jonlmac

Hi everyone..I wanted to let everyone know about a Foie Gras Wine Dinner at Le Lan on Tuesday the 9th of September. Below is the menu: Foie Gras Torchon Tuna, Watermelon, Seaweed Salad, Soy-Balsamic Seared Foie Gras Bay Scallops, Pea Shoots, Yuzu-Truffle Vinaigrette Foie Gras Dumplings Tea Smoked Quail, Poached Figs, Foie Gras Sauce Foie Gras Crème Brulee Berries Also does anyone know of a steakhouse in Chicago that puts seared foie on the steak. I had it at Prime 112 in South Beach and it is the right way to eat a steak...I can only say WOW! If you know of one please let me know...I am craving it big time!

It was me. p.s. What do you mean by "'new' Giuseppe?" ← The restaurant openned up with a different giuseppe as the chef, and I was not a fan. I have to say a know a lot of people that are addicted to the mac and cheese there...me being on of them...i consider it mac and cheese elevated....not my favorite...if i want straight mac and cheese.... Stanley's is superb..and recently i have started to really like the Fifty/50 with the protein added to it...pork or chicken.

Whoever recommended Boka to you did you a huge favor. They are under the radar a little, but I am going to say that this is the best ala carte menu in the city. I am surprised about the post about not being impressed. Since the "new" Giuseppi I have been there 10 times and never been unhappy. There are some dishes that you need to like the ingredients or they may throw you off but they are great. A little bit of side note: Get the Macaroni and Cheese with Edamame as a side. I own a restaurant in the city and always recommend Boka to people who like mine.

The same neighborhood as Select Cut is Tavish...there burger is great and they have a neighborhood cult following..they just don't do any of the PR stuff to get mentioned on lists....they are at Wrightwood and Wayne and they have an outdoor section on the side of the restaurant that usually has Cubs games on the TV....thats the only bad thing I can say about it....

Ok, I'd like to move the focus of this thread back to Shanghai Club -- and it's my own doing that it has drifted. I'm eagerly awaiting the early reviews. jonlmac, you seem to be a big fan of Arun (or possibly even connected to him in some way), do you have any idea when exactly it will open? =R= From everything I know, this project has been put on hold...possibly looking for a new location....what I can tell you is that Arun cooks Chinese food better than he does Thai...as hard as that is to believe.... I would not expect this to happen in the near future though....

I found Alinea to be a spectacular dining EXPERIENCE! I would not say that I found every course to be something that I loved...but the experience is more an experience than any other restaurant in Chicago. I do however agree with an earlier post that reflected some of the courses were more about the show than the flavors...but I enjoyed the show....I think Chef Grant will probably constantly evolve the menus so that they match experience and taste... In my opinion any restaurant openning in the next year should be sad because next May's Chicago magazine on New Restaurants will be a hommage to Alinea....and I am guessing that this falls Top 20 restaurants overall will have Alinea in the top 4.....on par with Tru,Trotter, and Everest......

Do you honestly believe that Arun himself would be insulted by that comment? I don't. Furthermore, the exclusion of Mr. Kornick (who I have also praised on this forum in the past) does not, by default, make my statement insulting toward him and from what I have read and heard about his new venture, A Milano grill in Northfield, I wouldn't begin put him in the same league with Arun. =R= ←

FYI, the new McClain restaurant is called Custom House. But from what I read in Dish a few weeks back, McClain's no longer in the kitchen at Spring or Green Zebra: Is this information no longer current? Ronnie....he is no longer Chef de Cuisine...that does not mean that it is not his kitchen...he was never Chef de Cuisine at Green Zebra....but he has always been and is still listed as Chef/Owner of Green Zebra...check the website......all three of the restaurants...the kitchen is his!!!.....If you were talking apple to apple on the Arun comparison...Le Lan's Chef de Cuisine is listed as Andy Motto and Exec. Chef is Roland Liccioni...... ...all three of those kitchens are his kitchens and that is how it should be... If you look at Michael Kornick he is involved in more restaurants than Arun or Shawn... I found your comment to be factually wrong and insulting(more so George with his Wendys comment)...In close to 20 years of being a famous chef in Chicago...Arun has owned two restaurants and consulted (past tense) on two others...while guys like Kornick and McClain have both owned more restaurants..in a much shorter period of time....

Are there any Chicago restaurants in which Arun doesn't have his hand? Um, Wendy's?!? George...alway so flippant.... and Ronnie ....I expect more from the moderator!! Actually Arun....is an owner or part owner in two restaurants...Arun's and Le Lan....he was a consultant with two other restaurants....Opera and Red Light........I do not think he has anything to do with those restaurants as of right now..and unlike many of the more famous chefs he is exec. chef at only Arun's. Shawn is actually running the kitchen in at Spring, Green Zebra, and the new steak place at the old Prarie location....he is a part owner in all three. Penny also wrote that the Shaghai Club was put on hold just for further clarification....

It looks like the fact that Chefs Arun and Roland were open to evolving has paid off since it was named Best New Restaurant in Chicago Magazine

"With an Executive Chef of Roland Liccioni along w/Chef Arun (yes that Arun) Sampanthavivat, I expected more out of Le Lan. Menu and the flavors we experienced are more in the French category rather than Viet." Willie, I don't get it...every food comment was good and some were amazing sounding....it also sounded like a good blend of French and Asian flavors...what more were you expecting