Sable Kitchen & Bar (Chicago, IL)

Sable Kitchen & Bar is a place that I've been wanting to try for awhile now. One reason is their "American gastro-lounge" small-plates style cuisine, but also because of their cocktail program. Head Bartender Mike Ryan is well known in Chicago, having come from the Violet Hour, and has an enormous cocktail menu, broken up into 9 distinct sections for cocktails alone. As for the dinner menu, Sable allows the majority of the menu to be ordered in half-portions, allowing us to sample a number of different dishes.

Speaking in Tongues | Del Maguey Mezcal Vida, Luxardo Amaro Abano, fresh lemon, muddled strawberry

A deliciously smooth mezcal drink, had the sweetness from the strawberry but a nice smokiness from the mezcal.

Running with Scissors | Hendrick’s Gin, Solerno, Campari, muddled strawberry, lemon

I enjoy gin with most anything. This had a sweetness from the strawberry, an herbal note from the gin, and the compari tied the two together nicely.

Bacon Wrapped Dates, ewe’s blue cheese

A twist on the regular bacon wrapped dates, having been stuffed with blue cheese. Though a bit pricey at $3 each, I feel guilty wishing we had ordered a full plate. The smokiness of the mezcal cocktail paired perfectly with this dish.

Bison Short Rib Sliders: root beer glaze

I wish I ordered a sack of 10 of these sliders. The short ribs were meltingly tender, and the fried onions added texture. The glaze added a nice subtle sweetness, though I wish the root beer flavor was a bit more pronounced. That said, this was probably our favorite dish.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Waffles: bourbon maple syrup

Far better than the last time we had chicken and waffles from Lagniappe, the chicken breast was fried perfectly, to a dark golden brown while staying juicy. The sea salt added a nice salty crunch. The bourbon was a little strong and overpowered the maple syrup, but that is a minor complaint.

Champagne Cocktail | La Marca Prosecco, sugar cube, Angostura bitters, lemon peel

We ordered another cocktail, and tried something a bit lighter. We were split on this one, as Kristen enjoyed it more than the first round of cocktails, while I enjoyed the first two more.

Grilled Peach Flatbread, brie, toasted hazelnuts, honey

We finished with one of the six flatbreads. The sweet peaches melded very well with the brie, making it a nice transition into desserts. This was easily the best value of the night; we probably could have split this alone and been full. We couldn't finish it, especially since we had a few desserts still to come.

Butterscotch Pot de Crème, Brown Butter Pecan Shortbread, Candied Kumquat

Neither of us are the biggest kumquat fans (not that I've ever heard someone say that they are a big kumquat fan...), but these were a necessity due to the richness of the butterscotch. They turned out to be a great match. As decadent as the butterscotch was, we could both have gone for seconds.

Blueberry Crostata, Almond Ice Cream

To end, we ordered a fruit dessert. This was tasty, but a bit overshadowed by the butterscotch Pot de Crème. I wish there was a bit more of the delicious almond ice cream, as it melted away too quickly on top of the warm blueberry sauce.

We thoroughly enjoyed Sable. There are so many items on the menu that we wanted to try but couldn't get to in one trip. Finally, these were the best cocktails I've had yet in Chicago. And they were very strong. We'll be back soon.