Knife & Tine - Brunch

If I go to a restaurant that I like for dinner and they also do brunch, I am also interested in that as well.  I like brunch and I am interested to see how the two meals compare or contrast, other than their menus.  I had gone to Knife & Tine for Dinner and liked their elevated comfort food.  As brunch is pretty much all about comfort food, I thought that brunch at Knife & Tine should be a good fit.  We were seated in the enclosed patio in the front, that, despite the fact that it gets a lot of natural light, reminds me of a castle with its stone walls and hanging lights. I generally go for something sweet and savory for brunch which generally means starting off with some sort of pastry.  They did have a French Cruller Donut on the menu, but it was not yet ready when we ordered so I started with bacon.  Bacon generally is considered to fall on the savory side of things, but it does have a natural sweetness, and this bacon was cured with Brown Sugar, Coffee, and Cinnamon, which emphasized its natural sweetness as well as adding some more.  The bacon was crisp and was served in a long and narrow serving dish.  It was actually the same kind of dish in which my Pappadew Pepper appetizer was served when I came for dinner.  There were 4 long pieces of bacon in the dish which were very good.  While it wasn't my standard sweet side of brunch, it was very good and fulfilled that purpose well.

My savory course was very good as can be seen by the empty dish in the picture.  It started out as K&T Hash, which consisted of Crispy Kennebec Potatoes, Apple Smoked Bacon, Crispy Brussels Sprouts, Caramelized Onions, Sriracha Creme, and topped with a Sunny Side Up Egg.

An empty dish doesn't give you much, so I did an internet search and found a picture of the hash on Yelp.  It was crispy, flavorful, and filling, with just the right amount of spice from the Sriracha creme.  I cut the egg in after tasting the different elements to add flavor and tie everything together.  The food was good, service was friendly, and while the space is castle-like, it gives a feeling of security, opposed to claustrophobia.  I enjoyed my meal here and would be happy to return.   

Dove's Luncheonette

I have talked about Paul Kahan several times and have raved about every restaurant that is under his umbrella that I have been to (Blackbird, The Publican, Nico Osteria, Big Star).  He is a master chef and a great mentor who is able to find and lead talented young chefs with the many concepts that he has undertaken.  There are some restaurant groups in which most of their restaurants have a common theme and are very similar.  The several concepts run by One Off Hospitality, the restaurant group in which Paul Kahan is a partner, are very different.  The one common theme between the various properties are their devotion to local farmers and seasonal food.  I went recently to their most recent restaurant, Dove's Luncheonette, an old style diner that serves mostly Mexican food and is located in Wicker Park, next to Big Star.  The restaurant is kind of inobtrusive, with the sign painted on the window next to the door.  The building in which Dove's is located is a beautiful vintage building with wood framed windows.  The inside looks as an old diner should, with stainless steel counters facing the windows as well as a dining counter looking into the open kitchen.  The walls are paneled on the lower half and covered in numerous old photos on the upper half.  There is an old jukebox in the corner as well as a turntable behind the corner with a great collection of old blues and soul records.  The menu is one page (both sides listing all meals including the all day breakfast).  In addition, there is a board behind the counter, near the ceiling, that lists the daily specials.  While there were several things on the specials list that looked really good (the Pork Milanese Cemita), I decided to stick with the menu and started with the Pepper and Potato Hash which in addition to the Fried Potatoes and the Shishito Peppers, had Aioli, Charred Scallions, and Queso Fresco.  Shishito Peppers are long and green and look similar to Jalapeno peppers, so while they are sweet, it was a little annerving to see all of those peppers among the potatoes.  I did try a pepper before anything else and found it to be fresh, crisp and sweet and went well with the crispy fried potatoes, and the slightly spicy aioli.  The queso fresco added a little salt and texture to an excellent dish.

For my main course, I ordered Enchiladas de Cochinilla, or Suckling Pig which was roasted, shredded and wrapped in Corn Tortillas.  The dish was served in a cast iron pan giving it kind of a homey appearance.  They were served with Mole Verde, Pepitas (fried sunflower seeds), Onions, Queso Fresco, Chicharrones, and Cilantro.  The pork was very tender as would be expected and the dish was a wealth of flavors and textures.  It was so good, that while I try to change what I order when I return to a restaurant, it would be difficult not to return to this.  I liked everything about this place and I will definitely return.        

Oak + Char

It's interesting to visit a space that you had known as a different restaurant if only to see how the space has changed.  I visited Oak + Char recently which I had previously known as Graham Elliot.  Starting with the outside, the face of the building is the same which is to be expected, but there has been a serving window added to the front to serve the patio that has been added to the sidewalk.  The sign for the restaurant hangs over the sidewalk as well vice being mounted on the building.  The entrance to the restaurant is essentially the same and the desk is in the same place.  The room is black and very open as I remember Graham Elliot to be, but I believe they added a private dining area.  The ceiling is unfinished as it was at Graham Elliot, but there have been some odd puffy light shades? (I'm not sure what to call them) added around the lights that kind of reminded me of clouds.  I am not sure where the bar was at Graham Elliot, but at Oak and Char, it is large and sits along one of the side walls close to the serving window.  There is a half wall with banquette seating facing the bar which kind of separates the bar area from the restaurant.  Other than the fact that the bar is there, there really is no difference between the bar and the restaurant, the menu is the same on both sides of the wall and the people seated at tables are served by restaurant servers.  I was seated at a table in the bar area because the hostess thought that I might get better service there.  Looking at the menu, I saw that they had a nice selection of house cocktails.  While I was interested in them, I went on National IPA Day, so I decided to look at their beer list which was also pretty good.  They had two IPAs on tap and two bottles.  I decided to go with one from Solemn Oath Brewery, a Belgian IPA creatively named Butterfly Bandanna while I was perusing the food menu.  They claim to be a very Midwestern gastropub, but I saw many international influences in different combinations on the menu.  I guess that is truly what the definition of American food is, taking ethnic cuisine and using it in new and different combinations.  The midwestern comes in, I guess from the farms where they receive their produce.  My first dish was the perfect example of fusion cuisine.  I had Bacalao (Portuguese) Wontons (Chinese) with Aleppo Chile (Turkish) and Farm Honey (Midwestern).  Bacalao is dried salt cod.  It was flaky, tender, and very flavorful in the crispy won tons.  The aleppo was added to the honey, so when the won tons were dipped into the honey there was a flavor explosion of sweet and salty with a slow burning finish.  I really liked these and looked forward to the rest of my meal.

My next course was also a fusion course with Tandoori Octopus, Guanciale, Pimento Fingerling Potatoes, and a Fennel Salad.  Octopus is generally not prepared in a Tandoor, an Indian clay oven, nor is it often served with guanciale, bacon made from pork jowl.  I gather that there is a small window, when preparing octopus or squid, between under and overcooked.  I have come to expect a certain amount of rubberiness when eating either of these things and it is a rare and very nice thing when I bite into squid or octopus to find nothing but tenderness.  This is what I had here.  The octopus was very tender and flavorful and the accompaniments all went very well with it.  The guanciale added a porky meatiness, the fennel salad was fresh and sweet with a slight licorice flavor, and the potatoes added depth.

While I could have continued with the seafood theme with my entree, I decided to go with some red meat.  Specifically, I had the Korean Braised Short Rib with Toasted Barley and Radish Salad.  The rib was boneless and while they did give me a steak knife to cut it with, for the most part, it was fork tender.  The Korean barbecue sauce that the rib was covered in was thick and sweet with a spicy finish.  On it's own, the sauce on the rib could have been a bit overwhelming, but the toasted barley provided a moderating influence.  Texturally, it was al dente and it provided a bit of a nutty flavor to the dish.  The radish salad was a good contrast to the rib, providing some crisp freshness with the slight spiciness that radishes provide.

While everything on the small dessert menu did look good, I ordered a special that hadn't made it either to the regular menu or the specials menu and was told to me by my waiter.  (Thank you to my waiter.)  I had a Chocolate Pie with Caramel, Sea Salt, Sesame Crust, and a slightly sour Whipped Cream.  This was positively decadent with some pretty intense flavors.  The pie had a very rich chocolate flavor and was sprinkled with large crystals of sea salt.   it was one of those dishes that I would have licked the plate if I had thought I could have gotten away with it.  The caramel was thick, sweet, and buttery, and there were crumbs of the sesame crust spread around the dish (besides acting as the crust on the bottom of the pie or the side as it was served).  The whipped cream was also thick and had a slightly sour tang to differentiate it which is good because I think that if it was simply sweet, it would have just gotten lost.

During my dinner, I must have looked thirsty, because they brought me a second beer before I had finished my first and without my ordering it.  What was nice was that it didn't show up on my bill.  Other than the lighting treatments, which I thought looked a little weird, I liked the space, and the service and food were very good.  When I return, I will have to bring at least one other person, because in addition to the single serving plates, they have a section of the menu called Chef's Boards which serve 2 to 4 people, all of which looked really good.         

Wasabi

When I think of Wasabi, I think of my first experience with the Japanese horseradish.  It was actually my first real experience with sushi.  A friend of mine took a few of us to a sushi bar and ordered a bunch of stuff.  When the plates arrived, there was a blob of green sitting at the edge of one which I took and popped in my mouth without knowing what it was.  That probably was not the smartest move ever made.  As one might guess, this was wasabi and it was very painful going down.  While I have since learned how to handle it and i have actually come to enjoy it, this first experience still comes to mind when I here the word.  A few of years ago, a Japanese restaurant opened in my neighborhood called Wasabi, I thought that it was another sushi restaurant, which would have been fine, but there are many sushi restaurants in the area, so I kind of put it on a back burner to visit at some future time.  I found out recently though, that while wasabi has sushi, it focuses on small plates and specializes in ramen.  There have been several very good ramen places that have opened in Chicago recently, and as I like ramen, I decided to check it out.  The building that Wasabi is in is a former Mexican restaurant and has a shape like a Spanish Mission.  The walls, inside and out, are all dark gray with the exception to the brick wall behind the sushi bar/dining counter.  The room is rather narrow with the bar and the tables (all four tops) are a bit close, so it could be a bit difficult to move through the dining room when it gets crowded.  I sat at one end of the bar so I had a good view of both the open kitchen and the dining room, which did get crowded by the time I left.  Wasabi does have a good list of sushi, but I was there for the ramen so I didn't try it and will have to return for that.  While I was having the ramen, I figured that I would also have room for a few things on the small plates and skewers menu.  I started with Takoyaki.  Takoyaki is supposed to be a fried ball of dough with a lot of chopped Octopus which is usually served with a dipping sauce and Bonito Flakes.  This was all of that and it was very good.  I say supposed to be though because I have run into several restaurants that were serving takoyaki that was not takoyaki and contained something other than octopus.  I was very happy to have octopus.  The balls were fluffy and flavorful and the bonito flakes, while plentiful, were not overwhelming.

My next small plate was something highly recommended by my waiter.  He recommended getting a skewer and specifically, the Fried Chicken Thigh.  His argument is that the ramen takes a long time to make and has a lot of ingredients so you should expect that it should be very good.  The skewers are very simple and focus on a single ingredient, so it should take some skill to make it stand out.  The best of the skewers, in his opinion was the fried chicken leg because the thigh has the most fat and hence, the most flavor.  With his glowing recommendation, I tried it.  It was very simple as could be expected and the meat was well seasoned, juicy, and flavorful.  While it was good, it wasn't as exciting to me as it apparently was to him.

For the vegetable portion of my meal, even when I go out I try to have at least one dish that has a good focus on vegetables, I had Crispy Brussels Sprouts.  They were well browned, cut, and served with Toasted Almonds and Miso Sauce which provided an even more savory flavor than would normally expected.  As they were browned, they were pretty crispy as the name stated and very good.

I saved the Ramen for last because that kind of made sense to me.  In actuality, everything arrived, for the most part, at the same time, so I could have eaten it in any order that I wanted to.  I just had it in the order that made the most sense to me.  The Ramen that I had was called Spicy Roasted Garlic Miso Ramen.  It actually starts out with a pork base broth like tonkotsu and is actually very similar to their Tonkotsu Ramen.  In addition to the broth and the noodles, it contained Pork Belly, a Soft Boiled Egg, Marinated Bamboo Shoots, Bean Sprouts, Sesame, Scallion, Roasted Garlic, Garlic Chips, Chili Threads, and Sesame Oil.  The difference between this ramen and the tonkotsu is that this has bean sprouts, garlic, and chili threads, and the tonkotsu has wood ear mushrooms.  In any case, it is really good.  It's rich and spicy and has a lot of noodles in addition to the many other ingredients.  While there is a little bit of a learning curve for eating ramen, use the large spoon to take a scoop of the ramen and eat off the spoon with chopsticks, the food is satisfying, so the experience is good.

The menu at Wasabi is pretty big so you have to make multiple trips to become an expert.  From what I tried though, I would very much enjoy returning to further become an expert.  The food and service were very good and the waiter was very helpful.     

Old Oak Tap

If you want to check out a new restaurant/bar, but are not sure if you want to spend the money for dinner, going for brunch is a good way to check out the space (and possibly the dinner menu) without having to spend the money for dinner.  You obviously won't be able to go at a time when dinner is being served, but it will give you an idea about the place  I went recently, to Old Oak Tap for brunch and to check it out.  Located in West Town, it is in an area that, while on a main road, is just starting to happen.  It has a stone half-wall on either side of the entrance enclosing a large patio.  The front wall of the restaurant can be opened in good weather and, as the weather was nice when I went, it was open, making the main restaurant an extension of the patio.  The space has high ceilings so it feels very open, especially with the open front wall.  The space has a very rustic look, with light green walls and a lot of wood decoration.  There is stone fireplace off to one side.  The floors are hardwood and the lights are mounted on hanging wagon wheels, like a rustic chandelier, although with all of the natural light from the open front, they really weren't necessary.  The space had a feeling of a lodge.  There was a large bar at the back of the room which was where I sat.  I started things off with a breakfast cocktail while I perused the large brunch menu.  I ordered a Pimm's Cup with Pimm's #1, Cucumber, Lemon, Angustura Bitters, and Ginger Ale.  Pimm's #1 is a gin based tonic with fruits and spices and, while the flavor is strong and herbal, it is very refreshing and went well with the strong ginger ale with which it was served.

I started my brunch off with an order of Maple Glazed Nutella Donut Holes served with a side of Maple Syrup.  The donut holes were more small fritters than donut holes, but that was okay because they were really good.  They were covered with powdered sugar and had a crisp outer shell and a fluffy center.  It seemed that the dough balls got a shot of nutella into them instead of having it combined with the dough because they all seemed to have a brown nutella center, like the prize in the center of a piece of candy.  While the maple syrup went extremely well with the donut holes and it was good maple syrup, it really wasn't necessary as the donut holes were really good on there own.

For my main course, I had a pizza.  Pizza is good at any time of the day, but a breakfast pizza is something special.  This was more a flatbread than a pizza per se, but it was still really good.  It had many things you would expect for breakfast:  Potatoes, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Provolone Cheese, Rosemary, and Truffle Oil, and was topped with a Sunny Side Up Egg.  The crust was thin and cracker crisp, but sturdy enough that it held together when I tried to eat it with my hands.  The egg yolk was runny, but it was hard enough that it didn't explode when I broke it and I was able to spread it around the pizza without making a mess of it.  As far as my overall thoughts on brunch here, I really liked the space here and the food was really good.  I would be happy to return even though the service was a little casual.          

Presidio

Several years ago, I went to Bluebird, a gastropub located run by the folks behind Webster's Wine Bar which was located next to Mindy's Hot Chocolate.  I remember that while I liked the space, it was narrow with brick walls on both sides with a few abstract paintings, a long bar on one side, and unfinished ceilings, and the beer list was very good, I was really unimpressed with the food and didn't see a point to making a return.  Last year, Webster's downsized and closed several of their venues including Bluebird.  The space was bought and reopened as Presidio, a California-focused gastrolounge featuring fresh seasonal cuisine and classic cocktails.  The description intrigued me and since it was no longer Bluebird, I decided to check it out.  The geometry of the space was not going to change, so it is still narrow and deep.  Many of the design elements remain the same as well, it still has a lot of raw brick walls and an unfinished ceiling, but shelves for the liquor were improved.  They are wood and display the bottles well.  At the time that I came, it was relatively early and the front window was open, letting in a lot of natural light.  I sat at the bar, and enjoyed a nice conversation with the bartender.  I started things off with a gin-based cocktail as is my wont.  It was called a Flash in the Pan, and with the gin, it also contained Grapefruit, Lime, Tart Cherry, Black Pepper, and Mint.  This was really surprising.  It was very tart from the lime and tart cherry juice and the grapefruit brought the bitter which brought out the flavor of the gin.  What was surprising was the spice of the pepper and how well it paired with the cherry and the lime.  The mint was presented as a garnish and it was a good finish to the drink.

 

For my first food course, I ordered the Polenta which was baked crispy on the outside with a very fluffy center.  It was served with a Wild Mushroom Ragout, Fresh Oregano, and Ricotta Salata, a type of ricotta cheese that has been pressed and aged and is frequently used in salads.  While the polenta was good, what made this dish was the mushrooms.  The oregano and the ricotta brought a freshness of flavor, but the mushrooms brought a bold earthy flavor and a chewy textural contrast to the polenta.

Looking at the main courses, I was a little unimpressed because all of the choices looked pretty mainstream.  The thing about that though is that mainstream can be some of the most difficult food to prepare and to stand out above the crowd, it has to be really good.  I ordered Twin Bone-In Berkshire Pork Chops with Peaches, Tarragon, Baby Kale, and Smoked Balsamic.  I am generally not a huge fan of peaches, I find them too sweet, but they paired well with the pork chops, bringing out their sweetness and were toned down by the tarragon.  The kale was crisp and prepared well, but felt like kind of an afterthought.  The smoked balsamic though, did help to bring things together.  Overall, they were some good pork chops and and it was constructed in a way that tied the accompaniments together.

For dessert, I went with the Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Pretzel, Magic Shell, and Housemade Vanilla Ice Cream.  This dish just screamed comfort food and did it extremely well.  The cake was moist and chocolaty with a nice hazelnut flavor.  The ice cream was soft and creamy with an excellent vanilla flavor and the Magic Shell, which brings back many memories of childhood, topped it off.  The pretzels were crushed and acted as a garnish with hot fudge and caramel.  The pretzels added a salty element to a largely sweet dish and was a great finish to a good meal.

I really enjoyed my dinner here.  I liked the space in it's previous incarnation, but the food here was very good and the staff were very friendly and willing to answer questions.  It will definitely be on my list of places to go when I am in the area.  

GT Fish & Oyster Collaboration Dinner

I had been to GT Fish and Oyster before and really liked it.  When I saw that they were going to be doing a collaboration dinner with a chef from El Ideas, I jumped at the chance to go because, while I have not been there, I have met the executive chef, and I like the idea of the restaurant, to turn fine dining on it's head.  It's irreverent and experimental and lets diners ask questions.  I was interested to see where a very good seafood restaurant and an experimental restaurant would meet.  The dinner was held in the Whale Room, a private dining room in the basement of the restaurant.  On the wall was a silhouette painting of a sperm whale and the quote, "The biggest fish is the one that is almost caught."  It had a large communal table with an anchor on it and marked place settings, letting individual diners know where they would be sitting.  With the place settings were our menu cards giving the diners an idea of what we would be having for dinner.  There were also a series of numbers listed after each course.  The numbers were a bit of a puzzle.  Also on the table were several large and thick cookbooks (all the same) that looked to be cooking textbooks.  I guessed that the numbers had something to do with the cookbooks and were something like the recipe number in the book.  I also noted that the menu was much less seafood heavy than I would have expected from a seafood restaurant (not a complaint, simply an observation).

The numbers were explained as the Amuse Bouche was served and the chefs came out to introduce themselves.  The numbers were based on the page on which the recipe each course was based on was to be found.  As I noted very quickly, while the base of each recipe could be seen, the finished courses were very creative and some varied widely from where they started.  The Amuse (which was not listed on the menu as is common with an amuse bouche) was based on Oysters Rockefeller although it was raw (as opposed to broiled) and was served in a dish instead of on the half-shell.  It was served with Spinach and Panko and very flavorful.  Admittedly, it might have been a little much for someone that doesn't care for raw oysters, but I like them and I liked this.

The first official course was essentially a vegetable tasting and it actually reminded me of something that you might see at Moto.  There were three parts to this course.  On the left was a Mushroom Sauce served with a Manchego Cheese Chip.  To the right was a Fried Carrot with a Maple Creme (that kind of reminded me of marshmallow creme).  The center recipe started as Broccoli Almondine.  It used broccoli florets and blanched almonds, but was finished with a White Broccoli Soup (not shown).  There were a variety of flavors and textures in small bites and it was a great stage setter for the rest of the meal.

In a normal multi-course progression, courses progress from Amuse Bouche to vegetable/appetizer to seafood, red meat, and dessert.  The meal progressed in a standard manner with us next presented with the seafood course.  The recipes used were Roast Squid and Romesco Sauce (a Spanish red sauce based on nuts and red peppers).  What we were served was a 17 Hour Slow Roasted Octopus served with Cous Cous, Potatoes, and a very good Romesco Sauce.  Much seafood is very easy to overcook and as such ends up at least a little rubbery.  This octopus had no rubberiness to spek of.  It was meaty and very tender and went very well with the cous cous, potatoes, and Romesco.  It really reminded me of Moroccan cuisine and I really enjoyed it.

Our first meat course was served communally and was called Pork Belly and Black Rice.  When Giuseppe Tentori was the Executive Chef of Boka, there was a dish on the menu that consisted of Pork Belly and Black Rice which I had and really liked and thought I might have had a little familiarity with the dish.  While the flavors were similar, the presentations were definitely not.  The Pork Belly was served as a cut, but it had been cooked for 36 hours and was incredibly tender and flavorful.  It was served with Greek Yogurt and another sauce with Asian spices.  The Black Rice was served in Arancini form (fried Risotto Balls) with a crunchy exterior and very tender interior.  Admittedly, they didn't look exceptionally appetizing, but they did taste good.

Our final savory course was based on Chicken Cordon Bleu which is a dish that I really like.  What we were served was Veal Cordon Bleu  veal rolled around a Dried Ham similar to Prosciutto, Panko, and Swiss Cheese.  It was served (also communally) with Spinach, Garlic Scape (the stem on which the blossoms grow), and a Blue Cheese Sauce (hence the Cordon Bleu and not Cordon Swiss).  While this was a twist on a favorite, they substituted in things that I really like, and they did them really well.  It hit all the right notes with flavor and tenderness and it felt very much like a much practiced dish (vice an experiment).

Our dessert was listed as Creme Brulee which was what one of the recipes was listed as.  There was also a Linzer Torte recipe listed so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect even if I was hoping for Creme Brulee.  What we were presented with had many elements of creme brulee, but added some other things and was very much a very flavorful win.  The dish consisted of Creme Anglaise, a Brulee Crisp, Strawberries, Coffee-Infused Tapioca Beads, and a Coffee Crisp.  The coffee went well with the Creme Anglaise and it was like eating a cup of sweetened coffee with strawberries.

The Linzer Torte came with their equivalent to the after dinner Petit Four or Mint.  We were given a package of whale shaped Linzer Torte cookies to take home with us.  They were crisp, sweet, and filled with Raspberry Jam and made for a great finish to a very good dinner.  GT Fish and Oyster does collaboration dinners occasionally and after this win, I will have to seriously consider returning.