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Girl & The Goat

4 August 2011 · 0 comments

Sautéed green beans and grilled octopus at Girl & The Goat

I love trying new restaurants, but I’m not one to wait three hours for a table. So I often let a few months pass before trying the latest hot place. This was my strategy over Memorial Day weekend for dining at Stephanie Izard’s Girl & The Goat, which had opened last summer and a visit I’ve been wanting to write about. It was a Sunday. Earlier that day a major thunderstorm blew through the city. Then a heavy fog rolled in. My friend A. and I arrived early for dinner at 6:30 pm. I figured the stars would be aligned in our favor for snagging one of the tables reserved for walk-ins.

Was I wrong. OMG, so wrong. Our jaws dropped when we were told the wait would be an hour and a half. Anyone in Chicago going out for dinner that night seemed to be at G&G already. Stephanie Izard’s Top Chef Season 4 fame makes G&G still very much the go-to restaurant as soon as the doors open at 4:30 pm. You can eat at the huge bar at any time, but those seats fill up fast.

A. did what the situation called for: she ordered champagne and we starting discussing Plan B. We then found two seats in the lounge area and decided to look at the menu to order some apps. Amazingly, the restaurant gods were with us. Fifteen minutes later we were ushered to two open spots at one of the two, large communal tables parallel to the long, open kitchen.

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Xoco Salad

2 August 2011 · 0 comments

Rick Bayless's Xoco Salad

Hot, sultry August days call for eating light. As many of you know, Xoco is one of my favorite places for lunch. But as good as the tortas and caldos are, this time of year calls for a crisp, cool salad. Making an exception to Xoco’s Mexican street food theme, Rick Bayless offers only salad as a main meal: the Xoco Salad. Thankfully he knows how to coax the best out of a mix of simple and fresh ingredients to make a winner. The blend of romaine and arugula taste just picked. Shreds of pork carnitas are juicy from the right amount of fat for flavor. (Or smoked chicken is an option.) Crispy tortilla threads add crunch. Chunks of avocado are perfectly ripe. The marinated black beans and pickled red onion (today it was sweet onion) lend contrast and tang. The finishing toss of avocado-lime dressing is nothing short of refreshing. No other salad needed here.

Xoxo
449 North Clark Street
Chicago 60654
Tel 312.334.3688
www.xocochicago.com

Tuesday–Thursday, 7:00am–9:00pm
Friday, 7:00am–10:00pm
Saturday, 8:00am–10:00pm
Closed Sunday and Monday
Note: Carry-out is available all day long

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2011 Green City Market BBQ

25 July 2011 · 0 comments

First summer tomatoes from Leaning Shed Farm

It was dang hot last week in Chicago. Thursday, July 21, was forecasted to be the hottest day of the year, the date of this year’s Green City Market BBQ benefit. Friends were Facebooking their nervousness about the heat. My sister Martha, my BBQ invitee, had her doubts about whether she could make it through the evening. “I’ll give it the ol’ college try,” she told me very matter of factly. “But I don’t know if I’ll last long.”

But by evening the temps cooled enough and a light breeze off the lake aided by the shade of big trees made being outside in Lincoln Park bearable. Along with some 2,000 event goers we grazed our way through small dishes created by nearly 100 Chicago chefs who drew on ingredients from the market for their creations.

Armed with a water bottle in one hand and a fork in the other, it was tough to take photos this year. But I can tell you what some of my faves were. My vote for best in show goes to The Publican for its beef and blood sausage taco. A close follow-up was Dirk’s Fish trout burgers with cool tzatziki, arugula, and pickled red onions in a mini pita. Great colors, too. I loved Marion Street Cheese Market’s creamy grit cakes with pulled goat shoulder topped with pickled and caramelized tropea onions and goat milk queso blanco. Also very good: Province’s vegetable tostada with tomatillo and ancho salsas. On the sweet side, I swooned over the Gateau Basque from The Peninsula and the Raspberry-Rose Petal ice cream sandwich from Snookelfritz.

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Heirloom Bowl

24 July 2011 · 2 comments

Black cherry bowl by David Lory

Summer is finally in full swing here in Chicago. Are you enjoying yours? I know I am. So much so that I haven’t had those spare moments to write for more than a month now. I’ve been super busy celebrating graduations and the holidays, shopping the farmers’ market every week, biking along the lakefront, hitting the art fairs, and getting out to Wisconsin to a farm party.

Now that I’ve taken a break, I’m ready to get back to writing about all the foods and finds I’m coming across. One is this rich auburn black cherry bowl, above, that I now have for my summer salads. I bought it from husband-and-wife team David and Suella Lory, from Platteville, Wisconsin, who show at the 57th Street Art Fair in Hyde Park. When I first saw the wooden bowls on display three years ago, I was stuck at how gorgeous and well made they were. I knew some day I had to have one (since I didn’t yet have a proper salad bowl). This year was the year.

The Lory’s booth typically has a swarm of fair-goers examining and running their hands over the array of bowls of all shapes, sizes, and types of wood. A small number of bowls are made from hard-to-find burls, those snarly malformations that sometimes develop on trees. Consider yourself lucky if you come across one. But no matter what bowl you fall in love with, you’ll know it’s one of a kind.

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Stray Dog Designs Chandelier

17 May 2011 · 0 comments

"High-Minded" chandelier by Stray Dog Designs at Anthropologie

Whoa! How cool is this chandelier? While shopping at Anthropologie on Michigan Avenue, I walked by it, did a double-take, and had to walk back to take a closer look.

Close-up of papier mâché

Pieces of papier mâchéd black and white encyclopedia pages over iron give this chandelier that one-of-a-kind, artsy find for anyone looking to add an eclectic element into their interior design mix—self included. Designed by Jane Gray of Stray Dog Designs, each chandelier is an original, handmade piece, made in Mexico and signed by the individual artisan.

The company works with Mexican artisans who combine their skills in traditional crafts to create products for the home from quality and recycled materials. When you buy a product from Stray Dog Designs, you’re supporting a company that in turn supports Mexican workers and artisans with a living wage, benefits, and profit sharing. Turning the lights on will make your home and your heart that much brighter. Available at Anthropologie stores, High-Minded Chandelier, style #063043, $998.

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Fish Bar

10 May 2011 · 0 comments

White tuna carpaccio at Fish Bar

In a city known for its meat, it’s refreshing to have a restaurant in Chicago entirely devoted to seafood. Recently opened Fish Bar in East Lake View fits that bill. Painted bright sea blue, this pull-up-a-stool and sit-at-the-counter “fish shack” is Michael Kornick’s and David Morton’s new, next-door neighbor to their DMK Burger Bar. Aside from the counter seating, the place only has three tables—giving it a total of 30 seats.

Fish Bar's menu

Everything at Fish Bar is simple. Simple décor, a simple one-page menu, specials written on a single chalkboard, and simple preparations. But the initial simplicity belies the chef’s skill in bringing out the best in every piece of seafood, all of which is sustainably caught. The spring menu featured white tuna carpaccio, shown above, the night I dined. Sprinkled with fresh dill, chopped hard-boiled eggs, capers and drizzled with olive oil, I could have been content with this dish alone. And a second.

Happily, most plates are small—perfect for sharing—and more was to come. Dining with a friend, we split everything, including tender octopus grilled with a nice char and adorned with lemon preserve-infused olive oil and dried chile. Nothing more needed except a cool glass of sauvignon blanc or Riesling (the only two types of wine offered except for a white Sangria). Or maybe a craft beer or sweet tea.

Grilled octopus with lemon-infused olive oil

Half an oyster po' boy

My friend’s number 1 choice was the oyster po’ boy. Me, not being a big fried-food eater and never having been to New Orleans, Fish Bar’s rendition was my first po’ boy experience. And, well…it was really good. Three huge, fried, lightly battered oysters (we asked the kitchen to cut our sandwich in half) come nestled in a toasted bun along with remoulade and spicy cole slaw, producing a decadent crunchy/creamy contrast in every bite.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved everything my friend and I tried. And I’m thrilled Fish Bar is an easy walk from my place. I will be back.

Fish Bar

Fish Bar
2956 North Sheffield Avenue
(at Wellington Avenue)
Tel 773.687.8177
www.fishbarchicago.com

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April 2011 in Paris – Pastries

3 May 2011 · 0 comments

Mega box of macarons in the window at Ladurée

Macarons at Georges Larnicol

Macarons get a lot of attention in Paris. Decked out in pretty colors and delivering incredible flavors to match, they can steal the show at any of Paris’s top pastry shops, or pâtisseries. The beauties above are from Ladurée, which many macaron aficionados say are the best in Paris. The macarons shown on the left at Georges Larnicol look awfully nice, too.

While a visit to Paris always includes a sampling of macarons, I like to try some of the macaron’s overlooked siblings, and on this trip I found myself coveting kouglofs and kouign amann. Although the best way to enjoy pastry is to have it the day it is made, I find as a traveler that I often want to enjoy them with my morning coffee, which means buying them the day before and keeping the bag tightly closed until breakfast the next day.

Imagine starting your day with a pot of strong coffee delivered to your room and breaking open this gorgeous kouglof from Pâtisserie Mulot in the Latin Quarter. Pretty sweet. Actually, despite its sugar coating kouglof is not terribly sweet and this brioche dough is meant to be a little dry. But trust me, this deceptively simple-looking cake is all yeasty, buttery, raisin-studded deliciousness. Perfect for dunking in coffee or eating as is. You won’t want to leave your room until you’ve finished off every last crumb.

Kouglof from Pâtisserie Mulot

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April 2011 in Paris – Chocolate Shops

28 April 2011 · 0 comments

Debauve & Gallais chocolates in traditional blue and gray boxes

Chocolate. It’s one of the reasons I love to go to Paris, and an art the French do so well. Even simple chocolates are hardly mundane as Parisian chocolatiers have the talent in turning this gift from nature into some of the most complex, mysterious, and delicious creations.

Debauve & Gallais historic façade

As mentioned in my previous post, on this trip to Paris I took a chocolate shop tour that included three well-known shops. As it turned out, two I had visited several times before, but the first stop was a new encounter for me. It was Debauve & Gallais, the oldest chocolate shop in Paris. Its beginnings go back to 1800 when chocolate was still part apothecary (chocolate for your health), part mixology, and part extravagance. Chemist Suplice Debauve, together with his nephew Antoine Gallais, also a chemist, became the chocolate purveyor to Napoleon, and later, to Louis XVIII and other royalty. The deep green lacquered façade with gold leaf décor convey a regal style and the interior’s semicircular counter, wood paneling, and loads of shelves hark back to the feel of a pharmacy.

Chocolates on display

The chocolates here are awesome—and expensive. Chocolates are perfectly arrayed across the huge, curved counter, taunting you to try. The shop’s specialty are pistoles, thin chocolate disks of varying degrees of cacao (up to 99 percent) and flavorings, such as orange, coffee, and vanilla. They are good and a good way to try a variety of flavors. Fine teas are also a specialty.

Pierre Marcolini

After plying ourselves with five kinds of pistoles, we walked over to Pierre Marcolini whose sleek, minimalist shop is a stark contrast to the opulence of Debauve & Gallais. An entire wall devoted to limited, single origin bars of chocolate reflects this Belgian confectionaire’s passion in pursuing pure and sublime flavors. Our group got to taste and compare a chocolate from Brazil and one from Ecuador. Trying these types of chocolates side by side lets you pick up the distinct flavor notes. It’s worth getting a World Flavors sampler box to experience the differences for yourself.

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April 2011 in Paris – Fromagerie Beillevaire

20 April 2011 · 0 comments

Beillevaire Fromagerie in Paris and its affineur, Jérome

It’s not hard to have great food experiences in Paris, and one of the fun things I did on my trip were some “Meeting the French” food tours: one for cheese, one for a boulangerie, and one for chocolate (more about the other two in another post). The visits by this company are designed to give you a “behind-the-scenes” look into how French food artisans do their craft, and for any foodie, the tours let you learn in depth and delight your taste buds.

Outside the shop

When our group climbed out of the métro and walked up rue de Bellevaire to Fromagerie Beillevaire, we couldn’t find the shop, even though we thought we were at the correct address. But a few minutes later, when the heavy metal outside door rolled up, we could smell that we were in the right place. Heaven!

Stepping into the shop, we found ourselves surrounded by open shelves of cheese—lots of glorious cheese. The shop’s proprietor and affineur, Jérome, explained that it’s important for people to smell the cheeses and be close to them. Just one or two tastings of a cheese here will have you swooning. The cheeses are unlike any we can get in the United States. Made by small producers who start with raw milk, the cheeses deliver sublime tastes brought about by field-grazing cows and other good graces of nature.

Beillevaire cheese assortment

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April 2011 in Paris – Poisson d’Avril

12 April 2011 · 0 comments

Poissons d'Avril chocolate fish at Debauve & Gallais

Day 2 in Paris happened to be April Fool’s Day, or “Poisson d’Avril” (the “April Fish”), in France. While no one knows exactly why this day of pranks started, legend has it that it may have originated in France in the 16th century when King Charles XIV of France reformed the calendar. Many of the less educated, lower-class people refused to make the change leading pranksters to make fun of them by sticking paper fish on their backs. That tradition continues today, often by school children. When a person discovers a fish on their back they are declared a “Poisson d’Avril.” Adding to the fun, the city’s chocolatiers and pâtisseries get into the act with chocolates and pastries in the form of fish. The photo at the top are chocolate fish at Debauve & Gallais (30 Rue Saints Pères 75007 and other locations), and below, fish in the window at Patrick Roger (108 boulevard Saint-Germain 75006 and other locations).