Cabra-Brunch

Being a lover of Peruvian food and a fan of Stephanie Izard's, I was very excited when it was announce that she was going to open a Peruvian Cevicheria, Cabra (Spanish for Goat), on the rooftop of the new Hoxton Hotel in the West Loop.  While I knew that I wanted to go, I didn't really have plans to go until I happened to be in the West Loop on a Saturday morning and was looking for a place to eat for brunch.  I knew that it was on the rooftop and it could be seen from the road, I was just not sure how to get there.  Walking into the building was not a big help because the lobby was occupied by Cira, a Mediterranean restaurant run by Chef Chris Pandel, and a Coffee shop, and I had to walk through the lobby/restaurant to get to the elevator, which was luckily labeled.  The elevator opened into a passageway that emptied emptied into two dining rooms, both large and open with large windows and a covered roof.  One room held the Ceviche Bar and the Cocktail Bar and the other side had a pool.  I walked into the bar side and saw that Chef Stephanie was working behind the Ceviche Bar.  It would have been interesting to sit there, though that bar was full, so I sat at the cocktail bar, which gave me a good view of the local skyline.      

 I started with a spin on a Pisco Sour.  Called a Sunrise Over Nazca, it was also a Coffee drink which included Coffee-infused Pisco, Passionfruit Honey, Lemon, and Egg White, and like all Pisco Sours was garnished with Angostura Bitters.  It was awash in a variety of flavors and I really liked it.  It started with the bitter of the Coffee, then went to the sour of the Passionfruit and the sweetness of the Honey, with the flavor of the Pisco available throughout.  

When I was in Peru, I tried something called a Causa.  It was generally a combination of Mashed Potatoes, Chicken, Aji Chilies, and Vegetables.  When I saw that Cabra had a Causa, it had to be had.  this Causa had replaced the Chicken with Crab, combined the Aji Chilies into the Mashed Potatoes, and added Avocado.  It was very creamy and tasted very fresh with the creamy avocado and the sweetness of the crab.  The Aji added a little spice at the end which was nice.

Next on the agenda were the Goat Empanadas.  I had had Goat Empanadas at Chef Stephanie's signature restaurant, Girl and the Goat.  With a Grilled Mushroom and Apple Giardinera it was savory and a little spicy.  The Empanadas were the same, though the mayo dipping sauce was different.  At Girl and the Goat, they use a Miso-Bleu Aioli and at Cabra they used a Huancaina Mayo, which combined Queso Fresco and and Aji Amarillo Chilies.  It was creamy and spicy and went well with the empanadas.  

Finishing off, I went with the Quinoa Peruvian Sourdough Toast with Strawberry Aji Jam, Passionfruit Honey, and Queso Helado.  It was sweet, a little tart, a little spicy, and pretty good.  It made for a very good finish to another of Stephanie Izard's very good restaurants and I would very much enjoy returning, especially now that i know where I'm going.