Quick Report on Midwest Dining

[robyn]

As I mentioned in my writeup on GE - I have been totally slammed since I got home - and the next couple of weeks don't look any better. But I did want to give you a little feedback concerning our dining in the midwest.

While in Chicago - we had dinner first night at Cafe Spiaggia (we were really tired and it was a block away from the hotel). The pasta course and the wine were great - the rest wasn't. If I went again - I'd simply order the pasta as a main and leave it at that.

We had lunch at the Wolfgang Puck place at MOCA. Sleeper meal of the trip. Who expects much at a museum cafe? Anyway - there were several new delightful light summer dishes on the menu - including a cold soup - a couscous salad - and a pasta in a light pea sauce (which is what we had). The dessert was a witty take-off on a Koons sculpture - and delicious too. Highly recommended. Note that this is a popular lunch place. We couldn't dine inside (didn't have a reservation). Didn't mind dining on the patio (even though it was about 92 degrees) because we were 2 Floridians wearing Florida summer clothes and we were under an umbrella. But if you mind sweating - make a reservation if you want to dine inside.

We had another lunch at Blackbird. The lunch menu suggested what the restaurant does at dinner (it was good - but it was a lunch menu). But the dessert - off the regular menu - was fabulous and convinced me that we should try the place for dinner next time we're in Chicago. Only big downer was the enormous order of fries was soggy.

We went out to dinner with a friend at Coco Pazzo (she picked the restaurant). Very pleasant and very solid - better than Cafe Spiaggia.

I think our best meal of the trip was dinner at the Four Seasons. But it was a combination of circumstances. Very elegant surroundings. Very good food. Excellent service. And it was the first time my nephew and his now new bride had ever had a fine dining experience. It was fun to watch my nephew eating his first foie gras (he loved it - thank you Chicago for removing your ban!). Sometimes a meal is more than the sum of its parts - and this was one of those meals.

Then we went to Brighton Michigan for the wedding. Saturday we had lunch during the Ann Arbor Arts festival at the Real Seafood Company downtown. Good timing - we walked in right before a huge storm - and walked out after it had passed. And it was exactly what we were looking for - fresh local fish prepared simply. Very good for a random chain restaurant experience.

Next night we went to Zingerman's. Have to say - it was disappointing food-wise - at least to me. But maybe I ordered stupid - southern food (I live in the deep south so I am a harsh judge of that kind of food) - and I wound up with things like mac and cheese that was dried out (we have better at Golden Corral). OTOH - all of our family loved the meal - and the service - for a party of 14 - was great. Plus a couple at the bar bought a split of sparkling wine for the wedding couple - which I thought was a very nice gesture. It was a very very successful family dinner - everyone left with big smiles on their faces - and that was the most important thing for me and my husband (especially since we were picking up the bill).

Note that we went to the Howell farmer's market on Sunday (it's the same market that's in Brighton on Saturday). Not a big market - but some nice looking stuff. If my husband hadn't restrained me - I probably would have wound up with 5 pounds of pickling cucumbers and 2 pounds of beans! However I couldn't resist buying an amazing dark dense rye bread (even though we didn't have the slightest idea what we'd do with it) - and that led us to the restaurant the bread maker owns - the Copper Pickle - in Howell - where we had a sinful (and tasty) sandwich/panini - Usinger's liver sausage with a little cream cheese and tomatoes on homemade bread. Bought a pound of the liver sausage and brought it back to my BIL and SIL (parents of the groom) - along with the rye bread - because we thought they were so tired they'd be making sandwiches the next couple of days. I only wish I had been there to eat some of those sandwiches! For anyone interested in bread - stop by and talk with the owner. He will talk your ear off - but - judging from his results - I think he knows what he's talking about . Robyn

[nsxtasy]

I think our best meal of the trip was dinner at the Four Seasons.  But it was a combination of circumstances.  Very elegant surroundings.  Very good food.  Excellent service.  And it was the first time my nephew and his now new bride had ever had a fine dining experience.  It was fun to watch my nephew eating his first foie gras (he loved it - thank you Chicago for removing your ban!).  Sometimes a meal is more than the sum of its parts - and this was one of those meals.

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I assume this was at Seasons, the fine dining restaurant in the Four Seasons hotel (and not The Cafe, the more casual restaurant in the same hotel). Seasons is often overlooked during discussions of the finest restaurants in Chicago, and unjustly so, IMHO. I suspect it's because they continue to maintain the high standards of the restaurant in a way that the menu, style, and identity of the place aren't as closely associated with the Executive Chef compared with other top hotel restaurants (e.g. NoMi, Avenues, etc), and don't change as dramatically when there is a change in chefs. I've been there several times over the years and I've always been impressed, by the food as well as the service. Edited August 2, 2008 by nsxtasy (log)

[robyn]

Yes - I was talking about Seasons - the "fancy" restaurant. I've found over the years that many hotel restaurants (especially those in luxury hotels) - once scorned - can now frequently compete with the best independent restaurants. I suspect a lot are run as loss leaders - or merely to break even - which gives them an advantage over the independents. Of course - they're not all equal. This restaurant was better than those at the Four Seasons in Scottsdale and Miami (OTOH - the food in general in Chicago is better than the food in general in Scottsdale and Miami) - and I suspect the restaurant at the Four Seasons in Paris is better than this one . So these days - if I am staying at a luxury hotel - I always try the hotel restaurant at least once.

BTW - it is beyond the scope of this discussion (food) - but if anyone is interested -here is my discussion of the hotel in general - along with links to pictures (hotel pictures - not food pictures). Robyn

Edited August 2, 2008 by robyn (log)