Passerotto - Tasting Collective Dinner

 

I really like belonging to Tasting Collective because it has gotten me to several restaurants that are relatively new and have a pretty good buzz about them.  When we go we will be served a large family-style meal (6 to 10 courses) of  either menu favorites, or items that the chef wants to try out.  I recently went to Passerotto, a restaurant run by Chef Jennifer Kim and, despite the name is essentially a Korean restaurant using Midwestern ingredients and Central Italian influences.  Chef Kim was born and raised in the midwest to Korean parents.  Her culinary training brought her to Michelin Starred Bistrot des Saveurs in the South of France before coming back to Chicago to work with One Off Hospitality at Blackbird, Avec, and Nico Osteria.  She then opened acclaimed cured fish restaurant Snaggletooth in Lakeview.  Passerotto is her first solo venture, located in Andersonville.  It's a small space that's pretty rough.  It looks as if when they were putting the space together, they just stripped it to the brick walls.  The floor is mosaic tile and the ceiling, though unfinished, for the most part, (exposed ventilation ductwork and hanging lights), has a very cool tin tile cover.  There is a counter on one side of the room, that looks as if it might act as a bar, though when we were there, it was being used as a high top table with people sitting on both sides.  The drink menu for the evening was very short and simple and though they did have a variation on a Gin and Tonic (called a J&T), I decided to go with Off Color's Apex Predator Belgian Saison.

Our dinner tonight was essentially 6 courses, starting with Bay Scallops.  While Passerotto is not a seafood restaurant per se, it does still serve a lot of seafood.  The scallops were bite sized and very tender and served with XO Sauce (a seafood sauce from Hong Kong consisting of dried seafoods, cooked with Chili Peppers, and Garlic), and Soy Onion Puree.  The scallops, as I mentioned were very tender, but they also had a very nice flavor, with the onions, garlic, soy sauce, and chili peppers adding to the flavor.

The second course was a favorite because it tasted very good and was unlike anything that I have ever had.  Called Oden, it was skewered and consisted of a fried whitefish ball and several pieces of fried and cured fish, also whitefish, that really reminded me of bacon, both in taste and texture.  There was also a large green chili pepper that I expected to be a Shishito pepper because it was large and whole and most restaurants don't serve whole hot peppers to diners.  I was mistaken.  While the pepper was not Habanero hot, it was a hotter pepper than I would normally eat comfortably on it's own.  In the bottom of the dish in which the skewers were served was a Squash Curry which wa sweet, rich, a little spicy, and went well with the skewers.

For course number three, we stayed vegetarian with Sunchokes, Barley, Smoked Tofu, Apples, and Doenjang.  Sunchokes are the edible root of a type of Sunflower, also known as Jerusalem Artichokes.  Doenjang is a fermented soybean paste made with brine.  This was very savory and had a lot of textures.  The barley was chewy as are many edible grains, and the apples provided a sweet crispness.

Our next course was the dish closest to something that might be called Italian cuisine, although it also had a Korean twist.  It was a Lamb Ragu served with Rice Cakes instead of pasta, and topped with Parmesan.  This was very good.  The Rice cake was very similar to gnocchi and the lamb ragu provided a lot of flavor and the parmesan added savory cheese flaky goodness.

Our last savory course is a standard of Korean Cuisine, Kalbi, which, while the main part of it is the shortrib, could be put together in any number of ways.  In addition to the Shortrib, it had for dishes of banchan, traditional Korean sides that can be eaten on their own or with the short rib, in this case we had Green Onion Kimchi, Pickled Cucumbers, Pickled Water Chestnuts, and Korean Potatoes,  Sticky Rice, and Sesame Leaves.  With the sesame leaves, the dishes could be eaten as Ssam (wrapped in the sesame leaves).  I did try things independently and all together and everything was very good.  My favorite was the rib with sticky rice, some kimchi, and the cucumbers, but everything was good.

Our dessert was small and simple, but after the Kalbi, we were all pretty full, so a small dessert was fine.  It was a Kuri Squash Mousse, with Pomegranate Molasses, Pomegranates, and Almonds.  The mousse was sweet with a slightly savory finish.  The Pomegranate added some sweetness, and the almonds added some texture.  It was a very good dinner with a very friendly staff and a very good chef.  I will definitely return.