Blackbird: Spectacular (Finally!)

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.