Chicago Restaurant Week 2013

Chicago Restaurant Week is one of my favourite times of he year. It gives me a chance to try out a bunch of places that yes admittedly I would probably go to for full price, but it is good to go and sample new places without the pressure of a full price menu hanging over your head. Despite the $22-44 price tag, my bill usually lands in the sixty buck range including tax and tip.

On a whim I decided to have  a pre-restaurant week warm up at Girl and the Goat.  It happened completely on a whim as I got back pretty hungry and didn't know what I wanted to eat.  I just went on Open table and kind of booked it.  I had been meaning to try the place for a long time.  There has to be something to being the only female chef to win Top Chef.  From the moment I came in I was welcomed by very friendly staff.  My waitress, Allison, was very helpful and knowledgeable about the menu.  The place has a comforting feel, brick walls and wood floors, very much gives you that farm to table vibe.  Everything on the menu looked tasty and intriguing at the same time.  Immediately a few things jumped out at me.  The kohlrabi salad for one.  Kohlrabi is one of my favorite vegetables.  It kinda tastes like broccoli.  I never thought to try kohlrabi raw though.  The thinly sliced relative of cabbage came with a tasty ginger dressing. Additional crunch came from almonds, and the gooseberries gave a tart kick to it. Definitely my new favorite salad.

For bread I had the stecca.  The bread was grilled to be crisp without adding color.  It was very tender on the inside.  The genius part was serving it with a garlic aoli.  The bread was as stellar as I expected, considering Izard also opened the Little Goat Bread.  One thing that I loved was the fact that nearly every dish I ate had a little bit of bacon in it.

Filet at Wildfire Grill

My first night of Chicago's Restaurant Week, I enjoyed dinner at Wildfire Grill in Oakbrook with two of my friends.  Frustratingly, we had to wait for forty minutes for the table that I reserved online.  To make amends they bought an appetizer and dessert for the table. We started off by ordering the lobster stuffed shrimp. What better way to enjoy your shellfish than stuffed with more shellfish? The tender shrimp was topped with lobster and buttery breadcrumbs.  The steaks were prepared to my liking and the potato gratin was as cheesy as I desired.  Our server wasn't exactly the best, she was a little distant and not as attentive as I would have liked but overall it was a good place that I would go back to again.

Ravioli at Senza

The next night I had reservations at Senza, it was a little hard for me to find as the sign for the place doesn't exactly jump out at you.  I must have driven past it twice while looking for it and walked past it once before calling the place and almost immediately finding it.  It was one of those moments where as soon as she picked up the phone I found it.  I wanted to do the wine pairings with their menu, but they had a Bourbon cocktail with mint and Thai chilies that I just couldn't resist.  I sat for a bit with the Bourbon drink.  It started off very strong and bold and as the ice melted, it would get a more subtle and mellow minty flavor.  It was probably one of the better drinks I've had in a while and I really wish this place had a bar because the drinks were phenomenal.  For the first course was this very rich and buttery duck confit with ravioli.  The huckleberries brightened up the dish and it was well balanced with the pea tendrils that were a little bit spicy and almost became the star of the dish.   The saffron was used perfectly to give delicate floral background notes without overpowering into a potpourri like nightmare.

Next up was the Parsnip Soup.  It was pureed to a magical velvety texture and the rich lobster was a good addition.  I almost thought that it wouldn't work and the progression  of the dishes would have been a bit off and the parsnip soup should have been served first.  I was proved wrong though.  After the richness of the ravioli, I wanted something to kind of brighten up the palate again and the pear that was present in the puree did just the trick.  The rich and delicate lobster kept things from getting overpoweringly light and was very satisfying. 

Fois Gras at Senza

Then there was a moment of culinary awesomeness as I was sent out some free fois gras.  I had only had fois gras a couple of times before and I usually stay away from it because of the treatment of the geese.  That being said, you could almost overlook the fact that those geese are force fed corn after you taste the rich and delicate lightness of this fois gras.  There is a a fine line between rich and tasty and greasy and this dish did a tap dance around that line like Sammy Davis Jr.  It pushed the boundaries of fattiness and was absolutely devine.  Combined with that custard topped with a brulee of sugar and you are blessed with that divine combination of salty and sweet.  It is pretty ironic that the best dish I enjoyed during restaurant week was free, but this one offered everything, from the variations of texture from the soft delicate fois gras ascending the scale to the crunchy caramel corn.  I have to admit, I am a little biased towards loving it simply because it has one of my favorite things in the world (caramel), but that doesn't take away from the fact that it was a a really good dish.

Pork Belly at Senza

Given the choices between scallop, tagllatelle, and pork belly for the main course, it was a pretty easy pick for me.  Not to say that I don't like scallops or pasta, but nothing beats pork belly.  Almost nothing ever.  I have a friend who hates strawberries and I sometimes think that he is a little evil on the inside.  That being said I wish the pork belly came with much more of the compressed strawberries.  Senza, seems to play a lot with using sweetness throughout their savory courses and I can't deny that it is a winning strategy.  Combining the pork belly with that absolutely divine maple creme fraiche was genius.  You get earthiness from the watercress and carrot.  A little bit of tartness from the strawberries.  I only have a couple of complaints about this dish, one is I wish there was tons more compressed strawberries on the plate, probably twice as much.   Also, one of the strawberries was unexpectedly extremely tart, though the rest were very tasty.

White Chocolate Mousse at Senza

I wasn't surprised that since there was so many sweet elements in their savory dishes, that a unexpected savory element was added to the the dessert.  The miso and rosemary was that little extra tasty something that makes you go hmmm, what is that.  The tart raspberries were an absolute triumph and attention was still kept to balance of texture by pairing the light airy mousse with a crunchy pumpkin seed crisp.  I'm not that big of a chocolate fan but the little bit of cacao powder was appreciated.  The coffee should have come with one of those McDonald's warnings.  Seriously I could have sued them, it came out boiling hot. 

I couldn't pass on the rum cocktail because it had apples and caramel in it.  It was a hit  for me because of the almost excessive foaminess.  Overall I had a good meal at Senza, the only downside would be the incredibly loud table that was next to me.  The decor is definitely set up to give off a romantic vibe.

As you might guess, four courses with wine pairings and two cocktails had me a little bit too intoxicated to take the half hour drive back home.  I decided to take a taxi to a hotel for the night.  I stayed at theWit.  The hotel lobby was pretty busy at around 1 am when I made it there, and the bar had a very energetic vibe.  I went to my room which kept up with the very modern upscale vibe.  I would definitely stay there again, and it is worth the extra few bucks, especially if you plan on drinking at the bar on the 27th floor.

Breakfast at Uptowner Cafe

No breakfast is complete after a night of drinking without one of my favorite's Eggs Benedict   I would enjoy the Uptowner Benedict.  I chose the Uptowner Cafe on a whim, simply because it had a 20% off yelp offer.  The food is tasty and straightforward.  The eggs were perfectly poached and that spice was delivered by the andoullie sausage and the tomatoes added a nice touch of acid to this non-traditional play on Eggs Benedict.  I would definitely eat there again considering the amazingly reasonable prices for their huge portions.