Agony of Defeat

There's nothing wrong with 27 wins in a row.  Second most all time.  It is a very impressive run.  Still I was pretty disappointed by the loss.  Oh Well.

Pork Hash at Bite Cafe

On this particular trip to Chicago, I would start off with breakfast at Bite Cafe.  It is a cozy little cafe that is amazing for being BYOB.  The baby blue chairs accent the unassuming and comfortable little cafe.  I really went because of the menu though, one item in particular.  The pork hash.  The pork shoulder was braised to be very tender and had the nice bite of a bit of vinegar that I love in a pork shoulder.  It reminds me of when my great grandmother made pork shoulder.  Two of my favorite vegetables also made an appearance in the hash, kholrabi and brussel sprouts.  When you top everything with the spicy hollandaise, you end up with a dish of pure bliss.  The menu describes a crispy sourdough that accompanies it but the toast being under the mounds of hash doesn't remain crisp.  This is not to say that the toast isn't tasty as a matter of fact I do like it being underneath to soak up the hollandaise sauce an runny egg yolks.  The crowning achievement of the place was the mashbrown.  It is one of those taste to believe it things but I think it  is one of the best hashbrowns I've ever tasted.  It is crisp and  has creamy mashed potatoes on the inside and a nice bit of onion flavor from scallions.

I checked into the Hilton Chicago, again and this time they were doing renovations on the lobby.  I was kind of surprised that they didn't have anything regarding the upgrades on their website.  It was only a minor annoyance and this time I had a much larger room on one of the floors that had not been renovated.  Overall it was still a good experience.

Andoullie Corn Dogs at The Southern

For dinner that night I ate at The Southern.  I wanted to love this place, I really did.  The decor was awesome.  It's set up as to be a restaurant that serves upscale southern food.  The servers were awesome.  I started out by having one of the Maple Bacon Manhattans, which was really the selling point to get me into the place.  It winded up being not disappointing but more of an excuse to have a slice of bacon to accompany your drink.  I enjoyed the drink quite a bit but it was still a little disappointing.

The overall big complaint I have about the Southern was that all of their food was way under seasoned.  The fried chicken had crispy skin and was perfectly fried, but if there wasn't hot sauce on the table, I wouldn't have been able to eat it because it was so bland.  Also I have no idea how you can even make a Cajun dish like an andouille corn dog so completely pedestrian.     The batter needs flavor and seasoning.  Southern dishes deliver strong bold flavors rich well seasoned dishes.  Not a average corn dog with a mustard dipping sauce that tasted like somebody popped open a bottle of French's.

Potted Pork at Howells and Hood

For the game I had a seat in the club level, which is nice since they take orders for your food and drinks.  I have been to the United Center before for a concert and it is just acoustically horrible.  For a basketball game though, it is pretty good.  I had a pretty good view of the court and was close enough in the 200 section that I rarely looked at the screen.   That being said it would be hard to convince me to go to a game there again since the tickets are so pricey.  

In the morning I couldn't decide where I wanted to eat and I finally after scrolling through lists of places I finally decided on Howell's and Hood, since I was passing through breakfast time and into lunchtime.  The prices are a little up there but it is one of those cases where you get what you pay for.  I thought it would be awesome to go to a place where they have 104 beers on tap, a beer lovers paradise.  Then I was overwhelmed by the astonishing array of choices.  The beer menu is organized pretty well but the only complaint I have about the beer selections is that they should have many more flights.  There are a hundred and four beers and you might want to try a lot of them.

Lobster Roll at Howell's and Hood

I started off with the smoked potted pork.  Could have used a couple of extra slices of baguette toast to accompany it, but overall  it was still pretty great.  It almost seems as though the dish might even be a little under priced when you consider the fact that you are enjoying the amazing presentation that you get with it being served in a small cast iron pot.  The pork is really tender and chopped into fine pieces to make it spreadable over the baguette.  It also has that nice compliment of acid with a little bit of vinegar and the apples are delicious and not overcooked to the point of mushiness.

Then there was the lobster roll.  The lobster was amazingly fresh and on the nicely buttered roll. It had so much lobster and you could really taste the freshness of it.  It was paired with these purple potato chips, that were beautiful and crispy and had just the perfect addition of vinegar.  I wonder what this place would like when it's busy since there are so many workers.

The Perfect Roast Chicken:

Cooking chicken isn't rocket  science after the disappointing displays of chicken I had at Mon Ami Gabi and The Southern I wanted to make some really great chicken and here it is.  Meat is one thing that you should never skimp on and if you use a free range bird, you will appreciate the much chickenier taste.

Brine Ingredients:

1 Gallon Water
1/2 Cup Vinegar
1/3 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Salt
30 Cardamon Pods
3 Bay Leafs

1 Roasting Hen
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Dried Tyme
Fresh Ground Black Pepper

This recipe is pretty simple.  All you have to do is combine the brine ingredients and let them dissolve.  If you don't have cardamon or bay, you probably have something that usually has a lot of good spices in it.  You can toss in a couple of shots of good quality Gin.  If you don't have good Gin in your house shame on you.  The chicken will still be pretty good without it.

Put the chicken in the brine for 8-12 hours.

Remove the chicken from the brine and pat it dry.
Rub the olive oil over the chicken and sprinkle on the tyme and black pepper

Roast in a 375 degree oven until you get 160 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest part of the thigh and breast (about 45 mins to an hour depending on the size of your bird).