Mordecai - Chicago Restaurant Week

 

 

 

I love Chicago Restaurant Week.  Friends joke that for me, it's like Christmas.  Admittedly, they aren't far off.  While there are a few restaurants I will repeat, I generally use restaurant week to check out places that I have not yet tried and the first place that I went for Restaurant Week was one of the latter.  Mordecai is part of Folk Art Restaurant Group, the group fronted by Matthias Merges, a former Charlie Trotter protege, who went on to run the late lamented Yusho, Billy Sunday, Old Irving Brewing, and others.  Mordecai is located in Wrigleyville, across from Wrigley Field and is named for Hall of Fame Pitcher, Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, who was with the Cubs from 1904-1912 and 1916.  There are several pictures and articles in the restaurant including a picture of his mangled hand, which was injured in a farming accident.  The dining room is high ceilinged with many TVs playing sports.  There is a large bar along one wall with a large liquor selection.  While it was pretty low key when I was there, I imagine that it can get pretty raucous during baseball season (or even when a Chicago team is doing well).  I was seated at a large corner banquette table where I had a very ood view of the room.

 

For Restaurant Week, a restaurant will offer a three or four course dinner for a fixed price.  Many restaurants will also offer their regular menu to offer diners a choice to go a la carte.  While there were some items of interest on the main menu, I decided to go with the prix fixe and started with a salad and a cocktail, which I ordered separately.  Both items were really interesting and good.  The cocktail, called a Soda Jerk was made with No. 3 London Dry Gin, Maraschino, Creme de Violette, Orange Liqueur, Egg White, and Cherry Soda on the side (options were Cherry, Orange, and Grape) which was available to dose your cocktail as you wish.  The base cocktail was kind of a combination of an Aviation and a Last Word, but the soda added a sweet flavor.  It was good and fun to add the soda to see how it changed the drink.  For my first food course, as I said, I got a salad.  I generally will not order salads because they are frequently very boring, but this salad had a lot going on in terms of both flavors and textures.  In addition to the Leafy Greens, it also had Frisee, Apples, Smoked Carrots, Shaved Roots (Beets and Radishes), Heirloom Tomatoes, Crispy Rice, and Creamy Coconut Dressing.  It was crisp and crunchy and had a nice nutty flavor from the crispy rice.

The main course was surprisingly good.  The choices were a Steak course, a Chicken course or a Fish course.  For me, the choice was easy.  I generally don't order chicken in a restaurant because I eat chicken so often at home and want something different.  While I will occasionally order beef, if it's a steak, I will pass, because anyone can do a good steak.  Fish it was.  I was served Broiled Cod with Japanese Spaghetti, Togarashi, Nori, and Shiso.  The Japanese spaghetti was Udon.  It was tender and had a lot of flavor.  The Togarashi added some spice.  The Nori (seaweed) added a briny flavor, and the Shiso was dried and crumbled with the Nori to add a slightly savory flavor.  The Cish was very tender, flaky, and some of the best tasting fish I have had.

For dessert, I had a classic with a twist.  I saw Flourless Chocolate Cake, which I knew and liked a lot, but also listed was Prickly Pear Gel, Brown Butter Ice Cream, and Cookie Crumble.  The Prickly Pear Gel was served over the cake adding a tart and fruity flavor to the dark chocolate of the cake.  I had had, and liked, brown butter, but I really couldn't imagine it being used in ice cream.  It really worked.  Brown Butter has a savory and nutty flavor which complemented the creaminess of the ice cream and the cookie crumble added a chocolate complement that tied the ice cream and the cake.  It was a great finish to a very good dinner.

I really liked my meal here.  The food and drink all started uncomplicated and did that part well, but added an upscale twist to elevate things.  The space looked very nice and the wait staff was outstanding.  I would be happy to return, probably on a day in which the Cubs are not playing.