City Mouse - Chicago Restaurant Week

When it was announced that Chef Jason Vincent of Giant would be opening a restaurant (that became City Mouse) in the West Loop, I was very excited.  When it was announced that Chef Pat Sheerin, formerly of the late, lamented Trenchermen, that added to my excitement.  I set up a brunch at City Mouse in the first summer that it was open, and while we were unable to be seated on their excellent patio, we did enjoy ourselves in their nice and very open dining room.  I knew, after coming for brunch, that I wanted to come for dinner and wanted to share it with friends.  Luckily, City Mouse participated in Chicago Restaurant Week, where a restaurant will offer a three or four course Prix Fixe dinner at a set price.  As it was wintertime and night, there was no way that the patio was going to be open, so we were seated in the dining room, actually very close to where we sat for brunch.  Much of the restaurant has glass exterior walls, the interior walls looking into Ace Hotel, the hotel in which it occupies space.  Just outside the wall where we were seated was a very large canvas covered in paint.  There was no real design to the paint, but it was bright and very colorful with colors in patches that flowed into other colors.  It either reminded me of sunlight in clouds or the colors of a coral reef.  We started out with cocktails while we made a plan as to who would order what.  The first cocktails were the Second City Sour with Gin, Aperol, Kina L'Aero D'or Aperitif, Lemon, and Egg White, and Lake Effect (appropriate for the night that we went when there was a lot of snow) with Mexican Rum, Caribbean Rum, Coconut, Banana, and Lime.  Both drinks were good, though I liked my gin drink better.  It was bitter, herbal, a little tartness from the lemon, and a nice fluffy head from the egg whites.  The Lake Effect was tropical and sweet with an opaque white color and a blended consistency.

For my first course, I went with the Cauliflower Soup.  I am generally not a soup drinker, but it sounded really good, so I decided to go with it.  In addition to the Cauliflower, it had a Toasted Almond Crunch, and Turmeric Yogurt.  It was very creamy and obviously tasted of cauliflower, but the toasted almond crunch added a crunchy and nutty texture, and the turmeric yogurt added a nice tang and almost a curry spice.  I was very happy with my choice and it was a good start to the meal.

For the next course, there were a couple of choices that I was really interested in:  a Smoked Sweetbread "Schnitzel", and Octopus Bolognese.  I decided to go with the Octopus Bolognese which, in addition to the Octopus, had Squid Ink Spaghetti, which made everything very black, and Calabrian Chili which added a very nice spice.  It was rich, savory, perfectly al dente, and very black. but very good.  I did get to try my friends Sweetbread Schnitzel.  In the past, fried and breaded sweetbreads have reminded me of chicken nuggets.  The sweetbread schnitzel followed along the same lines.  It was good, though I was glad I ordered the octopus.

For my second cocktail, I went with what they called Flatlands and what was essentially a White Negroni.  It was made with Letherbee Springtime Gin, Gran Classico Bitter, and Italian White Vermouth.  I am generally picky about my Negronis, but I would definitely have this again.  It was bitter, though not overwhelmingly so, was very smooth, and had a nice bittersweet flavor.

As I had gone meat free for my first two courses, I decided to remain so with my entree (more or less).  I went with a Pan-Roasted Swordfish with Clams, Mussels, Oxtail Ragout, Braised Black Olives, and Bread.  It was really good and was kind of a combination dish.  The Swordfish was tender, flaky, and slightly sweet, the mussels and clams in broth reminded me of Moules Marnieres.  Both the mussels and clams were big and there were plenty of them.  The bread was good for eating with the broth, and the oxtail was tender, shredded, and added another savory flavor.

While I was kind of full by the time I got to dessert, I wasn't going to turn it away, especially since I was paying for it already.  For dessert, we had a choice of Cheesecake, Creme Brulee, or a Caramel Cake.  I almost never order cheesecake in a restaurant and I am very picky about my creme brulee, so I went with the Caramel Cake.  It was served with Kumquat Jam and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.  The vanilla bean ice cream was very good, so good in fact, that I think that it was the highlight of the dish.  Both the cake and jam were good, but the ice cream was much better.

Overall, I really enjoyed my dinner here.  The food was good and stood up to the standards and reputations of all chefs involved, the space is nice and the staff is very friendly and helpful.  I will definitely have to return.