Le Sud

 

I have always liked French food.  Like many other cuisines, it changes based on what region you are exploring, though it can still be recognized as French Cuisine.  Many French restaurants around here focus on the food focused around the capitol and cultural center of France which does combine several regions, so you can get kind of a big picture of French Cuisine in general, though it is nice when a restaurant focuses on a specific region.  I went to Le Sud recently which, as you may guess, serves cuisine from the Mediterranean south of France.  Located in the neighborhood in Roscoe Village, the general design of the building is pretty plain.  It looks like a small concrete box with small windows.  The color of the concrete box, though hints that there is something special here, it is sky blue.  There is a round sign on the corner, above the door, with a rooster, the name, and the fact that it is a Mediterranean French restaurant.  There is a hall inside the door that enters the dining room midway into the dining room.  The dining room looks like a classic French bistro.  It feels very homey.  The walls are drywalled and have some hanging art between the French doors looking out.  The tin ceilings are unpainted and the hanging lights look like milk bottles in a metal basket.  The bar is small and is located in back near the wine rack and the kitchen and it's where I sat because it gave me a good view of what was happening and someone to talk to about the restaurant (the bartender and eventually, the manager).  There was a general map of Southern France painted above the kitchen entrance and next to a large wine rack containing what looked like a pretty good wine selection.  When I am sitting at a bar, I will generally look to see what their liquor selection looks like.  My first choice, when it comes to liquor is gin, and as I expected with this bar, while there was some gin, the general selection was kind of slim.  What they did have was a very nice selection of Amaro and French Bitters which I also like to explore.  While I said that their gin selection was slim, what they did have was pretty good.  The cocktail I ordered was called The Sylvan and included St. George Terroir Gin, Dolin Genepy, Fresh Sage, and Muddled Orange.  It tasted very fresh and green, earthy and herbal, and had a nice citrus finish from the large amount of orange that was used in the drink (I think an entire orange was muddled).  It was very fresh and very much fit in my mind what a bistro cocktail should taste like.

For my first appetizer, I went for more earthy flavor.  I like Escargot (Snails) and I will order them frequently when I see them on a menu.  There was Escargot on the menu and I ordered it, but the presentation was not what I expected.  The snails, of which I was presented plenty, were shelled and skewered on one skewer.  They were Wood Grilled and served with Herbes de Provence (Rosemary, Fennel, Thyme, Marjoram, Basil, Lavender, Parsley, Oregano, Tarragon, and Bay), a Petite Green Salad, and Country Bread.  As it was presented, I figured that the best way to eat it was similar to the way that I eat Marro, as an open faced sandwich.  I did eat an Escargot on it's own to get the flavor individually, but generally, I piled the greens on the bread, and topped it off with the escargot.  The snails had were very savory and smoky and had a nice earthy flavor which went well with the greens.  It was different from how I had ever had it, but very good.

My second appetizer was also earthy and many people are kind of unfamiliar with what they are.  Sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem Artichokes, are a tuber from a species of Sunflower.  They have a texture similar to potatoes, though the flavor, slightly nutty and a little sweet, is kind of like a cross between an artichoke heart and a great potato.  These Sunchokes were Roasted and served with Pickled Blueberries and Trumpet Mushrooms.  It was earthy, a little tart from the blueberries, and very good.

My entree was a classic of Frence cuisine, Steak Frites.  My steak was a Bavette (or Flank) Steak served on the Rare Side of Medium Rare with Sorrel Butter and Aioli.  It was juicy, tender, and very good, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, and the frites were cooked perfectly.  It's one of those dishes that will just bring a smile to your face.

Dessert wasn't specifically Southern French or French in general, but it is something that I really enjoy.  It was a Basque Cake with Dates, Almonds, Oranges, and topped with Chantilly Cream.  It is simple sweet, and nutty, and topped with Chantilly Cream.  It was a nice and simple finish to a simple, earthy, and very good meal.  I will enjoy returning.   

Vincent - Tasting Collective Dinner

 

About 8 years ago, a restaurant specializing in Belgian food, Vincent, was born.  When I heard about it, something that was pretty easy because it got a lot of buzz, I thought it was named after Vincent Van Gogh.  This is actually kind of funny, because Van Gogh was Dutch and not Belgian, so there isn't much reason to name a Belgian restaurant after him.  FYI, the restaurant was apparently named after the owner's dog.  After a time, the buzz died down and I actually thought that it closed.  This disappointed me a little because I had actually wanted to go there.  I was surprised, then, to receive an email inviting me to a Tasting Collective Group Dinner at Vincent.  I was excited to see that it was still open and quickly signed up for a dinner.  Located on a side street and not on a corner in Edgewater/Andersonville, it's kind of off the beaten path, but it easy to find.  I discovered quickly that while it is still a bistro, it no longer specializes in Belgian food, though there is a definite northern European spin on what they serve.  The space is small and intimate with hardwood floors and divided into two rooms.  The room in which you walk is dark and very much more old school European.  This room has the host station and the bar in the back and it looks very cozy.  The main dining room, where I dined was also small, with seating for about 60 people.  It was had high ceilings, mismatched hanging lights and some interesting wall art.  One wall was covered in hanging mirrors, but the main event in the room was the wall hanging above the table at which I sat.  There was a sculpture that looks like like a deer head hanging on the wall, except that no animal has anything to do with it.  The form of the head is wrapped in gold foil, the hardwood frame looks like painted cloth, and the large antlers, which take up a large amount of air space are made of flowering tree branches.  The restaurant has a curated list of cocktails and beer, with a slightly longer list of wines.  Because Tasting Collective is a large group, when a dinner is planned, we will take over the restaurant, so the available drinks are curated even more.  While I will generally lean toward gin drinks, I will look to see what drink sounds most interesting to me.  There was a Mezcal drink on the menu that interested me, though it sounded very much like a drink that I had had recently, so I decided to go with the gin drink that they had on the menu.  Called Sneaky Peach it was sweet, had a  strong peach flavor and was made with Broker's Gin, Cynar, Peach, Raw Ginger, Lemon, Mint, and Soda.  While the peach flavor was strong, there was enough cool spice from the ginger and mint to make it more than a one dimensional drink.  It was pretty good despite being a little sweeter than drinks that I normally go for.

Tasting Collective dinners are made slightly easier for the kitchen by being served family style with each plate serving three or four people.  We quickly learned that that the kitchen had gone into "overwhelm" mode as the course sizes were enormous.  For our first course, we were served a heaping salad with Bitter Greens, Pickled Beets, and Apricot Dressing.  It also tasted as if Walnuts were used, though they were not mentioned on the menu and I did not bite into one.  I am generally not a huge salad fan, but the beets and the apricot dressing helped give it some flavor.  While it was just a salad, it was a pretty good salad.

Our next course was a favorite of mine, Blistered Shishito Peppers, which we were again served a large amount.  Shishito Peppers are interesting in that, for the most part, they are very mild, however, about 1 in 10 have enough spice to give you a surprise while eating it.  It doesn't reach any level that you might call hot, but it is a surprise when wolfing down peppers that have no burn at all to encounter one that has a slight burn.  While the majority of the peppers were not hot, I was surprised with two, one of which was the first one that I ate.  The spiciness of the dish was augmented by Togarashi dressing which added a slight bite to everything.  While there was a slight bite from the Togarashi, you could tell when you encountered a spicy pepper, because the togasrashi remained on the outside, and with the pepper, there was a slight delay from the spicy bite.  These were very good and I probably ate more than my fair share, but my dining partners were all slightly spice-phobic, so the fact that I was happy to eat them was fine with them.

Our third course was melon, and while I am a little leery when I see melon on a menu because I dislike cantaloupe, I will still eat it.  This melon was not cantaloupe and I am not actually sure what kind of melon it was, but it was good.  The Fresh Melon was served with Burrata, Chia Seeds, and Edible Flowers.  The fruit of the melon was slightly sweet, but it was seasoned with salt and a something like paprika.  The burrata was light and creamy and the chia seeds interestingly gelled together.  It all provided an interesting combination of flavors and textures and I enjoyed it.

For our next course, I wish I had known ahead of time that I could have asked for a leftover box because we were again overwhelmed.  It was our one pasta course and it was again served in a huge size.  Called Poblanos Pappardelle, it started, obviously with Pappardelle Pasta which was served with Summer Squash, Poblano Peppers, Zucchini, and Tomato Aubergine (Eggplant) Sauce.  It was very fresh,  had a lot of flavor, and we unfortunately sent much of it back because there was a lot left to eat and we were starting to get full.

 

On our menu, the last item, the pappardelle, and the next item, Charcuterie were switched, but the chef made a game day call to switch them because he thought that serving three entrees in a row would overwhelm the diners even more than he was doing with the large serving sizes.  As it was, with the amount and different types of charcuterie we were served, we were still overwhelmed.  We were served Chicken Liver Mouse, Pate, and a Terrine with Tomatillo Jam and a large amount of Toast made from Housemade Bread.  It was all good, though I think that I liked the Terrine on Toast with Tomatillo Dressing best.

And then came the whole fish.  We were served a whole Roasted Branzino which was served with Mussels.  When it came out, many of the diners, myself included, puzzled as to how we would attach the fish.  The Mussels would be very easy, but no one was looking forward to fileting a fish for a group.  Luckily we didn't have to worry about it for long because one of the servers came over with a very sharp knife and removed the head, opened the skin, and removed the bones.  The flesh inside was very tender and flavorful and the mussels and broth complemented it very well.  This whole fish was shared among four of us and while we did eat most of it, there was still a significant portion left over.  While it was good though, I would not take fish home.

With the last savory course, I hit the wall and needed a box.  We were served a Roasted Rack of Lamb with Licorice Gastrique and Roasted Turnips.  It was divided into four, but my dining partners were also feeling pretty full and while I took a few bites, I ended up taking much of the plate home as my dining partners were not interested in taking home a box.  It was tender and very flavorful and the turnips were also very good.  I enjoyed it at the restaurant and then for a later meal.

While I probably could have eaten all of my lamb, when I got to dessert, I would have then been very uncomfortable.  As it was, I ended up full, but I was going to be able to handle dessert without much discomfort.  We were served Panna Cotta with Fresh Cheese and Peaches.  The Panna Cotta was fairly standard and maybe even a little boring, but with the fresh cheese, some salt, and the peaches, it bumped it up and made for a very good finish.  I really liked the food here and will have to return to try more and also to compare to see if their normal serving size is extra.       

SBK Supper Club - Bistro By the Sea

Sauce and Bread Kitchen does some great dinners.  I have been to several and have enjoyed them all.  Last month, they did one that they claimed was simple food.  They called the dinner Bistro by the Sea and as can be guessed, featured bistro-style dishes with seafood.  While I will grant that there were a few simple dishes, like the first, even the simple dishes were done very well.  We started out with a couple of Oysters, one East Coast and one West Coast.  The East Coast Oyster was from Misty Point, Va and the West Coast was from Willapa Bay, Wa.  They were served with an Apple Cider Vinegar/Hot Sauce Mignonette, Lemons, and Horseradish.  I will frequently eat oysters in the shell in one swallow, so admittedly I probably lose the finer details of the taste, but while they did have slightly different tastes and the West Coast Oyster was bigger, they were both briny and tasted very good.  Due to the shape of the shell, it was smooth, the West Coast Oyster was easier to swallow.

For the second course, they did something that falls right into their wheelhouse, It was a bread plate called a Pissaladiere, which is a bread dish originating in Nice, France, with Olives, Caramelized Onions, and Anchovies.  For our course, it was served in squares loosely stacked on a bread board with Canned Anchovies.  The bread used Green Peaches, that were treated with lye like olives, Caramelized Onions, and Tomatoes.  We put the oysters on the bread as we liked.  The bread actually lasted longer than the Canned Anchovies, which was fine because the bread was fantastic on its own.  It was soft, fluffy, and very salty and flavorful, while the oysters were good with it, it was good on it's own.

From the bread, we went to a Salad Course.  It was a Smoked Trout and Spinach Salad with a New Potato and Heritage Weisse Cheddar Waffle, Crispy Shallots, and Mustard Vinaigrette.  The spinach was very fresh, crisp and flavorful.  The mustard vinaigrette was had a nice spicy mustard flavor, the trout had a lightly crisp exterior, but was pretty tender and flaky.  The most creative part of this though was the waffled cheddar.  It was crispy, chewy, waffled, and had a great fried cheddar flavor.

For our main course, we had Bouillabaisse, a fish stew that originated in Marseilles using bony fish that the fishermen were unable to sell, as well as sea food and shellfish.  This version actually had no fish.  It had Mussels, Shrimp, Clam, Koji Cured and Smoked Pork, Fennel, Magic Broth, a Mayonnaise based sauce that we mixed into the broth, and Baguettes.  There was a lot of shellfish in the stew, so it was a good thing that we had an extra bowl for the shells.  the meat in the shellfish was big and flavorful and the sauce added a richness to the broth.  The baguette was crusty and was great for soaking up the broth, but admittedly, I ended up tipping the bowl up and drinking the broth after the shellfish and baguettes were gone.  It was very good.

Finally, came our dessert.  It was called a Tarte Fromage Blanc avec Black Raspberry Meringue Coulis.  Translated, that would be a White Cheese Tart (Cheesecake) with Black Raspberry Sauce.  It was also served with Ice Cream.  It had a nice crust on the outside and the tart was a little more savory than your standard cheesecake.  The Black Raspberry Coulis was tart and the ice cream added some sweetness.  It was a nice finish to a very good meal.  I really enjoy the creativity that SBK brings to their evening meals and I will continue to go to them.         

Café Marie Jeanne

While there are a few places that are really good there, I generally don't think of Humboldt Park for dining out.  I happened to be in the neighborhood one morning for other reasons and I hadn't eaten, so I decided to check out a place on a corner that I knew to be blowing up.  From the outside, Café Marie Jeanne looks like one of the many independent coffee shops or small restaurants in the city.  It sits on a corner and has large windows on both sides of the corner.  The sign is nice, although understated, with painted script on the lower part of the windows.  Walking in, the look is of a cafe, with hardwood floors, a painted tin ceiling, several tables laid out cafeteria-style (straight lines), and a few booths.  As you walk in, there is a small display counter with some beer, sodas, and produce, and pastries, which is one end of a long slate topped bar.  While they operate primarily as a restaurant, you can also buy fruit, milk, coffee, some produce, beer, and wine for take out, as in a market.  There seemed to be another dining room in the back, but I was happy in the front at the bar where the beer, wine, coffee, and liquor were.  While I was given a couple of menus consisting of breakfast and drinks to look at, I also noticed that there were several chalkboard menus at different places that emphasized specials, coffee, and beer and liquor.  While I was looking at, and comparing, all of the menus, I decided to start things off with some coffee.  I had not had a Capuccino in a while and they used a good coffee (Metric), so that's where I started.  I was happily surprised that, in addition to good tasting coffee, I also got some nice Latte Art.

The a la carte menu features a lot of meats, cheeses, produce, and pastries, so it potentially could take a little work to put together a composed meal, but a pastry is a good start.  I ordered a Ham & Comte (Cheese) Croissant and from the start, it reminded me of something I might find at a French Patisserie.  The plate, in fact, had a blue design around the edge and a blue farmhouse painting in the center.  It really reminded me of something I bought in France years ago.  The croissant was very light with a crispy and flaky crust and a nice chewy interior.  The ham was thinly sliced in the center and was very tender and flavorful and the Comte, while mostly melted into the croissant , still provided a nice funky cheese flavor.  I would have been happy with this alone, but there was more to come.

While I said that there were a lot of pieces and it could take a little work to create a composed dish, Café Marie Jeanne provided an easy way to do it.  On the menu is a Breakfast Sandwich that you essentially choose yourself.  How it works is that you choose two items from the Breakfast A La Carte Menu which are then placed, with cheese (White Cheddar) and an egg to order, on Country Wheat Bread or an English Muffin.  You could also build your sandwich on a muffin for a premium.  For my sandwich, I chose Smoked Brisket, and Jowl Bacon on an English Muffin with my egg over medium (so I get a little yolk, but it doesn't explode), which with the egg and cheese, made for a seriously hearty sandwich.  Everything about this sandwich was very good (although it was a little work to be able to get a good first bite because it was pretty big).  The brisket and jowl bacon were very flavorful and slightly crispy, but not charcoal, the egg was cooked perfectly and the cheese was melted.  I really enjoyed this, as well as my breakfast in general, and will definitely have to return to try different versions of the sandwich. 

Bar Marta

While there are some restaurants that I plan on going to months in advance, there are others that I decide on the day I go.  I recently had nothing on my agenda and wasn't looking for anything spectacular or extravagant, so I decided to look at one of the neighborhood places close to me.  Bar Marta isn't in my neighborhood, but it is close, in Humboldt Park, and it's where I decided to go.  I read before arriving that many of the people from Bar Marta had previously worked with Brendan Sodikoff's restaurant group, Hogsalt.  I was not sure if this meant that it was part of the Hogsalt Restaurant Group, but it did give me an idea of what to expect.  While the group has a number of restaurants serving a wide variety of cuisines, they all have a certain commonality.  They are all dark, their food menus are fairly small and each feature a significant of small plates with a few large plates.  They have a good selection of craft beers and many of their featured cocktails are classics or based on classics.  Pulling up to the restaurant, I saw that while there is a sign on the door, it is very unobtrusive and you would never know that the place was a restaurant unless you saw the sign.  It sits on a corner on a main road with the narrow side on the main road and the entrance on the long side.  Walking in, I saw that it followed one of Hogsalt's key things, it was very dark.  There was a long bar opposite the entrance which is where I decided to sit.  The dining room is carpeted and while there are large windows on the long side, opposite the bar, they are covered by heavy curtains.  The room was a light color, but I because it was so dark, I couldn't really tell what light color it was.  The bar was a substantial element in the room.  It was big, looked heavy and had a white marble top.  Looking at the beer and cocktail menu, I saw that they had a pretty good beer and wine list.  The cocktails were divided into Shaken, Stirred, Sparkling, and Old Fashioneds.  While I was interested in a cocktail, I wasn't looking for anything really heavy, so I went for one of the Sparkling drinks.  Called a Strange Brew.  Served on ice, it consisted of Gin, Pineapple Juice, and Evil Twin Yang IPA.  As I like both gin and IPAs, this was a nice choice.  It was heavier than a beer, but was a lighter cocktail.   It tasted first of pineapple with herbal notes from the gin and the hoppy bitterness and head from the IPA.

The food menu was divided by the featured elements of the dish (Pantry, Seafood, Vegetables, Meats, Pasta, and Dessert) with smaller courses at the top of the list and more substantial courses further down the list in that category.  For my meal, I chose a vegetable and meat course, but I was torn about the seafood and pasta.  The vegetable courses consisted of several salads and some other interesting things.  I am generally not a regular green salad orderer so that did limit my choices somewhat.  What I did order though was based on what I ordered for my meat course.  What I did order could technically be considered a salad, the greens were no the main element.  I ordered Marinated Beets with Grapefruit, Sunflower Seeds, Arugula, and a Mustard Dressing.  I like beets and these were very good.  The addition of the grapefruit added some citrus bitterness which paired well with the arugula.  The sunflower seeds added a some crunch and a nutty flavor, and the mustard added a tart finish.

For my main course, I went with a bistro classic, Steak Frites, which is exactly what it sounds like, Steak and French Fries.  The steak was a prime hangar steak wet aged 21 days cooked medium rare (diners choice).  It was tender and flavorful with a little funk to it.  It was not listed as aged, but it definitely had an aged flavor that had not quite reached blue cheese flavor, so I asked.  The fries were double fried which makes them crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.  They were also well salted and served with a Chili Aioli on the side as French Frites would be.

It wasn't listed on the menu, but a good bar will generally have a selection of Amaro.  I was interested in a digestif, so I asked what they had (because it was too dark to really see the bar back to see what they had).  After asking about a few things specifically, I ended up with an Averna.  It was thick and thick with a gently herbal bitterness, and I thought it would go very well with my dessert.

I only took a quick glance at the dessert menu because there was something that I saw that I knew immediately that I wanted.  Called an Eaton Mess, it is a traditional English dessert (actually spelled Eton) created for the annual cricket match between Eton College and Harrow School.  It consists of Whipped Cream, Seasonal Berries, in this case, Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, and Strawberries, and Meringue.  I had previously only seen this dish in London, so I was very excited to see it here.  I had previously seen this served in a dish or a cup, this was seved as what looked like a tower of whipped cream.  The tower was supported with slabs of meringue and covered in berries.  It was light, sweet, and crunchy, with an abundance of fruit in every bite.  It was a mess to eat, but it tasted good and it was fun to try.

Other than the dimness of the light, I enjoyed my time here.  It was quiet, had a low-key vibe, and the staff was friendly and informative.  The food was very good and there were a few things that I may have to return for.           

gastronomy

I am a foodie and love to experience new and different cuisines.  While I am a foodie, I try not to make it an exclusive thing.  I really like to give other people to stretch their boundaries, so for Christmas, I bought my brother-in-law a gift certificate for an 8 course tasting menu at a restaurant in the Detroit area called gastronomy (He lives in Michigan so it would be easier for him to get there than to Chicago).  The second in his party was my sister, his wife, but as I had never been to this restaurant and because my brother lives in the area, they invited us to dine with them.  I think though, that it was also because they had little experience with finer dining.  It was fine though, because I am always happy to try something new and to help understand what they might be having.  The word gastronomy means the art or science of good eating so I hoped the restaurant lived up to it's name.  I journeyed to the Detroit suburbs on the day of our dinner and we made our way to the restaurant.  While it wasn't that far from a major road, it was a little hard to find.  It was located in an office building in an office park.  There was a sign outside the park indicating that we were in the right place but the entrance was not obvious and we ended up driving around the office park, entering through the office building, and wandering around the building before finding an entrance.  We found that there was an entrance to the restaurant at the front of the building but it wasn't exceptionally obvious.  Once we arrived though, we were immediately seated.and presented with menus to let us know what we would be eating.  After our water was poured and when drinks were ordered, a bread course was presented to us.  It didn't count as one of the 8 courses but as it was a little different than your standard course, I thought I would include it.  The bread served was Naan, the Indian flatbread that is cooked on the side of a hot oven.  It is typically crispy on one side and fluffy on the other and has a slightly sweet flavor.  It was served with a Tzatziki Sauce, a yogurt sauce with herbs and spices and finely chopped cucumber.  The naan and tzatziki both lived up to their identities.  The naan was crispy on one side, fluffy on the other, chewy, and slightly sweet.  The tzatziki was more course than I would have expected but it had a good sour and fresh cucumber flavor and went well with the naan.

 Our first course was an Amuse Bouche.  In many restaurants, I have noticed that the Amuse is not counted as a course and is generally thought of as a little something extra.  I have noticed other restaurants counting it so I will let it pass for now.  The amuse bouche literally means happy mouth and is generally used by the kitchen as a pre-appetizer to try something new out or to use something for which there isn't enough for a complete dish.  The Amuse in this case was a Pancetta-Wrapped Date with Microgreens and a Lemon Sauce.  A common Spanish Tapa is the bacon-wrapped date which this was a variation of.  The pancetta was slightly crispy and sweet which went well with the sweetness of the date.  The microgreens added a little bitterness and the lemon sauce rounded out the dish with it's tartness.  While I might have a slight semantic disagreement with the naming or numbering of this course, it was very good.

 The next course was an Orchard Salad.   It contained Mixed Field Greens, Compressed Candied Apples that were candied with Cinnamon Candy, Sliced Radishes, Apple Cider Doughnut Croutons, Cracked Almond Brittle, and Cider Vinaigrette.  It was a vibrant and colorful dish with the green of the greens and the red of the radishes and the cinnamon candy that was used in both the candied apples and the almond brittle and the salad had a lot of cider and cinnamon flavor that played together well.  The croutons were less crisp than croutons normally are but that was okay because it was easier to spread the cider flavor.  The brittle was very crisp and spicy-sweet from the cinnamon and the vinaigrette added to the cider flavor.

 According to our menu, our next course was supposed to be a Pate course, but we were told when our next course, which was not pate was brought out that there was a miscommunication in the kitchen and the pate would come out next.  We were brought instead, the course that was supposed to come after the pate:  The Pan-Seared Diver Scallop with Miso Panko-Basil Sand, Champagne Sea Foam, Rock Chives, Sriracha Candy Coral, and a Littleneck  Clam.  This was a very creative and tasty dish, so I easily forgave the error in service.  The scallop was perfectly seared and tasted very fresh.  The miso panko-basil sand was creative and went well with the scallop and the clam was fresh and flavorful.  The candy coral was interesting.  It was bright red rock candy laid in the shape of a coral formation.  It wasn't exceptionally sweet although it did have a little sweetness to it.  What it was was spicy.  The Sriracha did not provide an immediate burn, but it did come as the candy dissolved in your mouth.

The next course was the pate.  It was a Duck Liver Pate that was presented with three different sauces to eat with it and some Housemade Chips.  The Sauces were Cherry Jam, Thyme Honey, and Blood Orange Candied Nuts.  Everything was very good separately and together, although admittedly I didn't try to eat everything together.  I think that the best combination was the pate with the cherry jam on a chip although the nuts and honey were both good together as well.

 The next course was an Intermezzo, a break with something brightly flavored to use as a palate cleanser.  We were served a Passionfruit Granita, a course frozen dessert similar to a sorbet although with a coarser texture.  This was bright, flavorful, very tart, and it readied our palates for our next course.

 

We were next served a Petite Filet.  It was a very complex dish with a lot of things served with it.  In addition to the filet, which was fork tender and very flavorful, it was served with Yukon Gold Potato-Bacon Risotto (potato and bacon prepared like risotto but with no rice), Sambuca Cress, Fried Brussels Sprout Leaves, Carrot Puree, Cranberry Caviar, and Veal Demi-Glace.  Everything was good and went together well.  There was so much variety here that if it was bigger, it could have been a meal in and of itself.

After our entree, the filet mignon, we were presented with our dessert.  It was a Sweet Potato Creme Brulee and came with a Toasted Marshmallow, Candied Walnut Dust, and Cherry Coulis (a thick fruit based sauce).  This really reminded me of a Sweet Potato Casserole that you frequently see at Thanksgiving and I really enjoyed it.  The sweet potato custard had a nice crust and the marshmallow was nicely toasted.  The walnuts and cherry coulis were flavorful and went together well with the sweet potato creme brulee. 

For our final course, the menu listed mignardises.  Mignardises are petit fors that serve the same way as an after dinner mint.  Our mignardise was a Chocolate Covered Strawberry.  The strawberry was large, fresh, and very flavorful and the chocolate was also very good.  It was a nice finish to a very good and creative dinner.  Despite the slight hiccups, I enjoyed my meal here and would enjoy to return.  I am not sure that I would again go for a degustation menu, the a la carte menu is exciting and there are several things that I would be interested in.

 

Glen Prairie

While you do have to travel further between them, there are some good restaurants that are located in the suburbs.  I went to visit friends in Lombard recently and we went to Glen Prairie which is located in the Crown Plaza Hotel in Glen Ellyn.  The space has elements of modern and classic with beam ceilings and hanging lights.  The tables are round and the chairs are padded and look to have some prairie style elements.  The restaurant specializes in local and seasonal cuisine.  Having said that, my appetizer was a bit of a stretch on that front.  I had Shrimp and Grits with Neuske's Bacon and a Honey Glaze.  I will grant that the grits, the 2 year aged cheddar that was used in the grits, the Neuske's Applewood Smoked Bacon, and the honey used for the glaze all very well could have been local, but the shrimp was definitely a salt water variety and Illinois is definitely not on the ocean.  I like shrimp and grits although I once had a dish at Mindy's Hot Chocolate that I now compare all Shrimp and Grits to.  While this dish had shrimp, grits, and bacon as shrimp and grits is expected to have, most dishes are buttery and served with a brown gravy.  Glen Prairie's shrimp and grits are buttery and cheesy but the honey glaze used makes the dish different enough that I couldn't really compare it to the other versions of shrimp and grits that I have had.  I will say that the dish was very good.  The grits were creamy, cheesy, and buttery, the shrimp was cooked perfectly allowing it to have a good chew without the rubberiness that results when shrimp are overcooked which is not uncommon.  The bacon was flavorful and chewy as I would expect of well cooked Neuske's bacon.  The homey glaze threw me off a little though because with most versions, they will go savory and this one went sweet.  The glaze did go well with the rest of the dish and brought out the sweetness in the bacon and shrimp.

For my entree, I went with the Espresso Rubbed Pork Tenderloin topped with Spicy Peach Chutney, and served with Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Caramelized Cauliflower.  The tenderloin was well cooked and juicy but the primary flavor of this was, like the shrimp and grits, sweet.  The espresso rub on the tenderloin did provide some moderating bitterness and the spicy chutney was a little spicy as should be expected but the whipped sweet potatoes and carmelized cauliflower contributed to the prevailing sweetness of the dish.  This was not just what I chose either.  While there did seem to be some savory dishes on the menu, it seemed if there was a way to bring out or emphasize sweetness, it would be done.  I can understand some logic to this because sweet is the first flavor that people learn and like, most people's palates do grow beyond being simply liking sweet and so I think that this plays things simple.  

I will make an exception for sweet for those things dessert.  Dessert should very definitely be sweet (although not simply sweet).  For my dessert I ordered a Creme Brulee served with Seasonal Berries which, at this time of year, were Blueberries and Raspberries.  The blueberries and raspberries were fresh and provided a little tartness and the the custard was creamy and sweet.  This would have been a great creme brulee if the crust had been evenly caramelized.  I like my creme brulees with a substantial crust and in the center it was definitely there but the edges were definitely on the thin side.  Overall it was good but it would have been great if they had gotten the crust even.

Overall, I did like my meal here.  It was good but not great and they seemed to take the simple route on most dishes by giving everything at least a sweet edge.  I like the fresh and seasonal theme and the restaurant has a nice look but if they could make improve the dishes by aiming for a more complex flavor profile.

Chez Moi

I really like French food but I have said this before.  When I think of French food, I think of steak frites, or escargot, pate, bouef bourgignon, and wonderful plates that look simple but are actually very complex.  They are also known as masters of sauces.  When I think of French food, tarts and sauerkraut are generally not the first thing that I think of.  They are, however, elements found in the food of Alsace-Lorain, an eastern province of France that has, depending on the war, either been part of Germany or France.  While it is right now part of France, the food there has a very strong German influence.  Chez Moi, a French restaurant in Lincoln Park that is headed by the chef of the former Bistro 110, has a menu that features the cuisine of Alsace-Lorain.  The restaurant is located on a corner which is also where the entrance is located.  When you enter, the place looks very small with a small bar and setting for about 30 people.  There is however, a second dining room that is found after walking through the kitchen staging area that is significantly larger and will seat about 60.  I was seated in the rear room.  It does have a classic bistro look to it with a lot of food and drink posters and a large wine rack by the bar and candles on the tables.  The lighting while modern, does have a classic feel to it, or at least blends well with the classic bistro elements.  All of this leads to a very relaxing and inviting space despite the fact that it is also quite loud.  For my first course, I had the Tarte aux Lardons (or Onion Tart with Bacon).  It was served on a wooden platter that looked like a cutting board and was topped with greens.  It was also larger than I expected.  With bacon and onions, this sounds like it would be fairly heavy but the opposite was true.  It was very light.  This was a very good thing considering the size of the dish.  The pastry crust was crisp, thin, and very airy.  The onions were carmelized and the bacon was chopped into small pieces and well distributed.  There was also a sour cream topping that I thought was a sour cheese. While there definitely a savory element to it, the bacon and the onions also brought a sweetness to it.  It was not what I expected of French food (which was part of the reason that I came here) but it was very good and was excited to see where this was going to go. 

For my next course, I went with Choucroute Alsacienne which is French for Alsatian sauerkraut.  I think of Sauerkraut as a classically German dish and like the German dish that I know and like, this was also dressed with sausage.  This version, unlike the German version that I know and like had several different types of meat as opposed to the one that I am generally used to.  In this case, in addition to the standard sausages, there was also Kessler Ham, Bacon, and Potatoes.  The dish was sweet, sour, very meaty.  The potatoes were cut into wedges and reminded me, with the sauce that was created from the meat and saurkraut, of German Potato Salad.  I have to say that I think that I like this better than the standard sauerkraut and sausages and it may have been my favorite dish.

For dessert, I think that I strayed away from the Alsatian fare although its still not what I would generally think of when I think of French desserts.  It was called a Gateau Breton Salidou and what it was was a Brittany Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce and Fromage Blanc Ice Cream.  In addition to the ice cream which itself was topped with a sprig of rosemary, the cake was also topped with a raspberry.  A Brittany Cake is kind of a cross between shortbread and pound cake.  It is kind of dense and is not exceptionally sweet but it was served warm and went well with the salted caramel sauce and the white cheese ice cream especially when the ice cream started to melt.  The cake itself was buttery and not something I might order by itself, but with the ice cream and caramel, it went well.

I really liked my dinner here.  The place is casual and inviting, the wait staff is friendly, and the food was good.  While the dishes were not things that I would think of as classically French.  It did broaden my ideas of what french food is and it was very acessible.  It was very good and I would easily recommend it to someone who likes French food but wanted to try something new.

Bistronomic

I have blogged about Bistronomic before when I came here for brunch.  A restaurant's look isn't going to change based on meal service but it's vibe certainly can and the menu will certainly be different.  Bistronomic is a modern bistro located in the Gold Coast of Chicago.  It's Executive Chef  Martial Noguier who was the first chef at the late, lamented one sixty blue, and later at Cafe des Architectes focuses on French seasonal cooking and during dining hours, he can be frequently seen in the dining room talking up the patrons and ensuring that they are having a good dinner.  I came for a dinner here where they were featuring the dishes of the famed French chef, Auguste Escoffier, who is known as the father of modern French cooking.  Many of the dishes offered were well known classics and it was actually a little difficult to choose what I was going to have because everything sounded good.  I finally did decide though and looked forward to my dinner.  For my appetizer, I started with a Bouillabaisse with Diver Scallops, Potatoes, Saffron Aioli, and Pernod and garnished with a Baguette Slice and Dill.  This was amazing!  The scallops were tender as were the potatoes, and the saffron and dill provided the dish with a lot of flavor complementary to the scallops.  While I did try to soak up as much broth as I could with the baguette, I had more broth than baguette.  If I thought I could have gotten away with licking the bowl, I would have readily.  I eagerly awaited my entree.

My entree was steak, specifically it was a Beef Tenderloin a la Berrichone with Savoy Cabbage, Chestnuts, and a Caramelized Onion Puree.  The tenderloin was very tender, juicy, and had a great crust.  I assume that it had been marinated in a red wine because it was more red than might have been expected from a rare steak (I ordered medium-rare).  The cabbage was crisp and slightly acidic.  The chestnuts provided crunch and the caramelized onion puree had a nice savoriness that really went well with the steak.

For my dessert, I had an Omelette Norvegienne.  I was unsure of what this might be when I ordered it, but I was curious as to what a Norwegian Omelette might be.  As it turned out, a Norwegian Omelette is the same thing as a Baked Alaska.  This is Meringue powdered with bittersweet cocoa on top of Coffee Ice Cream, Caramel, and Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce, and garnished with Mint Leaves.  The meringue was molded into a crown of delicate points and was lightly sweet.  The ice cream went well with the chocolate and it was an excellent finish to a great meal.

I again enjoyed my meal here and will surely come back for more.  The food was good, the service was friendly and welcoming, and I was able to have a pretty good conversation with Chef Noguier about my upcoming trip to Paris.