12 people apiece and the kitchen was open.  The menu design went with much of the rest of the place, employing paisley/psychedelic design.  The food and drink was very international, sometimes bringing elements from several different cultures into one dish.

 

There was a lot to look at on the menu, so while I was looking, I took a little time and ordered Coffee and a cocktail.  The coffee was served in a vintage coffee cup that looked like something I might see in my Grandmas house.  The coffee itself seemed to be a medium roast, was pretty flavorful, and was quickly refilled.  My cocktail was called a Wake Up Call and it was like a bastard child of and Old Fashioned and an Irish Coffee.  It started with Bourbon, and added Sparrow Cold Brew, Walnut Liqueur, Montenegro, Demerara, Mole Bitters, Coconut Whip, and topped it with Nutmeg.  It was really good.  In addition to the booze and coffee, the cocktail added some sweetness and spice topped with whipped cream and I really liked the Nutmeg finish.  With what was essentially two cups of coffee in front of me, I was definitely ready for the world.

As is typical for brunches, I will look at the pastry list.  While Beatnik didn't have a list, as such, it did have a platter.  While I do typically order multiple pastries for the table to share, with the Platter, it was a given that I was going to need to share.  The Decadent Pastry Platter included a Cookie, a Cupcake, Coffee Cake, and Banana Bread.  As the name suggests, this platter was pretty decadent with many international flavors among the sweetness with a Miso Butterscotch Cookie, a Pecan Pie Cupcake topped with crushed Pecans, Apple Date Coffee Cake, and a couple slices of Tahini Banana Bread.  It was big, very good, and almost too much for my party of four in addition to our regular dishes.

As for my main dish, I noticed on the menu before I even came, a dish with international flavors (and origin) that I will not frequently pass up, though I did look at the rest of the menu before ordering it.  They had Shakshuka.  Admittedly, I had had it recently at my last brunch at Bad Hunter a few weeks prior and had loved that, but that was done in small as a pastry, and this was a complete dish.  As I had mentioned, Shakshuka is a Mediterranean Dish that is essentially Eggs poached in Tomato Sauce.  This Shakshuka was made as a Tagine, a Moroccan method of cooking that uses an earthenware clay cone over it that essentially slow cooks and steams the food inside.  This Tagine Shakshuka was prepared with Duck Eggs  in a Spicy Tomato Sauce, Roasted Marcona Almonds, A Fresh Herb Salad, and Merguez Sausage.  It was served with Pita Bread.  I found the best way to eat this was to stuff it into the Pita (Sausage, Eggs, Tomato, Herbs) and eat it as a Sandwich.  It was good, I enjoyed the flavors and textures, and eating it as a sandwich was different, but it wasn't something that I will have to come back for, like some of the other flavors here.  This was a lot of fun.  I loved both the design of the place and the international flavors.  I will definitely have to return to try their dinner and other cocktails.

Bad Hunter - Brunch

 

While I had gone to Bad Hunter recently for dinner with Tasting Collective (and really enjoyed it), their brunch had been on my list for a while.  I had wanted to go about a year previous, but a fire got in the way.  The fact that I had really liked it for dinner put it near the top of my list and pushed me to make brunch plans.  I generally do not make plans for small parties, but the number that were coming with me doubled in size at the last minute, which did not allow me to make a reservation for the date and time that I had planned, so it was going to have to be a walk in and wait (if it came to that, my party wasn't that big).  While there were no tables available, we were offered one side of the counter in the center of the dining room which had a row of plants in the center, separating us from the other side of the counter.  It was a little awkward for conversation from one side of the counter to the other, there were 5 of us, but the plant life in front of us was nice.  I started things off, as is typical for me for brunch, with Coffee and a Cocktail.  The coffee was a medium roast and nicely flavored.  It definitely helped do the trick.  For my cocktail, I went with something light and refreshing, a Pink Spritz which came with Ramazotti Rosa, Batavia Arrack, and Sparkling Rose.  The Ramazotti is a wine based Amaro made with Hibiscus and Orange Peel and the Batavia Arrack is a Sugar Cane based Liqueur similar to Rum, but made with the addition of Red Rice.  The drink was nicely chilled, lightly bittersweet with floral and citrus flavors, and provided a nice start to a great meal.

 

 

When there is a pastry selection, I will generally order it for the table.  There were three choices and they all sounded good, so I decided to order all of them.  The first selection were Beignets covered in Powdered Sugar and served with two dipping sauces, one Caramel based and one with Orange Rind.  If beignets are made correctly they are very light and airy with a flaky crust under a ton of powdered sugar.  They are great to eat even if a bit messy with the powdered sugar.  These were very good beignets and the dipping sauces just added to them.  The second Pastry was a Cranberry Sage Pop Tart.  Many Pop Tarts are very sweet.  This pop tart, while having some sweetness was not incredibly so.  It also had a lot of filling and the Sage added an herbal complement to the bittersweet cranberry flavor.  The last pastry was the one that I was most interested in.  It was called a Shakshuka Croissant which I had a little bit of a hard time wrapping my head around.  Shakshuka is a dish from the Middle East consisting of Eggs poached in Tomato Sauce and Spices.  It is very savory and I like it a lot.  A Croissant is a flaky layered pastry which I also like.  While I could see eating Croissants with Shakshuka, I couldn't see how Shakshuka could be made into a Croissant.  The answer was moderation.  The egg was cooked on top and the tomatoes were inside the croissant.  It was topped with Basil and Grated Parmesan and was pretty amazing.

The restaurant had hit a home run with the pastries, I was excited to see how my main course would turn out.  I ordered a Chicken Fried Hen of the Woods Mushroom Sandwich with American Cheese, Bread and Butter Pickles, White Barbecue Sauce, and a side of Hot Sauce.  Mushrooms are very savory and are frequently used as a meat substitute.  Chicken Frying the mushrooms, added a crunchy exterior while maintaining the mushrooms juicy.  The Bread and Butter Pickles were sour and crispy.  White Barbecue Sauce is a spicy, mayonnaise based sauce used frequently with chicken, and everything is better with cheese.  American Cheese is simple and goes well with those things that don't need any complexity.  It was a great finish to a great brunch and I would be happy to return if for nothing more than the Shakshuka Croissant.     

WoodWind - Restaurant Week

 

 

 

 

It's hard to expect a fine dining restaurant at the top of a hospital.  While Green River occupied the same space  and actually earned a Michelin Star, it did run into the problem of a dearth of customers who didn't think about it because coming to a hospital to eat is not obvious and finding the location after was not made any easier with the fact that there was no signage down on the 1st floor to let you know you are in the right place.  WoodWind, located on the 18th Floor of the Lavin Family Pavilion of Northwestern Hospital, has avoided a few of the problems that Green River had by putting a sign on a pillar on the first floor and also locating a Host Station on the first floor to direct you to the elevator to the restaurant.  Having been there before (to Green River), I knew where the elevator was and knew that the restaurant was on the 18th Floor.  Walking out of the elevator, I immediately saw an impressive wine rack with the host station to my right.  I was led to a table in the middle of the main dining room.  Green River also had an impressive patio with a great view, but it was February and at night, so it was obviously not open.  The dining room for WoodWind remained largely the same as Green River, though the color scheme and theme was different.  While Green River was more green with maps of the Great Lakes area, WoodWind is brown and tan with a wall of plants and many diagrams of plant life.  While the tables in the center of the room were close, it was a good place to see the lay of the land.  The kitchen was open and over my right shoulder.  The bar was in front of me.  I was sitting among a group of high top tables that were all full with low tops and booths off to the left in a corner of the dining room.  While the wine list did look pretty impressive, the cocktail list also looked nice.  I started out, while I was looking at the menu, with The Big Boss, a cocktail made with Bombay Dry Gin, Pear Liqueur, and Mint.  I liked it and it was very good.   It wasn't listed, but it also seemed to have a strong Vanilla flavor.  The drink was very refreshing and I really enjoyed it.

The Restaurant Week offer here was to choose three courses and a common dessert would be served to all.   For my starting course, I started with House Ricotta, Honey, Mish Mish, and Grilled Toast.  The Ricotta was very light and creamy.  Mish Mish is a Lebanese Colloquialism for Apricot.  With the honey and the citrus flavor of the mish mish, it kind of reminded me of breakfast.  It was sweet, tangy, and creamy, and on the crisp toast, it was a very nice start.

My second course was a bit unusual, Sunchokes.  Sunchokes, also known as a Jerusalem Artichoke, are a root vegetable and come from a species of Sunflower.  The Sunchokes were served three ways:  Roasted, as a Fermented Puree, and as Chips.  They were also served with Apple and Parmesan.  I have, in the past, liked sunchokes.  They generally have an earthy, potato flavor, with some sweetness.  This, while it had all of that, also had a funky tart flavor, which came, I imagine, from the fermented puree.  Other parts of this I liked.  I liked the roasted sunchokes and the chips, but with the funky flavor, it didn't come together.

My entree, like many of the entrees that I had during Restaurant Week was fish.  This fish, Smoked and Grilled Sturgeon with Black Garlic, Housemade Creme Fraiche, and Shoestring Potatoes, was very good and came together well with all of it's elements.  The sturgeon was tender with a nice smoky flavor which went well with the earthy flavor of the black garlic and the crispy shoestring potatoes.  The sour flavor of the Creme Fraiche brought in a complementary tartness.

 

      There was one dessert that they were serving everyone, Cashew Gelato.  It sounded fine, but didn't seem exceptionally exciting.  I did notice that they had a nice list of Digestifs.  I decided to excite my gelato with a Braulio Amaro, not to add to it, but to drink it along side the gelato.  The Amaro was very nice, lightly spicy and bittersweet with a lightly minty finish.  It was nice and went well with the gelato, but the gelato was actually very good on it's own served with mint, tangerine, and cashews on the side.

For the most part I enjoyed my meal, the service was great, and while I didn't think much of the Sunchokes, I learned that I didn't care for fermented sunchokes.  In many places after the dessert come Petit Fors or Mignardises, which are generally a bite of love, to say thank you.  There was a Mignardise served here, but it was very unexpected.  The waitress came out with a huge mass of Lime Cotton Candy.  I will grant that Cotton Candy is mostly air (the rest being spun sugar), but the sheer size of the mass was a huge surprise.  A lot of cotton candy is incredibly sweet.  As this was Lime, it also had some tartness to it and I really enjoyed it.  It was a very good dinner in a great space.  I hope to be able to return in the future.

Fisk and Co - Restaurant Week

I have mentioned that I use Restaurant Week both to visit favorites and to check out new places that I have not yet tried.  Fisk and Co was kind of both.  I had never visited Fisk and Co., but I know the chef, Ashlee Aubin, who had been Chef/Owner at both Wood and Salero, which I both really liked, and he is also from Michigan.  I really like seafood and Fisk and Co, seems to model itself after a Belgian Beer and Seafood Pub specializing in Mussels and Frites.  I was excited and decided to check it out.  Located at Wabash and Wacker, just inside the loop and attached to the Kimpton Hotel, it was very easy to find.  It has a separate entrance, so unless you have to use the restroom, which is in the hotel, you wouldn't know.  The entrance opens to look upon the twisting Raw Bar, which was full when I arrived.  I was guided into the dining room at the front of the restaurant (the entrance is on the side and toward the rear).  In fact, I was seated at a large table in the corner which gave me a great view of the space which had high ceilings, white walls, and a large windows running along the front and the side.  The tables and furniture were black wood, although the banquette on which I was sitting was white like the walls.  The menu came on one, two-sided sheet that was about the size of a place setting.  They did have a nice beer list, featuring some Belgian beers, but also many locals doing Belgian-inspired styles.  They also had some interesting cocktails listed, so I decided to go that rout while I was trying to decide what I wanted to eat.  The cocktail that I started with the Xochiquetzal, was a spin on The Last Word, using Ford's Gin, Luxardo Maraschino, Cocalero Herbal Liquer (instead of Green Chartreuse) and Lime, and it was Stirred and not Shaken.   Cocolero is a South American spirit using Coca Leaf, Juniper, and 16 other botanicals.  I cannot speak to how it tastes on it's own, though Green Chartreuse has a floral flavor amongst the rest of its botanicals, which comes through in The Last Word.  The Xochiquetzal was more booze forward than The Last Word is.  It was, however, pretty good and I did enjoy it.

Starting with my appetizer, I noticed that a selection of Oysters was on the menu.  I love oysters, so that was going to happen.  The Oysters were shucked and served on ice on the half shell with a wedge of Lemon, and small cups of Cocktail Sauce and Mignonette.  I like to taste the oyster, so I generally don't bother with anything but a little lemon juice.  I was given three Oysters, one from Maryland, one from Washington DC, and one from Mexico.  I don't remember the names of the ones from Maryland or DC, but I did remeber the one from Mexico, because it's name, Chingon, is pretty off color, and I had to laugh when I heard it.  That being said, the Mexican oyster was also my favorite.

For my entree, I did consider Mussels, but after having the Oysters, I figured that that may have been overkill.  I decided to go with some pasta, Crab Campanelle with Jonah Crab, Aleppo Pepper, Peas, White Wine, Lemon, and Butter.  This was pretty great.  The Campanelle was perfectly al dente, the crab was finely shredded and really flavorful, The peas added some sweetness and body, the lemon went well with the crab, and the pepper provided a light firey finish at the end.

 

And then we came to dessert.  Rum Cake seems to be a very popular dessert in seafood restaurants and that is the way that I went.  It was served with Roasted Apples and Whipped Cream.  The cake was very sweet and dense and the apples on top went with it very well.  The Whipped Cream, served on the side, was very light, and helped balance things a little.  While I was eating, I got to talking with my waiter about drinks and he wanted me to try a drink that he invented (on him).  Called the Cuberdon Club it had Botanist Gin, Imbue "Petal & Thorn" Vermouth, Lemon, Lavender Oil, Egg White, and Peychaud's Bitters.  It was similar to combining a Negroni and an Aviation and was very good.  While I was sitting, enjoying my last drink, the manager, Melissa, came over and asked how I knew Chef Ashlee (who wasn't there that night).  When I told her, she thanked me for coming, welcomed me back, and covered my other drink.  I really enjoyed my dinner, the space, and the people, and will definitely return to try more, especially the mussels.      

Gadabout - Tasting Collective Dinner

Ever since the Tasting Collective came to Chicago, it allows me to try out some newer restaurants that I may not have otherwise thought about and allows me to do so with some like-minded people.  When Gadabout came up, I had heard about it, but knew little.  I knew that it was in Andersonville and it was very new.  I knew that I liked the name, for whatever reason, and looking it up, I saw that they were building a menu around globally-inspired street food. This really sounded good and interesting to me, so I decided that I had to try this out.  From the outside, the space looks large.  It has a large streetfront presence in a space that looks like it may have once been a department or clothing store with large picture windows and a large sign above them.  The entrance is in the center of the space and opens to the large bar, which sits in the center of the space and divides the room.  While the space was open, it felt like it was divided, by the entrance and the bar, into four rooms.  The entire space felt very comfortable with a lot of low tables and lounge furniture.  The table where we sat was large, a six top, though one party didn't make it and my party of three had the table to ourselves.  The floors were stained wood and the walls were brick, with a lot of decorative wall hangings.  With my friends there, it was going to be friendly and comfortable and I was excited to start.

I started things off with a cocktail that seemed pretty complex, but interesting, Purple Flame, which seemed to wander all over the map with it's ingredients.  It started with Fabriquero Sotol (Sotol is a distilled spirit of Mexican and West Texan origin made from a plant called the Desert Spoon or Sotol in Spanish), continued with Rothman and Winter Creme de Violette (from Austria), Ancho Reyes Poblano Liqueur (Mexico), Lingonberry Simple Syrup (Lingonberries are stapes of Swedish cuisine), Lime Juice, Owl and Whale Smoke Bitters, Owl and Whale Hot Bitters, and finished off with an Orchid Garnish.  It was sweet and really complex with vegetal, berry, smoke, and spicy flavors, and a little tartness to finish things off.  Our first course arrived when I was trying to figure out the flavors of my cocktail.  It was a Madai Crudo with Young Coconut, Blood Orange, Serrano Chilies, and Lotus Root.  This also, was very complex, and I like it a lot.  The fish was very tender, the Blood Orange and Serrano contributed sweet and spicy flavors, and the young Coconut added a crunchy texture among all of the tenderness from the fish and fruit.

 

The second course arrived on two plates.  First arrived the Grilled Flatbread.  The bread was simple and while it was to be eaten with the second part of the dish, Smoked Eggplant, it was good on its own, which was good, because when the second part of the dish arrived, we destroyed it.  There was more bread to be eaten, but it was fine, because it was also finished off.  The Smoked Eggplant was served with Golden Raisins, Goat Cheese, and Peppers.  On it's own it reminded me of Baba Ghanouj, which I like, but with the flat bread, it really reminded me of Pizza.  Because our table was a table for six, the restaurant was serving for six.  We first tried to allow for some time for the other party to be late, but when they never arrived, the restaurant told us to finish their food as well, which we happily did.

For our next course, we had another vegetarian dish that was modeled after a very popular Italian meat dish, Vitello Tonatto, Veal with a Tuna Mayo.  This was a Grilled Broccoli Tonnato, with Capers, Gremolata (Chopped herb condiment made with Lemon Zest, Garlic and Parsley), and Lemon Vinaigrette.  The broccoli was crisp and flavorful and went very well with the tuna mayo.  The gremolata and the lemon vinaigrette gave it a nice tart finish.

Our fourth course started our entrees, and while it was a fish course, there was a very significant twist.  It was a Monkfish, a fish that I very much like for it's texture and flavor prepared with the flavors of a Chicago Hot Dog.  In addition to the very good Monkfish, it had a Panzanella Salad (a Tuscan Bread Salad made with Onions, Tomatoes, Cucumber, and Basil), Mustard Vinaigrette, and Celery Salt.  This was also very good with a complex flavor and was enjoyed around the table.

For our final savory dish we had Steak, served Medium Rare.  It was a Denver Steak, a Chuck Steak from the Shoulder, served with Brussels Sprouts, Salsa Negra, and Chipotle Honey.  The salsa and honey gave the tender and flavorful steak layers of heat and sweet.  The Brussels Sprouts added a vegetal flavor.  This was a favorite and because we were getting so much, much of this went home with me (because I had to save room for dessert).

The food thus far was tasty, complex, and interesting.  Our menu listed a cake for dessert, while I will eat cake and enjoy it, I will generally not choose it.  There are a few exceptions to that rule (like the Chocolate Cake at Dos Urban Cantina), but generally I will not choose cake.  Our dessert was a Banana Spice Cake with Chocolate Custard, Peanuts, and Miso Caramel.  This is a cake that I will now make an exception for.  It was very moist and sweet, the chocolate added some bitter sweetness, the Miso Caramel was a combination of sweet, savory, and buttery, and the peanuts, which were crushed, added a nutty finish.  While we were enjoying our desserts, Chef Rolf Pederson and his Wife, Sous and Pastry Chef, Meg Pederson came out to answer questions about themselves and the restaurant as is a Tasting Collective tradition.  I really liked the food and the atmosphere and would be happy to return for another meal and the awesome Banana Spice Cake.         

Hopewell Brewing - Monday Night Dinner with Flat and Point

 

I really like Hopewell Brewing.  They are good people that do some good and interesting beers.  Periodically, on a Monday night (when they are normally closed), they will invite a neighborhood restaurant who they are friends with and will host a Monday Night Dinner.  It gives them a chance to feature their beer with some different and interesting food served family-style, and it gives their friends a chance to try something that might not normally do.  For this Monday Night Dinner, they invited Flat & Point, a neighborhood restaurant that is similar to a barbecue restaurant.  The food is locally sourced and whole animals are used, though they feature things other than smoked meat.  The Hopewell Taproom is big and open with a bar on one side and three long communal tables in the center of the room.  Besides the large windows in the front, the space is lit with hanging light bulbs.  The walls also feature hanging art, which changes periodically.  The art that is now hanging was interesting and bright and if I were to add descriptors, I would say that it looked to me like Psychedelic and Robotic Aztec Art.  As in previous dinners, there was a Hopewell cooler sitting in the back of the room filled with beer to welcome us.  To be hospitable, I grabbed one, a Lil Buddy Lager, a light and crisp beer served in 8 oz cans and is very easy drinking.  Because I was dining solo, I was seated with another group which was fine because it made it easier to serve things family-style and it gave me a chance to socialize somewhat.

 

After everyone had arrived, was seated and had a beer, we started.  Our first beer was a favorite of mine, Table Salt Gose which is made with French Gray Sea Salt, Lemongrass, Lime Leaf, and Cardamom.  It's tart with a nice lemon-lime flavor and a salty finish.  This was paired with Charcuterie.  We were served Leberkase (literally Liver Cheese, it is a Sausage made with finely ground Corned Beef, Pork and Bacon), with Smoked Ricotta Cheese, and Pickled Radishes, on Sourdough Bread.  This was not what I expected as far as charcuterie was concerned, but it perfectly fit in with what Flat & Point does.  It was smoky and meaty, with the creamy ricotta, and dense and flavorful sourdough.

 

From the appetizer we went to the salad and what better beer to serve with salad then a Saison.  Great News Saison is a classic saison providing flavors of fruit, pepper, and citrus, and went very well with those things green.  Our salad wasn't completely colored green, but because it was all plant-based, I will use green as a generic descriptor instead of the color.  Our salad was a Winter Salad with Smoked Delicata Squash, Wilted Baby Kale, Carrots, Pumpkin Seeds, and Honey Dijon.  I really liked this salad because it had a lot of flavors and textures.  I am generally not a huge fan of Kale, because texturally, it's generally a bit stiff.  Wilting it, did soften it up, but with the squash and carrots, there was enough to chew on.

 

Our next course was lasagna, though it was lasagna with a definite twist.  It was a Veggie Lasagna with Parsnips, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, and a Truffle and Creamy Mushroom Sauce.  It was served with Off Black, Hopewell's Schwarzbier (Black Lager), which is both earthy and crisp.  The Lasagna was layered with Sweet Potatoes and Parsnips, sliced, laid on its side, and covered in the amazing Mushroom and Truffle Gravy.  It was tender and very flavorful, and the earthiness of the sweet potatoes and parsnips went well with the earthiness of the Schwarzbier.

 

 

After the excellent lasagna, many of us would have been happy to finish, but we still had our entree and dessert to go, so on we plowed.  Our final beer was a seasonal beer that they have made since the beginning, 24:37 Red IPA (24:37 is the length of a day on Mars, the red planet).  It's good and a bit unusual, being both malty and hoppy.  It was served with a Thuringer Porchetta (a spiced Pork Sausage made largely from Pork Shoulder) with Red Cabbage and 24:37 Red IPA Gravy, it was also served with a big bowl of Polenta.  This was really good, though it was tender and flavorful, it was also heavy and it was hard to get through after the rest of the food.

 

Happily we made it to the end and while dessert was nice and sweet, it wasn't exceptionally heavy.  Our beer was a Cold Brew Imperial Coffee Stout made with the coffee of a local roaster and featuring flavors of Dark Chocolate and Coffee.  What better to match a stout with than a Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookie which was made with Glazed and Made with Dark Chocolate.  It was sweet, bitter, and made for an excellent finish for a great meal.  I was happy to talk to both the owners of Hopewell and the Chef/Owner of Flat & Point.  I will continue to go to Hopewell's Monday Night Dinners and will definitely visit flat & Point for dinner some night.