Fisk and Co - Restaurant Week

I have mentioned that I use Restaurant Week both to visit favorites and to check out new places that I have not yet tried.  Fisk and Co was kind of both.  I had never visited Fisk and Co., but I know the chef, Ashlee Aubin, who had been Chef/Owner at both Wood and Salero, which I both really liked, and he is also from Michigan.  I really like seafood and Fisk and Co, seems to model itself after a Belgian Beer and Seafood Pub specializing in Mussels and Frites.  I was excited and decided to check it out.  Located at Wabash and Wacker, just inside the loop and attached to the Kimpton Hotel, it was very easy to find.  It has a separate entrance, so unless you have to use the restroom, which is in the hotel, you wouldn't know.  The entrance opens to look upon the twisting Raw Bar, which was full when I arrived.  I was guided into the dining room at the front of the restaurant (the entrance is on the side and toward the rear).  In fact, I was seated at a large table in the corner which gave me a great view of the space which had high ceilings, white walls, and a large windows running along the front and the side.  The tables and furniture were black wood, although the banquette on which I was sitting was white like the walls.  The menu came on one, two-sided sheet that was about the size of a place setting.  They did have a nice beer list, featuring some Belgian beers, but also many locals doing Belgian-inspired styles.  They also had some interesting cocktails listed, so I decided to go that rout while I was trying to decide what I wanted to eat.  The cocktail that I started with the Xochiquetzal, was a spin on The Last Word, using Ford's Gin, Luxardo Maraschino, Cocalero Herbal Liquer (instead of Green Chartreuse) and Lime, and it was Stirred and not Shaken.   Cocolero is a South American spirit using Coca Leaf, Juniper, and 16 other botanicals.  I cannot speak to how it tastes on it's own, though Green Chartreuse has a floral flavor amongst the rest of its botanicals, which comes through in The Last Word.  The Xochiquetzal was more booze forward than The Last Word is.  It was, however, pretty good and I did enjoy it.

Starting with my appetizer, I noticed that a selection of Oysters was on the menu.  I love oysters, so that was going to happen.  The Oysters were shucked and served on ice on the half shell with a wedge of Lemon, and small cups of Cocktail Sauce and Mignonette.  I like to taste the oyster, so I generally don't bother with anything but a little lemon juice.  I was given three Oysters, one from Maryland, one from Washington DC, and one from Mexico.  I don't remember the names of the ones from Maryland or DC, but I did remeber the one from Mexico, because it's name, Chingon, is pretty off color, and I had to laugh when I heard it.  That being said, the Mexican oyster was also my favorite.

For my entree, I did consider Mussels, but after having the Oysters, I figured that that may have been overkill.  I decided to go with some pasta, Crab Campanelle with Jonah Crab, Aleppo Pepper, Peas, White Wine, Lemon, and Butter.  This was pretty great.  The Campanelle was perfectly al dente, the crab was finely shredded and really flavorful, The peas added some sweetness and body, the lemon went well with the crab, and the pepper provided a light firey finish at the end.

 

And then we came to dessert.  Rum Cake seems to be a very popular dessert in seafood restaurants and that is the way that I went.  It was served with Roasted Apples and Whipped Cream.  The cake was very sweet and dense and the apples on top went with it very well.  The Whipped Cream, served on the side, was very light, and helped balance things a little.  While I was eating, I got to talking with my waiter about drinks and he wanted me to try a drink that he invented (on him).  Called the Cuberdon Club it had Botanist Gin, Imbue "Petal & Thorn" Vermouth, Lemon, Lavender Oil, Egg White, and Peychaud's Bitters.  It was similar to combining a Negroni and an Aviation and was very good.  While I was sitting, enjoying my last drink, the manager, Melissa, came over and asked how I knew Chef Ashlee (who wasn't there that night).  When I told her, she thanked me for coming, welcomed me back, and covered my other drink.  I really enjoyed my dinner, the space, and the people, and will definitely return to try more, especially the mussels.      

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.    

Mon Lapin - Montreal

 

Part of the reason that I wanted to go to Montreal in the first place was to visit the most well known restaurant in Montreal, Joe Beef.  As it is the most well known restaurant in Canada, it is also very difficult to get a reservation.  They take reservations three months in advance which are gone very quickly and I was unable to get one.  Eater Montreal, said that Joe Beef has become very tourist focused and to go instead to Mon Lapin, a Wine Bar by Joe Beef, which is located in Little Italy (as opposed to Little Burgundy which is where the other restaurants in the Joe Beef group are located) and does not take reservations.  This sounded like a good idea because I would have to take a subway to get there and it would let me explore another neighborhood.  I decided to get there when it opened both because I could much more easily get a seat and I was going on my last day and would be leaving early on the next day.  The subways were pretty cool.  They were bigger than those used in Chicago with multilevel stations.  It actually reminded me of the Tube system in London.  I arrived in the neighborhood early and explored a little.  Located on the other side of Mont Royal from Downtown, Old Town, Little Burgundy, and the port, it's smaller and looks more residential than the downtown area.  Mon Lapin is in a storefront on a main road and has a large front window and a nice patio to the side.  The inside is small, a little rustic, and bistro-like.  There is a small granite-topped bar in the rear that overlooks the kitchen where I decided to sit.  I sat to one side, next to a selection of French Liqueurs using things like quince and cherries, but the one that caught my eyes was the tomato liqueur.  They all sounded interesting, though I did not try them.

 

There was a chalkboard on the wall to the left behind me that listed the wines by the glass that were available.  I started with a dry white that had a very fruity aroma, though a dry flavor and it was very nice.  For food, I decided to go with the tasting menu.  Items on the tasting menu were also on the a la carte menu, but I figured that the chef would better be able to put a meal that flowed well, than would I, so I let the chef drive.  The food menu was very vegetable heavy, and in fact, the only meat that I had was in the first course.  I was served Radishes with an Eel Cream Sauce and a very large Razor Clam with Asparagus and topped with Pork Belly.  The Radishes were very fresh and crisp and the eel cream sauce complemented the spice of the radish well.  The best way to eat the razor clam was with both the asparagus and pork belly, though admittedly, that was a little difficult.  Every part of it was very good.  The clam was briny which complemented the saltiness of the pork belly.  The asparagus was also fresh and crisp and gave this part of the course some crunch.  I saw quickly that things were going to be very fresh and crisp.

For the second course, I was served Shrimp with Lovage (an herb similar to parsley with a celery flavor) and Cucumbers.  In the center of the dish there was a plastic skewer that skewered all three elements together.  The shrimp was very fresh, tender and sweet, and the lovage and cucumber added texture and a green vegetal flavor.

Course three was probably the most savory and was a favorite.  It consisted of Snow Crab with Tagliatelle topped with Bread Crumbs and Chives.  The pasta was perfectly al dente with a lot of tender and flavorful crab.  The bread crumbs added a little texture and flavor and tied everything together.

 

   I was ready for another glass of wine with my fourth course.  It was a Red Vinho Verde, which is actually called a Vinho Tinto.  Like other Vinho Verdes it was bright and light.  It isn't exceptionally complex, but it's a great table wine.  As it is a red, it does go well with more savory courses.  With my Vinho Verde, for my food course, I was served Halibut with Fried Nettles.  I had had and like halibut before, but I had never had Fried Nettles (nor nettles at all, for that matter).  The Halibut was light, moist, tender, and flaky.  The nettles had a texture similar to kale and a flavor similar to spinach.  With the light flavor of halibut, the nettles definitely added some flavor, though the butter also helped.

For course number five, we went back to the vegetables and, in fact, back to the Asparagus.  I was served Fresh Grilled Asparagus with Ramps.  While asparagus has a strong flavor, grilling actually concentrates the flavor.  Ramps are a type of wild onion that are in season in May.  They have a flavor that is kind of like a cross between garlic and onions and it went well with the asparagus.

Course number 6 actually surprised me a bit because it was essentially a salad.  I am aware that serving salads first is an American tradition and other parts of the world, France specifically, will serve it after the entree.  That doesn't mean that it still didn't throw me off a little.  I was served Lettuce with Bacalao Sauce and Salmon Roe.  Bacalao is a dried and salted cod, so with the salmon roe the dish was pretty savory.  It was very good, but it was a salad.

Pre-dessert was a Cheese Course.  It was a Louis Dor Hard Cow Cheese served with a Sour dough Cracker and Honey.  The sourdough was thin and crisp and was easily breakable into smaller pieces.  the cheese, had a nice sour salty flavor similar to cheddar, and the honey added a nice sweet finish.  It was enjoyable enough that I would have eaten the cheese even without the cracker or honey.

To finish things off, came a dessert that both was very seasonal and referenced Canada.  Called Maple Flan with Fried Rhubarb, it started with a nice firm flan topped with a lot of Maple Syrup.  If that would have been it, it still would have been very good.  Maple complements the sweetness of flan well.  I have had Rhubarb both fresh and baked in a pie with strawberries.  It is very sour, though cooking does reduce that.  Frying it made it more tender and added a little sweetness to the sour.  It was very good, I liked it a lot and it was a very nice finish to both my dinner and my trip to Canada.     

 

Ina Mae Tavern and Packaged Goods - Chicago Restaurant Week

 

 

I have liked Frontier, and Chef Brian Jupiter's food since I first went there and while Chef Brian is still the Executive Chef there, he wanted to open a place of his own that honored where he had come from, New Orleans.  He opened Ina Mae Tavern and Packaged Goods, named after his grandmother, last year to fulfill that wish.  I went there for Restaurant Week to check it out.  I knew that I liked Chef Brian's food and also Cajun food, I was interested to see how these two would come together.  Admittedly, I knew that it wasn't going to be a huge stretch, because the food that he presents at Frontier definitely has a Southern twist.  The restaurant is located on a corner on a side street in Wicker Park and looks like a neighborhood corner bar.  The sign is even an old school Old Style Light sign.  Walking in, the front still looks like a slightly divey neighborhood bar with the bar across from the door.  There are tables in the front and back, mostly two tops for diners, and a flat screen television on the brick outer wall playing sports.  Seated in the back of the restaurant, I got to get a look of the place.  In addition to the brick outer wall, there was a facade of a building top over the bar area with weather warn wood siding.  The siding continued on the inside wall as well and with the accessories on the wall, I got the feeling of an old school worn down (though sturdy) fishing shack.  The menu was laid out on a single piece of paper (on both sides) and kind of reminded me of a diner menu layout, though with much more seafood.  The beer and cocktail list was on one side of the menu.  I ordered a gin cocktail called The Rex Organization which kind of seemed a combination of several cocktails including a Pimm's Cup and a Moscow Mule.  In addition to Pimm's #1, it included Sipsmith Gin, Ginger, Lemon, Agave, Cucumber Juice, and Lots of Mint.  It was very botanical and full of flavor.  It was sweet, tart, spicy, and had a nice minty finish.

For my appetizer, I started with Crab Stuffed Shrimp.  I like shrimp and love crab, so this was a perfect pairing.  The shrimp was grilled with the tail on and the crab, which had the consistency of a crab salad, was added in the curl of the shrimp.  It was served in a bowl with plenty of butter and topped with microgreens and some ground red pepper.  It was sweet, spicy, buttery, and very good, and I really enjoyed it.

A lot of the menu is filled with seafood, both boiled and fried and while a selection was offered on the prix fixe Restaurant Week Menu (in addition to being able to augment the prix fixe menu from the regular menu), I decided to go in a different direction and ordered the NOLA Spaghetti, It was similar to a Jambalaya using spaghetti instead of rice and included Andouille Sausage, Crawfish, Crab Meat, Shrimp, Tomato, Beer, Butter, and Garlic (as well as a lot of Parmesan). It was spicy and meaty with a lot of different flavors and textures.  It was really good and I bit into something new every time which I really enjoyed and it allowed me to have several staples of Cajun cuisine in something that was a little different.

Finishing off, I went with a NOLA classic, the Beignet.  I thought, when I ordered it, there would be several, but no, there was one.  It was okay, though, because the one was enormous.  A beignet is a light and fluffy puff pastry, so it is largely hollow, but it is generally covered in powdered sugar.  A pastry of this size I would normally eat by hand, though with the large amount of powdered sugar, to try to minimize the mess, there was really no way to completely eliminate it.  I ate it with a knife and fork, and I did avoid completely looking like a ghost, though I did end up wearing some powdered sugar.  Despite that, it was very good and a nice finish to a very good meal.  I will definitely have to return for more seafood and/or po' boys.     

Publican Anker - Brunch

While there are independent restaurants and bars around, in many cases it does help to be part of a group.  A restaurant group can take care of the administrative side, human resources, accounting, and legal matters, while leaving the responsibility of what the restaurant will look like, what service will be like, and what will be on the plate (or in the glass in the case of a bar) to the chef and the front of house manager.  There are cases when the partners in the group try to add their decisions to the management of the restaurant itself, which can complicate things and possibly lower the quality of the food and drink served, but that doesn't always have to be the case.  One Off Hospitality Group is one of the better groups in Chicago.  Consisting of 11 restaurants and a cocktail lounge, it is headed by Chef Paul Kahan, who is listed as the executive chef for all of the restaurants.  The thing about that is that as another chef recently said, the higher you move up, the less you actually cook.  Paul Kahan may come up with the concepts, but he is an excellent manager in that he has been able to find the right talent to run his places and leave them to it (though he does have final say as to the menus).  While each concept is independent and different, there are several that fall under their most popular restaurant, The Publican, which I have been to several times.  Besides The Publican, there is Publican Quality Meats, the butcher and deli for the group, Publican Bread, Publican Tavern, and their newest concept in the Publican envelope, Publican Anker.  Located in the heart of Wicker Park (and next to three other One Off concepts, Dove's Luncheonette, Big Star, and The Violet Hour), it benefits from a lot of walking traffic.  The corner has glass walls with an anchor painted in the window and notes whole fish, wine, and fresh vegetables painted on the bricks above the window.  This is the focus of Publican Anker (it also has a good selection of oysters).  While The Publican itself has a good selection of vegetables and oysters, it is, at heart, a beer hall focusing on beer, pork, and oysters.  Anker occupies the corner of Milwaukee and Damen, with entrances on the corner, and on both Milwaukee and Damen.  The bar is on the corner and is bent around the corner with seating in front of the bar and down the hall that runs down the Damen side.  We were seated in the back of the restaurant near the Damen and Milwaukee entrances.  Aside from the large windows at the front corner and the glass doors in the back, lighting was provided by the same hanging globes used in The Publican.  The kitchen was located along the hall on the Milwaukee side with a large window for service.  The chairs were steel with the tables made from heavy wood, like an old sea ship and anchor, extending the motif implied by the name.

 

The restaurant serves cocktails and beer for brunch as well as coffee.  I was not in a cocktail mood, so I drank coffee (and water), which was very good.  For my brunch, I had a Prosciutto Scramble with Dill Havarti and Pickled Shallots, and served with Toast.  On the side I had Frites with Garlic Aioli.  The scramble was very good.  The eggs were cooked perfectly.  They were light and fluffy, just on the edge of being undercooked and seasoned well with salt and pepper, with plenty of Prosciutto and Dill Havarti, which itself was very light and added a great dill flavor.  The toast looked homemade with plenty of large airholes and grill marks.  It was firm enough to easily eat the eggs and added a nice hominess to it.  Frites could easily be confused with fries, but I would argue that because they are double fried, once at a lower temperature to blanch and a second time at a higher temperature to brown, they are different.  These were lightly browned with a crispy outside and a fluffy interior and served, in the French or Belgian-style, with Garlic Aioli.  They were crisp, crunchy, fluffy, salty, and a great accompaniment to the scramble.

I really enjoyed my brunch here and the experience in general.  It stands up to its reputation as a One Off Hospitality restaurant generally and specifically, a Publican restaurant.  I will definitely have to return at a future date for brunch again and/or dinner.        

Bar Biscay

 

I will come right out and say that Bar Biscay was my favorite restaurant that I dined at this year.  Located in West Town, it is the new little sister restaurant to Spanish Seafood Tapas restaurant, mfk.  Bar Biscay is headed by Johnny Anderes, the former chef at another old favorite of mine that is no more, Telegraph.  Like mfk., Bar Biscay is a Tapas Bar with an emphasis on seafood, though Bar Biscay focuses on Basque cuisine.  The front of the building is painted bright blue and it really reminded me of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).  The sign over the door is small, though done in pastel blue, yellow, and pink, with black lettering, it is very noticeable.  Walking in, the color continues with the dining room lit with magenta and yellow light.  The floor is wood as is much of the furniture with the chairs for the tables and the feet for the booths painted light blue.  The booths, while open, have high backs, and a pillar between individual booths that attaches the the ceiling that gives the illusion of being in a private cubbyhole.  Like mfk., Bar Biscay also has bar and counter seating in addition to standard dining room seating.  I decided to sit at the chef's counter where I could watch the chef's work and talk to them.  Because I was there, the chef also took the opportunity to ask several questions of me.  (Where else I have been, what did I like about Telegraph, what do I like, etc.)  While there is a pretty good wine list, largely featuring Spanish Wines, there is also a pretty good cocktail list, which is what I decided to drink.  While I am generally a gin drinker and there were a couple of gin cocktails on the list, I was first thinking about leaning another way until the chef suggested I try the Basque Martinez.  I am familiar to a Martinez, it is the predecessor to the Martini, but it's sweeter.  I was curious as to what made it a Basque Martinez and saw that it used Basque Vermouth.  It used Mahon Gin, a gin that I actually thought was Irish, but is actually from the Spanish Island of Menorca (It's actually Mahón Gin), Atxa Rojo Vermouth (a sweet red vermouth), Maraschino, and Orange Bitters.  It was very good, and I appreciated the chef's recommendation.  It was sweet with an herbal flavor and a bitter orange finish.

As I was by myself and it was my first time there, in order to maximize the things I could try, I decided to go with the tasting menu.  There are apparently two tasting menus, the on menu and the off menu.  Again, as I had never been here, I decided to go with the on menu tasting menu to see what they do regularly.  It was a six course meal at a pretty good price  with the first two coming out at once as they were both nibbles in any case.  My tasting menu started out with a Manchego Gougère with Garlic Aioli, and a Salted Hake Brandade Crudite with Trout Roe.  A gougère is a savory cream puff.  The crust was very light with the manchego cheese the cream inside.  It sat on a dab of garlic aioli, both the hold it still on the plate and to also provide flavor.  While it was good, I did prefer the other bite on the plate more, the Salted Hake Brandade Crudite.  Hake is a Whitefish similar to Cod and is often used as a replacement for cod.  Brandade is an emulsion of salt cod (or in this case, salt hake), fish that has been cured and dehydrated using a lot of salt, and olive oil.  Crudite simply means appetizer.  In this case the whipped and salted hake was served on toast and topped with trout roe which added another pop of salty flavor and a variety of textures with the crunch of the toast, the creaminess of the brandade, and the light pop of the roe.

The next course was more seafood and also a favorite, Razor Clams with Radishes, Garlic Butter , and Toast.  While I had heard of Razor Clams, I had never before encountered them on the plate.  They were large meaty cylinders.  The radishes served were also cylindrical, though I am not sure whether it's the breed used or the way that they were cut (after looking, I am now thinking that they were French Breakfast Radishes).  While it was served on toast, the cylindrical shape of the clams and radishes made them apt to roll off, do it was easier to eat with knife and fork.  While it didn't work well as a pintxo or bruschetta, the toast came in handy for soaking up the garlic butter.

From seafood, we then went to vegetables with Roasted Delicata Squash served with Sauce au Percil Plat (Parsley Sauce with Garlic, Herbs, Oil, and Vinegar), and Marcona Almonds.  The squash was well cooked and flavorful with the skin being a little more dense, but still easily edible.  The Sauce au Persil provided a nice herbal flavor and the Marcona almonds added a nutty crunch.

After the squash came the first of my entrees, Sausage Piquillo Peppers with a Manchego Mornay Sauce.  This was really good.  The peppers were very tender and added to the really good sausage.  It reminded me of a spicier version of stuffed bell peppers.  Piquillo peppers are non-spicy, so the spice must have been in the sausage.  The Manchego Mornay sauce added a good cheesy flavor to everything and seemed also to have a little spice to it.

Before my last entree arrived, I ordered a second cocktail.  One of the things that the chef asked me about was sherry.  I know that there are a wide variety of sherries with a variety of flavors and while I have had some that I like, I don't know it well enough to order it on my own.  There were a few sherry based cocktails on the menu and the chef recommended I can help, which kind of reminded me of the classic gin cocktail Bee's Knees.  I Can Help started with Sherry, but also had Patxaran (a Basque Sloe-flavored liqueur), Citrus, Angostura Bitters, Honey, and Mint.  It was sweet, very smooth, and had a slightly minty finish.  My final entree was actually the first Basque entree (basically, details were different) that I had ever had, Oxtail, served with Watercress and Orange Gremolata.  Gremolata is a chopped herb condiment using Parsley, Lemon Zest, and Garlic.  In this case, orange zest was substituted for the lemon, giving it a softer citrus flavor.  Frequently Gremolata is served with Ossobuco, so it went very well with the very tender and flavorful oxtail.  The Watercress added a bitter green note to the dish.

After the very good tasting menu, it was time for dessert.  While dessert was not included in the tasting menu, the fact that I was sitting right in front of the dessert station made it basically a foregone conclusion.  While chocolate was on the menu and it's always a win, what I saw leaving the kitchen most frequently, and which also sounded really good was the Crepe stuffed with Nutella and Bananas and topped with Cashews and Powdered Sugar.  While Nutella is hazelnut flavored, it does go well with cashews.  The crepe was thin and delicate, the bananas and Nutella went together well and it was a great finish.  I really enjoyed my food and drink here, but being able to converse with the chef while he was working was a great bonus.  I will definitely return next year for more and will bring friends.