A couple of weeks back I finally got to experience what I call an excellent high-end eating establishment. Blackbird (http://www.blackbirdrestaurant.com/) was chosen by a friend for his birthday celebration and the whole experience reminded me of what a real high class restaurant should really be. I was so very pleasantly surprised by the professionalism of the staff and the food and so unpleasantly reminded of how much I missed this kind of experience in all my previous outings in Chicago. Let me not dwell on the negative and focus on the positive.
First, the food. To start, I had the sauteed skatewing with sassafras, pickled pear, parmesan and rosemary. The fish was moist and flavorful, although I thought it a little too salty, and the accompaniments were interesting. The dish showed the chef's inventiveness, which I appreciated. For my entree I chose halibut, which I found was the best fish preparation I've had in Chicago thus far. It had the seared crusty layer of skin on top and was satisfyingly flavorful and cooked to perfection. B ordered the braised skirt steak and grilled wagyu flatiorn with spaghetti squash, braised chestnuts and vidalia onions. The steak was ridiculously good, beautiful to look at, melting in texture and bursting with flavors. One regret - there was just one small piece of it. And for dessert, which I could not resist and which I actually had room for, I got the avocado cremeux with local blueberries, hyssop and charteuse granite. This was simply awesome. I am a huge avocado fan as it is so when I see an avocado dessert, I cannot hold back the excitement and this one was spectacular. It teased, it joked, it played up its subtleties. The smoothness of the avocado cremeux.... Ah - I have no words. And B's sour cherry soup with guanaja chocolate ice cream, creme fraiche and espelette was on a level of ecstasy of its own with bold cherry flavor artfully complemented by creme fraiche. Excellent, surprising, diverse, extremely pleasing flavors and textures all around!
And refreshingly there was nothing plebeian about the service. The head waiter politely and efficiently took our order, made suggestions only when they were asked of him, answered questions and disappeared from our consciousness. Things were brought and taken away as soon as they were needed and not. Half way through dinner, B turned to me and asked if I had noticed the waiter. I said, no - why? And he said - exactly. Yes. Exactly! That is truly a mark of an excellent establishment - the waiters that you don't notice and don't need. You don't need to ask them for extra silverware or more water and you don't need to tell them to clear the dishes or wait for your dining companions' dishes to be brought. And you certainly don't need to talk to them because do you really go to restaurants to talk to the waiters? I don't. And I don't care whether or not they are entertaining, have good moral character or opinions on the weather. All I want from them is not to disturb my conversation and not to distract me from the food! Yes, call me snobby, snooty, politically incorrect - whatever. All I want is a faceless waiter. Blackbird is the only Chicago restaurant that I've been to that seems to grasp the concept. I really think the rest need to catch up.
One more thing I'd like to mention, and then I'll let you run off to a dinner at Blackbird, is this. Balckbird is pricey. But you see, while I really don't mind parting with the dollars at a place like Blackbird where the food and the service are worth the price, it really pisses me off to have to pay almost the same amount for dinner at mediocrities like Catch 35, Marche or Red Light (all reviewed previously). Really! The gall of those places to charge what they do for what they serve! They'd never survive a week in NYC. But I suppose competition here in Chicago is not as brutal, which explains their audacity but not the failure of Chicagoans to demand more for their hard-earned cash.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Nookies: Delightful Sunday Brunch
This was a random choice on another walking tour of the city and this time it paid off. I was warned against spontaneous exploratory pop-ins by the locals but old habits die hard. Anyway, Nookies Tree in Lakeview (http://www.nookiesrestaurants.net/edgewater/facts.html) did not disappoint. It was a beautiful Sunday - warm and sunshiny. We got a table outside surrounded by greenery and what looked like neighborhood locals. I say this because they all seemed to know the guy at the door. Others walked by every now and then and shook hands with him. It was all very neighborhoody. The people-watching was excellent.
We got an Acapulco Burger with avocado, salsa and pepperjack cheese and a Tuna Melt. Both were delicious. The Burger was big, juicy and spicy. The Tuna Melt was great with finely chopped celery, not too much mayo and melted American cheese carefully served on a toasted english muffin. Yum yum! The cole slaw and the home-made fries that came with the dishes were good too and the whole meal cost us just over $20.
Now why don't they have places like this in the Loop or in Streeterville? Seriously, Nookies has three locations: Old Town, Lincoln Park and Lakeview. I bet if they opened one in Streeterville, they'd have to fight customers off with a stick!
We got an Acapulco Burger with avocado, salsa and pepperjack cheese and a Tuna Melt. Both were delicious. The Burger was big, juicy and spicy. The Tuna Melt was great with finely chopped celery, not too much mayo and melted American cheese carefully served on a toasted english muffin. Yum yum! The cole slaw and the home-made fries that came with the dishes were good too and the whole meal cost us just over $20.
Now why don't they have places like this in the Loop or in Streeterville? Seriously, Nookies has three locations: Old Town, Lincoln Park and Lakeview. I bet if they opened one in Streeterville, they'd have to fight customers off with a stick!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Red Light: Decent But Pricey
Last week B and I decided to check out Red Light (http://www.redlight-chicago.com/), Marché's sister restaurant located in the West Loop across the street from Marché itself. (Here is my review of Marché http://hungrynchicago.blogspot.com/2008/09/march.html) Like Marché, Red Light did not awe me, but I've marked it down in my annotated Zagat's as "Decent." Here is why.
Like Marché, Red Light has a large space with tall ceilings, an open kitchen, a strange, but unlike Marché, not overwhelming decor with Asian elements to complement its decent Asian fusion cuisine. The dining room is large, with balcony seating on one side and nicely placed palm-like trees to subtly separate the large space into smaller portions and to create a more intimate effect. We got a bottle from a generous wine list and ordered the Crispy Main Lobster Mango Rolls and Dtom Khaa Gai (coconut chicken soup). I could not taste the lobster in the lobster rolls and the taste combination was just too tame for this Asian inspired dish. The Dtom Khaa Gai on the other hand was delicious with a good amount of spiciness and richness to it. It was my favorite dish of the evening.
For entrees we ordered Miso Glazed Salmon garnished with Udon noodles and Surf and Turf consisting of (supposedly) skirt steak and tempura jumbo shrimp. The Salmon was overdried and while it had a nice miso glaze, the overall effect fell short. The Udon noodles had an interesting flavor but were way too oily. I advise you to either not order Surf and Turf if you go to Red Light or skip the Turf and get the Surf. While the jumbo shrimp were delicately fried in a thin and light tempura and came with a good dipping sauce, the skirt steak, which was supposed to constitute the Turf part of the dish, was an insult. The meat was so stringy that I thought it was not a skirt steak but some inferior cut. It was also overgrilled, making it rubbery and overly chewy with too much of the charcoal bitter aftertaste to make it enjoyable. A shame.
As at Marché, the portions were large and I did not have enough room for dessert. I did glimpse an interesting towering chocolate concoction, which the people at the next table seemed to enjoy.
If you were bored with this review, all I can say is that it is wholly reflective of my experience at Red Light. Oh and did I mention the place was completely overpriced? No? Well it is. Which I find is often the case in non-dive kind of places here in Chicago. An outrageous scam if you ask me, but more on that in another post.
Like Marché, Red Light has a large space with tall ceilings, an open kitchen, a strange, but unlike Marché, not overwhelming decor with Asian elements to complement its decent Asian fusion cuisine. The dining room is large, with balcony seating on one side and nicely placed palm-like trees to subtly separate the large space into smaller portions and to create a more intimate effect. We got a bottle from a generous wine list and ordered the Crispy Main Lobster Mango Rolls and Dtom Khaa Gai (coconut chicken soup). I could not taste the lobster in the lobster rolls and the taste combination was just too tame for this Asian inspired dish. The Dtom Khaa Gai on the other hand was delicious with a good amount of spiciness and richness to it. It was my favorite dish of the evening.
For entrees we ordered Miso Glazed Salmon garnished with Udon noodles and Surf and Turf consisting of (supposedly) skirt steak and tempura jumbo shrimp. The Salmon was overdried and while it had a nice miso glaze, the overall effect fell short. The Udon noodles had an interesting flavor but were way too oily. I advise you to either not order Surf and Turf if you go to Red Light or skip the Turf and get the Surf. While the jumbo shrimp were delicately fried in a thin and light tempura and came with a good dipping sauce, the skirt steak, which was supposed to constitute the Turf part of the dish, was an insult. The meat was so stringy that I thought it was not a skirt steak but some inferior cut. It was also overgrilled, making it rubbery and overly chewy with too much of the charcoal bitter aftertaste to make it enjoyable. A shame.
As at Marché, the portions were large and I did not have enough room for dessert. I did glimpse an interesting towering chocolate concoction, which the people at the next table seemed to enjoy.
If you were bored with this review, all I can say is that it is wholly reflective of my experience at Red Light. Oh and did I mention the place was completely overpriced? No? Well it is. Which I find is often the case in non-dive kind of places here in Chicago. An outrageous scam if you ask me, but more on that in another post.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Salpicón: A Monet
Last Saturday my friends and I decided to try out Salpicón (http://www.salpicon.com/), an "upscale" Mexican restaurant in Old Town. We had tickets to Second City's 11pm performance and thought Salpicón would help us spice things up before the show. I had seen the place on my previous visits to Old Town and it looked inviting enough from the street, with its outside tables surrounded by flowers and plants and a hint of chicness in the inside salon. I also checked out its website and its reviews on LTHForum.com. All seemed favorable.
The night started off well, with the restaurant being very gracious and accepting a fifth with the original reservation for four as well as not giving us any trouble for being 15 or 20 minutes late. When I walked in, however, I was immediately struck by how the inside decor, inviting as it seemed from the outside, was not really quite up to par. In fact, it was quite a bit of a Monet - looked great from afar, but was a mess up close. The tables were set very close together and were not of the best quality. Nor were the plate settings, the silverware or the floor (all of which looked like they needed to be scrubbed). The paintings looked garish and grotesque. It was certainly not a fun-chic-summer-sparkly-tequila atmosphere I expected. I did not despair, however, as I've come to realize that in Chicago, the restaurants that look good serve worse food than restaurants that look crappy.
We got a round of The ¡Salpicón! Margarita (made with Herradura Silver, Gran Torres liqueur and fresh lime juice), which my friends thought was pretty good. We then ordered appetizers to share. The first was the Camarones al Carbón (grilled tiger shrimp served with an avocado-tomatillo sauce and a spicy roasted tomato and chipotle sauce, and garnished with fresh mango slices), which while good, was not awe inspiring. The sauces were too spicy for my taste and the shrimp were forgettable. The Guacamole Picado was very good, but would have been even better if there was a bit more of it. The Ceviche (which the restaurant for some reason spells "seviche" on both its website and the menu) was of fresh blue marlin marinated in lime juice with onions, tomatoes, fresh chiles and herbs. I thought it good, but not great.
The best appetizer and the best dish of the evening came in the form of squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and epazote (dipped in a light batter, sautéed and served with a roasted poblano cream sauce). The fragile blossoms were most delectably complemented by the delicate poblano cream sauce and the goat cheese was not at all over-powering but played well with the rest of the ingredients and provided great texture to the dish. This dish had an almost surreal quality to it and seemed like it just floated out of nowhere and landed on our table (no thanks to the harried waiter). It was marvelously elegant and I almost felt embarrassed for it having to make its appearance in that garish, loud, clumsy dining room, but I did not let it suffer for long.
The main course I almost feel like skipping as I have nothing good to say about it. I'll just briefly mention that my friend who ordered a Mahi Mahi (charcoal-grilled and served with salsa fresca and white rice) said the fish was a complete blah and the rice was absolutely unseasoned. I tried a steak, which while well cooked to specifications, was completely overwhelmed (as in the taste of the steak was entirely and sadly killed) by a very spicy chili sauce which I ended up scraping off the meat.
If I ever go back to Salpicón, and that's a big "if" because the prices were overly extravagant for the level of food and the atmosphere, I'll skip the appetizers (the squash blossoms with goat cheese are seasonal, so there's little chance I'll encounter them in the future) and the main course and go straight for the dessert. All at the table were satisfied with the dessert. Mine was Crepas Con Cajeta: a delicious crepe with a great sauce. It was for some reason stuffed with strawberries and raspberries, which were very much out of place, but the crepe and the sauce themselves were simply excellent.
To bring this review to its dutiful end, I would say find other places in Chicago for Mexican food, but if you are in Old Town and feel like a tequila and a dessert, Salpicón is as good a place as any.
The night started off well, with the restaurant being very gracious and accepting a fifth with the original reservation for four as well as not giving us any trouble for being 15 or 20 minutes late. When I walked in, however, I was immediately struck by how the inside decor, inviting as it seemed from the outside, was not really quite up to par. In fact, it was quite a bit of a Monet - looked great from afar, but was a mess up close. The tables were set very close together and were not of the best quality. Nor were the plate settings, the silverware or the floor (all of which looked like they needed to be scrubbed). The paintings looked garish and grotesque. It was certainly not a fun-chic-summer-sparkly-tequila atmosphere I expected. I did not despair, however, as I've come to realize that in Chicago, the restaurants that look good serve worse food than restaurants that look crappy.
We got a round of The ¡Salpicón! Margarita (made with Herradura Silver, Gran Torres liqueur and fresh lime juice), which my friends thought was pretty good. We then ordered appetizers to share. The first was the Camarones al Carbón (grilled tiger shrimp served with an avocado-tomatillo sauce and a spicy roasted tomato and chipotle sauce, and garnished with fresh mango slices), which while good, was not awe inspiring. The sauces were too spicy for my taste and the shrimp were forgettable. The Guacamole Picado was very good, but would have been even better if there was a bit more of it. The Ceviche (which the restaurant for some reason spells "seviche" on both its website and the menu) was of fresh blue marlin marinated in lime juice with onions, tomatoes, fresh chiles and herbs. I thought it good, but not great.
The best appetizer and the best dish of the evening came in the form of squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and epazote (dipped in a light batter, sautéed and served with a roasted poblano cream sauce). The fragile blossoms were most delectably complemented by the delicate poblano cream sauce and the goat cheese was not at all over-powering but played well with the rest of the ingredients and provided great texture to the dish. This dish had an almost surreal quality to it and seemed like it just floated out of nowhere and landed on our table (no thanks to the harried waiter). It was marvelously elegant and I almost felt embarrassed for it having to make its appearance in that garish, loud, clumsy dining room, but I did not let it suffer for long.
The main course I almost feel like skipping as I have nothing good to say about it. I'll just briefly mention that my friend who ordered a Mahi Mahi (charcoal-grilled and served with salsa fresca and white rice) said the fish was a complete blah and the rice was absolutely unseasoned. I tried a steak, which while well cooked to specifications, was completely overwhelmed (as in the taste of the steak was entirely and sadly killed) by a very spicy chili sauce which I ended up scraping off the meat.
If I ever go back to Salpicón, and that's a big "if" because the prices were overly extravagant for the level of food and the atmosphere, I'll skip the appetizers (the squash blossoms with goat cheese are seasonal, so there's little chance I'll encounter them in the future) and the main course and go straight for the dessert. All at the table were satisfied with the dessert. Mine was Crepas Con Cajeta: a delicious crepe with a great sauce. It was for some reason stuffed with strawberries and raspberries, which were very much out of place, but the crepe and the sauce themselves were simply excellent.
To bring this review to its dutiful end, I would say find other places in Chicago for Mexican food, but if you are in Old Town and feel like a tequila and a dessert, Salpicón is as good a place as any.
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