Kitsune - Tasting Collective Dinner

 

I have been to Elizabeth Restaurant several times and it is a favorite.  I was excited then, when Chef Ileana Reagan announced that they would be opening a new restaurant focusing on Japanese cuisine, Kitsune.  When it opened, it went on my list of places that I need to visit, so I was happy when they had a dinner with Tasting Collective, the dining group that I belong to, and I quickly signed up for the dinner.  Located in North Center, the space is small, like her original restaurant, Elizabeth, seating about 30 people in a triangular space.  We were seated toward the back, so I was able to get a fair view of the space.  The main seating area is a banquette along the longest wall.  There are also a few other tables in front of the bar and open kitchen and a few seats on the bar.  The bar is next to the kitchen and has a tall shelf behind the tap that holds the liquor.  The shelf is nice looking, but what is cool are the little toy figures including several foxes (which is where the name Kitsune came from) as well as a picture of former President Obama on the shelf above the liquor.  While they normally serve cocktails, the fact that they had a full house that they were going to try to serve the same thing at the same time and have a small staff, limited what they were serving on this evening to beer and wine.  On the beer list was a beer that I like, Maplewood Charlatan American Pale Ale (which had just won a Bronze Medal at the Great American Beer Festival for American-Style Pale Ales), so that is what I decided to drink.  It was smooth with a very light head with a bitter and citrus flavor, similar to grapefruit.  While it had been there when I sat, I didn't really notice the small ceramic cat that was sitting in front of me until my beer came and I had to move it a little.  I wondered what it was until later in the meal when it became more clear.

For our first course, we were served Koji Sourdough Bread, made from a culture that Chef Ileana has kept growing for 13 years.  This was served with Fresh Cultured Butter and Pickles (Pickled Vegetables).  The bread was dense and flavorful with a tart flavor which went well with the Pickles and the Butter.

From there, we were served a large Romaine Salad with Jumbo Lump Crab and Ramp Ranch Dressing.  This was really good, though it was a lot for two of us to eat.  The greens were fresh and crispy, there was plenty of crab in pieces big enough that you could actually bite into it, and the Ramp Ranch Dressing was both creamy, and provided a nice flavor of ramps (which have a flavor similar to a cross between garlic and green onions).

After a large and very nice salad, we were served more vegetables, Blistered Shishito Peppers with Kabosu (a Japanese Citrus fruit similar to Yuzu used instead of vinegar in some dishes), Shisho Meshi (dried Shiso leaves used for seasoning), and Sea Salt.  I like Shishito peppers not only because of their taste, but also because eating them is kind of like playing the lottery, in that 1 in 10 is noticeably spicy.  These peppers were well seasoned and blistered a little less than I have had at other places.  There were a few peppers in our bowl that bit back, but they were all good and the bowl disappeared quickly.

When I say the name of the next course, I didn't know what to expect because it was given a Japanese name.  Called Tomorokoshi, it listed Charred Corn, Fresno Kewpie, and Cilantro.  When it arrived, I saw that it also had a lot of Bonito Flakes and despite the Bonito Flakes, I knew it by a different name, Elotes.  It was funny as well when I heard the kitchen staff referring to the dish as elotes.  I am generally not a fan of bonito flakes, but mixed in well with the corn they did not feel like dried leaves and did add to the flavor.

We then proceeded to the first of our entrees, Ramen.  It was a vegetarian ramen made with Ramp Noodles, Shio Mushroom Broth, Enoki Mushrooms, and other vegetables.  It was very flavorful and like other ramen that I have had served in a large bowl with a large spoon.  Serving and eating ramen is a two handed operation with one hand holding chopsticks to hold the noodles and the other holding the large spoon to serve the broth and vegetables.  I did see a few people puzzled by this operation, but having seen and done it before, it was fine.  This was good and very flavorful, but I still prefer Tonkatsu Ramen (with Pork Broth and Pork Belly).  This is also where I figured out why the cat was on the table, it was a chopstick holder, used to keep the tips off the table.

Our second entree was a spin (pun unintentional) on Chicken Teriyaki.  It was made with a Tsukune (a Japanese Chicken Meatball) Stuffed Chicken Roulade, Brown Rice, Carrots, Cauliflower, and Carrot Caramel.  It was pretty good.  The chicken meatball and the chicken had different, though complementary, flavors and the carrot caramel added a vegetal sweetness.  The brown rice, carrots, and cauliflower added texture and flavor.

Our final entree was a monster of umami.  Called Uni Butter Beef, it also had Duck Fat Potatoes and Togarashi.  The beef was rare and sliced for easy serving and eating.  The butter and potatoes added richness and savoriness.  It was also one of my favorite dishes.

Our dessert was Yuzu Taruto (tart) with Graham Crackers and Pistachios. This was tart with a nice nutty flavor (from the pistachios).  While it wasn't built like your standard tart, all of the elements were there, and it went together very well.  The yuzu was presented as a sorbet, the graham cracker was the "crust", and the pistachio was the crumble.  I really liked my dinner here and I will definitely return. 

Sauce and Bread Kitchen - Stuff Stuffed with Stuff 2018.

I have been to Sauce and Bread Kitchen for many of their dinners, and have even been to their Stuff Stuffed with Stuff Dinner, but as their dinners allow them to experiment explore, each one is very different, other than taking place, for the most part, in their bakery/cafe in Rogers Park.  Dinners are BYOB and diners sit at communal tables.  For this dinner, I brought a Fruity Farmhouse Ale, Blackberry Farms Buckwheat Strawberry Ale which was funky and nutty and had a lightly tart strawberry finish.

For this dinner, the SBK crew seemed to focus on dumplings, because dumplings are by there very definition, stuff stuffed with stuff.  Because of this and because dinners at SBK are usually 4 courses (because of the way things were divided, this dinner could have been considered 6 courses), we had a lot of dumplings. For our first dumplings, we were served Xiao Long Bao, Mackerel and Poblano.  Soup Dumplings have liquid in them, so if you don't do it right, it could be easy to burn your mouth or at least make a mess.  Luckily, we were given pointers on how to eat them (poke a hole in the top to release the steam and pop the entire thing into your mouth).  I followed the instructions and avoided calamity and found that they tasted pretty good.  Mackerel is a mild fish and poblano peppers are a mild chili, so while there was some fish flavor and some heat, it was relatively mild and they went together well.

Our next dumplings were called Crispy Mushroom/Lobster Pierogis.  While I will agree with the Mushroom and Lobster, and the crispy texture, which were all very good, I would have characterized the dumplings as Empanadas instead of Pierogis.  No matter what they were called, they were topped with Black and White Sesame Seeds and were very good.  They were served with a Fermented Cucumber and Scallion Salad with XO Sauce and Malt Vinegar.  The flavor of the salad was pretty good with a tart and malty finish from the vinaigrette, though the texture of the vegetables were a little mushy for my liking, though not so bad as to be inedible.  As for the dumplings, I really liked the crispy texture and the lobster and mushroom were plentiful and well flavored.

 

The next course was served in three parts.  Called a Trilogy O' Steam Bun Tacos, that is exactly what they were, split Bao served with different fillings.  Our first Bao "Taco" was called a Veggie Queso Fundido with Charred Cabbage, Black Bean, and Sweet Corn.  While there was no cheese (queso), I will not complain, because the vegetable combination was very flavorful and good with a lot of texture.  Bao "Taco" Number Two was called Smoked Lake Trout with Watermelon Rind Salad and Hot Peanuts.  This had a nice crunch with some spice and tartness and good smoked fish.  For Bao "Taco" number 3, there were parts that I really liked, overall, though it was my second favorite taco behind number 1.  It was filled with Grilled Eggplant with Smoked Carrots/ Umeboshi Crema and Fried Shallots.  Umeboshi is a salted pickled plum, which as you may imagine, had a salty and tart flavor that I really liked.  The Steam Buns used for all of the tacos was very soft and lightly chewy and apparently required a lot of work to make and prepare.  In any case they were very good, and the wait required between each taco was worth it.

Dinner could have finished at this point.  While I do like dessert, and the dessert that they made, I'm sure took a lot of work, it used a lot of canteloupe, which I don't care for.  It was a Peach Phyllo Cup with Vanilla Bean Canteloupe Ice Cream filled with Canteloupe Sorbet.  While I did eat it and it didn't kill me, I would have been fine not to have had it served to me.

Despite those dishes that I didn't care for, I like SBK and I liked the dinner overall.  I appreciate their creativity and I will definitely return.   

Sunday Dinner Club - "Made Wrong" Burgers at Half Acre Brewery

 

I like Sunday Dinner Club, the underground dinner club that hosts dinners with many various themes and I try to go several times a year.  Their main location is above their restaurant, Honey Butter Fried Chicken, which itself started as a Sunday Dinner Club dinner, but several times a year they will partner with Half Acre Brewery for a dinner at one of their tap rooms (mostly the Lincoln Tap Room).  These dinners are similar to the dinners in their home space in that when people are checked in and seated, they will come out and introduce themselves.  With the dinners at Half Acre, a Half Acre rep will first introduce themselves and welcome everyone before introducing the SDC crew who will then introduce themselves, tell the story of Sunday Dinner Club, and tell everyone about the dinner they will be having.  The dinners at SDC Headquarters are BYOB, but the ones at Half Acre come with four beers.  This dinner also came with a sample of Camchi's Kimchi, a product from one of their crew that they plan on commercializing.  The beers that I started with were Eat Shop Apricot Milkshake IPA with Lactose and Apricot and Deep Space Double IPA, both IPAs, but very diffwewnt from one another.  Eat Shop Apricot was creamy and hazy with a nice soft mouthfeel and apricot and tropical flavors.  Deep Space was decidedly heavier with grapefruit and pine flavors and a nice dry finish.  

Their former sous chef Becca, had an enormously popular Cubano sandwich which they used as a theme for a pop up at Revival Food Hall.  It was also very successful, so there is now thought of opening another restaurant under the Sunday Dinner Club umbrella.  While the Cubano Sandwich is good, it's hard to build a restaurant on one item, so this dinner was sort of a try out to expand the menu.  For this dinner, they did a spin on the Maid-Rite Burger, a spiced loose meat sandwich similar to a sloppy joe without sauce, they called a "Made Wrong" Burger.  It was also a spiced loose meat sandwich on a bun, but it also had Camchi's Kimchi made with Cucumbers and Carrots, Spicy Aioli, and Muenster Cheese.  It was served with a very good Potato Salad made with Mustard and Spices.

For my beers to drink with dinner and finish off, I went with Shrub Tundra Coffee Brown Ale and another IPA, Half Acre makes a lot of IPAs, Fluorescent IPA.  Shrub Tundra is a collaboration with a local coffee roaster, Dark Matter Coffee, uses 5% liquid coffee by volume, the variety of which varies every year.  This years blend had a nice head, light carbonation, and a thin mouthfeel.  The coffee aroma and flavor were good and while there was a hop flavor, it was light.  Fluorescent IPA poured light yellow with a light haze.  It has a medium body and tropical flavors and was pretty good.

To finish our dinner, we were served Brownies.  I really like brownies in general, but these brownies were pretty fantastic.  The Brownie was Dark Chocolate topped with Peppermint Cream Cheese and Fueilletine Flakes.  Fueilletine, meaning leaves, is a very light pastry that tastes like a very light and crispy sugar cone and provided a nice crunch to the brownie.  The brownie had a great flavor and provided a great finish to a great dinner.  While Sunday Dinner Club does not do just one thing, there style is very homey and a lot of what they do is to elevate comfort foods.  I have liked the dinners that I have had with SDC, and I will continue going to their dinners.