Forbidden Root Brewery

 

I had been to Forbidden Root a few times before and have liked both the beer and brunch, I decided to stop in for dinner recently.  Located in a former movie theatre, the space is rustic, with exposed brick walls, and tile floors.  The U-shaped bar is in the center of the room as you walk in with the tap list on chalkboards facing the side walls above and to the center of the bar area.  The brewing area is in the back past a large communal table that sits in an alcove at the back of the restaurant and beside the kitchen.  The beers that Forbidden Root does are classic styles with a lot of botanicals added that can sometimes modify the flavor significantly.  The first beers that they started with were hard versions of Root Beer (hence the Forbidden Root name) and Ginger Ale.  Their draft list when I went did not have the Root Beer, but it did have the Ginger Ale, so that was going to be one of the choices that I was going to make for my flight.  Called Sublime Ginger, it's a Wheat Ale with a significant ginger flavor that also included Key Lime Juice, Honeybush and Lemon Myrtle.  My other choices were Money on my Rind, a Hefeweizen with Juniper Berries, Grapefruit, and Grains of Paradise that leaned toward a Gin and Tonic in flavor, Dragon Zest Belgian Tripel with Wild Lemon Zest and Thai Palm Sugar (This was a really good Tripel), Get to the Winchester Toasted Rye Mild Ale, and ME DRINK COOKIE! Oatmeal Raisin Brown Ale, which for all the world tasted like an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie.  They were all very good and interesting, but my favorite for this trip was probably ME DRINK COOKIE!

The food served at Forbidden Root is largely bar food, but it all has a twist.  The menu is broken down between Snacks, Small Plates, Large Plates, Sandwiches, and Cheese & Dessert.  I decided to start things off with a dish of Lemon Almonds with Sea Salt and Olive Oil while I was trying to figure out what else I wanted to eat.  They were very good, having a nice Salty Lemon flavor with the hearty flavor flavor of fresh roasted almonds.

There was a lot of meat in both the Small and Large Plate sections of the menu, I was already getting plenty of protein with the nuts and would probably have meat for my main course, so I thought I would go with a vegetable.  While I did decide to go with a vegetable, that didn't mean it couldn't be fried.  I went with Fried Brussels Sprouts with Marinated Sprout Leaves, Bagna Cauda (an Italian dip using Garlic, Olive Oil, Anchovies, and Butter), XO Sauce (a Chines sauce using dried scallop, chili peppers, Jinhua ham, dried shrimp, garlic, and canola oil), and Lemon.  Normally, I have my brussels sprouts with bacon, and admittedly, there was a little ham used in the XO Sauce, but it wasn't enough to add texture and it was effectively without meat.  As such, it was very good, even without the bacon.

I did consider getting a burger, and I have heard that Forbidden Root's burger is very good, but getting a burger at a brewery is easy.  There was a Pork Schnitzel Sandwich that sounded good, so that's the way that I went.  While I knew that pork schnitzel was a piece of pork pounded flat, breaded and fried and they tend to be pretty broad, I was very surprised by the sandwich that arrived.  The Schnitzel was much wider than the Sesame Bun and was served with Beet Mayo and Slaw on the sandwich, with Fries and Housemade Ketchup on the side.  The schnitzel was much broader than the bun, so I did attempt to cut it around the edges before picking it up.  That didn't work out exceptionally well so I committed to Picking it up and eating it until it was gone.  It was really good, but it was also really messy and there would have been know way for me to pick it back up if I ever put it down.  The beet mayo had chunks of beets in it that were falling out as I was eating it and when I finally finished it, I had to take a time out to clean myself up.

By the time I got to dessert, I was pretty full.  I was interested in dessert, but because I was full, I was interested in something light.  My waitress told me that the chocolate pudding was pretty light.  I was a little skeptical, but I followed her recommendation.  She was correct, the pudding had the texture of a mousse.  With the pudding, it had Whipped Caramel, Quince Marmalade, Peanut Praline, and Ash Salt.  With that I had a House Shot called Cinn-Oak which had Bourbon, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Clove Buds, Orange Peel and Demerara Syrup.  After this, I was still full, but I really enjoyed everything.  The beer at Forbidden Root is very different while following standard styles, the food follows the same path.  I really enjoyed everything and will surely return for beer and/or food.
              

Tasting Collective Dinner at Split Rail

Just after Christmas, I bought a membership for a group called Tasting Collective.  It holds private 8-10 course meals at nicer restaurants around the city with pre-course introductions done by the chef, so they can explain their restaurant concept and cooking philosophies.  Members have to buy tickets for the dinners, but they are less than what a normal 8-10 course meal would cost.  The first restaurant that was offered was a restaurant with which I am very familiar with, having known the chef for several years, and having gone for both dinner and brunch, Split Rail with Chef Zoe Schor.  The dinner was going to be 9 courses, mostly served Family Style.  Having met the chef at her former restaurant, Ada Street, and having been to Split Rail a few times, I knew that I liked her food and thought I was fairly familiar with it, so it was an easy choice to make.  When I bought my ticket, I saw the time listed as 7:15 pm.  Generally, I have noticed that event start times can be kind of soft, but I do like to arrive close to the time listed.  What I didn't notice on a later email was that the doors would open at 6:45 pm and the 7:15 pm was a hard start.  In any case, I did arrive just before 7:15 pm, though seeing a full restaurant, I did feel late.  We paid for dinner beforehand, but drinks were extra, I ordered a drink that I had had before and had really liked.  Called Stay Out of the Forest, it was a very piney flavored cocktail featuring Vikre Spruce Gin, Zirbenz Alpine Liqueur, Grapefruit and Lime.  It's tart, herbal, a little bitter from the grapefruit and the spruce, and obviously very botanical.  While I was enjoying my cocktail, Chef Zoe came out and started talking about her history and her aim with the restaurant.  I knew that she had quite an impressive resume, having worked for Tom Colicchio and Thomas Keller in California, I was not aware that she was originally from the East Coast.  She also said while she was proud to have had the mentors that she had and was happy to have learned skills from them, she got a little tired of making what she called "Fancy Food" and with her restaurant was aiming for a place that did comfort food with a cheffy twist.  And with that, the meal started.

We started things with a twist on a dish that I have seen in many restaurants, Steak Tartare, but it was done as a Reuben and called a Reuben Tartare, which started with a Spiced Steak Tartare served with Thousand Island Dressing, Rye Toast, and a Gruyere Crisp.  I like both steak tartare and reubens and they went together very well.  It didn't have the salty flavor of the corned beef or sauerkraut, but all of the textures and flavors went together very well and it was a nice start.

Our second course were Beef Skewers served with Pine Nuts, Greek Dressing, and what they called "Spicy Green Sauce".  It was very good and seemed very Greek, though the Spicy Green Sauce tasted familiar.  When I talked to her after dinner, I had to laugh.  I asked Chef Zoe if the Spicy Green Sauce wasn't similar to Chimichurri Sauce and she said that it's totally Chimichurri Sauce, but selling to people that might not be familiar with it, it's "Spicy Green Sauce".  It was nutty, spicy, tart, and very good with the Greek Yogurt and "Spicy Green Sauce".

Our next course was a salad and while I am generally not a huge fan of salads, this one was pretty awesome.  It was a Leafy Green Salad with various Heirloom Lettuces, Crispy Ham, Point Reyes Bay Blue Cheese, and Garlic Breadcrumbs.  The lettuce was slightly wilted which actually was a good thing, because it provided a softer texture.  The ham added some salty sweetness, the bitterness of the blue cheese paired with the bitterness of the blue cheese, the green goddess dressing was used sparingly, and the breadcrumbs added some garlicky goodness.

Our next course was a toast, or if it was done in Italy, could have been considered a Bruschetta.  It wasn't typically Italian, but open faced toasts are very European.  This one was Duck Liver Mouse (Pate') and Pickled Apples on Publican Quality Bread.  The bread was nice and crusty, spread with the duck liver mousse, topped with sliced pickled apples, and finished with micro greens.  The  mousse was meaty and sweet with a slight iron flavor to it.  The apples were tart and sour and added a little crunch.  It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't exceptionally exciting.

After the toast, we went back to vegetables, roasted vegetables to be exact.  Included among the Medley of Roasted Vegetables was Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, and Pepitas (not precisely vegetables, but they are from vegetables and they are fried) which were served with Hook's Two Year Cheddar Cheese Sauce.  The vegetables were tender and well cooked and the cheddar cheese sauce added a complementary flavor, but it was a little on the salty side.  I would order it again, but I would know to be prepared for the salt.

The next course on the menu I had had before and was a favorite.  I was excited to see it on our menu.  It was the Loaded Baked Potato Gnocchi which had all of the best things about a loaded baked potato served with gnocchi.  It had Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Crispy Potato Skins, Sour Cream, Chives, and was served with perfectly prepared gnocchi.  It was crunchy, tender, very flavorful, and continued throughout the course.

After the Gnocchi, we continued to the first of our meat courses, Braised Pot Roast with Red Wine Reduction, and Potato Puree.  On paper it sounded pretty mundane.  It was fairly simple and standard, but it is frequently the simple dishes that are the hardest to do because they are so familiar that they have to be nailed perfectly.  This was nailed perfectly.  The Pot Roast was fork tender, the Potatoes were perfectly smooth with a hint of butter, and the red wine reduction paired well with the jus from the roast and also made a good gravy for the potatoes.

For our final savory dish, we had was called Pork and Beans, which I can see, but I also see a similarity to a cassoulet, a French Hunter's Casserole using white beans and three meats, two of which are usually pork.  This only used Crispy Pulled Pork, Country Ham, and Stewed White Beans, but the similarity was there.  Also in the Pork and Beans was Crispy Kale, Pickled Turnips, and Shaved Radishes.  It was very tender, very good, and I would definitely have it again.

By the time we reached dessert, I was pretty full, so I was kind of happy that our desserts were fairly small.  We were served Olive Oil Cake with Malted Barley Ice Cream and Cinnamon.  While Olive Oil and Malted Barley are both used in a lot of savory dishes, the olive oil made the cake very smooth, and the malted barley, which is a key ingredient in beer, added a little bitterness and a little less sweetness than typical ice cream.

This was a great event.  I like Chef Zoe and Split Rail and will definitely return.  Many of the dishes that I had are now on the standard menu, so I could easily enjoy them again, and I am very willing and able to handle a small problem that I had that was due to a miscommunication.  Tasting Collective was a good host and I met some nice and interesting people and had some very good food.  I will definitely do many more of their events.         

AMK Kitchen Bar

 

I will admit, that when it first opened, I was a little turned off by AMK Kitchen Bar, because the name seemed a little jingoist, being a shorthand abbreviation of America.  This attitude was helped with reviews mentioning the paintings of the American Flag and Uncle Sam on the walls inside.  Considering the neighborhood, though, I am not sure if a place with an "America Right Or Wrong" attitude would really fly.  I later went to their sister restaurant, Nosh and Booze for brunch, and really liked it and I had heard that they operated as a scratch kitchen, making a comfort food menu from scratch, so I become interested and recently stopped there for dinner.  Located near a major intersection in Bucktown.  The front window/wall is a garage door which is opened when it's warm outside.  It was not warm when I went, so things were buttoned up tight.  The walls on which there are many murals are old brick, giving the murals the appearance of being weathered with age.  I was seated next to a mural of Uncle Sam which was very big, weathered, and kind of cool.  The flag, also very large and weathered. was on the wall behind me and to one side.  There was a painting of a woman on tile behind the bar between the bar shelves and beside one of the several TVs around the dining area.  The kitchen was open and a little small, sitting next to the bar and the lights are on wires hung in the unfinished ceiling.  It looks like they started the design of this place by stripping it to the bones before painting on the walls and putting in furniture.  The look was very rough, but it worked.

AMK has a nice cocktail list combining classics with originals.  They also have a good whiskey list of American Whiskeys primarily focusing on Kentucky Bourbon, but also including Rye and Tennessee and local varieties.  The beer list seems to be split pretty evenly between local and national craft beers, but it does have a macro representative, Miller High Life, the Champagne of Beers, whose ABV "Doesn't Matter" (from the beer list).  I started things off with a cocktail, actually the same cocktail I had at Nosh and Booze, although with a slightly different name.  Here it was called an IPA Mule (at Nosh and Booze it was called an IPA Jackass).  It started with Hophead Vodka, and included Ginger, Lime, Deschutes Freshly Squeezed IPA, and was garnished with Mint Leaves.  It was both hoppy and sweet, with a tart finish, and was very refreshing in it's copper mug.

The food served at AMK could both fall under bar food and comfort food, everything of which as made in house, so there were many things that looked of interest.  The menu was divided into Snacks, Salads, Sandwiches, and Mains.  While there were several snacks that interested me like the Cheese Curds and the Dorito Pie, I decided to start things with Fried Pickles with a Spicy Ranch Sauce.  The Pickles were sliced and coated in breadcrumbs and fried.  The exterior was crispy while the center was still juicy.  While I like pickles as they are, they lose little flavor in the frying and the spicy ranch dipping sauce went with it well.

 

There was an item in the snack list that was quite a bit more expensive than the other snacks, the Mac and Cheese.  I was told that it won the Mac and Cheese Fest this year, so it was a must try.  What I didn't expect was how big the serving was going to be.  It was served in a 6 inch cast iron pan and filled to overflowing.  In addition to the cheeses (I'm not sure how many or what cheeses were used) and the Cavatappi Pasta, it included Bacon, Jalapenos, Parmagiano-Reggiano, and Breadcrumbs (I think Brioche).  It was spicy, cheesy, and had plenty of bacon flavor.  As it was listed under snacks, I ordered a main course as well.  I saw as soon as it arrived that I was going to have to bring part of it home and at least half came home with me.

Under the mains they had a Chicken Pot Pie listed that I was very interested in.  I was told though that the Chicken Pot Pie would require a 30 to 40 minute wait (because they would have to make it).  I was interested in it, but I didn't really want to wait as long as it would take, so I decided to switch my order.  A burger would have been an easy order and they have been recognized for their burger, but I wasn't interested in a burger, so I went with Nashville Hot Chicken on a Biscuit.  This was a big piece of fried chicken covered in pepper sauce on a large biscuit with a dill pickle slice skewered on top and served with fries on the side.  There was also a small container of Ranch Sauce served on the side, I assume to temper the heat of the hot sauce, like it's done with Buffalo chicken, but I really didn't want to take the sandwich apart to add it.  The sandwich was very big and I had to stretch my mouth a lot to get a bite of it, but it was very good.  The Crust was crispy and crunchy and held in the juices of the tender chicken.  The biscuit was unusually square, but it did have the crispy exterior and crumbly interior of a good biscuit.  The hot sauce was very spicy, as might be expected, but it wasn't so hot as to make it inedible and did add to the flavor of the sandwich.  The fries that were served with it were done well, and were lightly salted, but with everything else that I had eaten, were kind of unnecessary.  

When it came time for dessert, I was starting to feel a little full, but I couldn't turn away dessert.  I asked about a dessert menu and was told that they only had one thing that they offered for dessert called a Brookie Sundae.  The waiter described it and after hearing Brownie, Cookie, and Ice Cream, I was interested, though still unsure what I was going to be getting.  What came out was ridiculous and something that I knew that there was going to be no way I would finish.  It was a Chocolate Chip Cookie baked in a Brownie in a Cast Iron Frying Pan, topped with Vanilla Ice Cream, Whipped Cream, and drizzled with Fudge Sauce. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to finish it, I wanted to at least try everything together and eat it in a way that I would be able to bring home what I couldn't eat.  The brownie and cookie were warm and were great with the vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.  I only had a few bites of the brookie in the restaurant because I knew that would be transportable, I did eat the ice cream, and left very full.

While I really enjoyed the food here, I know now that the portions are very large, and I can plan next time to order less or plan to bring something home.         

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.