Sunday Dinner Club - "Made Wrong" Burgers at Half Acre Brewery

 

I like Sunday Dinner Club, the underground dinner club that hosts dinners with many various themes and I try to go several times a year.  Their main location is above their restaurant, Honey Butter Fried Chicken, which itself started as a Sunday Dinner Club dinner, but several times a year they will partner with Half Acre Brewery for a dinner at one of their tap rooms (mostly the Lincoln Tap Room).  These dinners are similar to the dinners in their home space in that when people are checked in and seated, they will come out and introduce themselves.  With the dinners at Half Acre, a Half Acre rep will first introduce themselves and welcome everyone before introducing the SDC crew who will then introduce themselves, tell the story of Sunday Dinner Club, and tell everyone about the dinner they will be having.  The dinners at SDC Headquarters are BYOB, but the ones at Half Acre come with four beers.  This dinner also came with a sample of Camchi's Kimchi, a product from one of their crew that they plan on commercializing.  The beers that I started with were Eat Shop Apricot Milkshake IPA with Lactose and Apricot and Deep Space Double IPA, both IPAs, but very diffwewnt from one another.  Eat Shop Apricot was creamy and hazy with a nice soft mouthfeel and apricot and tropical flavors.  Deep Space was decidedly heavier with grapefruit and pine flavors and a nice dry finish.  

Their former sous chef Becca, had an enormously popular Cubano sandwich which they used as a theme for a pop up at Revival Food Hall.  It was also very successful, so there is now thought of opening another restaurant under the Sunday Dinner Club umbrella.  While the Cubano Sandwich is good, it's hard to build a restaurant on one item, so this dinner was sort of a try out to expand the menu.  For this dinner, they did a spin on the Maid-Rite Burger, a spiced loose meat sandwich similar to a sloppy joe without sauce, they called a "Made Wrong" Burger.  It was also a spiced loose meat sandwich on a bun, but it also had Camchi's Kimchi made with Cucumbers and Carrots, Spicy Aioli, and Muenster Cheese.  It was served with a very good Potato Salad made with Mustard and Spices.

For my beers to drink with dinner and finish off, I went with Shrub Tundra Coffee Brown Ale and another IPA, Half Acre makes a lot of IPAs, Fluorescent IPA.  Shrub Tundra is a collaboration with a local coffee roaster, Dark Matter Coffee, uses 5% liquid coffee by volume, the variety of which varies every year.  This years blend had a nice head, light carbonation, and a thin mouthfeel.  The coffee aroma and flavor were good and while there was a hop flavor, it was light.  Fluorescent IPA poured light yellow with a light haze.  It has a medium body and tropical flavors and was pretty good.

To finish our dinner, we were served Brownies.  I really like brownies in general, but these brownies were pretty fantastic.  The Brownie was Dark Chocolate topped with Peppermint Cream Cheese and Fueilletine Flakes.  Fueilletine, meaning leaves, is a very light pastry that tastes like a very light and crispy sugar cone and provided a nice crunch to the brownie.  The brownie had a great flavor and provided a great finish to a great dinner.  While Sunday Dinner Club does not do just one thing, there style is very homey and a lot of what they do is to elevate comfort foods.  I have liked the dinners that I have had with SDC, and I will continue going to their dinners.

Claudia Pop-Up

 

I like to keep track of underground dining in Chicago even if there are a few that I will probably never go to (for whatever reason).  I had first heard about Claudia, an underground pop-up run by Chef Trevor Teich and open only on weekends and doing a fine dining menu, a couple of years ago and while I was very interested, I couldn't bring things together for a night out there.  When I heard that they would be closing and that former Moto Chef Richie Farina would be a guest chef for their last dinners, I said that I had to make this happen.  As it was, I made it to Claudia's last dinner.  I have a special spot in my heart for Moto.  It was the first fine dining restaurant that I went to and they were full on into Molecular Gastronomy, a combination of science and art.  Richie was one of the chefs when I first went, but had risen to Executive Chef by the second time I came.  After he left, he has kind of flown under the radar, so I was interested to see what he would do.  Claudia was located on the second floor of a building in the West Loop, an area that used to be the warehouse district for the local food companies.  The building looked like it had formerly been a warehouse, but had been converted to offices.  Our dining area was small and stark and had two 8 seat picnic tables.  There was a table for the drinks that people brought and two doors, to the room.  The first door was the entrance, but the second led out into a large ballroom area that separated the dining room from the large industrial kitchen.  The diners could wait in the ballroom and socialize with each other and the chefs until dinner was ready to be served.  When dinner was announced, we were told that we could sit wherever we wanted at either picnic table.  I was by myself, so I sat at a corner to give other diners who were dining with other people the ability to dine together.  I sat across from a brother and sister who were both involved in the tech industry and a young man, his female friend, and aunt.  The people that I was around were very interested in technology and science, so the conversations were very interesting.

When we were seated, our first course came out and it looked for all the world like Chicharrones served on a paper towel.  While similar, the "chicharrones" were actually Flash-Fried Beef Tendons.  The texture was similar, very light and crunchy, but the flavor was a little more savory.  The paper towel was also an illusion.  While it looked like a paper towel, it was actually a ceramic plate.  It was very cool and set a great stage for a night of experimentation.

While the Beef Tendons were good, they weren't an official course and were more an Amuse Bouche.  Our first course was about lamb.  It started with Lamb Loin Tartare and accompanied it with Lamb Fat Aioli, Red Carrots, Onion Strings, and as with most tartares, a raw egg.  I like Steak Tartare, this had a more funky and gamy flavor than does beef as might be expected from a dish using a lot of lamb. 

The next course was apparently a classic of Chef Trevor's and was frequently on the menu.  Called Snails in the Woods, it was very much a visual experience.  The plate with the dish was presented first and then water was poured into a vase on the table.  The vase apparently had dry ice because when the water was poured into it, steam poured out to set the atmosphere for the dish.  The dish itself consisted of Tempura Fried Snails, Black Truffle "Dirt", and Herbs.  With the steam (fog), the leafy herbs, and the dirt, the illusion was complete.  The snails were very good.  The tempura crust provided a light crunch to the regular chewy texture of snails.  The herbs and dirt added some nice flavor to the snails.  The dirt tasted of truffles (of course), but it didn't have the overwhelming flavor of some truffle flavored dishes.

Our next course was called Coconut Squid and seemed to be an unusual combination, especially that was what the course almost completely consisted of.  It was a multi-layer course starting on the bottom with Coconut Custard, topped with Squid Ink Marinated Squid.  On top of this was Deep Fried Young Coconut.  This was all seasoned with Togarashi and Nuac Mon Kombu (a Fish Sauce Braised Seaweed).  The dish was a mixture of flavors and textures from soft and chewy to crunchy.  The squid ink marinade did little to the squid other than turn it black.  While all of the individual components were good on their own, if you could get a bite with everything, it was the best, with a wealth of flavors and textures.  I have to think that this was one of Richie's dishes, because I noticed that there is something similar in the Moto Cookbook.

The next course was very pretty and delectable as first presented even in its simplicity.  It started with a couple of Butter Poached Scallops with Cuttlefish, Fennel, and Confited Orange.  To this was added a Red Wine and Scallop Consomme.  The scallops were incredibly tender and flavorful.  The cuttlefish added some texture, the fennel - some flavor, and the confited orange concentrated the orange flavor.  The consomme, was very light, but added flavor to the dish and was all pretty good.

The next course is a classic flavor combination, but the dish was very much an expression of art and science.  It was Beef and Cabbage which you would expect to be simply brown and green which were there, but there were a variety of shades of red and green striped on the plate (from cabbage juice at different pH levels).  The dish consisted of an incredibly tender Red Wine Braised Short Rib and Bacon Braised Cabbage, with the previously mentioned Cabbage Juice, Leek Ash, and Sarsparilla Beef Glaze.  It was rich, tender, savory, and almost as much fun to look at as it was to eat. 

Our last savory course that reminded me somewhat of a Deconstructed Cubano Sandwich.  It was made with a Quick Cured Pork Belly, Pork Loin, Corn Bread, Rye, Carrots, and Mustard.  I will grant that a Cubano has two types of pork, Swiss cheese, Mustard, and Pickles, on Grilled Bread, and this dish replaced cheese with carrots, but the flavors still really reminded me of a Cubano.  It was simple, very flavorful, and very good.

I said that the Pork Belly was our last savory course.  That was sort of true.  Our next course was dessert which was sweet as a dessert should be, but it was also very savory.  It was a Rice Cake with Kombu (seaweed) and Amazake (fermented rice) Ice Cream.  If any dish could be considered a fail, this would be one.  It was mostly ice cream in a flavor I didn't care for.  The rice cake and kombu did provide (savory) flavor, but it added to something that I didn't really care for in the first place.

The first dessert was essentially a palate cleanser, the second dessert was actually fun to eat.  While the menu labeled it Chocolate, it could have just as easily been called Coffee.  It started with Chocolate Gelato, continued with Coffee Espuma (culinary foam, this was thick enough almost to be called a mousse), and Caramel.  It was really good and actually kind of reminded me of a Caramel Macchiato turned into a dessert.

 

Our final dessert was a course in two parts and I have to think that each chef made one part.  Called Embers & Ash, We were first presented with Embers:  Flaxseed Caramels, on individual spoons for each diner, and presented on a burning log.  It was supposed to evoke the image of eating sweets around a campfire.  After Embers come Ash and that is what the course very much looked like, ash.  We were presented a plate of powders consisting of Smoked Creme Anglaise, Dark Chocolate Powder, and Brown Butter.  Before we were allowed to dig in though, Chef Richie came around and dug chunks of Liquid Nitrogen Frozen Chocolate Cake which "smoked" and was meant to look like smoking coal.  When we ate these pieces, because they had been so cold, we would blow a lot of steam out of our noses and mouths.  It was very cool, a lot of fun, tasted good, and was a great ending to a fine dinner.

When dinner was finished, the chefs were in the ballroom to talk, sign menus, and take pictures.  I did all three.  I really enjoyed my dinner, I just I wish I had gone sooner.    

   

Hungryasfck Pop Up Brunch at Kimski

This has taken a while to get up, but I really liked it, so I thought it was worth writing about.  I had been interested in Kimski since it opened.  Attached to and actually a part of Maria's Packaged Goods and Community Bar, it is a counter service place with a Korean/Polish Menu that draws on the ancestry of the owners, the Marszewski family.  It started out with a neighborhood bar in Bridgeport.  When the kids took over from their mother, Marz Community Brewing, a very creative small batch brewery was started with Maria's used as it's taproom.  While Maria's had a great beer selection (and also worked as a bottle shop) they had no kitchen so it was BYOF (Bring Your Own Food).  They decided to open Kimski, both as a kitchen for Maria's and as an entity of its own.  The two places are connected in the back, but they also operate separately.  Maria's as a great neighborhood bar and bottle shop, and Kimski as a small counter service place that serves Korean/Polish Cuisine.  From the outside, the two places look very different and it would be hard to guess that they were connected or related to one another.  Maria's has a very classic Chicago Bungalow appearance with Kimski being very modern and angular with a nice open patio in the front.  Entering Kimski, it looks a lot smaller than it actually is.  There is a small lobby with paper menus on the counter and a menu on the wall.  There is probably seating for about 8 people in this area.  The kitchen window is to the side of the counter so the counter people can pick up and deliver food to customer's tables.  To get to the actual dining area, you have to walk around the counter and through a door behind the counter.  The main dining room is much larger and has a nice bar with a very good tap list with Marz as well as many other local breweries featured.  The room is wood, with the main color being black.  The back wall is made up of several glass sliding doors over looking the enclosed back patio (also wood, although this left light colored) which used picnic tables for seating.  I really liked the look of the place and the tap list and will definitely have to return sometime.

The food and drink looked very good, but I was actually there for a Pop Up by the Hungryasfck Team who were doing a Hawaiian themed Ono Brunch (Ono is Hawaiaan for delicious).  I had never heard of Hungryasfck, but saw that they were formerly from Parachute, which I really like, so I had to try their stuff out.  I had never been before to Kimski (or Maria's) and was surprised by how small it apparently was.  After I ordered, I was guided behind the counter and through the door and was relieved to see that it was much bigger than it had seemed.  I sat on the back patio and enjoyed the sunny day.  I started things off with a coffee drink from local roaster Passionhouse, a Wasabi Bloody Mary, and donuts because no proper brunch starts without donuts.  The Coffee drink was called Ice, Ice, Baby and in addition to the Passionhouse Cold Brewed Iced Coffee contained Macadamia Nut Milk, and Coffee Bean Honey.  I like iced coffee and the macadamia nut milk and the coffee bean honey added to it.  It had a bittersweet, nutty flavor with flavors of dark fruits.  The Wasabi Bloody Mary did have a slight bite, but in my opinion, it was light on the Wasabi.  It had a Celery Stalk and a small Maki Roll garnishing it. The celery did contribute to the flavor, but the maki sat above the liquid, so it only contributed as a pairing.  The donuts were actually Donut Holes, but I'm not complaining about that.  They were Yeast Donuts topped with Powdered Sugar, and Chocolate Syrup and were very light, if a little messy.  It was like eating Chocolate-Covered clouds.

Next on the menu was the Spam Musubi which was served with a spicy dipping sauce.  Spam is very popular in Hawaii and Spam Musubi is apparently sold all over the place.  While I generally don't consider it haute cuisine, I also don't consider it vile.  Since this was a Hawaiian themed brunch, I figured that this was a must try.  Spam Musubi is Grilled Spam wrapped in Sushi Rice and then wrapped with Nori.  It's like spam maki, although a little larger.  I cannot say that I thought it tasted fantastic, but it wasn't bad.  It was better, though with the spicy dipping sauce.

 I finished things off with what they called a Pork Bowl.  To me, it was like an Asian version of Hash, replacing Potatoes with Fried Rice.  It started with Pulled Pork, and added Pineapple and a Fried Egg over the Fried Rice and Spices and served on top of a Banana Leaf.  The Pulled Pork was very tender and the Pineapple added a tropical flavor to it.  The fried rice added a great texture. 

I really enjoyed my brunch at Kimski.  Hungyasfck put together a great menu and Kimski is a great space.  I will have to watch for more pop ups and I will have to return to Kimski so I can try their actual menu.

Nosh and Booze - Brunch

Every month, I plan for a brunch outing.  I pick a place, invite friends, and make a reservation, if necessary.  I have a soft list in my head of places in which I might be interested that I generally choose from, but this month, a friend told me that she had a reservation for a place for brunch that I could use I wanted to.  Nosh and Booze was on my radar and it looked interesting, so I decided to take her up on that offer.  Located in the West Loop in the former Vivo space, it is a long term pop-up for the group that runs AMK in Bucktown.  The group bought the space and have plans for it that they have not yet talked a lot about.  These plans will take some time, so they decided to open something up quickly while they were planning the permanent space.  Presently the space is pretty raw, with graffiti (art) covered brick walls and unfinished ceilings.  The floor is cement and the furniture is made from steel piping and finished wood planks.  The menu is cheffy bar/comfort food with a good selection of beer, wine, and classic and original cocktails.  I started things off with an IPA Jackass, a beer cocktail based on a Moscow Mule.  Served in a metal mug (it was not obviously copper), it contained Hophead Vodka, Ginger, Lime, Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA, and a Mint Garnish.  It was both sweet and tart with a nice herbal flavor, floral hops, and a mint finish.  It was very refreshing and I really enjoyed it.

For my brunch, I had Chilaquiles.  Now, I will admit to being a little pedantic about Chilaquiles, because many people get it wrong.  At it's base, chilaquiles is simply fried tortilla chips cooked in red or green salsa.  Different things can be added, including, in this case, Guacamole, Sour Cream, Chorizo, White Cheddar, Pico de Gallo, and Two Eggs, Over Easy.  Tex-Mex Migas, while similar, are frequently confused with Chilaquiles.  Migas, while it also has tortilla strips in salsa with onions, and frequently, pico de gallo, it is also frequently served with refried beans and corn tortillas.  While this did have pico de gallo, which is unusual for chilaquiles, it did not have refried beans, and was not served with extra tortillas, so I would say that this was truly chilaquiles.  In any case it was meaty and spicy, with perfectly cooked eggs, and very good eggs. 

Besides the Chilaquiles, they had Chicken and Waffles, an Omelette, Frittata, Biscuits and Gravy, and a nice looking Hash.  Everything looked very good and seemed to be enjoyed by all.  I enjoyed brunch here and can hopefully make it here for dinner before they switch to their permanent concept.    

Two: Split-Rail Pop Up

I really like Two Restaurant.  The food, which is a seasonal American menu plays well in the rustic space.  I have been here for dinner and for special events (involving a special dinner) both.  I went recently for a special dinner, a pop up previewing Chef Zoe Schor's upcoming restaurant, Split-Rail.  Chef Zoe was the opening chef at another of my favorite restaurants, Ada Street, so it was a win on several levels and after seeing the menu, I was very much anticipating this dinner.  Dinner was five courses and a BYOB, so I brought a bomber bottle of Chaton Rosé, a collaboration Hibiscus Ale between Pipeworks Brewery and Avec Restaurant.  Hibiscus beers are generally not my style, but as the dinner was aiming to be a celebration of spring and sea, I thought the refreshing flavor might be appropriate.  It was and tasted good as well.  We started out with A Day on the Pier (all of the courses had names) which consisted of lightly smoked Littleneck Clams with Scallop Dumplings, Saffron-Seawater Broth, and Sea Beans.  When the bowl was brought out, I was immediately struck with the saffron aroma which was positively intoxicating.  The aroma enhanced the flavor of the clams and the scallop dumplings and the Sea Beans tasted very green and fresh.

The next course was called Saturday Morning at the Farmer's Market and as the name implies, it was very much about vegetables and things you would find at a farmer's market.  The dish consisted of Asparagus, Fava Beans, Morels, Sunchoke Puree, a 63 Degree Egg (the egg is cooked Sous-Vide so the white and yolk have the same texture), and Pt. Reyes Blue Cheese.  This had a wealth of textures and flavors.  The vegetables were crisp, the egg was soft, the morel was tender, and the sunchoke was creamy.  All of the flavors were pronounced and went together well and I really enjoyed it.

While I liked dining from a farmer's market, the next course, Where the Land Meets the Sea was outstanding.  It consisted of Linguini, English and Snap Peas, Spring Onion, Dungeness Crab, Uni Butter, and Garlic Breadcrumbs.  It was crunchy from the peas and spring onions with a nice seafood flavor and the perfectly cooked linguini.

The last savory course felt the most like an entree, featuring a well cooked fish filet.  It was called Dip Your Toes in the Water (And It's Still Freezing...) and featured a Crispy Chicken-Skinned Black Cod with Harissa Potato (mashed), Baby Turnips, and Heirloom Radish.  The skin of the cod was crispy and fried (like fried chicken) but the meat was tender and flaky.  The harissa potatoes were mashed, flavorful, and pretty spicy which went well with the radishes.  The turnips were crunch and actually kind of reminded me of a potato as well.  While it was good, my favorite dish was still the linguini.

Our dessert was called Hear the Ice Cream Truck Coming? and as the name implied, it was about ice cream.  It was a Waffle Ice Cream Sandwich with Vanilla Bean - Bacon Ice Cream and Bourbon Barrel County Stout Syrup.  While we were given silverware to eat this, the waffle was dense enough that the best way to eat this was to pick it up and eat it like a sandwich (occasionally dipping it in the sauce for additional flavor).  The waffle was crispy and the ice cream had the best parts of savory and sweet with the vanilla and the bacon featuring prominently.  The Bourbon Barrel County Stout sauce was bitter sweet and smoky and went very well with the sweetness of the ice cream.  It was a great finish to a great meal and I am excited to visit Split-Rail when it opens.            

Geek Bar Beta

It had been a while since I had been out to a restaurant of note and so I had a decision for my start of the year.  Was I going to go low key or high end?  I decided that since I will undoubtedly make it to some high end restaurants, I will take it easy to start the year off and picked a low key place.  I went to Geek Bar recently to start things off.  Geek Bar is an idea that welcomes geeks of all dimensions and is now in it's Beta Version (known as Geek Bar Beta).  It is in an extended pop-up in Wicker Park until it's permanent home is open sometime this winter.  The space is narrow with the bar on one side and the dining room next to it with a projection screen at the back of the room.  The floors, wall, and ceiling are all white with some black design and bottle cap wall hangings in the image of video game characters.  It has the feel of a basement game room.  There seemed to be many games going on at many tables with people bouncing between tables.  It seems very friendly, but I would think that it might be hard to keep track of checks (which may explain why it seemed a bit on the slow side).  On the night that I went, they were playing X-Men: Days of Future Past which was luckily captioned because it was hard to hear.  It was nice to watch though while I was there.  I started things with a beer that I thought was very appropriate for the space, 8 Bit Pale Ale from Tallgrass Brewery.  I had never had this, but I really liked this.

Looking over the menu, which came in a three ring binder, it took a little while to decide what it was that I wanted, I do have to admit though that part of that was my fault because I kept on getting distracted by the movie.  I started things off with Gold Coins.  Named and modeled after Mario Brothers, they were Goat Cheese Fritters with an Arugula Salad with Eggplant Puree and Chickpea Relish modeled after a mystery square in Mario Brothers.  The fritters had a nice crispy crust with a creamy interior and a sour taste that comes with goat cheese.  The arugula salad was peppery and went well with the fritters.

For my main course, I went with Poggles in a Blanket.  Now admittedly, I really have no idea where the name came from, but they were really good.  They were Pork Belly Tacos with Tomatoes, Green Peppers, and Crispy and Melted Cheddar.  A Lime wedge was served on the side.  It was meaty, savory, and served in soft corn tortillas.

My dessert was a presentation which required a twenty minute wait.  This was fine because I had the movie to watch and I imagine, after having it presented, that it was made to order.   I got the Hellboy Souffle which was a Red Velvet Souffle topped with Raspberry Puree and Cheesecake Gelato topped with Graham Cracker Crumbs and Raspberry Pop Rocks.  This was really good.  The souffle was sweet and fluffy, with a good chocolate flavor.  The raspberry puree was sour, as might be expected, but went well with the souffle.  The gelato was creamy went well with the souffle, but it was good on it's own with the pop rock topping.  There weren't a lot of pop rocks but there were enough to provide a tingly texture for a great finish.

Despite the fact that the service was a little slower than I expected, I liked Geek Bar.  The food was good, the staff was friendly, and the atmosphere was welcoming.  I will probably return several times before it moves to it's permanent in Lincoln Park.