Dinner Lab - Nose to Tail

Most of the time when I write about a restaurant, I will start out talking about the design of the place where I am dining because atmosphere can be very important.  When you are participating in an underground dinner party however, while atmosphere is still important, it is important in a different way.  I participated in an underground dinner club recently called Dinner Lab.  While I have participated in things that were called underground dinner parties before, they were held in a restaurant, and while the food served wasn't normally on the menu, it wasn't terribly different from dining at a restaurant that I have never been to before.  The dinner served by Dinner Lab was very definitely not in a restaurant.  In fact, the building used was formerly a factory.  Admittedly, someone had previously rehabbed the space into a loft and had been living in it so many of the necessities needed to hold a dinner party were there already.  For the diners, the only thing that they needed to bring in were tables and chairs.

 The space was large and open with a bar, a large kitchen, and a large skylight.  THey brought in 12 large communal tables and hung a string of hanging lights.  The walls were old brick, the floor was hardwood, and the ceiling was unfinished.  It was a very nice space that felt unfinished for a restaurant, but would be great for a large dinner party.

 The dinner that they were doing was a nose-to-tail dinner.  That is, they were going to build a menu featuring parts from an entire animal, in this case, a pig.  The pre-published menu had 5 courses, but when I arrived, they were serving passed appetizers.  Talking to the chef before dinner, he said that after preparing the pig for dinner, there was a lot of meat left, so they decided to do a few appetizers.  The first of these was a Pate which was served in a jar with Ground Peanuts and Strawberry Jam and served with White Bread on which to eat it.  It was like a more savory and open-faced peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

For the other appetizer we had either a PBR braised Belly or Shoulder with Mustard and Micro-Arugula on a skewer.  It was very good, tender, and flavorful.  There was a lot of fat so I am more apt to believe that it was belly than shoulder, but in any case, it was pretty good.  There were a lot of skewers so it might have been that there were both belly and shoulder be passed around and what I got was belly.

After the appetizers were passed around several times, it appeared that everyone was there and had their drinks so we found seats at one of the large communal tables.  We sat at the end closest to the kitchen so we could better watch what was going on.  For our first course, we were served what was essentially a meaty salad.  It featured Porchetta (a cured meat made from a pig's face), Arugula, Pickled Watermelon Rind, and a Rambo Radish.  The vegetables were crisp and fresh tasting with a little bite from the radish and a little pepperiness from the arugula.  The porchetta was tender and juicy and very flavorful as good pork is and it gave me confidence in the progression of the meal.

The next course was essentially a soup course.  It was Confit Pork Belly Rillette with Garbanzo Beans, Chervil, and Bone Broth.  With the garbanzo beans and the spices used, it very definitely had a North African flavor to it.  The rillette was rough ground as rillettes are and had a definite bacon flavor which added to the savoriness of the broth and garbanzos.

We then went to the first of our entrees which was a porky spin on Vitello Tonnato, a cold sliced veal served with tuna flavored mayonnaise.  This dish used Thinly-Sliced Olive Oil-Poached Pork Shoulder served with a Tuna Aioli, Watercress, and Lard Bread.  The pork was very tender and light, and it was served cool.  The tuna aioli, which was served on the side, was also light and added a tuna flavor.  The lard bread was dense and kind of heavy, but was good bread and provided a good counterpoint to the lightness of the pork shoulder.  

The second entree was decidedly heavier both in flavor and in feel.  We were served a Hickory Smoked Pork Leg with Green Onion Pesto and Olive Oil Potato.  Ham comes from a pork leg and I was kind of expecting this to taste like ham but I am guessing because of the preparation and the fact that it was not cured, it tasted more like a smoked pork chop.  The mashed potatoes and the pesto added some strong flavors that complemented the smokiness of the leg.

With the previous dishes we had had head, belly, shoulder, leg, and innards (with the pate).  For the dessert we had the skin.  The skin was deep fried to make Chicharrons, rolled in Powdered Sugar, and served with with Peanut Butter, Guajillo and Arbol Chiles in a Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Tuille and Brandied Cherries.  I liked every part of this but the pork.  I am not a fan of popcorn, and texturally, that's what the chicharrons reminded me of.  This was a flavorful dish with a lot of variety and if the chicharrons had been a little more crunchy, it would have been great.  In any case, overall dinner was a lot of  fun and I would definitely attend another diner held by Dinner Lab. 

The Bristol - Brunch

About six years ago, a trend started in the restaurant industry called the gastropub.  These places were relatively small with a long bar and a good beer and cocktail list like many neighborhood bar and grills.  Unlike your neighborhood bar and grill however, these places had a really good food menu, frequently featuring things like charcuterie that were made by hand and took some time to make.  The Bristol was one of the first of these places and essentially set the standard.  When it opened, there were two large communal tables in the center of the room that, in addition to the long bar, consisted of most of the seating.  The back wall consisted of a chalkboard, on which, the frequently changing dinner menu was written (Paper menus are also provided for diners).  The tables are still in the center of the room, but they have since been divided into four tops which could be pushed together for larger parties..  I have been here for dinner and really enjoyed it but it has been a few years and never for brunch so I decided it was time for a visit.  I was seated at one of the butcher block tables that provided the seating along the walls.  We started out with a Basque Cake, a cake from the Basque region of France and Spain with a crispy crust and a very fluffy interior, that was served with fresh peaches and a Buttermilk Sabayon (custard).  This was really good.  The outer crusty layer was very cookie-like and the interior was fluffy and sweet.  The peaches were sliced were at the peak of ripeness that were sweet, tart, and slightly crisp.  The buttermilk sabayon was sweet and sour and fluffy and with the peaches provided a good counterpoint to the cake.

For my main course, I had Chilaquiles.  There are many restaurants in the area that serve what they call chilaquiles but are actually Tex-Mex Migas.  Both dishes use fried tortilla chips salsa and eggs but the focus on chilaquiles is on the chips and salsa and with migas, the focus is on the eggs which are frequently scrambled.  The Bristol's Chilaquiles were really chilaquiles.  The tortilla chips were crispy and slightly salty when they were not sitting in the medium spicy green salsa.  The chips and salsa were topped with onions, cilantro, pork belly, and queso fresco, topped with a semi-hard fried egg, and garnished with fresh lime.  The pork belly was very tender and easily pulled apart.  The cilantro and onions were very fresh, flavorful, and crisp and the egg was a good finish to the dish.

As I said before, I had really enjoyed coming here for dinner.  I see now that I have waited too long before coming for brunch.  This was really good and I will have to return. 

St. John

Before I went to London, I had heard about another restaurant that sounded interesting.  It was a little off the beaten path, but it wasn't that heard to get to.  The restaurant, St. John, is located in an old smokehouse and is a truly English restaurant that does seasonal, nose-to-tail cooking.  Located in an old smokehouse near the Smithfield Market, a centuries old meat market, it really reminds me of a farm building despite being located in a very densely populated area.  The front of St, John looks like a small shop that takes (or does) deliveries.  With a large freight door on the left and a smaller door that might be assumed to be the entrance on the right.  It might be assumed to be the entrance but it would be assumed wrongly.  The door on the right is actually for the restaurant offices.  The big freight entrance is actually the proper entrance.  It is not however, a freight entrance.  There are a few tables in the room and as you walk further back, you walk into the bar and bakery which has a large skylight.  All of this area is painted white and has little design.  The main dining area to St. John is actually up a flight of stairs located in the bar and bakery.  It is a circuitous route to get to the host's station but it is right inside the entrance at the top of the stairs and I was seated immediately upon announcing myself.  The main dining area is also very white with wooden chairs and white tablecloth covered tables with white paper on top of that.  The kitchen was in one corner and looked relatively small.  I mentioned that St. John does nose to tail cooking.  Having looked at the menu frequently before I arrived, I saw that the menu changed frequently and it could at times be a little challenging.  Looking at the menu before I ordered, I saw that it was going to be a little challenging simply because there were several things on the menu that I didn't know.  I asked the waiter (who was also in white) to explain a few things and while he did, he was a bit snarky about it.  The waiter actually reminded me a bit of Will Ferrell.  While I did appreciate the help, I didn't appreciate the sarcasm.  After my questions were answered, I made my order and tried to get past the waiter's attitude.

For my appetizer, I ordered the Roast Bone Marrow with Parsley Salad.  I have had marrow before and have really enjoyed it.  In normal circumstances, you are given a small fork to remove the marrow from the bone and it is normally spread on some bread which is frequently toasted.  While I am certain that I would have enjoyed this in the same way, the server was pretty specific as to how I should eat it.  It was similar to how I would have normally eaten it but there were some differences.  I was to spread the marrow onto the the toasted country bread that was served with it.  Sprinkle it with some wet salt that was served on the side, and top it with the parsley salad.  With four bones (with a lot of marrow in each), I actually had more marrow than I had salad to eat it with but it was all good.  The marrow was very smooth and buttery, the salt added salt (obviously), and the salad was fresh, crisp, and very flavorful.  In addition to the parsley, the salad had thinly sliced onions, and was lightly coated with a vinaigrette.  It tasted very good and got me well on my way to getting over my feelings of insult by my waiter.

I don't remember exactly what the dish I ordered for my main course was called but I was surprised when it came out.  It may have been called a Breaded Veal Cutlet with Artichoke and Spinach but I recognized it as a Veal Schnitzel which is a favorite dish of mine at a German Deli near where I work.  A half a lemon came with it to add some acid and to allow it to pair better with the artichokes and spinach (with capers).  It was good as all fried foods are and the lemon provided a needed sour element to the dish.

I had heard of my dessert before I ordered it but I wasn't exactly sure what it was.  I remembered reading or hearing that it was very good so I decided to try it out despite what I thought was a rather non-descriptive name.  I ordered an Eton Mess.  While I say that it was non-descriptive, I found after I got it that it was only non-descriptive in that it was not obvious from the name what it was made of.  It very much looked like a mess, but a very good mess.  It was composed of whipped cream, meringues, and strawberries.  The dessert was apparently created at Eton College and is served during cricket matches between Eton and Winchester.  The mess seemed obvious from the appearance.  This was a very simple dessert (as everything else here was very simple), but like everything else, it is done very well. 

As far as the food was concerned, I really liked what I had.  The restaurant was very English in that the food was very simple but it was prepared very well.  I found the spartan and rustic design of the restaurant rather interesting and even though it was a little disconcerting to wander through the (well lit) building to find where I was to announce myself, it was kind of cool to see the building.  I liked my visit here despite being put off by the waiter but because of the attitude of the waiter, I am not sure that I would visit again.

Roast

Celebrity Chef Michael Symon is a rock star.  He is an Iron Chef, one of the hosts of the TV show, The Stew, and a James Beard Award Winner.  He is also very much a Cleveland guy where he has three restaurants.  While he is very busy in Cleveland with his restaurants and New York with his TV shows, he decided, a couple of years ago, to open up another restaurant in Detroit, Roast.  Having seen his ideas in food on various TV shows, I was very interested in going.  He is very into nose-to-tail cooking and while his cooking is mostly accessible to most people, in many cases, he will add a twist.  I had the opportunity to visit (and eat) there on a recent visit to Detroit.  Located in the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, in downtown Detroit, it is a large space, seating about 200 people.  The space is divided into three areas, the bar/lounge, the main dining area which is located outside the open kitchen, and the private/overflow dining area.  The space is open, with dark walls and furniture, but with glass walls and dividers and white tablecloths.  As I said, the kitchen is open with a rotisserie/grill at the front so diners can see what whole animal was being cooked.  When we were there, there was a pig rotating in the grill.  While the menus were printed, the bar/cocktail menu was on an iPad which was kind of neat and pretty convenient because they have a pretty extensive beer and wine list which doesn't require a book sized menu.  Before I went, I had heard raves about their Fried Brussels Sprouts side so it was a given that that was one of the sides that we would be getting.  In addition, we also got Spinach and Feta Au Gratin and Sweet Potatoes and Pecans.  Our sides actually arrived before our appetizers so we started with them.  As I was told, the brussels sprouts were amazing.  All of the sides were very good but the brussels sprouts require a special acknowledgement.  They were shredded and browned and were very tender.  They did have the cabbage flavor that should be expected of a member of the cabbage family but they were salty and also had a caramelized flavor.  They were very, very good.  The spinach and feta au gratin was also good.  I am generally not a huge fan of cooked spinach as it very easily takes on a soggy texture.  This did not and in fact paired very well with the feta cheese.  The Sweet Potatoes and Pecans were tender and sweet and may have had a maple syrup sauce.  They were very good but they weren't anything that I haven't had elsewhere.

As I mentioned, the food at Roast was nose to tail cooking and there were many examples of offal to be found throughout the menu.   There were a couple of examples in our appetizers which we also shared.  The most blatant were the Crispy Veal Sweetbreads with Cauliflower, Roasted Grapes, and Hazelnuts.  Sweetbreads, despite their name, are neither bread or particularly sweet.  They are actually an animal's thymus gland.  I had had them before and do like them but to try to ease other members of our party into it, our waitress said that they are like veal nuggets, which they were.  They were breaded and fried like nuggets.  The grapes and hazelnuts provided a nice counterpoint to the meat with the grapes adding a little sweetness and the hazelnuts providing a nutty crunch.  I liked them as I expected that I would but I was happy to see the that the more timid members of our party enjoyed them as well.

Offal also showed up in another of our appetizers, the Beef Cheek Pierogies which were served with Horseradish and Mushrooms.  The pierogies were soft potato dumplings and the beef cheek filling was shredded and sweet.  The mushrooms used were of wilder varieties like Trumpets and Shiitakes and added a savory flavor to the dish.  While the horseradish did what horseradish does and provided a nice sinus-clearing burn.

Our other appetizer was Stuffed Peppers with Pork Sausage, Feta Cheese, and Yia Yia Sauce.  The pepper was very tender, the sausage was spicy, and the Feta provided a nice goaty garnish.  Offal did not overtly appear in this dish but sausage is frequently made with bits and pieces that are left over and can't be used elsewhere.  This will include offal of various types.

There were many things on the menu that looked good and interesting in the entree and steak departments including veal heart but I decided that as this is primarily a steak house, I should try their steaks at least for the first time.  In that case, I ordered a Medium-Rare House Aged New York Strip with Roasted Marrow, Pickles, and Horseradish.  As I would have expected, the steak was cooked and spiced well.  It also had a very nice crust.  I really enjoy sharing with other people but I was given a bit of a hard time because I didn't share much of the marrow.  The problem was that if I had shared the meat jam, I wouldn't have had enough for myself.  It was very good but I wish that there was a little more.  The pickles served were pickles in the generic term in that I am not sure that there were any pickled cucumbers, what most people, including me, think of when I think of pickles.  There were many thinly sliced pickled vegetables including onions, peppers, carrots, and carrots and the pickle used was sweet, similar to that used with gherkins.  I did like it and it probably went better with the freshly ground horseradish than would a dill pickle. 

For my dessert, I was so excited that I forgot to take a picture so I had to do a web search and found another image from Degusting Diary which I am using.  The dessert was called Beer and Pretzels and it used Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter Ice Cream with Chocolate Covered Pretzels and Caramel Foam.  This was very good and a fitting end to a great meal.  The porter ice cream was subtle with coffee and chocolate flavors which went well with the chocolate covered pretzels.  The pretzels were actually like chocolate covered Combos.  They were salty and crunchy and had a coating of very good chocolate.  The caramel foam was also salted which tied everything together and while it was beer and pretzels, it was also a very good ice cream sundae with sweet, salty, and some bitterness.

This was a very good meal which was also a lot of fun.  While it isn't a place I could visit every week, I will certainly be back.

Balena

I first heard about Chris Pandel when he opened the neighborhood restaurant, The Bristol, about five years ago.  That restaurant featured small plates and nose-to-tail cooking.  There was more to it than that but many of my friends (and I) thought of The Bristol, they thought of meat.  When I first heard that Chef Pandel would be opening an Italian inspired restaurant, it did not compute.  I could not see how you would get to Italian from where he was cooking at The Bristol and I told him as much when I met him at a benefit later that year (before the new place was opened).  He told me not to brush it off so quickly.  I admitted that he was a good chef which would allow him to make Italian cuisine, but I still remained a little skeptical.   A friend of mine went to Balena shortly after it opened last year and raved about it, telling me that it was a restaurant that needed to be on my short list.  When I saw that it was participating in Restaurant Week, where participating restaurants will offer a 3 course prix fixe meal for $22 for lunch and $33 or $44 for dinner (plus drinks, tax, and tip), I decided to give it a try.  Located near the retail hub around Clybourn and North Avenue and near a couple of theaters, Balena does see a lot of traffic so I shouldn't have been surprised by the sheer size of the space.  The space uses a lot of hardwood and pillars with a high vaulted ceiling with both overhead and table lighting.  The bar is at the front and while it does have the standards, it specializes in cocktails featuring Italian bitters.  The list, as a matter of fact, lists the relative bitterness of it's specialty cocktails.  The kitchen is off to one side in the back and while elevated, it is also fairly open so the action in the kitchen can be watched if you so desire.  There is a hallway like a closed catwalk on the second floor where offices can be seen.  I was seated in a back corner of the open dining room opposite the kitchen where I had a good view of the entire restaurant.  When he was just running The Bristol, Chef Pandel became known for his charcuterie program.  It should not be a surprise that charcuterie would make an appearance at Balena as well as the Italians are well known for their charcuterie (salami and prosciutto being but two examples).  My first course was Porchetta di Testa with Lemon Zest and a little Olive Oil.  When I saw it listed, I recognized it as charcuterie but was unsure in what form it was.  When it was served, I saw three thin slices of meat that looked similar to round prosciutto with lemon zest and a little olive oil.  Trying it, I really enjoyed it.  It was very light and delicate with a salted pork flavor.  The tang from the zest played very well with the flavor of the pork.  While I was at the restaurant I looked up porchetta to find out what exactly, it is.  It turns out that it is a lightly salted and cured pig face that has been rolled and poached.  As I said, it was really good, but I was surprised as to how light it was.  I would have expected pig face to be that light.  It was a great start and it got me set for the rest of the meal.

The next course was another meat course, but this one was cooked.  I had Beef Short Ribs with Calabrian Peppers, Onions, and Orange Zest.  It was meaty, spicy, sweet, and unfortunate.  It was very good but being short ribs there were a lot of bones in the meat.  It was unfortunate because this was served in a fine dining restaurant which, while it wasn't required, did encourage me to eat with a knife and fork.  Had I been in a regular barbecue joint, I may well have just used my hands.  It was a good course, but because it was ribs, it did require some work with a knife and fork.

The next course was the pasta course and it was much easier to eat than the short ribs.  It was a very colorful, striking, complex, and made for a great picture.  It was Beet Agnolotti with Smoked Salmon, Poppy Seeds, Dill, and Creme Fraiche.  The first thing that has to be said of this dish was that the agnolotti was very red.  This was obviously from the beets.  On top of this were several pieces of smoked salmon, a couple of dollops of creme fraiche, and several sprigs of dill.  The poppy seeds were sprinkled over the whole dish.  The agnolotti was perfectly cooked.  It was toothsome and had an earthy flavor, the salmon was smoky and had a nice firm texture.  The creme fraiche added a nice tang, and the dill provided a complementary flavor to the salmon and tied it to the vegetal flavor of the agnolotti.

The dessert was very good.  It took a simple idea and amped it up.  It was a Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Spiced Cranberries and Craquelin.  Panna Cotta is a simple and fairly standard Italian dessert.  It will typically use fresh fruit to add a complexity to the custard which by itself would simply be sweet.  The buttermilk panna cotta was richer than a standard panna cotta and had a little tang.  Cranberries are normally sweet with some bitterness, the fact that they were spiced added a nice bite, and the craquelin, which is essentially croutons made from sugar-coated brioche, added textural variety in a nice crunch.

I really enjoyed my meal hear and after having gone, I can see how you can go from local, seasonal, nose-to-tail, to Italian.  There really wasn't that much of a stretch.  I am glad my friend recommended Balena.  It will be recommendation I make to those that ask.    

Telegraph

As you might be able to tell, while I do have some restaurant favorites, I like to try places that I haven't been to. I also like to try dishes that I have never tried before even if they contain things that I don't particularly like. To that end, I did both by going to the new neighborhood Wine Bar, Telegraph. This could have potentially ended up badly but it would have been my own fault. Before I talk about the food though, I will talk about the restaurant. It is located right on Logan Square and has a glass front wall. While there are lights in the restaurant, they are dim, vintage, hanging lights and don't really put out much light. The fact that the floor, bar, and furniture are black doesn't help. It seems that a lot of the light in the room comes from the street lights in the square which is convenient because it is a pretty small space with tables seating 20 and the bar seating 15. On the walls, are several vintage photographs ( or photographic prints) showing images from Chicago around the turn of the 20th century. As I mentioned, this is a Wine Bar but it is kind of unusual because the wines that they serve are not your typical wines. There were no American wines and only a few French wines served by the glass. The wines are from the rest of Europe including wines from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Hungary. The wine that I had was a Simcic, Rebula, Goriska Brda from Slovenia. It was a dry white with flavors of pumpkin and sesame. When I was drinking my wine, my challenging dinner started to arrive. My appetizer was a Berkshire Farm Pork Loin Tartine with Whipped Feta Cheese, Seedling Farms Bosc Pears, and a Juniper Vinaigrette. It really looked good when it came out but I am not a big fan of pears so I wasn't sure. The pork was thinly sliced and tender, the whipped goat cheese was creamy and added a nice tartness to it. The bread on which everything was served was grilled and pretty thick. The juniper vinaigrette was light but it did add a nice juniper flavor to it and it was obvios that the pears were very fresh. It all tasted good but admittedly, I was not crazy about the texture of the pears but I will not blame the chef because I knew that I really didn't like pears. Other than the texture of the pears, it was pretty good and it got me ready for my next challenge.My entree contained sweetbreads, specifically veal sweetbreads that were breaded and fried crispy. With the crispy veal sweetbreads were sunchokes, leeks, and a cherry puree. I had never had sweetbreads before and the idea of eating organ meat (specifically thymus glands) made me a little leary. I figured though, that anything deep fried is good so i decided to try it out. It was all good. The sweetbreads actually reminded me of KFC. They were both crispy and chewy and the minerally flavor that you might expect from organ meats was actually pretty mild. The vegetables were a good match and the cherry puree actually had whole cherries. It was actually a lot better than I expected.
Dessert was easy. There really wasn't anything on the menu that was really that challenging and it all looked pretty good. I decided to go with a variation on a favorite. I got a Sunflower Seed and Coconut Cheesecake with Lemon Curd, Whipped Cream, and Toasted Brown Sugar that was paired with a 1/2 pour of Mort Subite Blanche Lambic. I really like cheesecake and with the pairing, I was tasting a lot of pumpkin, lemon, and peaches. The toasted brown sugar added kind of a pumpkin pie flavor and what goes with pumpkin pie but whipped cream. It was very good and it was a good way to end the meal.

Even though the room was dark, I did enjoy the place. The people were friendly, the wine and food were unusual, and it's close to where I live so it gives me another pretty good choice when I want to dine in the neighborhood.