Beatnik - Brunch

 

 

 

 

A Beatnik was the name given to the counter-culture of the late 1940s to early 1960s and those that embraced it.  They were worldly, open, artistic, pushing back against the ideas of the time and embracing many ideas and philosophies from India and Asia.  They were the Hipsters of their time.  The restaurant, Beatnik, in West Town, tries to embrace this aesthetic with it's design, menu, and soundtrack.  I decided to go there for a weekend brunch, just before the lock down started, because I had heard a lot of good things about it and I wanted to get there while I still had a chance.  Things started before I even entered the building.  It was very easy to recognize because of the colorful shelter at the entrance.  The door opens to an atrium with glass walls and a cracked tile floor.  The cocktail lounge is to the left and the dining room which the atrium opens to in the middle of the room is mostly to the right.  The room is large and basically open with antique brick walls, unfinished ceilings, and a lot of plant life and parasols.  Many of the dining areas start with large and heavy wood tables, which was what ours was, and the seating consisted of a lot of wicker and cushions.  There is a large skylight at the front of the room, where many of the parasols are located, with the back of the room lit with large crystal chandeliers and candlelight.  There were several large semi-enclosed booths against the walls, that employed Eastern motifs, that would seat about 12 people apiece and the kitchen was open.  The menu design went with much of the rest of the place, employing paisley/psychedelic design.  The food and drink was very international, sometimes bringing elements from several different cultures into one dish.

 

There was a lot to look at on the menu, so while I was looking, I took a little time and ordered Coffee and a cocktail.  The coffee was served in a vintage coffee cup that looked like something I might see in my Grandmas house.  The coffee itself seemed to be a medium roast, was pretty flavorful, and was quickly refilled.  My cocktail was called a Wake Up Call and it was like a bastard child of and Old Fashioned and an Irish Coffee.  It started with Bourbon, and added Sparrow Cold Brew, Walnut Liqueur, Montenegro, Demerara, Mole Bitters, Coconut Whip, and topped it with Nutmeg.  It was really good.  In addition to the booze and coffee, the cocktail added some sweetness and spice topped with whipped cream and I really liked the Nutmeg finish.  With what was essentially two cups of coffee in front of me, I was definitely ready for the world.

As is typical for brunches, I will look at the pastry list.  While Beatnik didn't have a list, as such, it did have a platter.  While I do typically order multiple pastries for the table to share, with the Platter, it was a given that I was going to need to share.  The Decadent Pastry Platter included a Cookie, a Cupcake, Coffee Cake, and Banana Bread.  As the name suggests, this platter was pretty decadent with many international flavors among the sweetness with a Miso Butterscotch Cookie, a Pecan Pie Cupcake topped with crushed Pecans, Apple Date Coffee Cake, and a couple slices of Tahini Banana Bread.  It was big, very good, and almost too much for my party of four in addition to our regular dishes.

As for my main dish, I noticed on the menu before I even came, a dish with international flavors (and origin) that I will not frequently pass up, though I did look at the rest of the menu before ordering it.  They had Shakshuka.  Admittedly, I had had it recently at my last brunch at Bad Hunter a few weeks prior and had loved that, but that was done in small as a pastry, and this was a complete dish.  As I had mentioned, Shakshuka is a Mediterranean Dish that is essentially Eggs poached in Tomato Sauce.  This Shakshuka was made as a Tagine, a Moroccan method of cooking that uses an earthenware clay cone over it that essentially slow cooks and steams the food inside.  This Tagine Shakshuka was prepared with Duck Eggs  in a Spicy Tomato Sauce, Roasted Marcona Almonds, A Fresh Herb Salad, and Merguez Sausage.  It was served with Pita Bread.  I found the best way to eat this was to stuff it into the Pita (Sausage, Eggs, Tomato, Herbs) and eat it as a Sandwich.  It was good, I enjoyed the flavors and textures, and eating it as a sandwich was different, but it wasn't something that I will have to come back for, like some of the other flavors here.  This was a lot of fun.  I loved both the design of the place and the international flavors.  I will definitely have to return to try their dinner and other cocktails.

Income Tax - Tasting Collective Dinner

 

When you go to a place called Income Tax, one of the last things you might expect is good food.  If, however, you go to a place called Income Tax in Edgewater, that is exactly what you will get.  Located in a former currency exchange, Income Tax both chose there name for the former proprietor of the space and to blend in with the neighborhood.  Their sign is small and very low key and the space blends into the neighborhood.  While it still could be a currency exchange from the outside, inside it is very much a European Wine Bar with hanging lights, small tables, and a lot of dark wood.  While I had heard of it and had heard good things, it wasn't really on my radar as for places to go.  When I got an email from Tasting Collective telling me that this was a place that they had chosen, I looked at the menu and looked it up a little more and decided that I was interested and would go.  The space is divided into two dining rooms, both nearly identical in design with hanging lights and a lot of dark wood.  The big difference was that one room had the bar and a table for larger parties in the back.  I was seated at a table of 8 (two four tops) near the front of the smaller room.  As the restaurant is serving an extended tasting menu to a large number of people, drink lists are generally abbreviated with a few beers, wines, and cocktails.  In this case, there were a few wines and beers offered, though there were no cocktails.  I decided to start things a Whiner Miaou, a Barrel Aged Dry Hopped Belgian Wheat Ale.  I had had it before so I knew that I would like it.  It is lightly tart with tangerine and citrus flavors and a mild hoppiness.

For our first course starting out our dinner, we started with Octopus Escabeche with Fennel, Melrose Pepper, Cranberry Beans, and Dill.  Escabeche means pickled and the dish have a certain tartness which was enhanced with the dill.  The octopus was chewy and flavorful, the cranberry beans gave the dish some body, and the peppers provided some sweetness.  Melrose Peppers are sweet Italian peppers that look similar to Jalapenos, but have a Scoville rating of 0 (for reference, a jalapeno runs in the 2500-8000 range and scotch bonnet peppers are in the 80,000-400,000 range).  Thaey are good for cooking and provide a nice pepper flavor without the heat.  The dish had a lot of flavor anf it was a nice start.

For our next course, we had more peppers, though these had the potential for having a little spice.  Referred to on the menu as Tempura Fried Sweet Peppers with Tonnato and Horseradish, they are listed as Nardello Peppers, another Italian Sweet Pepper, on the regular menu.  The tempura provided a nice light crunch on the outside of the crisp and sweet peppers.  Tonnato is a tuna aioli, and then there was the horseradish.  While the peppers themselves didn't provide any heat, the horseradish did add some spice.  The sweetness of the peppers, the light crunch, the tuna aioli, and the horseradish made for a great dish with a lot of texture and flavor.

When you go to many restaurants and have a lot of different dishes, occasionally, you will run into a dish you might not like or is at least less than your favorite.  I knew that eggplant is not a favorite of mine and that it can frequently become slimy if not cooked right.  Surprisingly this dish which contained Eggplant, as well as Walnut, Mint, Charred Cucumbers, and Golden Raisins, and served with Pita Chips was not the wreck that I was expecting.  The eggplant was stewed almost to the point of becoming Baba Ghannoush and the mint, walnut, and cucumbers added a lot of flavor and contributed to the textural variety.

After 3 dishes, we were then served the salad.  I found this a little humorous because, while salads are not generally first in a multi-course meal, it generally comes early in the meal. Our Wedge Salad came pre-chopped and contained Gem Lettuce, Radishes, Parsley Vinaigrette, and Ricotta Salata.  As far as salads are concerned, it wasn't bad, but to me a salad is frequently a space filler.

The next course also could be termed a salad.  It was definitely a vegetable dish in any case, but it was very interesting.  It was Roasted String Beans with Chanterelle Mushrooms, Roasted Red Onions, and Summer Truffles.  Dishes served with truffle oil frequently have a funky flavor from the truffle that overwhelms everything else.  Fresh truffles, on the other hand, have a much more subtle flavor while still providing the acrid truffle flavor.  The beans were crisp and crunchy, the onions and mushrooms were tender and flavorful, and the truffles were plentiful.

Our first entree was a pasta dish.  It was a pasta that I had never heard of, Maltagliati, which is similar to an unevenly cut Pappardelle, which was served with Roasted Sungold Tomatoes and Edible Marigolds.  If this wasn't enough, it was spiced with Nutmeg.  I liked this a lot.  It was tender with a lot of flavor.  The marigold had a floral flavor without being flowery and tomatoes always go well with pasta.  The nutmeg added an interesting spicy twist at the end.

Our final savory dish was a favorite favorite of mine because I enjoy pork belly in any incarnation.  We were served Crispy Slow Cooked Pork Belly with N'Duja (a spreadable salami which was actually turned into a sauce) and Grilled Broccoli.  The pork belly had a crispy outer crust and an inner texture and sweet flavor similar to a well cooked ham.  The N'Duja added a spicy tang similar to barbecue sauce, and the bitterness of the broccoli, which was amplified by being grilled, mellowed the sweetness of the dish.  It was nice, flavorful, and very good.

We finished things off with a Dark Chocolate Tart with Lavender, Blueberries, Almonds, and Anise Hyssop.  There were a lot of things to like about this.  I really like dark chocolate and this was seasoned with sea salt.  Lavender and blueberries are a great combination and these were combined as a marmalade-like sauce, and the anise hyssop, a wildflower in the mint family with an anise flavor was added to the whipped cream.  The tart was good on its own or in any of the several combinations in which it could be eaten.  I really enjoyed it and thought it made for a great finish.  I really enjoyed this dinner and will definitely have to try things out on my own.    

 

Bixi Brewery

 

It has been 3 years in the making, but I was very happy to see Bixi Brewery (pronounced Be-She) open recently, so I invited a couple of friends to try things out, which we did a few weeks ago.  Named for Bixi, a Dragon god with a tortoise shell, that supports great weights (like buildings and bridges), and images of which are rubbed for good luck.  The space is a two floor operation with very different designs on each floor.  The first floor has a bar on the left side and looks more typically like a bar.  There is an image of Bixi in front of the Chicago skyline done in black and white behind the long bar, which was done by a former Marvel comic artist.  There is also much table seating with the furniture also white with chrome legs.  The brewing area is in a glassed off area at the front of the bar, near the front.  Going up the stairs, the second floor also has a large bar off to one side, but the space looks more like a restaurant dining area than the first floor with a high ceilings, a large skylight, a rooftop dining area, green walls, and an area that looks like a salon, for a more intimate experiencce.  Having said this, you can eat and drink on both floors.  The bar has a large shelf with liquor on several shelves, with the high ceilings, I have to imagine that a ladder is necessary to get to the higher shelves, though I didn't notice one when we were there.  The tables, walls, and shelves on the second floor were also white, though there was a variation upstairs in that there were more colors involved than black and white (with some chrome).  There was some plant life as well as the green walls, which, although they did look very good, were artificial.  The salon area used green wallpaper with a plant-like design, the furniture looked like vintage 20th century salon furniture, i.e. upholstered couches and chairs with dark upholstery.  While the salon did look comfortable, the portraiture hanging on the walls, like the ape in the robe and flowered headdress were a bit odd.

Owned by Bo Fowler, who also owns and runs, and Owen and Engine, an English-Style Gastropub, and Fat Willy's, a barbecue joint, she decided to go in yet another direction with the food served, that being Asian.  Fowler, who was born in Korea, decided to work on a menu that was closer to her heart when creating this brewery and restaurant.  Most people don't think of beer when eating Asian food, the issue was to create a menu that would pair well with beer and to make beer that invokes the ideas and flavors of Asian fare.  While the menu looked really good and we discussed what we wanted to order, ordering the beer was much easier, between us, we all ordered flights which covered everything.  They had flights of three four and five.  I wanted to try as many as I could, so I had a flight of five.  I was able to try all of the beers, but I only ordered five.  Bixi covers many of the most common ale styles, with a lager also on draft, and augmenting many of their beers with Asian flavors.  The major styles that were missing was the Stout or Porter.  Though the first beer on their menu was a dark ale, it was a dark ale and not a stout or porter, and while it was good and was actually a favorite, it was definitely not a stout or porter.  It used Roasted Wheat, Caramel, Smoked Malt and was augmented with Szechuan Peppercorns.  Unspoken Rule was a Lagered Farmhouse Ale with Pearled Jasmine Tea.  Sanchez Therapy, another Farmhouse Ale was spiced with Cucumber, and had Melon forward aromas.  Against the Cross was probably the most mainstream and undifferentiated beer.  It was a classic American-Style IPA, which really reminded me of Bell's Two Hearted Ale.  My other favorite beer that I ordered for myself was surprisingly a Lager, which I normally find pretty boring.  This was augmented with rice like many American Macro Lagers, and at the front it really reminded me of Miller High Life, but the rice that was used was Jasmine Rice, which gave it a very distinctive flowery rice flavor.  The other beers served were a Summer Pale Ale, a Wit, and a Wheat beer, which were all pretty good.

The food menu (as well as the mural going up the stairs) was created by Kimski chef Won Kim.  While Chef Fowler and Chef Kim are both Korean, and the menu does include Korean food, it also includes, Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese, as well as American with Asian influences.  We started out with Oysters, which can't really be put into one menu except for seafood.  They served two different types of oysters each from East and West Coast.  We all ordered different Oysters, I ordered a Beausoleil Oyster, which is an East Coast raised in New Bruinswick.  I normally like raw oysters, and my dining partners liked theirs, but I apparently picked wrong, because I found it a little on the strong side.  For our other appetizers, we went with Kimchi Mandu with Mushrooms and Leeks, Momo with Chicken and Curry Spices, and a Chicago Beef Bao, which were all served at the same time.  All were very good with a lot of good flavors, though I think that I favored the Kimchi Mandu best.

Our main course was a Ssam Plate.  It was offered as a half or full size.  Because three of us would be sharing, We decided to get a full order and were still surprised by the size. Ssam means wrapped and it is generally meat wrapped in leafy vegetables.  For this plate we were served a lot of Leafy Vegetables, Scallion Pancakes, Char Siu (Korean Barbecued Pork), Asian Pears, Carrots, Peppers, and Bao.  It reminded me of the Korean version of Fajitas.  It was fun combining different things and tasting the different flavors.  There were several different types of greens with different flavors and it was fun to try different combinations.  I was generally taking a piece of char siu, a piece of pancake, some greens, some vegetables, and pile it all into the bao.  While I probably wasn't eating Ssam correctly, I was able to try the different flavors and textures, together and individually, and it was all good.

Bixi is a very nice looking space, and while they don't do groundbreaking beer, it is good, and it goes well with the food that they serve.  I will have to return to try more of the menu.

Belly Shack, Belly Taqueria, Half Acre Beer Dinner

I really like to go to special dinners hosted by various restaurants, not only because it let's the restaurant's kitchens the chance to explore and try different things which allows the diners to get to try things that may not be on the regular menu.  At these dinners diners also frequently get to try new beers and wines that may not yet be available to the public.  The thing I like about these special dinners though, is that frequently, industry people come to them, and it gives me the chance to meet some of the people that work behind the scenes and learn about things that might be in the works elsewhere.  I attended a beer dinner at Belly Shack for Half Acre Brewery recently called Belly Taqueria, which allowed the restaurant, which serves a fast food fusion of Latin and Asian cuisine, a chance to explore more of their Mexican side.  I really like Belly Shack and have been there many times.  I have even been filmed there (a quick shot of me eating showing the atmosphere of the place) when Chicago's Best was filming there for there Best Balls episode.  I am not sure how it has managed to be written up by me in normal circumstances.  The place is kind of small and has an Urban/Industrial Cool kind of look to it.  The place has cement floors and steel furniture with fake graffiti on the interior walls.  The front of the space is glass and the windows extend about halfway along the two adjoining sides.  There are four tops tables on either side of the room and a large communal table that will seat about 12 in the center of the room.  The counter for ordering is at the back of the room.  Under normal circumstances, people will place their orders at the counter, be given a numbered piece of angleiron, and find a place to sit.  The food is brought out as it's made.   For this visit, as there was a set menu, I didn't have to worry about ordering and I was seated at the communal table.  The beers we would be drinking were displayed at the front of the communal table actually next to where I was sitting.  We started things off with Half Acre's Pony Lager which was pretty good.  I am generally not a fan of lagers, because many have too little flavor for me. The Pony is modeled after a German Pilsener (as opposed to an American Pilsener like Miller high Life, PBR, or Budweiser) and was pretty flavorful.  After enjoying our first beer for a few minutes, our first course arrived.  It was a Beef Tendon Pozole with Pho Broth, Hominy, and Pork.  Neither Pho or Pozole are things that are served at Belly Shack, but it the combination falls right in line with what they normally serve.  The soup was warm, spicy, and very flavorful with a lot of meat and hominy to chew on.  It was very good and a nice start to the dinner. 

While the first course was served individually, the next several courses were served family style.  They were serving a lot of food, so I imagine that it made it easier for service.  The next course was the salad, which was actually sort of two salads in one. On one side was Chayote which is like a Mexican Summer Squash, and on the other side was Arugula.  A Poblano Peanut Dressing was served over both sides, although only the arugula seemed to have sliced peanuts.  Crispy Rice Noodles topped everything and provided a nice crunch.  It was fresh and flavorful with a little spice and lots of textures.

The next course was brought out on a large platter, but could actually be eaten easily without dividing anything up.  It was a sope, kind of like a thick tortilla with a rim.  It was topped with Braised Pork, Pineapple, Pea Shoots, and Kimchi.  Everything about this was good and it was one of my favorite dishes.  The sope was crispy and flavorful, the pork was tender, and the pineapple provided some sweetness.  The kimchi was both sour and spicy and the pea shoots provided a fresh vegetal flavor.

For our next course, we were served tacos that we had to build ourselves.  We were given fresh soft, corn tortillas, and on two separate plates we were given Nopales and Bean Curd on one plate and Oranges and Blood Oranges on another with Queso Fresco.  I built my tacos with everything, and while I don't regularly eat vegetarian tacos, I am not averse to having vegetarian food (especially since there was already a lot of meat with the meal), and the tacos were very fresh, and flavorful.

After all of this, we still hadn't gotten to the main course, this came next with a main course and two sides.  We were served some Roasted Chicken in Green Curry Mole Sauce with Dirty Rice, and Refried Lentils for sides.  This felt very Mexican to me despite the curry and the refried lentils instead of pinto beans.  The Asian ingredients added to the flavor of the dish(es), but it was so close to something that you would find in a Mexican household that I totally would have built this into a taco if there had been any tortillas left.

At this point, I was pretty full and I would have been happy ending things here, but the only thing left was dessert, and dessert was a must have.  We started out with Horchata, the sweetened rice milk flavored with cinnamon that is a favorite of mine.  I would have been fine with this, but it was paired with Churros with Soft-Serve Vanilla Ice Cream and Horchata Caramel.  They both went together very well and it was a great way to finish dinner.

I like both Belly Shack and Half Acre Brewery and will continue partaking in both.  The dinner was great and the food and drink were paired well, but the service and the company I had at the table was very good as well, and I predict that this will go down as one of my favorite dinners of the year.  

Smalls Smoke Shack and More

The size of a restaurant has little to do with the quality of food that comes out of it's kitchen.  I have been to some small places that put out some good food, but I think I may have recently found a definite competitor for the smallest restaurant in town.  The place has a very apt name, that being Smalls. Smoke Shack and More.  Located in Albany Park, it is a counter service restaurant with six counter seats (which are different counters than the order counter).  The room is a light brown with the counter, the seats, an order window (where orders come out), a drink refrigerator, and that's about all.  There was a sign written on a brown paper bag by the counter that listed the specials in addition to the menu above the order window.  I went there thinking that I wanted some barbecue and making my standard barbecue order so I could compare it (half-rack of baby back ribs) but then I saw the Brisket Bibimbap.  I really like bibimbap and I thought if I ordered it, I could get an idea about both their barbecue and their Asian food so it would be a win-win.  With the bibimbap, I ordered one of the vegetables on special, the Long Beans.  While I had heard of long beans, I had never tried them, so that's what the order would be.  The order came out on a metal try like what you might expect at a barbecue place with the long beans in a Chinese takeout box.  The bibimbap was separated into it's component parts, as bibimbap is generally served, with the fried egg on top of the rice.  With this Bibimbap, it included, in addition to the Soy Maple Sesame Glazed Brisket (which was also sprinkled with Sesame Seeds), Carrots, Bean Sprouts, Garlic Fried Rice, the obligatory Fried Egg, and Korean Chile Paste.  It was also served with a small side of kimchi.  I am used to seeing a little green and Daikon Radishes in Bibimbap, but I suppose it depends on what's available.  I did taste everything separately before combining it all and everything did taste fine on it's own, if a little plain.  Eaten together as it's supposed to be though, it was very good.  The brisket was shredded and was sweet and tender with soy, maple and sesame flavors, that played well with the garlic flavor of the fried rice.  The carrots and bean sprouts were very fresh and crisp, and the egg was well fried.  The chile paste was thick and spicy and had what I thought was a peanuty flavor, but after a little research think that it may have been the fermented soybeans.  While it was pretty spicy, mixed with everything else, it was toned down.  It provided a spicy finish to a flavorful dish without being overwhelming.  The Kimchi that was served on the side was fairly standard kimchi composed mostly of cabbage.  It was sour and spicy, but still pretty good.  For the Long Beans that I had ordered on the side, I had never had them before, so I didn't really know what to expect.  I had heard of them, and I knew that they were eaten in Asian cuisines, but as far as texture and taste, I was clueless.  I had read that like their name implies, they are very long.  Wikipedia states that they grow to about eighteen inches.  When served, they looked like haricot verts (French green beans that are slightly more slender than regular green beans).  They were cut into more manageable size pieces and not served long which was fine because I don't know that it would have been that fun to try and eat a whole long bean.  Texturally, they were like also similar to green beans, but they had a flavor more similar to asparagus.  They were very good and a good complement to the bibimbap.  I really liked my lunch here.  The food was an interesting combination and I will definitely return or at least stop for take out to try more of the menu.  

Rickshaw Republic

I generally think that I have a pretty broad palate and am familiar with a wide variety of cuisines.  There are a few cuisines with which I am relatively unfamiliar and I went to a restaurant that specialized in one of these last week.  Rickshaw Republic specializes in Indonesian cuisine and specifically, Indonesian street food.  I have a pretty good sense of geography and know that Indonesia is located in the Indian Ocean between Australia and Thailand.  It is considered part of Southeast Asia, so I would expect there to be some similarity between it's cuisine and the other major cuisines in the area: Thailand, Vietnam, North and South Korea, Philippines, and possibly that of India.  While this may have been the case, it was going to take some exploring to find this out.  I walked in and was immediately seated in the front room.  The room was small with 4 tables and a small bar (for additional seating as the restaurant is BYOB).  One of the first things that I noticed was that all of the seats were mismatched.  They were all black, but they were all of different designs.  There was a large Asian-style wooden screen dividing the front room and the rear dining area.  There were many knick knacks spread around the room for decoration including a couple of puppets and a toy rickshaw.  There was a hanging above the bar that acted sort of as a drop ceiling that was nailed with several dozen (if not over a hundred) things that looked like rolling pin handles.  What little I could see of the back room looked like it also had a lot of knick knacks, although the room was red to the front room's white.  Overall, the space very much gave me a feeling of it being a family affair.  As I said before, I was relatively unfamiliar with Indonesian cuisine.  Looking at the menu helped very little.  The names of the dishes helped not at all and I was only able to navigate by the descriptions of the dish.  I ended up ordering things by what was in the dish without really knowing how they were going to be presented or really having an idea how different flavor combinations were going to work.  My waitress was friendly and helpful and she did help me choose what I ordered.  I started out with Risoles.  These were breaded and fried croquettes of Chicken with Bechamel Sauce, Coriander, Fennel, Carrots, Cloves, and Celery, and were served with a Coconut Milk Curry.  It was crisp, very flavorful and easy to eat with your hands.  The curry that was served with it had a strong coconut flavor and reminded me of Massaman curry.  It matched well with the spices in the risoles and was a good start.

My entree was essentially a sampler plate although it is actually a dish served by Indonesian street food vendors.  It was called Nasi Rames and is an Indonesian mixed rice dish.  Further reading stated that there is no one recipe for Nasi Rames and it varies by vendor except that it includes rice (in this case it was coconut rice) and things to mix it with.  With my dish, it included Beef Rendang (beef that's been braised in coconut milk and spices), Curry Pickle, a Spicy Egg, Green Beans (with red peppers and fish sauce), Carmelized Tempeh (similar to fried tofu), Krupuk (multi-colored shrimp crackers), and was served with Sambal, a red pepper fish sauce that was served on the side.  I decided to try everything individually before I mixed everything together and added any sambal.  Everything was prepared well although the curry pickle was a little boring on its own.  It was a fresh and thinly sliced cucumber with a light pickle and curry flavor.  The green beans were freshly crisp and pretty spicy with the peppers.  The tempeh was actually kind of surprising because I first thought it was a meat of some sort.  It was flavorful, savory, and had a meaty texture.  The egg was hard boiled and was covered in a spicy red sauce.  The Beef Rendang was fork tender and had a lot of coconut milk and spicy flavor.  The Krupuk I had encountered before.  It was lightly flavored but very crispy and adds a nice crunch to whatever you eat it with.  Mixed together, it was a melange of flavors and textures although spice and coconut milk figured prominently..  The sambal is pretty spicy on its own so I used it lightly.  It did add another level of spice to a good dish that was pretty spicy in places already.

After that large entree, I decided that I should probably go light for my dessert, so I ordered what was essentially a drink.  It was called Es Cendol and included Ice, Rice Flour Jelly, Coconut Milk, and Palm Sugar.  The glass was brought to the table and the coconut milk was added there.  I was told to mix it before drinking it.  I could see the point of that because the coconut milk floated on top and if I were to drink it as it was, the flavors wouldn't have combined.  I mixed it up and the liquid turned about the color of coffee with cream with the globs of rice flour jelly floating throughout.  It was very good.  It was sweet and flavorful with the little bits of green jelly that were kind of like soft gummies.

The food here was very good.  My waitress was friendly and I now have an idea of what Indonesian food is like.  In my experience, it is most similar to Thai cuisine with some Filipino and Indian flavors thrown in.  I enjoyed it and will definitely have to return to try more.

Fat 'n Happy - New Year's Dinner at Fat Rice

I was very happy when Fat Rice opened last year.  I had long complained that there were no Portuguese restaurants and while Fat Rice, which serves a Macanese menu, is not precisely Portuguese, because Macau was long a Portuguese colony and serves food with a lot of Portuguese flavors.  When I saw that they were serving a special 5 course menu for New Year's Eve, I jumped at the offer.  Because they were serving everyone the same menu, they staggered seating at the bar and various tables.  I made my reservation at a table but because I was dining by myself and there were open seats at the bar, they offered me a seat at the bar which, in my opinion, is a better seat because it looks into the bar and open kitchen.  I started things off with a cocktail they called The Green Fairy.  Normally, when someone refers to the Green Fairy, they are referring to Absinthe which has a decidedly black licorice flavor.  This was not absinthe and had no absinthe in it but it did have a green cast and a black licorice flavor.  It was made with Anise Hyssop Vodka, Pernod, and Cava and garnished with a lemon peel, so in addition to the anise flavor it also had a light sparkling quality to it.  It was bright and had a palate cleansing quality to it.  I happen to like black licorice, so for me, this was a nice start.

For the first food course, we were served what was called a Pu Pu Platter.  What it was was a selection of contrasting bites and flavors.  Working from left to right, it started with Jellyfish and Duck Breast.  The jellyfish actually reminded me of crisp pickles by texture and taste and linguini by shape and size.  The duck breast was thinly sliced and very tender.  The two contrasting flavors actually complemented each other well.  Next in line was Smoked Tofu and Peanut that I might have called Smoked Tofu and Mushrooms because it actually had more Shiitake Mushrooms than Peanuts.  These all went together well.  The tofu brought smoke, the mushrooms had the earthy, mushroomy flavor that you might expect of mushrooms, and while the peanuts did add some flavor, I would say that they were more important as a textural element.  The third part to me was like a simple salad.  It was a combination of Romaine Stem and Granny Smith Apples and that is exactly what it tasted like.  It was a simple combination of lettuce and apples that tasted green and had a tart finish.  The last element was the one about which I was most curious.  It was called Mala Beef Tendon.  I would normally expect beef tendons to be pretty tough but these were a surprise.  It appeared as if they were unrolled and flattened and served with a savory sauce.  They had a crunch to them but they were actually pretty easy to eat and tasty as well.

While I was working my way through the appetizer plate, I was served another cocktail (on the house).  This was a combination of Muscatel and Cava served with Star Anise and Orange Peel so it also was sparkling and had a black licorice flavor, although this was a bit sweeter than the Green Fairy.

The second food course was the XO Oyster.  It was an Old 1871 Oyster, an Atlantic oyster bred in the brackish water at the edge of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.  It was served with Black Beans and Cilantro and garnished with Romaine Lettuce leaves.  It was briny, and meaty with an earthy flavor and it was also very good.  It also set the stage for the next course, the Congee.

I had had Congee before and was pretty underwhelmed by it.  The congee I was served here though, was a different animal entirely.  At it's most basic, Congee is a rice porridge that is cooked to the point that the rice begins to disintegrate.  It is fairly rich but it can also be pretty bland unless something is added to it.  With this Congee, Lobster, Long Beans, Chinese Crullers, and Bacon were added.  It was rich, savory, hearty, and really good.  Most of the lobster meat was removed from the shells and the shell was added for flavor.  There was some meat round the leg joints witch was really tender.  The cruller was added to help absorb the moisture, the long beans added a vegetable crunch with flavor similar to green beans, and everything is better with bacon.

For the main course, we were served Red Braised Rabbit with Bok Choy, Turnips, Tofu Skin, and Sauce Superior, which is a combination of Reduced Chicken Stock and Jamon Iberico.  The rabbit was fall-off-the-bone tender and very flavorful and while it does have a lighter flavor, I would not say that it tastes like chicken although that also may have been due to the braising liquid.  The bok choy and turnips were fresh and flavorful and the tofu skin was interesting.  There were two of them and they were each rolled up and tied like parchment with a vegetable "string".  They were flavored with the Sauce Superior and had a nice chew.

The dessert, while it did have some Asian flavors, I would say was more French than Asian or Portuguese.  It was a Chocolate Pot de Creme with Orange, Persimmon, and Mint, and an Almondine Cookie.  A Pot de Creme is a loose custard served in a small custard dish.  I wouldn't have expected chocolate to go with orange but the persimmon, mint, and the almond cookie tied everything together.  I personally prefer my custards to be more "solid" than what a pot de creme is normally but the flavors and the flavor combinations made for a very good dish. and a good finish to the meal.  I again will say that I really like Fat Rice, they add a lot to the neighborhood, and the dinner was both a nice end to a great year in dining and the beginning of a great evening/New Year.