Category Archives: I like to eats

June 16, 2009 · 12:05 am

Fried chicken at West Town Tavern

Do Chicago neighborhood restaurants get more solid than West Town Tavern? I’ve never had a bad meal/glass of vino at the Chicago Avenue restaurant, but for as many times as I’ve been to the place (it’s both a go-to date and visiting parental dinner spot), I have never experienced chef Susan Goss’ famous fried chicken. For two years the restaurant has offered a fried chicken dinner exclusively on Monday nights, a plate of heavenly crispiness that I had only heard about until last night. I luh-huv fried chicken and aforementioned parental units unfortunately raised us on KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken then baby!), but I’ve since redeemed my taste buds with Stanley’s version and even the awesome randomness that is Loncar Liquors (sadly pre-Elizabites), but West Town beats them all. A seasoned Miller’s Farm natural half-chicken arrives perfect tender and juicy, covered with a thick (but not mouth-scratching crispy) golden skin that doesn’t turn coat your fingers with grease. It’s all resting on a small pool of creamy wild mushroom gravy with thick mushrooms, just enough to get the robust yet creamy flavor but not overwhelming the plate. A scoop of ultra whipped garlic mashed potatoes sits next to a pile of sautéed Swiss chard. A soft and airy sweet buttermilk biscuit (Goss’ great-grandma’s recipe) is the icing on the cake, soft enough to melt in your mouth, but crispy enough of the outside to hold up to a good gravy-mopping, they were fantastic enough to deserve a permanent home in the bread basket. It sounds like it might all end up mixing together at the end, and it does to some degree, but in a good way. Like everything else at West Town Tavern, what’s on the plate is meant to be there, not too much or too little and just the right portion and texture balance.

There’s no question that pretty much everyone in the place (packed!) was also ordering up the fried chicken, and it’s no wonder Goss offers the delicacy one night a week (what better way to guarantee a full house on a Monday?). As for pairings, I think the chicken dinner could easily hold up to a sparkling white, but I went with the Gruner Veltliner with fruity and white pepper notes that tied everything together. By the end we felt full, but not full of super greasy fried chicken buckets of the past, so we found room to order a simple and fresh rhubarb and strawberry tart with vanilla ice cream (yum), as well as homemade brownie with two scoops of homemade ice cream of our choice (mint chocolate chip)..(double yum). West Town Tavern, 1329 W. Chicago Ave., 312.666.6175

Strawberry and rhubarb tart

Homemade fudge brownie with mint chocolate chip ice cream

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June 10, 2009 · 12:05 am

Aja Oreos

Aja Oreos and Traderspoint Creamery Milk

I have blogged about orange Oreos, but never the Aja Oreo. A particularly intriguing item on the dessert menu at Ajasteak, I had to try what was described as dark chocolate cookies, white chocolate mousse and a glass of Indiana-based Traderspoint Creamery organic milk. What better milk to dunk said over-sized, house-made cookie sandwich than organic whole milk from a 100% grassfed herd? Loaded with butterfat, it doesn’t soak into chocolate cookies like a mush-inducing skim milk might, but lovingly coats them with each rich, creamy dunk. The moist, chewy chocolate cookies flank a generous smear of smooth white chocolate mousse and are dusted with powdered sugar. Although I was lucky enough to enjoy these on the one warm night this week (I knew my gimlet post would work!), this comforting treat might be the perfect thing to nosh on while we continue to wait for summer. And once it does decide to hit, hit up Whole Foods or Green Grocer for more grass-fed milk goodness, served up in the form of Traderspoint organic ice creams. Ajasteak, 660 N. State St., 888.301.3262

Pudding pie at Hub 51

An extra-long Sunday bike ride ending up at Hub 51 in River North gave us the green light to devour a number of surprisingly delicious items on the bustling restaurant’s menu (guacamole, chopped salad, ahi tuna burger, fabulous seasoned French fries) including dessert. With an ice cream bar of the day, carrot cake, fudge brownie and other homemade goodies, Hub has the kind of dessert menu where I want to take one of each. But the chocolate pudding pie with graham cracker crust won out, mostly because this was the signature dessert I made and loved as a kid (Jell-O chocolate pudding, Cool whip and bananas). Hub’s was luscious but not too rich, the pudding similar in flavor and texture to a creamy mousse. The fresh, homemade graham cracker crust reminded me the kind in a classic Key lime and was good enough to eat on its own. The soft sugary crust melted in our mouths, but didn’t crumble under our fork and paired perfectly with the smooth chocolate. Whipped cream garnished with thick dark chocolate shavings served as the proverbial icing on (well, next to) the pie. Hub 51, 51 W. Hubbard St., 312.828.0051

Not known for: Caramelized lobster at The Gage

Caramelized lobster at The Gage

Two separate NRA parties had me hanging at the Gage quite a bit this past weekend, and I was only reminded of how much I love the contemporary American/Irish restaurant with a killer whiskey selection across from Millennium Park. Chef Dirk Flanigan’s menu offers up hearty pub grub from a scotch egg to a Guinness-battered fish and chips. But he also gets creative and complex with contemporary dishes like roasted saddle of elk, a melt in your mouth seared pole-caught Big Eye tuna with pancetta, Tuscan kale and salted Madeira ponzu, and braised rabbit salad. He’s a master of sauces, sides, game meat preparation and has perfected a Camembert-smothered USDA burger. But the one dish I am hooked on here is the caramelized lobster, not too unexpected, I guess, but still not well-known. I would’ve totally overlooked it on the menu (listed under third courses), but Gage owner Billy Lawless suggested it during a past visit. First off, I’m drawn to quinoa the second I see it on a menu, not only because it’s incredibly healthy, but the texture of the hearty granules take so beautifully to other ingredients like butter and lemon. OK, suddenly not so healthy, but delicious nonetheless. Tender chunks of lobster over lemon quinoa aren’t overly sweetened or ruined by the caramelizing, there’s just the right flavor of sweet while the salty succulent fresh lobster flavor still comes through. Chopped basil brings out the lemon in the quinoa while brightening up the dish with a bright, herbal fragrance and touches of green. Served as a mid-sized dish, it’s great to share but I’d rather devour a couple on my own. The Gage, 24 S. Michigan Ave., 312.372.4243

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May 14, 2009 · 10:39 pm

Alinea 3.0

By this time, we couldn’t tell if we were slightly buzzing from the 6th glass of wine, or the parade of food that had unfolded before us. We were a couple hours in, but the chairs were still cushy and comfortable, the waiters still buzzing like clockwork and all we could really do was look around and just smile at each other in collective contentment. The delicate tastes of sea-flavored roe, fish, floral foam had started to settle into our flavor memory banks, but we were ready for some meat, maybe a bold red, and the next course offered up both.

The Wagyu beef looks like a too-cruel mere bite of the intensely marbled meat, but it’s the perfect size. Its luscious flavor is intensified when dipped into an “A-1” powder of raisin, clove, anchovy and tamarind stuffed into a tiny plastic packet. The puréed potato cube encrusted with potato chip added the potatoes to the meat, a 2006 Sonoma Coast Syrah threw in the flavor of a bold, juicy, beef-friendly red, but it was the waves of smoldering dry ice reminiscent of a barbecue that brought the course to a new sensory level. Right on cue, a waiter came over to make the frosted over centerpiece “erupt,” emitting barbecue-inspired “smoke” that swirled around our sea of wine glasses and lapped up against ours plate before rolling over to the ground.

Wagyu beef

The smoke had cleared, the rest of the A-1 powder was gone when this simple spoon was set down in front of us with special direction to not bite down until the entire thing was in our mouths. The black truffle “explosion” was an intense burst of black truffle stuffed in a velvety smooth al dente ravioli. Our mouths were bursting with truffle broth, Parmesan and romaine, but the flavorful bite would have left us speechless anyway.

Black truffle

The intensity had been kicked up, but we were ready to start heading into the sweet, and the bacon course was the ideal way to do it. I’d had the dish before, and truly never forgot it. A single strip of bacon drizzled with butterscotch and laced with apple and thyme hangs on a silver wire. Sweet, savory, stare-worthy.

Bacon

Oh my god, rhubarb. Could there be a better flavor? Tangy yet sweet and so conducive to pairing with other flavors. The rhubarb course, rhubarb, creamy cheesecake and a subtle onion cotton candy, is served on a pin-pricked pillow filled with lavender air that deflates and is emitted as the plate is set on it. You get a little lost with this one, not knowing quite what flavor or scent to take in first, but it’s another good bridge from the savory to the sweet.

Rhubarb

Wherever I’m enjoying dessert, I want to make sure that chocolate occurs at some point. The chocolate course offered a lovely array of various “bubbles,” from fudge cream to a consommé of maple sap and blueberry. A subtle hint of tobacco hit our tongues at various points, but I’m still trying to figure out where and in what form it was hiding on the plate. A 1994 Smith-Woodhouse Vintage Port tied the heady, smoky, chocolate flavors together, a combination that might have represented the flavor of the color blue.

Chocolate

The final three flavors ended on a sweet and playful note, and each looked plucked from a candy store shelf circa 2060. We began with the raspberry transparency, a paper-thin shard of intense raspberry candy clipped onto metal wheels. It broke into crunchy sugary stained glass shards into our mouths invoking the essence of raspberry along the way.

Transparency

Bubble gum. This long frozen plastic tube was placed in front of us with instruction to, “slurp it all out at once. There’s less in there then it looks.” We slurped and later found out that the frozen tube is filled with hibiscus, crème fraîche and tapioca flavored with bubble gum stock. Yes, actual stock, from bubble gum. Delish and fun (insert laughing fit).

Bubble gum

Caramel. The final, solitary flavor of the night. The pile of brown caramel and salt powder turns into a creamy, lucious, buttery caramel when chewed. Perhaps the best caramel we’ve ever tasted, we swore the stuff should be packaged up and sold as chewing “dip.” Instead there would be no spitting, only savoring the flavor as long as we possibly could.

Dry caramel

But wait, there was more! Click here from Alinea 1.0, and here for 2.0.

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May 14, 2009 · 12:05 am

Alinea 2.0

Continuing onto courses six and seven, you really don’t feel the need to cleanse any of the fantastic flavors still swirling on your palate, until this one-bite work of art is placed in front of you. A green almond gelée flavored on the corners with tiny bits of juniper, gin and lime. It jumps from salty, to sweet and lingers on light citrus for a while.

Green almond, juniper, gin and lime

Foam returns in the delicate lilac course with scallops, razor clams, honeydew gelée and hidden pillows of lilac that emit tiny floral explosions on your tongue. Thin slices of ulta-crunchy celery add more layers of texture amid airy foam, fresh herbs and tender seafood. It was paired with a bright and crisp Paolo Bea “Santa Chiara” Bianco from Umbria, 1994.

Lilac

Lobster with popcorn, mango and curry. A true study in beauty, humor, texture and color, we were told the dish was inspired by butter. Works for us. Popcorn kernels were scattered with juicy, tender chunks of lobster meat, curry, micro herbs, tiny mushrooms and corn while a sweet mango gelée rested in the middle.

Lobster

Served on the side was a slice of coconut toast, just one of the house breads brought out to try with various courses. This sweet slice didn’t really need a spreading of the goat’s milk butter, but we slathered it up anyway. The butter itself (not pictured), reminiscent of movie popcorn, was good enough to eat on its own, or as a dining companion declared, to “bathe in.”

Coconut toast

“The next dish is so well known you can google it,” our server told us. My first guess was the famous single strand of sweet bacon on a wire, but that was yet to come. It was the Hot potato that was placed before us. I had seen it before, but never had the gorgeous course of hot potato covered with a black truffle and resting over a ultra-creamy cold potato soup. The bowl is a wax mold made daily by the servers and a pin is pulled to release the hot potato and truffle into the soup ready to be sipped. Brilliant, delicious, and a great play on temperatures. Bowl-licking may have been sneaked.

Hot potato

Up next, Wagyu with “A-1” sauce, an explosion of truffles, maple sap reduction and more..

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May 13, 2009 · 12:05 am

Alinea 1.0

I think it was somewhere between sipping the most amazing Mosel Riesling I’ve ever had and noticing frosty white ice crystals begin to slowly envelop our black vase centerpiece that I started to wonder how the 12-course tasting at Alinea could truly be expressed on a blog. Not a review, post, iMovie (actually considered this one) or tweet can truly capture the full dining experience at Chef Grant Achatz’ award-winning temple of gastronomy. I was lucky enough to go last week and didn’t expect to be torn between taking photos of everything set down in front of me and sitting back and experiencing the sensory overload without the distraction of camera, pen and note pad fumbling. So, I did all of the above. I took notes, only to be reminded by one of our many patient servers that we’d be getting a copy of the menu at the end. My pen would go down just as yet another wildly creative dish was introduced, sometimes including how to eat it and in what order..Wait? Distilled vegetables? What? Wait..proceed to scribbling. A recorder might’ve captured it all, but we’re talking almost 5 hours of serious eating that would need to be transcribed. I later realized my cell phone has voice recording, but why ruin this amazing experience with too much technology? Also, why unveil the entire thing in one post?

So, I will attempt to bring you the first installment of our courses in order of consumption. We were seated a four-top round table on the second floor as the symphony of flavors, colors and textures rolled out..and our party marveled at everything, collectively dissected the nature of each juicy sphere of roe, savory foam bubble or something sweetly poised to be bitten from a burning cinnamon stick. We’d catch a hint of rosemary from another table, bonfire smoke from yet another as a pillow filled with lavender air was plopped down in front of us. At various points throughout the night, fists were pounded, mouths were stuck agape, hands were put on hearts, a laughing fit ensued towards the end, and one dining companion declared the restaurant “A place that makes problems disappear”…I bring you the first few courses of our night. More to come…

Roes. Two types of delicate, hand-harvested roe, airy toast foam and whipped egg cream. The light, fresh roe popped into slighly salty deliciousness onto our tongues while toast (yes, toast) foam played on our palates and egg cream added a lemon-kissed finish. Bowl-licking pondered but resisted.

Roes with traditional garnishes

We were handed these round bowls holding a holy fork-full of two silky foie gras lobes, shiso and daikon with a sweet yuzu foam beckoning below. The heavenly bite of foie paired perfectly with a silky smooth glass of Max Ferdinand von Richter Erdener Treppchen Riesling, 1990. It was sort of like sipping rare jewels in a glass and I could’ve stuck with it for the rest of the dinner if we didn’t have eight more glasses to try.

Foie gras

Pork belly with crisp iceberg lettuce, cucumber, Thai chile paste and Thai distillation. Stunning and well-balanced, the warm pork belly confit was hidden within layers of lettuce topped with dainty microgreens and mushrooms. In the corner, a mysterious shot glass contained mild, clean distillation of Thai chiles and lemongrass. Not at all hot, we detected just a hint of vegetable flavor in the palate-cleansing shot.

Pork belly

White asparagus with sorrel, white pepper and honey. Just as you are about to dip your spoon into this “glass”…

White asparagus

The server lifts it up and the picture perfect contents arrange themselves into pure spring loveliness in a bowl. Honey and what seemed like brown sugar granules rounded out the fresh and savory white asparagus, sorrel purée and white pepper soup. The dish was masterfully paired with a dangerously drinkable Junmai Daiginjo sake.

White asparagus (glass removed)

Next up… a palate cleanser, a bit of shellfish-kissed lilac, a butter-inspired plate and more to come..

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May 8, 2009 · 12:05 am

Molly’s Cupcakes

The Ron Bennington..it's as ridiculous as it looks

I know what you’re thinking. Besides, “holy crap does that look amazing,” you’re also all, “elizabites, did you ever meet a cupcake you didn’t like?” The answer is yes, I have, but not this one. The Ron Bennington from Molly’s Cupcakes (above) may be the ruin of my red velvet obsession. With a crushed butterscotch topping, chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, and peanut-butter-butterscotch filling I had to have one. I took a photo of the RVC because they were lovely, but had to cash in the calories on this masterpiece. Not only is the chocolate ganache rich, creamy and heavenly, but the moist chocolate cake is actually filled with an intense whipped peanut-butter-butterscotch center filling. It’s just one selection from the “center-filled” cupcake selections which includes tiramisu, nutella, raspberry-blueberry and pastry cream. The place also rocks because you can make your own cupcakes, pairing your cake with your frosting and your toppings. Mini, vegan and classic cupcakes are on the menu, and a portion of all profits are donated to local schools. There’s also board games, vintage lunch boxes and wooden “swing” chairs hanging from chains at the bar. Did I mention the Cookie Monster cupcake with vanilla chocolate chip cake, buttercream frosting, a mint chocolate chip cookie and raw cookie dough center? Didn’t think so. Um red velvets..you may be going away for a little while… 2536 N. Clark St., 773.883.7220