Big & Little's

If you want to talk about Big & Little's, you first have to talk about the location.  It is in an area that formerly bordered the Cabrini Green Housing Project.  While the housing project is now gone, the location is certainly not what you would call hot.  While it is now located in a building next to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, after previously using the space now occupied by Badhappy Poutine Shop, there still is nothing in the area that would bring most people to the area.  This actually does have some advantage to it.  There is more parking (even if you don't count the attached parking lot) and much less competition.  As one might expect for a place that is essentially in no man's land, there isn't much to see inside the restaurant.  That having been said, it's okay because it isn't trying to impress with it's look and is trying to be an everymans kind of place which it does well.  The entrance to the restaurant is on the side, off the parking lot.  The counter is to the left of the door behind which is the open kitchen and fountain drinks are available from the fountain to the right of the door.  The menu is on a couple of chalkboards opposite the door and there is a specials board behind the counter.  The restaurant is cash only but there is an ATM in the building.  Seating consists of a couple of rows of picnic benches (about 7 in total) and a counter on the wall where the menu is.  The menu consists largely of fried seafood with some burgers and a variety of po' boys.  The sides are a variety of fries and poutines.  Despite the fact that this place is in the middle of nowhere, it was pretty busy when I arrived and I ended up waiting about 20 minutes before ordering.  While there was a lot of very good looking seafood being served, I decided to go with the Pork Belly Po' Boy and Truffle Fries.  Orders are sent out piecemeal as they are finished and my truffle fries arrived first.  I got a full basket of crisp and well fried fries..  The truffle aroma and flavor was lighter than on other truffle fries that I have had but wasn't so subtle that I couldn't taste it.  They definitely had a truffle funk to them, tasted pretty good, and set me up for the Po'Boy.

The Pork Belly Po'Boy was something else.  For those that are unfamiliar, a po' boy is a sandwich similar to a submarine originating in Louisiana.  Generally, they are served with seafood (and there are a lot of seafood po' boys at Big & Little's) but they can also be served with meat and they are always served on a baguette.  This po' boy is obviously of the meat variety.  The French bread was grilled and was filled with 1 inch cubes of fried pork belly, lettuce, pickles, a few onions, some hot sauce and was finally lightly drizzled with a combination of mayonnaise and maple syrup.  As stuffed as it was, it wasn't actually that hard to eat (and it was very enjoyable).

As good as the stuff that I had was, I don't think that I got to the heart of Big & Little's with what I had.  When I return, I will definitely have to try some of their fish tacos and possibly some poutine.  I will also definitely have to one day have to try the Foie Gras and Fries.

Zocalo

Just because something is on my list doesn't mean that I will make it there any time soon.  I first heard of Zocalo about 5 years ago when I attended the Meals on Wheels Celebrity Chef Ball.  They were serving some very good tamales and were giving out 10% off coupons for the restaurant.  The tamales were very good and while 10% off isn't much, it's less than nothing.  I looked the place up and it did look interesting but I actually never made it there until recently.  Zocalo is located on Ontario on a mini restaurant row but while there are 4 nice restaurants on the same side of the block where Zocalo is located, they are all very different so they aren't much competition to one another but because there is a number of restaurants there, they draw people there.  Zocalo, in addition to having a notable Mexican menu, it also has an exceptional tequila list.   The restaurant is very rustic with dark beam wood making up the walls and holding up the ceiling.  For whatever reason, the place reminds me of a saloon or a desert bodega.  There is a big, heavy-looking bar opposite the entrance and most of the tables are round and free standing.  The one negative thing I found about the space was that it's dark.  Besides the tequila, the menu here features fairly standard albeit very good Mexican food.  I started things out with a shot of tequila and my appetizer while I continued deciding on my entree.  For my appetizer, I ordered Tamales de Doña Flor, which were two different and very good tamales with mole. The first tamale was Poblano, a chicken filled corn tamale with poblano mole sauce.  The other tamale was Rajas con queso.  It was a corn tamale filled with jalapeno strips and a three cheese blend.  It was served with a Mexican ricotta and a ranchero salsa.  The tamales were garnished with a radish slice and a sprig of fresh cilantro.  The tamales were served on the wrapper in which they would have been prepared.  The poblano sat on a corn husk and the Rajas con queso was on a banana leaf.  The tamales were just as good here as they were at the benefit.  I really enjoyed them and thought they were a nice and spicy start to the meal.

The waiter came came by as I was enjoying my tamales and I ordered my entree.  For my entree, I ordered Enchiladas Rojas.  The enchiladas were filled with beef barbacoa brisket, topped with guajillo salsa, cotija cheese (Mexican Parmesan), and grilled scallions, and served with white rice.  I love barbacoa but I had never had it made in an enchilada.  This was very good.  The meat was both tender and savory, the salsa was nice and spicy, and the scallions were crisp (fresh vegetable crisp not potato chip crisp) with a nice smokiness to them.  The white rice was also very flavorful and was prepared with peppers and spices.

For my dessert, my decision was very easy.  While I don't know if I would normally consider it a dinner dessert, it is definitely a classic.  I had Churros y Champurado.  The churros were slightly crisp on the outside and very soft on the inside.  They were also coated with sugar and cinnamon, drizzled with a mango-agave nectar and garnished with a mint leaf.  It was also served with Hot Chocolate that was infused with cinnamon and vanilla bean and topped with whipped cream.  While the churros were good on there own, they were that much better when they were dipped in the hot chocolate.

I really liked my dinner here.  The space was nice even if it was a little darker than I would have preferred, the service was friendly, and the food was very good.  They do very good versions of classic Mexican food and have a tremendous tequila list for those who want to experiment and learn more about Mexico's national drink.   

Epic

If you look in the dictionary for the definition of the word epic, you find, after descriptions of poetry of heroes doing great things, descriptions such as heroic, impressively great, or of unusual size or extent.  If you name a restaurant Epic, you have a lot to live up to and yet it is still done.  I had dinner recently at Epic, and admittedly, I did go in with a certain level of expectation.  If a restaurant is going to call themselves epic, it should be more impressive than the restaurants with which it is competing.  I will first say that it is very big.  While it is only three floors, with 23 foot ceilings, it could have easily been five or six.  The restaurant is divided by floor into three sections.  The first floor is the lounge which has high unfinished ceilings, a long bar along one side, and some private tables.  There is a lounge menu that features oysters, sliders, and tacos.  The second floor is the large dining area.  It has banquette seating along one wall, a large communal table, a high unfinished ceiling, and separate table seating.  There is also a large raised mezzanine area that will seat about 40 people.  The third floor is the rooftop lounge which also offers the lounge menu.  As I came for dinner, I will focus on the happenings of the main dining area.  I mentioned that the space was big.  At the front, it has a large window wall. and the unfinished ceiling was more than 20 feet up.  Other than the large window wall, lighting came came from hanging lighting hung at various lights.  I sat at a two top on the leather covered bench seat.  Epic has been open for a couple of years and if I remember correctly, when it opened, it looked like it was trying to be a steakhouse.  Considering the location (River North), I can't say that I thought that it was an exceptionally good idea.  There are a large number of very good steakhouses in River North and, to me, even if the steak was good, it didn't seem to have anything that differentiated it from any other steakhouse in River North.  Since then, while the steaks are still on the menu, they have been deemphasized going with a seasonal American menu which earned it it's first Michelin star this year.  There were several things on the menu that sounded good but I did find things that I thought that I would enjoy.  For my appetizer, I ordered the Crispy Pork Belly with Golden Beets, Horseradish, and a Root Beer Reduction.  It was topped with arugula and sat on some sort of soft bread.  This was very good and may have, in fact, been my favorite course.  The beets were sweet, a little tart, and almost reminded me of a citrus fruit.  The pork belly was crispy and a little spicy and the bread was nice and soft.  It was a good start, the question was whether they could sustain it.

For my entree, I ordered a Coffee and Cinnamon Rubbed Rack of Lamb with Eggplant Puree, Baby Artichokes, Lipstick Peppers, and Olive Jus.  The presentation was nice and there was a variety of flavors but I actually expected a stronger cinnamon and coffee flavor.  I was served six ribs and it was a little bit of work to get the meat off of the bone but I kind of expected that.  It was good although I don't know that I would call it great and certainly not epic.

With my entree, I did order some vegetables.  I ordered some Broccolini with Fennel, Crispy Ham, Chilies, and Garlic.  Broccolini is like a cross between broccoli and mustard greens and looks kind of like anorexic broccoli.  It tasted very nice although admittedly it was a little difficult to eat.  The stems were a little long to eat politely without cutting.  The stems were a little thin to stab with a fork well but it could be done and it did taste good.  Another problem was that there was a delay between appetizer and entree, and another delay between entree and dessert.

For my dessert, I ordered Lime Pots de Creme with Blackberry Jam and topped with Fresh Blackberries and Crunchy Granola.  Pots de Creme is a custard dessert and while it was good, I think I may have preferred it bruleed.  I get that the granola was there to provide some crunch to the dish which it did but I do think that it still would have worked had it also been bruleed.

While I can see using the adjective epic to the space, I don't think I can apply it to the whole.  While the food was good, it wasn't epic and while the service was friendly, it could have been more attentive and prompt.  There were other things on the menu that did interest me although I am not sure that I will return to try them.

Melanthios

While I do like the Greek food that I have tried, I would definitely not consider myself an expert.  Most of the time when I go to a Greek place, if I don't get a Gyro or Souvlaki, I will go for a Pastitsio.  There are other standards that sound good but, as I said, I haven't really tried it much, if at all.  I went to Melanthios Greek Charhouse recently and decided that I was going to step out of my comfort zone and try some of those things that have sounded good but I don't have much experience with.  Arriving at the restaurant, I noticed that they had a large outside dining area in the front and at the side of the restaurant.  It was a warm day so the outside area was pretty popular.  Coming without a reservation, I expected that the odds of my dining outdoors would be pretty slim.  It was okay though because I didn't have my heart set on dining outdoors and it would give me a look on the inside.  I walked in and saw that it was a very open space.  There was a walkway with half-walls from the door to the hostess station so you could see the entire dining area.  There was an unfinished ceiling with ventilation ducting and hanging lights with additional illumination provided by tabletop candles.  The floors were dark varnished hardwood as were the rails and furniture.  All of the tables in the restaurant were large four tops although there were some two tops outside along the side of the restaurant.  The kitchen was in the back and was open and there was a small bar across from the kitchen.  On the side of the restaurant that had the bar there was a bench backed by the side window that had several large pillows for comfort.  I was seated on the bar side of the restaurant and sat on the very comfortable bench. 

I started my meal with something that I have seen many times but amazingly have never tried, Saganaki.  I have always thought that the presentation was entertaining and have thought about ordering it when I have seen it but there was always something else.  Saganaki is very simple (at least the saganaki that most people are familiar with).  It is simply a sheep cheese that is doused with brandy, lit on fire, and then extinguished with the juice of a lemon.  The tradition of the waiter shouting "Opa!" when he lights the cheese actually comes from a Greek restaurant in Chicago in the 1960s.  What, if anything, it means, I don't know, but it is entertaining.  The dish was crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, salty, sour, and very good.

While what I ordered I have never ordered in a Greek restaurant, what I ordered for my entree was not completely alien to me.  While I have never ordered skewers before, what was on the skewers were very familiar.  I had Scallop Skewers with Zucchini and Summer Squash that were served with rice.  The skewers were grilled and were very good.  Everything had a nice smokiness but the vegetables were still nicely crisp.  The rice was long grained and had spices and other things was also good.  While I would have been interested in dessert, I was full.  I enjoyed my dinner here.  The food was good, the service was friendly, and the space looked very nice.  I would be happy to return if I am interested in good Greek food.  

Charlie Trotter's

For many years, Charlie Trotter's was the pinnacle of fine dining in Chicago.  While the man himself is notorious for having an explosive temper, he is also an incredibly talented chef, having won the James Beard Best Chef Award in 1999.  He is also a talented teacher.  His influence can be seen in restaurants throughout Chicago.  Notable chefs that have worked for Trotter include Grant Achatz, Homaro Cantu, Mindy Segal, Michael Carlson, Curtis Duffy, Giuseppe Tentori, Bill Kim, Matthias Merges, Gregory Ellis, Steven Fladung, and Graham Elliot (Bowman).  This August, after 25 years, Trotter will be closing the doors to his eponymous restaurant.  I thought that with my interest in good food, it would be a shame to have never gone to Charlie Trotter's so I talked several friends into joining me for the evening.  The best table in the house is the Kitchen Table and while I did try to get it, it was booked within minutes of becoming available (3 months in advance).  With the reputation of the restaurant, I knew that a regular table in the dining room would be very good so I had no problem booking a table there.  We had a 9 pm reservation so we arrived a little early.  It seemed when we got there that there are two seatings for the restaurant because both the waiting area and the dining room were full.  There was a rapid turnaround shortly after that.  We were seated and given the menus.  The dining menu consisted of two options, the Vegetable menu, and the Grand Menu, both 8 course degustation menus.  The wine menu however, was a book.  There were four of us in the party.  Three of us ordered the Grand Menu and one ordered the Vegetable Menu.  We all got the wine pairings for our respective dinners.

The dinner lasted just over 4 hours and everything was at least very good.  While our dinners were supposed to have been eight courses, we were actually served nine because they erred in service.  Our first course was a Sashimi of Blue Fin Tune with a Shrimp Head and Greens.  This was actually the first course on the Grand Menu and as one member of our party had ordered the Vegetable Menu and they served this to her...

They decided to serve all of us the first course of the Vegetable Menu.  This was Roasted Heirloom Beets with Candied Pistachios and Meyer Lemon Sorbet.

After we had the first course from both menus, we returned to our respective menus.  For me, that meant that the next course was the Red Wine Marinated Unagi with Allspice and Pumpernickel Cracker.

The next course was one of my favorites.  It was Steamed Alaskan Halibut with Green Almonds, Acorn-Fed Iberian Ham & Lemon Balm.  Every part of it looked and tasted excellent.

The next course was another favorite, Arkansas Rabbit Loin with Ramps, Burgundy Snails & Elephant Garlic.  It was also served with an Allspice Cracker.  While the dish does look good, I probably could have done a better job photographing it.  The snails and a second loin were hidden by the cracker.

Our next course was the last truly savory course and it was really savory.  It was Espresso Rolled Venison with Crumbled Oats, Boudin Noir (blood sausage), and Pulled Goat.

As has been my habit when I have a multicourse meal, I invariably forget to photograph one course.  This was also true at Charlie Trotter's but unlike others, I didn't notice that I had forgotten until I started going through the pictures.  The course that I forgot was the first dessert course which was a Granny Smith Apple & Greek Yogurt Sorbet with Meyer Lemon, Tarragon and Candied Pistachio.  It was good and if I remember it, like all of the other courses, it did look very good.

The next dessert course was Cinnamon-Glazed Brioche with Georgia Blueberry Compote & Cinnamon-Blueberry Ice Cream.  Every piece of this sort of reminded me of a marshmallow (as far as the look was concerned).  The pieces were round and soft but they had enough structural integrity to hold together when they were attacked.  It also tasted good, sweet with the right amount of tartness.

My last dessert was a good finish.  It was a good combination of sweet and savory, Criollo Cake with Parsnip, Red Wine & Candied Vanilla.

I was glad I went to Charlie Trotter's and it was interesting to see where other fine dining chefs learned their techniques.  Dinner lasted four hours but with the good company that I had, the time flew.  The service was excellent as was the food and while I am sorry that this restaurant will be closing and I wish Chef Trotter the best on wherever life may take him, if the restaurant were to remain open, I am not sure that I would have the urge to return.

Tre Kronor

I recently had an urge to try something different.  Trying something different though, can be tougher than it sounds.  I have a very adventurous palate and have tried a wide variety of cuisines.  I wasn't really looking for anything exceptionally weird but I knew that Mexican, French, Italian, American, German, Chinese, Thai, or Sushi were pretty much out of the question.  So what could I do?  I have had African, Polish, Greek, Middle Eastern,and Indian foods but I wouldn't really consider myself exceptionally familiar with any of these so they were an option, but I decided to go with Swedish because I have never had it and from what little I did know, it didn't seem exceptionally unusual.  I decided to go to Tre Kronor in North Center.  From the outside it looks like an Alpine cottage, very friendly and homey.  The interior maintains that look with wooden tables and chairs, lace curtains, and a mural of elves relaxing on a mountain meadow along one wall.  The music, surprisingly enough was a Fleet Foxes (an indie pop group) album.  I was seated and was quickly waited on. There were several things on the menu that really looked good but I ordered what I think were standards that weren't meatballs.  For my appetizer, I had potato pancakes with smoked salmon and chive seasoned sour cream and garnished with a slice of lemon.  I knew that I was going to like every part of this individually, but together, they were exceptional and worked really well together.  I ended up squeezing the lemon on the pancake, spreading the sour cream on it, putting the salmon on top, and then rolling it up like a crepe.  I liked it a lot and it may have been my favorite dish.

For me entree, I did pick something that is a favorite of mine in other restaurants, duck.  The duck portion of the dish was a Seared Duck Breast.  The duck breast was served with  Asparagus, Rice Pilaf, and a Lingonberry Sauce.  The duck was good, and the sauce provided a nice tartness.  The asparagus was also nice and fresh.  The rice was prepared well and tasted good but it wasn't exceptionally exciting.  While I love duck, the potato pancakes were better.

When I looked at the dessert menu, I saw what I wanted immediately.  I ordered the Lemon Tart.  When it came out, it looked very nice.  It had a sliced strawberry, blueberries, and a whipped cream topping.  The fruits were crisp and juicy and tasted as if they were just picked.  That unfortunately, was the best part of the dessert.  While the lemon part of the tart tasted good, in my opinion, a tart should be fairly firm, whereas this was like pudding.  The crust didn't taste bad but it was kind of tough so it was a bit difficult to keep the tart and the crust together when it was cut into bite sized pieces.

Tre Kronor was very friendly and there were several other things on the menu besides what I ordered that looked good.  I don't know if I would order dessert the next time I return but the food, atmosphere, and service do warrant a return trip.

Merlo on Maple

While I like to go out for my birthday, I like to do something special.  I like going out with friends but I don't like asking them to spend a lot of money to go out.  I, on the other hand, don't mind spending a substantial amount for a special dinner and I consider a really nice dinner a birthday present to myself.  I have and will be going out with family and friends for my birthday in small groups and while the places that I will be going won't be anything new to me, they will be special because I will be able to share with my family and friends.  For my birthday party to myself, I got an 8 course Italian dinner with a glass of Prosecco at Merlo on Maple.  Merlo on Maple is a regional Italian restaurant based on the food of Bologna, Italy.  The restaurant is in a townhouse that looks like it was built in the 1920s and is a very beautiful space.  As one might imagine, because the space was a former townhouse, there are several dining rooms.  I was in what looked like a former basement rec room.  The lights were floor lamps and their were a lot of vintage images on the walls.  There was an in-wall bookcase with a stereo that had a vintage look although it also had an ipod jack.  The music that was playing was mostly light indie pop which was nice to listen to when the room was mostly empty but impossible to hear when the room filled.  The 8 course meal that I ordered was a set menu with a glass of Prosecco (which arrived first) so I didn't have to think about what I was going to order.  My dinner started with some charcuterie.  I was served some housemade Prosciutto di Parma aged 24 months and some 18 month Parmigiano Reggiano.  It was simple but very good and a good start.  The prosciutto was sliced thinly as prosciutto is and had a nice strong flavor and the Parmigiano Reggiano was very nice and nutty. 

The next course was a Warm Artichoke Tart which was served with a side salad dressed with a Balsamic Vinaigrette.  While they called it tart, I would call it a quiche.  This is neither good nor bad, it's just a difference in terminology.  In addition to the artichokes, it had eggs, cream, mortadella and Parmigiano Reggiano.  I didn't really taste the mortadella, the flavors of the eggs, cheese, and artichokes were the prominent flavors, but it was good in any case.  The salad was very fresh and the balsamic vinaigrette was something else.

The next course was an Eggplant  Parmesan.  It took sliced eggplant rolled with more Parmigiano Reggiano and Parsley, baked and covered in a fresh and housemade tomato basil sauce.  I am generally not a fan of eggplant.  I find it slimy and pretty unappetizing but this was something else.  Admittedly, it wasn't exceptionally pretty and because I was eating a multi-course meal, the individual serving size was smaller than it normally would have been, but I definitely would have enjoyed a full size portion of this. 

The next course was the soup.  Personally, I would have served the soup before the eggplant but I suppose that since it is early in the progression it does make sense.  The soup was a Passatelli.  It is essentially an Italian Chicken Noodle Soup.  The broth was chicken (obviously), but the noodles were unlike anything that I have ever had.  They were made with eggs, Parmiagiano Reggiano, and bread crumbs.  They were really good and while they held together fine, they were also very cheesy.  It was kind of like soaking a grilled cheese sandwich in the soup that you would normally eat it with.  I normally find chicken noodle soup pretty boring but I did make sure I finished this.

Finally we got to the meat of the meal, if you will excuse the pun.  I was served Handmade Tagliatelle with a Bolognese Meat Ragout.  The tagliatelle was uneven as one might expect from handmade pasta and it was cooked perfectly, having the right amount of toothsomeness.  Of course it was covered in Parmigiano Reggiano.  I have nothing to say about this other than that this too was very good.

The next course was another pasta course and it was much better than I would have expected.  It was Tortelloni al Burro e Salvia.  I like tortelloni but this dish was so simple that I wasn't expecting much.  Like everything else, this pasta was housemade and stuffed with Ricotta di Pecora and tossed with fresh sage and butter.  It was buttery, creamy, cheesy, and roll-my-eyes-back good.

Yes, this is a picture of an empty plate.  As you might expect, I liked this dish as well.  It was a Grass-fed Beef Tenderloin Medallion.  It was actually a pretty big medallion and it was covered with shaved black truffles.  While I have had things flavored with truffle oil, I have never had real truffles.  They let themselves be known with their odor as soon as the plate.  It was served with a Kabocha Squash Souffle.  The beef was very tender and flavorful and the truffle shavings had a flavor much more than that of just truffle oil.  It had the strong pungent flavor of truffle oil but it also had the mushroomy flavor that you might expect from a fungus.  The souffle was very delicate and had a flavor that very much complemented the flavor of the steak and the truffles.

Finally, we came to dessert and it was something else.  It was an Angel Food cake soaked in Rum and Grenadine, filled with Pastry Cream, and Dark Chocolate Mousse, and drizzled with Dark Chocolate Sauce.  It was served with a sliced strawberry and a biscotti.  The cake was sweet and very moist and a very good finish to a very good dinner.

The food at Merlo on Maple is very good with everything being housemade and the space is classic and very nice.  The music was nice when I could hear it and the wait staff was very friendly.  The only negative that I have to say about my dinner was that the pacing was a little slow.  While I did enjoy my dinner and would return, if the pacing was a little faster, it would have been much more enjoyable.