Bixi Brewery

 

It has been 3 years in the making, but I was very happy to see Bixi Brewery (pronounced Be-She) open recently, so I invited a couple of friends to try things out, which we did a few weeks ago.  Named for Bixi, a Dragon god with a tortoise shell, that supports great weights (like buildings and bridges), and images of which are rubbed for good luck.  The space is a two floor operation with very different designs on each floor.  The first floor has a bar on the left side and looks more typically like a bar.  There is an image of Bixi in front of the Chicago skyline done in black and white behind the long bar, which was done by a former Marvel comic artist.  There is also much table seating with the furniture also white with chrome legs.  The brewing area is in a glassed off area at the front of the bar, near the front.  Going up the stairs, the second floor also has a large bar off to one side, but the space looks more like a restaurant dining area than the first floor with a high ceilings, a large skylight, a rooftop dining area, green walls, and an area that looks like a salon, for a more intimate experiencce.  Having said this, you can eat and drink on both floors.  The bar has a large shelf with liquor on several shelves, with the high ceilings, I have to imagine that a ladder is necessary to get to the higher shelves, though I didn't notice one when we were there.  The tables, walls, and shelves on the second floor were also white, though there was a variation upstairs in that there were more colors involved than black and white (with some chrome).  There was some plant life as well as the green walls, which, although they did look very good, were artificial.  The salon area used green wallpaper with a plant-like design, the furniture looked like vintage 20th century salon furniture, i.e. upholstered couches and chairs with dark upholstery.  While the salon did look comfortable, the portraiture hanging on the walls, like the ape in the robe and flowered headdress were a bit odd.

Owned by Bo Fowler, who also owns and runs, and Owen and Engine, an English-Style Gastropub, and Fat Willy's, a barbecue joint, she decided to go in yet another direction with the food served, that being Asian.  Fowler, who was born in Korea, decided to work on a menu that was closer to her heart when creating this brewery and restaurant.  Most people don't think of beer when eating Asian food, the issue was to create a menu that would pair well with beer and to make beer that invokes the ideas and flavors of Asian fare.  While the menu looked really good and we discussed what we wanted to order, ordering the beer was much easier, between us, we all ordered flights which covered everything.  They had flights of three four and five.  I wanted to try as many as I could, so I had a flight of five.  I was able to try all of the beers, but I only ordered five.  Bixi covers many of the most common ale styles, with a lager also on draft, and augmenting many of their beers with Asian flavors.  The major styles that were missing was the Stout or Porter.  Though the first beer on their menu was a dark ale, it was a dark ale and not a stout or porter, and while it was good and was actually a favorite, it was definitely not a stout or porter.  It used Roasted Wheat, Caramel, Smoked Malt and was augmented with Szechuan Peppercorns.  Unspoken Rule was a Lagered Farmhouse Ale with Pearled Jasmine Tea.  Sanchez Therapy, another Farmhouse Ale was spiced with Cucumber, and had Melon forward aromas.  Against the Cross was probably the most mainstream and undifferentiated beer.  It was a classic American-Style IPA, which really reminded me of Bell's Two Hearted Ale.  My other favorite beer that I ordered for myself was surprisingly a Lager, which I normally find pretty boring.  This was augmented with rice like many American Macro Lagers, and at the front it really reminded me of Miller High Life, but the rice that was used was Jasmine Rice, which gave it a very distinctive flowery rice flavor.  The other beers served were a Summer Pale Ale, a Wit, and a Wheat beer, which were all pretty good.

The food menu (as well as the mural going up the stairs) was created by Kimski chef Won Kim.  While Chef Fowler and Chef Kim are both Korean, and the menu does include Korean food, it also includes, Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese, as well as American with Asian influences.  We started out with Oysters, which can't really be put into one menu except for seafood.  They served two different types of oysters each from East and West Coast.  We all ordered different Oysters, I ordered a Beausoleil Oyster, which is an East Coast raised in New Bruinswick.  I normally like raw oysters, and my dining partners liked theirs, but I apparently picked wrong, because I found it a little on the strong side.  For our other appetizers, we went with Kimchi Mandu with Mushrooms and Leeks, Momo with Chicken and Curry Spices, and a Chicago Beef Bao, which were all served at the same time.  All were very good with a lot of good flavors, though I think that I favored the Kimchi Mandu best.

Our main course was a Ssam Plate.  It was offered as a half or full size.  Because three of us would be sharing, We decided to get a full order and were still surprised by the size. Ssam means wrapped and it is generally meat wrapped in leafy vegetables.  For this plate we were served a lot of Leafy Vegetables, Scallion Pancakes, Char Siu (Korean Barbecued Pork), Asian Pears, Carrots, Peppers, and Bao.  It reminded me of the Korean version of Fajitas.  It was fun combining different things and tasting the different flavors.  There were several different types of greens with different flavors and it was fun to try different combinations.  I was generally taking a piece of char siu, a piece of pancake, some greens, some vegetables, and pile it all into the bao.  While I probably wasn't eating Ssam correctly, I was able to try the different flavors and textures, together and individually, and it was all good.

Bixi is a very nice looking space, and while they don't do groundbreaking beer, it is good, and it goes well with the food that they serve.  I will have to return to try more of the menu.

Embeya

As I have said before, I really like Chicago Restaurant Week.  For two weeks in February, about 300 restaurants in the Chicago area provide a prix fixe menu at a discount.  For most restaurants, the discount works out to getting a free dessert, but there are some restaurants whose discounts are substantially more.  For most restaurants, the prix fixe consists of an appetizer, entree, and dessert.  For pan-Asian restaurant Embeya, though, they offered their entire prix fixe menu for the entire table and it was served family style.  In other words, the entire table was served two appetizers, two main courses, two sides, and two desserts.  Admittedly, this could get a little ugly if a single person tried to eat it all.  Luckily, I did come with a few other people so it wasn't an issue.  The space was both modern and Asian and won this year at the Jean Banchet awards for best design. The front wall is a window, the ceilings are high and unfinished and the room is divided by several cutout screens with hexagonal designs.  The bar is long and marble topped with a great selection top shelf liquors and the kitchen is open.  The seating consisted of the bar as well as dark wood tables with light wood chairs and padded banquettes.  We were seated at one of the tables in the middle of the room, between the window and the bar.  While the meal consisted of many dishes, the meal was actually divided into appetizer, entree, and dessert, with all of the appetizers being brought out together, then all of the entrees (and sides), and all of the desserts.  For our appetizers we started out with a Green Papaya Salad with Cilantro, Crispy Shallots, and Vietnamese Beef Jerky.  The papaya, which made up most of the salad, was fresh, crisp, and slightly sweet and tart, as a papaya is supposed to be.  The cilantro added a little bitterness, and the shallots added a salty crunch like mini onion rings.  The beef jerky was cut into a thin strips and provided a spicy and meaty surprise.  You wouldn't find a piece of jerky in every bite but there was enough to let you know that it was there and to add flavor and texture to the dish.  I had had the papaya salad at First Bites Bash, the opening benefit for Chicago Restaurant Week although there it didn't have the beef jerky.  While it was good at the benefit, it was much better at the restaurant with the jerky.

Our other appetizer was Octopus with Confit Eggplant and Radish.  I wouldn't think that octopus would have enough fat to do a confit, but obviously it came from somewhere because it was very tender, flavorful, and not at all rubbery.  The eggplant was well cooked and soft, but it was not slimy as eggplant can become.  It kind of matched the texture of the octopus.  The only way you could really tell which you were eating was by the flavor.  The radishes were there to add a little spice and provide some much needed textural diversity to the dish.  Without the radishes, the eggplant and octopus tasted good enough, but the dish was a mass of mush.  The radishes gave your mouth something to crunch on and improved it immensely.

Our first entree was a Peking Duck Style Garlic Chicken with Confit Scallions  It was a very simple dish, but the chicken was very good and flavorful.  The garlic and scallions just added to the flavor.  It had a thin, crisp outer skin with tender meat and while most of it was sliced into medallions, there was one piece attached to a leg that i grabbed and enjoyed.

The other entree was called Thit Heo Kho and consisted of Braised Pork Belly with Coconut and Shallots in a Pork Broth.  The pork belly was obviously tender and flavorful.  The coconut was sliced into thin strips and added a little texture and flavor, but the shallots were interesting.  They were cooked whole and when I first saw them in the pan, I thought they were plums.  Trying to grab them with chop sticks, though quickly dispelled that idea because every time I tried to grab one by squeezing it, the inner layers came out.  We figured out the best way to grab them was by scooping them from the bottom.  Once we were able to get a hold on them, it was seen that they were tender, well cooked and flavorful.  All of the elements of this dish were good and I felt a little guilty for leaving the broth.  That was solved though with one of the sides.

The side was simple.  It was Sticky Rice with a little Chive for color and flavor.  On it's own it was very good.  It had a good flavor and it was fairly easy to eat.  If the pork broth from the Thit Heo Kho was added though, it was much better.  The rice and pork broth added to one another and it positively became comfort food.

The other side kind of went with the chicken, although it was very good by itself and was not necessary to finish the chicken dish.  It was Carmelized Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Scallions.  The brussels sprouts cooked to tender and had a slightly crisp and brown outer coating which showed an initial sweetness before the slightly funky (but good) cabbage flavor.  The scallions added a salty crunch to the dish.

After our appetizers, entrees, and sides came the desserts, and while they were both good, one was favored much more than the other.  The first dessert were the Cream Puffs.  The pastry was very good and was filled with Vanilla and Matcha (a type of green tea).  They were topped lightly with powdered sugar.  These were sweet and flavorful but the lesser of the two desserts.

The other dessert was Roasted Pineapple with Coconut Ice Cream and Peanuts.  This was sweet, tart, tropical flavored and the all around favorite.  It was a great finish to a great meal that made a good presentation of the menu.  The food was very good, the restaurant design was very cool, and the service was very good.  I will be very happy to return.      
    

Usagi Ya

While I like sushi, I really don't go out for it that often.  My favorite sushi place closed relatively recently so I know that I will have to look for another favorite.  Going to Usagi Ya, I had a pretty good idea that I was not going to find my new favorite but it is always nice to have a good place to fall back on wherever you happen to be.  Located just south of the Polish Triangle in Noble Square, it isn't exceptionally obvious despite the fact that it is on a main drag (Milwaukee Ave.).  The storefront is flush with neighboring buildings and the large wooden sign, the width of the storefront, is mounted above the doorway.  The interior has a modern look with a brown color scheme with several paintings of urban characters with a design that looks like a cross between graffiti and anime.  The sushi bar is wood and runs the length of the restaurant on one side with banquette seating on the opposite wall.  There are also a couple of larger semi-private tables at the front of the restaurant on either side of the door.  The lighting is provided from hanging lights over the bar and some ceiling lights with an odd cartoon speech balloon shape.  I decided to sit at the bar because I like watching the chefs work.  I started my meal out with an Oyster Shooter.  I like oysters and I will easily suck them down raw.  What came out was not what I expected but it did definitely fit the bill for what an oyster shooter could be.  I did forget, however, to take a picture of it.  What came out was a shot glass filled with a dark liquid and some solids.  It was the oyster in Ponzu Sauce with a Quail Egg and some Chili Sauce to provide some spice.  While it makes sense that a shooter would be in a shot glass, I think that I have previously had a shooter in the oyster shell.  While it wasn't what I expected, it was good.  The next thing that came out I didn't order but I didn't mind because free is good.  I was presented with a Seaweed Salad with Onions, Cucumbers, a Sweet Rice Vinaigrette, and topped with Sesame Seeds.  It was crispy, sweet, and had a nice sesame finish.  It was pretty good but the fact that it was free made it better.                                                                                                                                            

 When I go to a sushi place, I like to try both Nigiri (the raw sliced fish with a little rice) and the Maki (rolls).  For my Nigiri, I got Escolar (White Tuna), Hamachi (Yellowtail), Sea Bass and Octopus.  These were also served with the standard candied ginger and wasabi.  I would generally mix up a platter of soy sauce and wasabi for dipping which, while good, does overwhelm the flavor of the fish.  I decided to forgo this this time so I could actually taste the fish.  The flavors of the fish were all pretty mild and briny.  The major differences were in the texture.  The escolar was the chewiest and the octopus the most tender.  The sea bass was a little sweeter than the rest so I think I liked that best.

For the maki, I ordered two.  The first was called a Spider Maki with Tempura Soft Shell Crab, Cucumber, Avocado and Masago (a small forage fish like a Smelt).  The other maki was called the Usagi Ya Maki which had Unagi (Fresh Water Eel), Salmon, Escolar, Avocado, Asparagus, and Tempura Crunch wrapped in Soy Paper with Unagi Sauce and Wasabi Mayo.  They were both flavorful although I think I liked the Usagi Ya Maki better.  They were both crunchy and a little spicy but the soy paper was a little better than the seaweed paper.

The go to dessert for many Japanese and Sushi restaurants is Mochi.  I will say that I really don't get mochi and if I have a choice not to order it, I will.  For my dessert, I ordered something that was decidedly not Japanese although it did have some Asian flavors.  I ordered a Ginger Lemon Cheesecake with Raspberry Jam and topped with Whipped Cream.  The cheesecake had a good cheesecake texture with a great ginger and lemon flavor and was obviously sweet.  The raspberry jam helped tie the ginger and lemon together.

I liked my dinner here, it was pretty good, and I will probably be back.  The space was nice and the service was good  but I will continue to have to search for a new favorite sushi place.