Analogue

I have said several times that I like living in Logan Square because of the many good places to eat nearby.  There are several good restaurants, but there are also several bars that serve really good food.  Some of those places though, might be a little hard to find if you don't know where to look.  I went to one of these places, Analogue, recently for dinner and it is very low key.  There is no sign of any kind (not even a beer sign by the door), but there is an address and the building is black, so it isn't completely anonymous.  There is a host station at the entrance, but I came at a time when there wasn't much of a crowd, so there was a sign that said "Please seat yourself".  I sat at the bar because i thought that would be the easiest for everyone.  The space is small, seating about 40 people at tables and a few leather-covered booths.  There is also a larger, round table at the back of the bar that might seat eight.  The interior of the bar is also black but it also includes several mirrors to give the illusion of a larger space.  The lighting is dim, although not nearly as dim as other places where I have been.  The lighting was provided by track lighting.  The soundtrack was indie rock.  We were listening, mostly, to the War on Drugs, when I was there.  As this place is a bar and the head bartender has a pretty good pedigree, I decided to try out one of their cocktails.  I went with a Double Vision which had Beefeater Gin, Lemon, Ramazzotti (a medium Italian Amaro), and Strawberry Black Pepper Syrup.  This was a very good drink and it was fun to watch the bartender make it.  It was tart and sweet with a spicy finish from the black pepper with the herbal and juniper flavors from the gin there but deemphasized somewhat.

The food menu at Analogue is not divided into the standard appetizer, entree, dessert format, in fact, it isn't divided at all.  It does, however, go, more or less, from top to bottom from smallest to largest and finishes with bread pudding at the bottom.  I started near the top of the menu with something that I had never heard of and had no idea what I would be getting.  It was called a Stuffed Mirliton filled with Smoked Mushroom Stuffing and served with Black Garlic Vinaigrette.  After I got the dish, I still wasn't sure what I had.  I could see that the stuffing was pressed into a pear shaped fruit or vegetable and the vinaigrette was spread on the plate.  It was pretty good so I didn't regret what I ordered.  The mirliton itself had a mild taste and kind of reminded me texturally of a potato.  The stuffing had smoky and mushroom flavors and added a lot as far as flavor to the mirliton as did the black garlic vinaigrette.  I looked it up later and discovered that mirliton is also called chayote which I have heard of but had never had.  It is a member of the gourd family native to Mexico and is treated like summer squash.

For my next course, I went with a Po' Boy.  There were a few Po' Boys offered but I had to go with the Cochon de Lait Po' Boy, a Milk Roasted Pork Shoulder with Creole Mustard, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, and Mayo served on a Baguette.  The sandwich was pretty big, but it was also pretty good.  The pork was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the mustard added some spice, the bread was crusty with a soft interior, and the lettuce tomato, and pickles added what you would expect for a submarine sandwich (which is essentially what a po' boy is).

As I implied, the only thing on the menu that could be classified as a dessert was the Bread Pudding so that's what I ordered. It came with Chocolate Chips, Pralines, Rum Sauce, and Whipped Cream.  Despite the fact that the food that I had had had been pretty good, because they only offered Bread Pudding for dessert and the fact that the place is essentially a bar, I really didn't expect much.  I was gladly mistaken.  It was very good and actually kind of decadent.  It was sweet with a lot of flavors, and a very good finish to a very good meal.  While it isn't a place I would go expecting high end cuisine, it is a good cocktail bar that serves good food and I would be happy to return.