Yusho (Chicago, IL)

Yusho is a relatively new, self described Yakitori style restaurant on the border of the Logan Square and Avondale neighborhoods.  Yakitori is a form of Japanese cooking where meats are cooked over an open fire or charcoal.  The kitchen is in capable hands, as Yusho was opened by Matthias Merges, who spent the last 14 years as the executive chef at Charlie Trotter's eponymous Chicago restaurant.

Yusho is been a recipient of good pub from their opening, and I was looking forward to trying their food out.    The food is mostly smaller plates, though there are some larger main dishes.  Equally as exciting as their food was the cocktail program, which has been getting the same rave reviews.  Looking at the cocktail menu, it was interesting seeing so many unique house-made tinctures, bitters, and other ingredients.

Soul of the Sensei | DH Krahn Gin, El Dorado 3 Year Rum, Lime, Textured Tangerine, Kampo Bitters

I started out with a gin and rum concoction, as I have been really enjoying gin as my spirit of choice lately.   I  really liked this bright, tart, complex cocktail.  The textured tangerine was the juice mixed with agar agar, which gave the drink a slightly richer mouthfeel, one I particularly enjoyed.

Cod | Chawanmushi, Gingko Nuts, Shiitake

My first dish consisted of a few pieces of fried cod perched above a savory Chawanmushi.  Chawanmushi is a traditional Japanese savory egg custard, usually made with Dashi.  This was a fascinating study in textures with the silky smooth custard, chewy earthiness of the diced shiitakes, and the crisp fried cod.  Interestingly, there appeared to be a mix up, and the gingko nuts were left off, with fried hominy taking its place.  I don't know how it tasted with the gingko nuts, but I was perfectly happy with the hominy, adding a crispy nuttiness to the fray.

Draught Cocktail of the Day - Gin Pineapple Rickey

Another interesting aspect of Yusho's cocktail program is a rotating draught cocktail.  A cocktail is mixed in advance and carbonated together, and is poured from a tap.  Much in the way soups can taste better after a night in the fridge, the theory is that the components will mingle together and create a more harmonious drink.  Today's cocktail was a gin pineapple rickey.  Fortunately, the sweetness from the pineapple didn't overpower the other flavors, and made for a crisp, citrusy drink.  I can see these being very dangerous, as I could have put down quite a few if I wasn't going out for drinks after the meal.

Salmon Roe | Takoyaki, Chile, Bonito, Scallions

I had to try perhaps their most famous dish so far, the salmon roe takoyaki.  Takoyaki is a traditional Japanese pancake ball, filled with octopus.  This version is impressive in the fact that it is stuffed with salmon roe that is barely warmed, so that you can still pop the small eggs in your mouth as you chew.  The spicy ginger dressing went great with these balls, reminiscent of the ginger dressing served on salad you get at sushi bars.

Close Up of the Salmon Roe Inside the Takoyaki

Soft Serve | Green Cardamom, Rhubarb, Ginger

I was getting a bit full at this point, but decided to try the soft serve ice cream, recommended by my bartender.  The green cardamom ice cream was pleasantly aromatic, and was topped with a rhubarb compote and candied ginger.  This was very good - someone let me know when they start selling green cardamom ice cream at the grocery store.

I really enjoyed my first visit to Yusho. I will be back with a group next time so that I can sample a wider range of the food and cocktail menu.

Purple Pig (Chicago, IL)

The Purple Pig opened in the last few days of 2009 and has since received numerous accolades. 2010 Top 10 Best new restaurants in America by Bon Appetit and 2011 Michelin Bib Gourmand, to name a few. The no-reservation policy, along with its location on Michigan Ave., make for heavy crowds and long waits. With my parents in town, I thought I'd remedy the situation and make our maiden visit.

We arrived right at the opening time of 11:30, but were stuck waiting outside in the cold for about 10 minutes as the gate was locked. Only then, an employee came out and advised us of the unmarked, "main entrance" through the office building next door.

The Purple Pig serves up small plates and whole animal cooking in a loosely Mediterranean style. The menu is broken up into Antipasti, Smears, Fried Items, Cured Meats, Salads, Cheeses, and A la Plancha items. Our waitress gave us the option to put in an order for a few dishes, and continue ordering until we were We tried a couple items from each, saving the (mostly housemade) cured meats and cheeses for a future visit. We ordered a quartino of a 2009 Domaine Brunet "Mediterranee" (100% Pinot Noir), which was an easy-drinking, prototypical Pinot. I appreciated the fact that many of the wines at Purple Pig were available by the glass, quartino, and half-bottle.

Our first round started with two vegetable dishes and a smear. The first to come out was Fried Brussels Sprouts with Thyme, Lemon, and Chili Flakes. The individual leaves were fried and dressed with a lemon vinaigrette. We enjoyed this immensely, possibly the favorite dish of the day for all of us. The lemon vinaigrette added a bright punch, cutting through the fried brussels sprouts leaves. I wish there were some more chili flakes in the dish, though, as I didn't really detect any heat.

The second dish, from the smear section, was Roasted Bone Marrow with Herbs. Two marrow bones were simply roasted, waiting to be spread on olive-oiled toast. A pretty standard preparation, served with an herb salad and sea salt. Although the herb salad contained capers, it still needed a bit more vinegar to cut through the rich marrow and (too) oily toast.

At this point, I'll note that the service throughout the meal thus far was great. Our waitress was friendly and provided good suggestions for both menu items and quantity. Other waitstaff make sure our water glasses rarely, if ever, dropped below half full. However, we asked for some more toast to finish the marrow, and they didn't come. We had to ask another 3 (!) times before the toast was finally fired, and by that time the marrow began to cool and congeal slightly. This was the only misstep in service.

Our final dish was the Broccoli with Roasted Garlic and Anchovy Vinaigrette. This was another contender for favorite dish. The broccoli was roasted hot enough to caramelize yet retain its firmness. The anchovy vinaigrette didn't have any fishiness to it, but like the brussels sprouts, provided the perfect acidic kick. The toasted breadcrumbs added nuttiness and texture.

Putting in a second round of orders , we received our first plancha item, Charred Green Onions with Romesco Sauce. This reminded me of a similar dish that I saw on an Anthony Bourdain "No Reservations" episode in Spain. I love green onions prepared like this, and I often char knob onions in the same way when I make grilled steak tacos at home. I prefer Romesco sauce that is more creamy and nuttier, but it still worked well with the green onions.

We ordered one salad, the Chanterelle, Apple, and Celery Root salad with Truffle Vinaigrette (we may have "tasted" this before remembering to take a picture!). The cubed apple and celery root were indistinguishable until eating, making for fun and interesting bites. The chanterelles and truffle vinaigrette played off each other with meaty, earthy notes contrasting well with the cold apple and celery root.

The final savory dish was Porcini Rubbed Bone-In Beef Tenderloin with Portabello Mushrooms and Aged Balsamic. Instead of one, thick piece of meat, it came with three thin slices of beef. While center was medium rare as requested, the cooking was a bit inconsistent from end of the slice to the other. The aged vinegar, continuing a reoccurring theme, added a bright touch to an otherwise straightforward dish.

Comfortably full, we decided to split just one dessert, the bread pudding (whipped cream on the side). I'm a sucker for bread pudding, and this was no different. A rich caramel sauce sat below the eggy bread pudding triangles.

We really enjoyed the Purple Pig.. I was really impressed by the vegetable dishes in particular, and look forward to trying some more of the plancha menu (morcilla!) and the house-cured meats.

Gnudi

Gnudi is something that I'd heard of but never tried. Many describe it as ravioli without the pasta. It is a dumpling with an extremely tender, smooth skin surrounding a rich, cheesy filling. It seems counter-intuitive to say that this isn't a time-consuming dish to prepare even though it takes 3 days to make.

Start by beating ricotta in a mixing bowl with salt, pepper, a small amount of half and half, and a drizzle of olive oil. My ricotta was a bit on the wet side, so I did a quick drain before mixing.

To form the skin on the gnudi, the ricotta dumplings are submerged in semolina flour. Put a thin layer of semolina on the bottom of a container, and drop balls of the ricotta mixture over the flour, making sure that they do not touch. Cover the ricotta with more semolina until completely covered. This will sit covered in the fridge for 2 days. After 2 days, some of the semolina is remove to expose the gnudi to the air, and is allowed to sit another day uncovered.

Its a good time to mention that this is a bit of an overdue post. I actually made these back in early August, back when fava beans were still in season. I served the gnudi with a fava/pea puree. To make the puree, I had fresh fava beans that I blanched, shocked in ice water, and peeled. I blended the favas and peas with a touch of half and half, nutmeg, raspberry vinegar, and salt and pepper. I also added a touch of honey to balance out the vinegar. It looks like I missed a picture of the sauce, which you'll see in the photo of the final dish.

After the gnudi had a few days in the fridge to develop a skin, they were removed. The gnudi were removed from the semolina and cooked gently in a pot of water. I was careful not to boil these as I didn't want them to fall apart.

The gnudi were removed from the cooking water and plated with the fava/pea puree, Parmesan, and a touch of olive oil. These dumplings are delicious, and difficult to put into words. They are extremely light, with a near ethereal skin holding the ricotta together. However, once the skin is breached, it exposes a rich, molten cheese filling. They really do seem like ravioli without skin. The dumplings are a bit of a blank canvas flavor-wise, so the pea puree was able to shine without dominating the ricotta. I will definitely make these again, but will try to make the ricotta balls a bit smaller and more uniform.

Modernist Macaroni and Cheese

The Modernist Cuisine Cookbook was one of the biggest cookbooks released in recent history. One of the more popular recipes from it is the Modernist Mac and Cheese. Instead of making a cheese sauce from a roux-base, the modern cheese sauce uses an emulsifier and a thickening additive. This allows for two things: more intense cheese flavor without the sauce breaking, and the ability to perfectly melt all types of cheese, even aged, hard cheeses. The cheese sauce begins by warming water and wheat beer (I used Hefeweizen).

I used three different cheeses for this recipe: a pungent, mature white cheddar, a slightly softer, nutty Dutch Robusto, and an extremely nutty, hard 5-year aged Gouda. I also used sodium citrate as the emulsifier to have a perfectly melted and creamy sauce, and iota carrageenan to thicken the sauce.

As you can see, even the hard, non-melting aged gouda melts thoroughly. The carrageenan thickens the sauce nicely as well.

The most delicious block of Velveeta cheese ever.

Boil the noodles until just before al dente. I used cellentani, a corkscrew-shaped, ridged pasta.

Per the recipe, you refrigerate/freeze the cheese so that you can grate it into the final sauce. I forgot to freeze it, so I just cut it into small pieces and it was fine.

With the residual water in the pan, the cheese sauce coats the noodles beautifully. Most of my water evaporated while the noodles cooked, so I found that I needed to add a fair amount of water to achieve the right texture.

We had the pasta with a simple salad. We found this to be more of a side dish, rather than having a full bowl of it. The cheese is very intense, much cheesier than any other mac and cheese that I've had. I think I would use a more typical, sharper cheddar next time, as all three cheese were quite nutty. Others have frozen the cheese for lengths of time without negative effects, so it can make for an incredibly easy dinner. We will definitely be making this in the future.

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.

Blackbird (Chicago, IL)

Its rare that I have an opportunity for a midweek lunch in the city, so I decided to make the most of it and try out Blackbird. Having already enjoyed a dinner at Avec, I was very interested to try out the fine dining, 1-star Michelin rated, sister restaurant in Paul Kahan's empire.

Looking at the menu, I figured the best way to try out the restaurant would be the 3-course prix fixe menu. Immediately after ordering, I was brought a few warm slices of multigrain bread and butter topped with salt and herbs. The bread was only okay, as the crust was a bit on the tough side rather than crunchy.

Charred Baby Sepia with Green Tomatoes, Blueberries, Chamomile Almonds, and Cynar

I chose sepia, or cuttlefish, for my first course. The legs were charred while the body appeared to have been griddled. The body was by far the most tender that I've had. I would have never guessed that blueberries and sepia would go well together, and the chamomile almonds added a fabulous nuttiness to the dish. There was a broth at the bottom of the bowl that was relatively flavorless, so I ignored it.

Roasted Chicken and Sausage with Lime Onions, Tamarind, and Smoked Cucumbers

This plate featured white and dark meat bound together to form a "sausage", which was wrapped with chicken skin and roasted. When this plate was served, I just assumed I misread the menu as "Roasted Chicken Sausage", but after seeing other plates get sent out after I was done eating, it appears that they forgot to add the sausage to the plate. Disappointing that the sausage wasn't included, but the chicken was fantastic. I'm guessing that it was initially cooked sous-vide, and was even more tender than the roast chicken I recently had at Graham Elliot. Also, this was served with pickled cucumbers (instead of the smoked cucumbers listed on the menu), providing a nice tart textural contrast. I thought the tamarind was a bit too sweet and was distracting.

Cocoa Gateau with Goat's Milk, Kola Nut, Fresno and Hibiscus Sorbet

This tasted much like it looks. Rich, crumbled gateau was topped with Kola nut in gelee and crunchy meringue forms. There was also a tart hibiscus sorbet that kept everything from being too rich.

I enjoyed my lunch at Blackbird, but I probably won't be back soon. The prix fixe is a great deal, but its a bit too pricey and I've got too many other places (including Kahan's two other restaurants, Publican and Big Star) that I'd like to try before returning.

Graham Elliot (Chicago, IL)

When Chris told me he was going to be visiting Chicago, I began to look for restaurants for us to try. Once my parents told them that they were also going to join us, Chris and I chose to try Graham Elliot, for its fine dining yet casual atmosphere.

Graham Elliot considers itself the first "Bistronomic" restaurant in Chicago, serving contemporary American cuisine, and was awarded one star in the November Michelin guide. As soon as we sat down, Parmesan-truffle popcorn was brought to our table. The popcorn was lightly tossed with black truffle butter, chive, and Parmesan cheese. We devoured both bowls within minutes.

To drink with our meal, we ordered a bottle of Izadi El Regalo Reserva 2004. This is a Tempranillo / Rioja blend that was a nice, slightly dry red.

New York Sour / Buffalo Trace / Lemon Squeeze / Orange Bitters / Claret Float

Chris ordered a New York Sour cocktail, a riff on a Whiskey sour. This was a nice drink, quite smooth with the proper tartness.

We started the meal with Graham Elliot's famous Foielipops. Foie Gras and madiera mousse was coated in watermelon pop rocks, and topped with a pinch of fleur de sel. The pop rocks lightened the rich foie, while loosely keeping the classic fruit and foie combination.

The formal amuse bouche was brought next. A sorrel panna cotta was topped with steelhead roe and chive. To accommodate my dad's non-dairy request, he received a sorrel and chive salad with the roe. Surprisingly, we all enjoyed the non-dairy dish better, as the salad matched the roe better than the panna cotta.

Deconstructed Caesar / Gem Lettuce / Brioche Twinkie / Parmesan Fluff / White Anchovy

Both Kristen and my mom ordered Graham Elliot's signature dish, his take on caesar salad. Romaine hearts are dressed and topped with Parmesan and anchovy, while a twinkie is filled with garlic marscapone cream. My mom's was fantastic, but unfortuately Kristen's was slightly less so, as there was very little garlic marscapone in her twinkie.

Charred Octopus / Preserved Turnip / Liquid Olive / Smoked Potato / Cured Orange

I had forgotten that this was listed under the cold appetizers, so the temperature surprised me when this was served. Both my dad and brother ordered and enjoyed this dish. There was a very nice brininess when the octopus was eaten with the olives and olive gel.

Foie Gras / Compressed Rhubarb / Wild Strawberry / Caraway Crumble / Candied Angelica

This seared preparation of foie was served over a sweet caraway crumble. There were a number of different forms of strawberry and rhubarb, including compressions and foams. While tasty, I think I'm beginning to prefer cold preparations of foie, as it typically seems richer but less greasy, if that makes sense.

A few of us ordered a second round of appetizers, as suggested by our waiter. This dish is not listed on the online menu for its description, but it was a spring onion bisque, with pickled ramps. A log of what appeared to be a spring onion cream came in the bowl with other onion components, and a warm onion soup was poured in tableside. We were told to try the soup on its own, and then stir in all of the components together. Initially, the soup tasted purely of onions and ramps, but the other additions added more richness as it was stirred in.

Farm Egg / Green Garlic / Fiddlehead Fern / Wild Watercress / Pebble - Moss - Soil - Stone

Let me take a moment to note how comically large the plates were in relation to portion size in some of the courses. I have no complaints on the portion size, as I was quite full following the meal, but there was a lot of white space on some of the plates. As for the dish, it tasted very fresh and green. The egg seemed slightly overcooked, as the yoke began to harden slightly, but created a dressing of sorts for the vegetables.

Crab Cake / Soft Shell / Old Bay / Kohlrabi Slaw / Grainy Mustard

Our last appetizer was a deconstruction of a crab cake. Soft shell crab was fried in a hush puppy batter, and came with old bay foam, kohlrabi coleslaw, celery gelee, and a tangy mustard sauce. A thin sheet of lardo also covered one of the pieces of crab. This was one of our favorite dishes of the night, with the flavors combining together like a traditional crab cake.

Oh Fiddlesticks / Hendrick's Gin / Exchange Vodka / Cucumber Lillet / Orange Bitters

For dinner, Chris ordered a gin concoction. I enjoyed the lightness of this drink, which was also quite smooth. I love Gin, so I preferred this out of the two cocktails, but Chris liked the New York Sour more. Both were tasty and easy to drink.

Veal Loin / Sweetbread / Green Asparagus / White Asparagus

I chose the veal loin, which was recently changed from the old dish containing veal breast. Server with the veal were sweetbreads cooked schnitzel-style. I wasn't very keen on this preparation of sweetbreads, as they were overcooked, likely due to how thin they were cut. The veal and asparagus was very well cooked.

Jidori Chicken / Israeli Couscous / Baby Carrot / Granulated Honey / Chamomile Essence

Kristen picked the Jidori chicken, and surprisingly, this was probably my favorite entree. The chicken breast was perfectly cooked and juicy, likely sous-vide. Jidori chicken is a specific type that is known for being a very flavorful bird, and this chicken was one of the best that I've had. The israeli couscous had a nice touch of acidity that went well with the chicken. I also believe this was my first time having purple carrots.

Colorado Lamb / Pea Cannelloni / Morel Mushroom / Homemade Lambcetta / Eucalyptus Froth

I only had a few bites of this, but the lamb was tasty. The lamb was cooked on the rare side of medium rare, and the eucalyptus froth evoked the traditional mint and lamb combination.

Skate Confit / Cornmeal / Fava Bean / Ham Hock / Pecan Oil

The skate was also one of my favorites. The skate was rolled into a cylinder, paired with orange peel and pecan purees, and topped with a ham hock sauce. There was also a fava bean salad on the side. I enjoyed trying the skate with each of the accompaniments.

Chocolate Framboise / Jivara Ganache / Manjari Cremeux / Coffee Earth / Ancho Chili

We ordered two desserts, and this was Kristen's favorite. There were multiple forms of chocolate (chocolate raspberry sorbet, cremeux, ancho ganache), as well as delicious coffee bean nibs, powdered raspberry, and balsamic glaze. A rich, but decadent chocolate dessert.

Lemon Cake / Citrus Curd / Blueberry Gelato / Poppy Ribbon / Violet Foam

This dessert was my favorite of the night. Similar to the chocolate dessert, lemon was in many forms (cake, ribbon, gels). The blueberry gelato was especially flavorful, as well as the lemon gel. This was a terrific, light way to finish the meal.

We ended with brownie bites as the mignardise. Graham Elliot is a fantastic choice for an upscale, yet casual dinner. There are different and creative flavor combinations that you will not find in many other restaurants.