Eating Chicago

Took a quick 36 hour jaunt to Chicago this weekend and can honestly say that I ate my way through it. From the hour I landed we jumped straight into indulgences...and they were all excellent. The coffee manager at my bar used to live in Chicago, and gave me a long list of must-go's. As my family and I were there for my uncle's 50th birthday, we were booked up by the minute, so I hit all the places I could possibly in the short time I had alotted.




1. MK, 868 N Franklin St

My Chicago friends were adamant that for my "splurge" night (not that the entire trip wasn't a splurge) that I try either Bayless' Topolobampo or the Girl and the Goat. Unfortunately you need to book a spot in these establishment FAR in advance (months, people!). I did some research on the top restaurants in Chicago 2014 (largely through yelp and zagat...comparing the two usually gives a well rounded idea of what you'll get), and finally settled on MK. Relatively new to the area, this was rated in the top ten restaurants in Chicago by Zagat. The menu looked excellent and I was able to squeeze my younger brother and I in for an early reservation.

From the second we walked in, everything was excellent. The restaurant is in a warehouse downtown that transforms into a chic bar and dining space on the inside. The hostess was so warm and we were greeted by our waitress as soon as we sat down. We both did the "Taste of Piemonte" chef's tasting menu and I paired mine with wine. All the course were small but substantial, and both my brother and I were stuffed at the end! It left nothing to be desired, the creativity and innovation in the guinea hen, the richness of the veal, the lightness of the custard, and the luxury of the shaved black truffles! The wine pairings were 100 % Piemontese, which I thoroughly enjoyed the pure nature of the pairings. If you are going to label a tasting menu with a particular region, it is nice to drink and eat the same.

Five stars all around, would definitely go again!


2. THE GAGE, 24 S Michigan Ave

So the next morning we all woke up a little drowsy after the first round of partying for the 50th birthday celebrations. I was dead set and determined to make it to the Gage though, so I dragged those who could roll themselves out of bed for 10 am when the place opened. I had heard this was a great bar spot, but also a must go for brunch.

We weren't even the first ones in there as the place opened their doors at 10 AM. I had scoped out the menu beforehand so knew exactly what I was going to order. I started off with a deliciously (super) spicy bloody mary and ordered the vindaloo mussels and a scotch egg to pair. I was the least traditional, as my parents, grandmother and brother ALL went for the eggs benedict. Holy crap it looked delicious, but how could I pass up vindaloo mussels?!



The  eggs benedict, although traditional, came with the most untraditional and delicious brunch side of camembert and herbed roasted potatoes. NOM.



Again, a total five star win to start the morning. Thank god I had plans that day or I could have stayed there sucking down bloody mary's and working my way through the menu all day! Definitely more on the side of comfort food but not lacking in decadence!

3. THE PURPLE PIG, 500 N Michigan Ave

This was the final pit stop before the big 50th shabang, which was a private dinner at the Wit hotel. I (again) was dead set on hitting The Purple Pig for charcuterie, an excellent wine list, and maybe some items for the more obscure pallate. Although my uncle may not have been as thrilled about the stuffed squid and bone marrow menu items, he went with it. For a table of six, they said it would be an hour and a half wait, but offered us a drink out on the terrace while we waited. We decided to try our luck at the bar, and low and behold, a table ended up opening up in 15 minutes! The bartender was extremely generous and let me transfer my ordered wine to my table so I didn't have to close out with him, after letting me taste through a few wines to see which I preferred.



We had the Picpoul (french, bone dry, high minerality) and the Hautes-Cotes-de-Beaune (Pinot Noir, Burgundy, light, red fruit, pepper), both which were excellent. As soon as my father and I got a hold of the menu snacking was no longer an option. The menu is designed for table sharing, which encourages a plethora of dishes. We ordered everything from the bone marrow toast to the mangalitza (rare hungarian pork) charcuterie platter. One of my favorites was the grilled stuffed squid in a sauce of its own ink. The burrata was also excellent, served with a beefsteak tomato and a kale pesto. The pork shank was the most tender I have ever had and the turkey leg looked like something out of a medieval feast. The pork neck gravy also was such a warm and rich starter to warm the belly on what was a very windy and mildly chilly day.

We weren't able to finish everything, so packaged up the leftovers for my garbage disposal of a brother (imagine Michael Phelps style calorie intake). Definitely will have to tame the "eyes bigger than my stomach" phenomenon that I often encounter but all was well worth the taste!

Would definitely come here for the wine list alone, as well as the food. I can envision dinner here, but enjoying a cheese and wine pairing just as much for the excellent selection of both that they offer. Also I could swim in the bartender's eyes...he was just as fine as the wine he served ;)

I would highly recommend any three (and ALL three) of these fine establishments to any locals and all visitors willing to eat their weight excellence. Just look how happy it made all of them!



Until next time!

Crepe-Off!

The first of what I'm sure will be a glorious series of competitions, pitting filling against filling in attempt to explore the wonderful world of pancakes!

Definitely bit off a little more than I could chew though last night.....the crepes were a lot bigger and more filling than I expected, leaving my roommates and I like force fed goose livers stuck to the couch in front of Disney films on the telly.

If you don't have a rounded top crepe pan, I recommend using a medium sized saute pan, with rounded edges. The key for frying crepes is to make sure the pan is WELL buttered. I prefer butter over olive oil. You can even use a paper towl to make sure that it coats all around the edges.

Batter for crepes is extremely simple. Most recipes are almost identical, with slight variations. Mine is as follows:

2 cups milk (I like to use whole)
Dash salt
Spoonful sugar
1-2 Tblspn butter
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups flour (for thinner, more delicate crepes, only use 1 cup flour, but I am no professional crepe flipper and found it easier to flip and fold with a little more flour)

Now I generally double these proportions, but if you only want about six, the above portions are fine.

Whisk the mixture together well! I used my electric mixer because I was lazy.

Heat a medium sized saute pan on high. The pan MUST be very hot. Add about a teaspoon of butter onto the pan and spread it evenly across the bottom. Scoop about 3/4 cup batter onto the pan and angle pan until the batter fills the entire base. Cook like your typical American pancake, so that it cooks more than half way through on that side. Flip by sliding a spatula (the wider the better) far under the crepe. It doesn't take long to finish cooking on the second side.

If the crepes are thicker, you can stack them right on top of eachother. If the crepes are thinner and more delicate, I generally put a paper towel inbetween each one.

ALWAYS butter the pan before each crepe. Better safe than sorry and it will guarantee that your crepe will perfectly slide off the pan everytime.

For the fillings, I chose to enter four into the running, three savory and one sweet.

To start I combined marscapone, smoked salmon, fresh chives and topped it off with a very runny fried egg. I kept thinking of those delicious Locks and Cream Cheese Egg Bagel Sandwiches that they do at Bewley's in Dublin....

The marscapone melts in a hot crepe so perfectly and just seeps into the bread of the crepe.

The second had a filling of sauteed mushrooms in butter and garlic with spring onions with wilted spinach and brie. I filled half the crepe and folded it, placing it back in the fry pan and letting the cheese melt. Super savory and delicious...there's not a lot better than old fashioned spinach and hot, melted brie.



The third I filled with caramelized red pears (in butter and brown sugar) and blue d'auvergne cheese with fresh thyme leaves. Super savory and great with port or a big red wine.

Finally, I did an oldie but a goodie-strawberries and nutella sprinkled with powdered sugar. YUM!

Can't wait to do this again, it was so fun but certainly need to invite a few more people over next time!

Bon appetit!