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.

Clever Rabbit - Tasting Collective

 

In recent years, I have been looking at restaurants by how they do their vegetables.  Most restaurants you can expect to do steak well,  As well, most places can do good pasta or potatoes and you can find a good burger at many higher end restaurants.  The vegetables at many places are going to be very fresh, but how creative is the dish that they are in and does it keep the focus on the vegetables?  In that vein, I have been interested in going to Clever Rabbit, a vegetable-focused, though not vegetarian, restaurant in Wicker Park and I was very happy when Tasting Collective hosted a dinner there.  Located in a row of bars and restaurants on Division, it does have a great patio with a sign above the patio entrance, but the building is painted gray and the sign/lettering is kind of unobtrusive.  The bar and dining room are done in neutral colors, though there were David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust and LCD Soundsystem prints in the back of the dining room and the soundtrack was classic Pink Floyd.  While I mentioned that the menu was vegetable focused, it followed both in both the food and beverage menus.  The cocktail that I ordered, Spanish Moon, contained, in addition to Prairie Organic Gin, Strawberry, Lemon, Mint, White Balsamic, and Q Tonic, and was garnished with Juniper Berries.  Similar to a standard Gin and Tonic, it was was more tart and fruit flavored with an evergreen finish provided by the Juniper Berries.  I like Gin and Tonics, but with the quality of both the Gin and Tonic used and the fruit added, this amped things up and I really liked it.

The food menu at Clever Rabbit, while vegetable focused was also literally all over the map.  There were dishes inspired by cuisine from all over the world.  We started our journey in Mexico with Summer Squash Sopes with Tempura Blossoms, Black Beans, Honeysuckle, and Cotija Cheese.  The Squash Blossom was delicate, flavorful, and had a nice crunch.  The Black Beans gave the dish some heartiness, and the Sopes themselves were thick and crunchy with a nice corn flavor.  It was a very nice start and a good way to bring anticipation for the rest of the meal.

From Mexico we went to South Asia with Sweet Pea Paratha with Carrot Curry and Goat's Milk Curry.  Paratha, like Naan is a flatbread, though Paratha is fried vs. Naan, which is baked.  The Goat's Milk and Carrot Curries were served together and had a tart and spicy flavor which was very good even without eating with the bread.  The bread was soft and fluffy with a nice hollow inside which could be filled with the curry, but it could easily enjoyed on it's own.

From India we came back to the United States (or France, depending on how far you want to take it).  We were served Chicken Liver Mousse on Rye Shortbread topped with Raspberry Jam and Spruce Tips.  This was a really interesting combination that I would never have thought of, but worked really well.  The rye shortbread provided a firm foundation and a bitter base from the rye that actually complemented the Chicken Liver Mousse.  The Raspberry Jam brought a sweet tartness that brought out the sweetness of the mousse.  The Spruce Tips were sweet, bitter, and herbal and tied everything together (as well as going with my drink).

After our trip back to the United States, we returned to Europe, Italy specifically, for some pasta.  We were served Buckwheat Pappardelle Noodles with Porcini Mushrooms, Spigarello Broccoli (an heirloom broccoli considered the parent of broccoli rabe), and Pepperoncino.  It was very savory and hearty with a nice spicy finish and I really liked it.

From Italy, we returned to the United States to times past for a Meat and Three, a Meat entree served with three sides, though as far as the dish was concerned, it was very Mexican.  In this case, the meat was a Goat Barbacoa served with Fry Bread, Pickles and Radishes, and Braised Greens.  Things could be eaten separately or in any combination, though admittedly, the pickles and radishes were better with the meat.  All of the elements were very good and could make for a very good open faced sandwich, though it would stack high and be a little messy.  I found the best combination to be the barbacoa on bread with the radishes and pickles and the greens on the side.

After our journey we finished with dessert which was essentially American, but there was a bit of a an Asian spin on it.  It was a Cherry Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate, Sesame, and Marcona Almonds.  The Cheesecake was fairly standard, but good, though the Sesame did add an interesting flavor.  It was also served on a very cool rabbit plate.  The food here was very good, the vibe was very relaxed, and the soundtrack, which was vinyl, was pretty great.  I will definitely have to return. 

 

Fort Willow

 

 

Having gone to Ada Street many times, I have gotten to know the people that work (and have worked there) and I will frequently follow the chefs that have moved on.  Opening Chef, Zoe Schor, moved on to open her place, Split Rail, last year.  Joanna Stachon, her Sous Chef, was Executive Chef for about 3 years, but has moved on to be the Executive Chef of Anglo-Indian Pub, Pub Royale. Now, Dierdre Quinn, Chef Joanna's Sous Chef has moved on and is serving as opening chef for Fort Willow, DMK's latest venture which is located around the corner from Ada Street.  Like Ada Street, it is largely done in black on the outside and the entrance is kind of unobtrusive.  In the case of Fort Willow, while the building fronts Elston Ave., the entrance is around the corner and in an alcove in the back on Willow Street (hence the name).  There is a neon sign in the alcove pointing to the door, which is good because there is also a stairway there that leads into the unknown.  Once inside the door, you are confronted with a space that is long and narrow with a tree (made of slats) in the middle and next to the bar.  You walk by the kitchen window to get to the dining room and bar (and the tree).  The "crown" of the tree stretches over the bar and dining room.  If you are going to have a tree, a tree swing must be had, and there is one sitting next to a large standing table at the front of the dining room.  As you move past the tree, the large bar is on the left and table seating is on the right.  Seating at the bar is on two sides, opposite the tables and at the end of the bar well into the restaurant.  In the far left corner of the dining room beyond the bar is a blanket fort booth for about seven people and on the far wall is a map of the world for explorers.  As you can see, the design is full of whimsy and tries to bring people back to their childhood imagination.

 

For the cocktails, they serve drinks in House or Classic Form.  In the classic form, they have many classic cocktails like Moscow Mule, Negroni, Martini, or Whiskey Sour, presented as you would find them in any bartender book.  With the house cocktails, they take the classics and serve them with a twist.  Generally that twist is an addition of spice, though some change the liquor.  The comparisons on either side of the House-Classic Line are not completely even, but they generally try to aim for the same style of cocktail.  I am an adventurous eater (and drinker), so I decided to focus on the House side.  For my first cocktail, I went with a Traveler's Sour, which could be compared to a Whiskey Sour.  While a Whiskey Sour starts with Bourbon and adds Lemon, Egg White, and Angostura Bitters, The Traveler's Sour started with Gin and Mezcal and went with Black Peppercorns, and Midori Melon Liquor, finishing with a Blood Orange Garnish.  Admittedly, this was a stretch to compare the two, but the Traveler's Sour did have a bitter start with a sour finish and it was very good.  I am generally not a Midori drinker, but the smokiness of the Mezcal and the peppercorns was able to tie it together with everything else.

The food menu is international and is largely small plates, with each dish labeled with the country (or region) of origin.  For my starter, I went with something called Ikan Bilis, which is a popular Southeast Asian bar snack.  It consisted of Crispy Anchovies, Peanuts, Chilies, and Onion.  While I knew that there would be anchovies, I really didn't know what to expect.  It started out salty, but the anchovies had a nice crunch and while there were chilies in the mix, the heat built gradually.  This was addicting as hell and I could have easily eaten two or three bowls.  There was other food to be tried, though, so I moved on.

When I go out, I always try to at least get some green vegetables and looking at the menu, I saw something that would fulfill that requirement and looked really good.  I ordered the Charred and Chilled Broccoli with Garlic Chips, Pickled Chilies, and Spicy Peanut Sauce.  This was labeled as from Thailand.  While the broccoli used looked like American broccoli and not the Chinese Broccoli that I would expect in that area, I will give it a pass because it was really good.  It was very fresh and crisp.  The char brought out a bitter sweetness which played well with the spicy peanut sauce.  Ada Street did a chilled broccoli dish for a while which this reminded me of.  The Ada Street recipe used tahini, though, and this was more spicy.  In any case, it was very good.

On the bottom of the menu there was something called The Big Bite with the description Chef's Whim.  This very much piqued my curiosity, so I had to ask.  It was a French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Short Rib Stew.  I love French onion soup and the grilled cheese sandwich was a win with Gruyere Cheese and Caramelized Onions on Texas Toast.  The Short Rib Stew that went with it was also very good, but the grilled cheese sandwich hit it out of the park.  The creativity alone was a win, turning the idea of the French Onion Soup with the Beef Sandwich on it's head, but the combination of the two was also fantastic.  They went very well together.

My second cocktail was not as much a stretch between Classic and House Cocktails.  The Classic that the House Cocktail was riffing on was a Negroni, a Gin Cocktail with Sweet Vermouth and Campari.  I imagine the House Cocktail, the Tree Fort Punch, was lower in alcohol than the original because the only liquor it used was gin, but it was very good.  In addition to the gin, it used Sencha Green Tea, and Mint.  It was bitter with an herbal and botanical flavor as Negronis do, but it was lighter than a Negroni and had a punch-like flavor.

To finish things off, I had a choice of Mochi or a Horchata Creme Brulee.  While I am a little picky about my Creme Brulees, I like a crust that sounds a noticeable crack when tapped, but I like Horchata (Cinnamon flavored Rice Milk popular in Mexico and South America) and I really don't care for Mochi, so the decision was easy.  The custard part of the creme brulee was very good and I thought that the cinnamon rice noodles added the flavor of horchata very well, I was a little disappointed with the crust and thought that it could have been bruleed more.  Despite this small disappointment, I thought that it tasted good and made for a nice ending to a very good restaurant.  I will definitely return for more adventurous tastes and will invite friends.       

Ruxbin

Okay, I will admit it.  I'm a bit late to the game.  I am so late in fact, that the proprietors of the restaurant that I just went to have recently opened a new restaurant.  While there is a lot of buzz about the new restaurant, I wanted to go to the original first which is still getting a lot of buzz and still requires a long wait on some nights.  Recognized by both Esquire and Bon Appetit Magazines as one of the Best New Restaurants for 2011, Ruxbin has obviously gotten a lot of press, as might be expected, for a restaurant run by a chef that has formerly worked at Per Se.  The place is pretty small, seating 32 people.  The restaurant describes it's design as Steam Punk.  With many recycled and repurposed materials spread around the room, I have to agree.  There is a lot of copper around with many gears and a lot of wood and the general color scheme is sepia.  The room has a high ceiling with what look like old newspapers overlapped like a newspaper collage.  The room has three booths with overhead lighting that looks like an old school chair combined with a TV tube.  The rest of the seating has tables in front of a bench with seats on the opposite side.  The bench has a wooden seat and a back made of vertically laid leather straps.  The lighting is overhead, consisting of a light bulb that is silvered on the bottom that lets very little light through.  There is a curved copper reflector mounted above the light in order to light the table.  Despite the fact that the bench was wood, it was a lot more comfortable than it sounded and it was where I was seated.  I was served a bowl of popcorn shortly after I was seated.  I am not a huge popcorn fan but I did try this.  It had a lot of Butter with Salt, Sugar, Black Sesame, and Seaweed.  It had a good flavor with all of the flavors shining through.  The seaweed flavor came at the end and added a briny vegetal flavor to everything.  While it did taste good and different, it had the typical popcorn texture which I am not exceptionally excited about.  I did eat most of it though.

While I was waiting for my order, the kitchen brought out a little something extra.   They brought me a glass of Gazpacho which was topped with Rye Toast, Red and Yellow Tomatoes, and Fennel.  The toast and vegetables were very crispy and fresh tasting and the gazpacho was fresh and bright with a citrusy flavor.  I didn't order this but I didn't mind because it was on the house and it tasted really good.

For my appetizer, I ordered octopus.  I like octopus but this was the best octopus that I have ever had.  The Octopus was marinated in Red Wine for three hours before being grilled.  It was then combined with Crispy Chickpeas, Pickled Green Onions, Black Soybean, Grapes, and a Ginger-Scallion Vin.  The octopus was very tender and had a light wine flavor.  The wine flavor in the octopus went well with the ginger-scallion vin and the grapes, and the onions and soybeans had a complementary flavor.  It wasn't an exceptionally pretty dish but it did taste really good.

For my entree, I decided to stay with the seafood and went with what was essentially a seafood stew.  Called a Bourride, it had Cod, Clams, Shrimp, White Beans, Fennel, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Herbs, topped with a Lemon Aioli, and Sake.  The seafood was tender and the clams actually came out of the shell pretty easily and the lemon aioli added some brightness.  It was very good with a lot of flavors and textures and I really liked it.

I was excited for my dessert.  It was a panna cotta with a lot of fruit and I like panna cotta.  What I wasn't expecting was the Banana Milk Shake that they brought with it.  As expected with a banana milkshake, it tasted a lot of bananas but it also had some cinnamon.  It was a great bonus for dessert.  As far as the Panna Cotta is concerned, it was called a Corn Pop Panna Cotta but I am not sure why.  The panna cotta was smooth and creamy and was combined with Strawberries, Rhubarb, Pistachios, Short Bread Cookies, and Black Sesame.  The sweet, tart, and crunchy flavors complemented the creamy panna cotta and it was a great ending to a great meal.

There is a great reason that there is still a lot of buzz about Ruxbin.  It is a great restaurant with a very distinct look, friendly staff, and great food.  I would be happy to return here and to introduce my friends to this place.           

       

Zealous

Sometimes a restaurant can do everything right and still feel a little off. I went to Zealous last week for a five course dinner. The dining room was a big open space with a lot of white and glass ceilings. While it was very open, it was divided by long serving areas and bamboo plants surrounding the center tables. The space was so white, it almost reminded me of an operating room. The look of the space might sound a little off-putting, but the table and chair were very comfortable. The hostess and waitstaff were very friendly and seated me and took my order very quickly and I didn't have to wait long for the start. My Amuse Bouche came quickly and while it looked very good, I was surprised by the small size. I will grant that an Amuse Bouche is generally small and is supposed to be a one bite wonder but most, in my experience, have been the size of a couple of bites. This was a couple of bites but only by a technicality. I was served a pumpkin and truffle gougére (a savory cream puff) with a balsamic reduction and a spiced pumpkin seed. It tasted very good and I was actually surprised how well pumpkin and truffle flavors work together. It went down though, in one bite and the pumpkin seed was the other bite. Despite the size, it was a good start.My first course came quickly after I finished my Amuse Bouche and I would call it a salad course but only because it had the elements of a salad in it. It was a visually well constructed dish that was essentially a deconstructed salad. It included gravlax (salt cured salmon), beets, grapefruit, brussel sprouts, baby greens, and crispy papadum. All of the elements tasted very good and while I suppose that you could have mixed and eaten the food together, it was just as easy to eat each of the elements separately which is what I ended up doing.
The next course was a seafood course and when it was presented, I started to notice something. While fine dining is considered a style, most restaurants even those pinned in the fine dining area can also have an ethnic focus of some kind. Zealous is a very international restaurant drawing on techniques and foods from all over the world, sometimes multiple areas in one course. In the first two courses I had had French, Swedish and Indian, and with this course, we had Asian and American. The course consisted of a seared scallop with an Asian slaw, a kimchi puree, and crispy pork belly. The scallop was perfectly seared and the kimchi was surprisingly spicy. Admittedly, I couldn't find the pork belly, but I then tried some of the crumbs that were scattered on the plate. It was another nice looking (if small) course that tasted very good.
From Asia, we went to France, and to a certain extent, Italy and it was very definitely the carnivore's course. We started on the left, with a filet mignon served with baby carrots, roasted onion went to the center for a potato and mushroom lasagne, and to the right for a braised short rib with a truffle foam. It was a very good looking (and good tasting) plate and while I really like truffles, I am really not a big fan of foam.
After the strong flavors that came from the beef, a palate cleanser was in order and that came from the next course. I was served a peach sorbet in a pomegranate soup with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, melon, apple, and pineapple. It was light, sweet, refreshing, and slightly tart, and got my palate ready for dessert.Dessert was kind of a surprise in that it came as a pair. The first of the desserts was a chocolate pudding cake that was served with chocolate pudding, pickled cherries, and armagnac ice cream. The second was an apple tart topped with apples and served with apple sauce and Goldschlager ice cream. Both desserts were very good and had something to say for them but I preferred the pudding cake and its accompaniments. While the apple tart and the accompanying apples and apple sauce were very good, I have never been a huge fan of Goldschlager. I find it too sweet and the ice cream version didn't improve it much.
After the dessert, I thought I was finished and it would have been a good place to finish but instead of the after dinner mint that many restaurants bring, I was brought a chocolate cupcake and an apricot financier cake. They were both light and very good providing a nice finish to the dinner.

After paying and leaving the restaurant, I looked at my watch and noticed that I had been there for less than hour. While I never felt rushed, I am not sure that the time is worth the money. The food looked and tasted excellent, the waitstaff was very friendly, as was the chef, and while the serving sizes looked a bit small, I didn't leave the restaurant hungry. Having said that, between the ambiance and the speed of the meal, I am not sure that I really liked it or if I will be returning.