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.

Good Fortune - Tasting Collective Dinner

 

This will be a story about several people and places and how they came together for a very nice Winter dinner in Logan Square.  Several years ago, there was a restaurant called Honey's in the West Loop, located where Eleven Eleven is now located, which received a lot of critical acclaim.  Despite this acclaim, Chef Charles Welch wanted to run a place of his own,  so he left the restaurant.  In Logan Square, popular cocktail bar Scofflaw opened a Seafood Restaurant next door called Sink|Swim which started out as a higher end neighborhood seafood restaurant, but eventually scaled back and then closed.  Chef Charles set up a long term Pop Up in the Sink|Swim space called Good Fortune, which also featured seafood.  Good Fortune was in the space for almost a year, until they found a permanent space.  The new space, also in Logan Square, was formerly the space of Specialty Gourmet Grocer, Provenance Food and Wine, as well as most recently, Taqueria and General Store, The General.  It took a little while, but Chef Charles' restaurant, Good Fortune, opened last year, pivoting away from a complete seafood menu, and rotating toward a Midwest-Sourced Mediterranean Inspired menu with a live fire grill.  Tasting Collective dined here at the beginning of the year.  The building was always dark colored, but I don't know that it was predominantly black as it is know.  There is no sign sticking out from the building and there is only a stylized logo featuring and intertwined GF at the door.  Lights are on the wall and ceiling and, in the back dining room, also from the open kitchen, which was lighter colored than the rest of the space.  Despite the dark color, the space was welcoming and the staff was friendly.

 

Seated in the back dining room, I started things off with a classic Cocktail, a Tom Collins made with Gin, Soda, and Lemon.  It was crisp and gin forward, but they used good gin, so it tasted good and was refreshing.  Shortly after my cocktail arrived, we received our first course.  Unlike many other restaurants I have gone to with Tasting Collective which have served all of the savory courses Family-Style, at Good Fortune, our first course at least was served individually.  We were served a course that reminded me somewhat of a cross between Ceviche and a Chowder.  We were served Hamachi with Golden Squash Broth, Crispy Black Rice, and Plum Vinegar.  It was light with a full flavor and the crispy black rice added a nice crunch.  The Plum vinegar brought a fruity tartness that tied well with the hamachi and the broth and it made for a very good start.

Our next course was a spin on a Wedge Salad.  Using Little Gem Lettuce, it included Maytag Blue Cheese, Bacon, Tomatillos, Tomatoes, and Chives.  With the exception of Little Gem Lettuce being used instead of Iceberg, and the addition of Tomatillos for some tartness, this was a classic wedge salad.  The lettuce was crisp and slightly sweet, The cherry tomatoes were fresh and very juicy, and Maytag Blue Cheese is just excellent.  The Bacon came as bacon bits on top, and added a salty crunch.

After the salad came the pasta and this pasta was just excellent.  We were served a Porcini Mushroom Campanelle with Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Truffles, and Camembert Cheese.  The Campanelle was perfectly al dente and the mushrooms added a lot of savory and funky flavor which went well with the Camembert.  This was like a high end Mac and Cheese with a stronger flavor and really good.

For our first entree, we had some very good fish.  We were served Poached Cod with Smoked Paprika, Salsify (a root vegetable also known as Oyster Plant for its flavor when cooked), and Brandade Aioli (Brandade is an emulsion of Salt Cod, Olive Oil, and Potatoes).  Every element had flavors of the sea except the paprika which added some smoky heat.  The cod was tender and everything went very well with it.

For our final savory dish, we went extremely hearty.  We were essentially served a cassoulet, a stew of White Beans and Meats.  The kitchen mistakenly first served me a Vegetarian Cassoulet and while it did look really good, I did not order a vegetarian menu and I didn't want to be taking someone's vegetarian meal away from them.  I was then served Pork Sauerbraten with Cassoulet Beans, Celery Root, and Lyonnaise Salad, which was essentially the same thing as the vegetarian version, except with added pork.  The pork was flavorful, hearty, and slightly sweet. The beans added body and depth of flavor to the course, and the Lyonnaise Salad (Frisee, Bacon, Vinegar, and Mustard), added both some green and some tartness.  It was heavy, but it made for a good finish for the savory side of the menu.

I was unsure about dessert.  It was a Mochi Brownie with Cheesecake Puree, and Coconut Sorbet.  I was unsure about it, because I really don't get Mochi.  When it arrived, though I thought that it looked really good, so I pushed aside my apprehension and decided to try it.  It was really good.  The brownie tasted good and with the cheesecake and the coconut sorbet, I did not notice the unusual texture that is common with mochi, if it existed.  It made for a great finish to an eclectic and very good menu and I would be happy to return.    

Travelle

Wintertime is typically the slow season for restaurants, so several years ago, the city of Chicago started restaurant week, an event in which a restaurant will offer a three course prix fixe menu that will typically be at a discount from regular prices.  This year, there were over 300 restaurants that participated with lunch prices at $22 and dinner prices at $33 or $44 (plus drinks, tax, and tip).  I like to use restaurant week as a way to explore restaurants that I haven't yet visited.  In addition to the prix fixe menus, many places will also often offer their regular menu in the event that diners might be interested in something else.  While I will frequently stay with the prix fixe menu, I will occasionally order from the regular menu if there is something that strikes me there.  The first restaurant that I visited this year was Travelle, located in the Langham Hotel on the Chicago River.  I have never been to Travelle, but I have tasted a few of their offerings when they have been at various benefits.  I liked what I have had so I was very interested in the restaurant offerings.  The hotel is easy to find, being in the downtown area, but the restaurant entrance is not obvious.  There is an area that looks like a waiting area off the main lobby with a bank of elevators.  The restaurant is on the second floor opposite a lounge overlooking the Chicago River.  The dining room is large and modern looking with an open kitchen.  Opposite the kitchen is the wine rack which is well lit and enclosed in glass.  The chairs were beige padded leather and matched the general color scheme of the space.  The prix fixe at Travelle was $44 and offered a couple of choices each for appetizer, entree, and dessert.  For my dinner, I started things off with Chestnut Soup with Sherried Pears, Peeky-Toe Crab with Rouille Sauce (a sauce consisting of Olive Oil, Bread Crumbs, Garlic, Saffron, and Chili Peppers and served with seafood) and garnished with Paprika Sauce.  The soup was creamy and nutty, with some tang from the pears.  The pears were very flavorful and didn't have the grit that is normally found with fresh pears.  The crab and rouille sauce was very flavorful and added it's flavors and textures to the soup.  The paprika sauce contributed a nice spicy finish.  It was a great start to the meal and charged me with anticipation.

For my entree, I went with a dish that could very well be called comfort food with an exotic spin.  I had a Grilled Pork Chop with Mashed Potatoes, Caramelized Treviso (a red, spear shaped variety of Radicchio), and Sumac Barbecue Sauce.  The pork chop was tender and juicy.  The mashed potatoes were very smooth and had a nice garlicky finish.  The treviso added some texture and sweetness, and the barbecue sauce had earthy, tangy and spicy flavors that tied everything together.

 

Dessert was kind of funny because it sounded better than it looked, but it also tasted better than it looked.  This is not to say that it looked bad, it just looked kind of boring.  Dessert was a Cherry Pistachio Tart with Housemade Whipped Cream.  The tart had a pronounced pistachio taste.  It was served with cherries and crushed pistachios, but it was also cooked with cherries and pistachios.  It was very cake-like which, while good, is not something that I expect of a tart.  In any case, it tasted good and the whipped cream added a slightly sweet finish.  Overall, I enjoyed my dinner.  The food was good and adventurous, the space was clean and modern, and I would happily return.

   

The Purple Pig

There are some places that are foodie destinations.  This does not necessarily mean that the place is outrageously expensive and exclusive.  What it does mean is that it is a place that is very creative and different and operates at a high level.  The Purple Pig is one of these places and it has been on my list for several years but for a variety of reasons, a major one being the fact that they don't take reservations and the wait times can be extremely long.  Several of my friends have asked me if I have gone but I would have to say I have not been there.  Recently however, circumstances played out such that I am now able to say that I have been here.  A friend recently came to town and was staying at a hotel a block away from the restaurant so I decided that it was time to go.  The plan was to go for dinner and meet with my friend after.  Unfortunately I was unable to get there as soon as I would as I would have liked and by the time I arrived the wait time was an hour and 45 minutes.  I really had no desire to wait there for that long but they did allow me to leave my name and number and they would call me when the table was ready so that is what I did.  I met my friend (and his family) and hung out until I was called.  My friend joined me.  While the address of The Purple Pig is on Michigan Ave, the only thing on Michigan Ave. is an archway with a sign.  There is a walkway that leads to the entrance which is actually above Illinois Street and closer to Rush Street than Michigan Ave.  There is a covered patio for outdoor dining with a fire burning (because it was rather chilly on the evening that I went).  It was full though and we dined indoors.  The dining room looked had high ceilings with a large L-shaped bar and a vintage look.  As it is very popular, it was crowded and pretty loud.  As The Purple Pig is known for their Cheese, Swine, and Wine, we decided we had to have some of all of these.  They have a large charcuterie list and many of the meats are self made.  The menu has something called The Purple Pig Platter which includes a few slices of all of their cured pork.  As this place is called The Purple Pig, we decided that this was a necessity.  On the platter was Lingua Agrodolce, Cacciatorini, Catalonian Fuet, Chorizo, Testa, Coppa, Tartufo, Jamon Serrano, Prosciutto di Parma, Prosciutto di San Daniele.  This was all sliced thin, and prepared well.  I liked most of the slices especially the ham (Jamon and Prosciutto) and the Lingua Agrodolce (tongue) but the Testa was a little too gamy for me and I don't know if I would order it on it's own.

If you are going to have charcuterie, it's a given that you also have to have cheese.  For our cheeses, we went for delice de bourgogne,a cow's milk triple cream cheese from the Burgundy region of France, Caveman Blue, a cow's milk blue cheese from Oregon's Rogue River Creamery and an unlabeled smoked Gouda.  The cheeses were served with Fig Jam and Toast and were very good on their own or combined with the charcuterie.

With the cheese and swine, we also had wine to fulfill our "obligation" to go for cheese, swine, and wine.  We had a bottle of Syrah, but what specifically we had, I could not say.  I could say however that it was good.

We decided to continue with the swine after the charcuterie and cheese and had a couple of prepared dishes, one of which was a house specialty.  We had a Milk-Braised Pork Shoulder with Mashed Potatoes and Milk Gravy.  The waiter told us that this was a specialty and I can see why because this was amazing.  The pork was fork tender and amazingly flavorful.  The mashed potatoes were very creamy and the gravy was essentially the braising liquid for the pork.  It was creamy of course, but it also brought with it a good bit of pork fat and flavoring which tied the mashed potatoes to the pork shoulder.

Our other entree was a Pork Secreto with Roasted Red Pepper, Leeks, and Pickled Watermelon Rind.  It seems that the secreto is exactly as it sounds, secret.  It is a little used cut of pork located close to the pork belly.  It has a bit of the pork belly flavor and while it is tender and has a bit of bacon flavor, it isn't as fatty.  It was very good in any case and the red pepper, leeks, and watermelon rind that were served with the secreto kind of reminded me of the red pepper sauce that is served with Ćevapi.

For dessert, I had what were essentially Greek doughnuts.  I don't remember what they were called and I forgot to take pictures of them but they were fluffy, sweet, and like everything else that we had, very good.

Dinner at The Purple Pig was great and I am glad that I finally made it here.  The food and drink was very good, the space looked very nice, and the waitstaff were very friendly and helpful.  It was very loud here, but as it is a very popular place, and it was crowded, it was to be expected.  I will definitely have to find my way back here some time because there were some dishes that I still have to try like the pig tails and the pork jowls.

  

Sofra Turkish Kitchen

Recently, I happened to read a mention of Sofra Turkish Kitchen.  It had been a while since I had had Turkish cuisine, in fact, the last time I ate Turkish food, I was actually in Turkey.  From what I remembered, I remembered rice, yogurt, and a lot of kebabs.  I did do some looking before I went and I was correct about the rice, yogurt, and kebabs, but it also seemed similar to Greek food (which isn't really surprising considering that they're right next to one another) with some Middle Eastern food thrown in.  The dining room of Sofra is long and narrow with a bar in the front  There is a line of tables along each wall with round tables in the center of the room and a divided area with a low table and overstuffed pillows.  The lighting is from very ornate hanging lanterns.  While there is a full bar, I do like to try drinks that are native to a region when I go to a given ethnic restaurant.  For that, I tried Ayran which is a cold frothy drink of yogurt and water with a little salt which is similar to Indian lassi.  It was white and opaque with a really nice head of foam.  It was slightly salty and sour and tasted like unsweetened yogurt.  While it wasn't terrible and was drinkable, it was definitely an acquired taste and one that I am unsure of whether I am willing to acquire.     

The appetizer list had the standard hummus, babaganush, dolma, and tabuleh.  While I have had all of these things and do like them, I did want to try something different.  For my appetizer, I had Haydari, a combination of housemade yogurt mixed with chopped walnuts, garlic,carrots, and fresh mint.  It was topped with paprika and had a black olive in the center.  The whole of the dish was very creamy, if it weren't for the walnuts, and carrots you could probably eat this with a straw.  While it did come with a spoon, I was also served a lot of pita bread and I ate it like I would hummus, using the pita to scoop it up.  It did have the sour taste of yogurt but the paprika also provided a little spiciness and the walnuts and carrots added to the flavor.  I really enjoyed this and was glad that I tried it.  

My entree was Turkish Moussaka which is similar to Greek Moussaka only in its ingredients.  It had golden eggplant, beef, mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and mozzarella baked in a tomato sauce and is served with rice.  While Greek Moussaka is built like lasagna and is layered, Turkish Moussaka is more like a stew and is served with rice on the side.  While I like Greek Moussaka, I discovered that I like Turkish Moussaka even more.  It had a very savory flavor and stew is easier to eat than "lasagna".    

For dessert, I had the Turkish version of Creme Brulee.  It was called Kazandibi which literally means "bottom of a pot" and is a type of "burnt pudding".  I have to think that it takes some really good timing and a knowledge of your stove in order to prepare this well.  The pudding is caramelized on the bottom and is served upside down with the caramel side up and sprinkled with cinnamon.  I would think that there is a small window between caramelized and burned so timing is everything.  While the burned top is not crispy as creme brulee is, it does have a flavor kind of like roasted marshmallows.  I did like this although I think I might have liked it more if there were a way to make the top crispy like a creme brulee.

I liked my dinner here.  The design is nice and the the staff is friendly.  I had forgotten how similar Turkish food is to Greek food and will have to return to explore the menu some more.  

Wave

Until it closed in January, one sixtyblue had been my favorite restaurant.  I was very disappointed when it closed but it did give me an opportunity to explore.  one sixtyblue had been part of a restaurant group owned by Michael Jordan called Cornerstone.  After having liked one sixtyblue, I figured that the restaurant group would maintain some type of culinary standard.  There are a couple of other Cornerstone restaurants in Chicago (actually three if you count belly Q, the restaurant that replaced one sixtyblue) and while I have not been to any of them, I had been to a couple of chef demos featuring chefs that ran other Cornerstone restaurants so I thought I had a little familiarity with them.  I decided to go to Wave recently, one of the Cornerstone restaurants that I had been to a demo for.  Wave is located on the North side in the W Hotel on Lake Shore Drive.  The dining room is located in the front of the hotel to the right of the main entrance at the bottom of a short stairway with the bar actually in the lobby of the hotel.  There is also a nice patio at the front of the hotel that overlooks Lake Shore Drive and Lake Michigan.  The dining room is relatively narrow with a lot of flowing curves (like waves).  There is a 10 place communal table in the center of the room with several round tables on the main floor and large four tops with couches for seating on either side of the table on an elevated area in front of the window that overlooks the patio, Lake Shore Drive and Lake Michigan.    This was where I was seated.  The lighting consisted of candles on the tables and some multicolored LED lights that sort of reminded me of nightclub lighting (as did the background music).  Wave serves seasonal and locally sourced Mediterranean style cuisine.  That can actually mean a lot of things but frequently includes things such as olives, garlic, capers, fresh vegetables, and/or pasta.  Not all of my dishes reflected this entire idea but there were elements to be found in my meal.  I started out with House-Made Spaghetti with Garlic Sausage, Charred Cauliflower, Capers, Pecorino Cheese, and Oregano.  There were several elements of this dish that sounded really good on the menu but I was unsure about the Charred Cauliflower.  I needn't have worried.  While there was plenty of cauliflower in the dish, and part of the florets on each of the pieces were blackened, they were just blackened and not carbonized as I was worrying about.  The cauliflower itself was kind of toothsome as was the spaghetti.  The dish smelled strongly of capers (because there were a lot of capers in the dish.  The garlic sausage was garlicky as one might expect and the entire dish had a nice tangy and spicy flavor to it.

For my entree, I chose Prosciutto-Wrapped Monkfish which was served with Clams (In Shell) on top of Smashed Red Nordland Potatoes, and topped with Kale.  While monkfish are a really ugly fish (they are a type of anglerfish) they provide for a nice sized piece of meat that tastes really good.  The fact that it was wrapped in prosciutto just added to the pleasure of eating it.  I like clams but was caught a little off guard (even if I probably shouldn't have been) because most of the time when I have had clams, they have been breaded and fried.  It did take a little more work to get to them but it was worth it.  The smashed potatoes were well cooked and seasoned and added to the overall flavor of the dish and then there was the kale.  Kale is a leaf vegetable that frequently reminds me of spinach.  It has a lot of uses from salad greens to fried kale chips.  This was well seasoned and pan fried, although not enough for it to lose it's fresh crispiness.  I did expect some spiciness but I didn't expect the level of heat that was on the kale.  I asked about the kale's seasoning and was told such things as salt, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and a pinch of red pepper.  I actually think that more red pepper was added than was planned for.  While it was pretty spicy, it wasn't so spicy to me that it was made inedible.  Overall, it was a well seasoned and spicy dish that I did enjoy.

After the appetizer and entree, it was time for dessert.  Wave does their dessert menu a little differently than other restaurants.  While none of the items on the dessert menu was unusual in and of itself, how it was served was what made it different.  The desserts were served in what was called Sweet Bites.  For $8, you could choose three, for $10 for four desserts, and $12 for five.  While the idea of trying five desserts did cross my mind, I thought I would actually try to enjoy the desserts instead of becoming gorged by them and only ordered three.  I ordered a Ginger Creme Brulee, a Dark Chocolate Brownie topped with Vanilla Ice Cream, and a Panna Cotta with Espresso Gelee.  The desserts were served on a single plate that was garnished with chocolate syrup.  I decided that in order to taste the desserts properly, I would have to eat them one at a time, so I attacked them from left to right.  The Creme Brulee was done well.  The crust was nice and thick and provided a good crunch to the creamy custard below it.  The ginger provided a nice bit of spice as a counterpoint to what would have been simply a very sweet custard. While sweet is good making the tastes of a dish a little more complex is better.  Next came the brownie and I will admit that I love brownies.  This bite provided a little bit of comfort food between a couple of bites that were a little more exotic.  I like my brownie to tend to the fudge side (as opposed to the cake side) and this one hit the right point.  The outside was slightly crisp and the inside was very moist and chewy.  It was served warm underneath the cool vanilla ice cream and it was all covered with chocolate syrup.  My only complaint for this dish was that I wanted more.  My last dessert bite was the panna cotta with espresso gelee.  Panna cotta is another very simple and creamy custard that is nice on it's own but can be made so much better with the addition of something else, in this case espresso gelee, espresso that had been gelatinized.  This may have been my favorite dessert.  It came out in what looked like a water glass so you could see that it was layered.  The thin top layer was the espresso which, as you might expect, was like bittersweet coffee.  The next layer was the panna cotta followed by coffee, custard, another layer of coffee, and the bottom layer of custard.  It was all very good individually and together.  It was very creamy and if eaten together, it reminded me of a cool cappuccino.

After reading this, you would probably get the impression that I really liked this place and you would not be completely wrong.  The food was really good, the waiter was nice and helpful, and the place looked nice with a great view of Lake Michigan.  While I wouldn't mind coming back here.  The atmosphere, while not cold, didn't seem exceptionally welcoming.  It felt like what it was, a hotel restaurant.  While I might come back for the food, I won't be back for the atmosphere.