eG Foodblog: bmdaniel (2011) - Going off the diet in Dallas and Chicag

[bmdaniel]

More mechanical problems, more travel delays (maybe I am just cursed), but safely in Chicago now.

I'll try to get caught up before we start eating again - yesterday before we left Dallas we had our last meal for the blog - neopolitan style pizza at Cane Rosso in Dallas. This is a relatively recently opened spot but has become one our favorites - wood fired, VPN certified pizza made with high quality ingredients.

This is the room - on the right you can see the big wood-fired pizza oven they imported from Italy

Menu

We split two pizzas:

The Delia - Mozz, Grape Tomatoes, and Bacon Jam - normally comes with Arugula but Nicole can't stand it

Today's seasonal pie - spinach, sundried tomatoes, buratta, goat cheese and pancetta

Both were excellent as usual - you can see the leftovers.

[bmdaniel]

Okay, I lied a bit when I said we were in Chicago - we actually stayed last night with a family friend in Naperville. Great hospitality - had a fresh, hot Lou Malnati's pepperoni and sausage ready for us right when we got in (pizza heavy day)

On our last trip to Chicago we went to the original Uno's location and were not particularly impressed. This was much better - really great.

Had a salad also, which was surprisingly good.

Charles had a healthy helping of tomato sauce and cheese - he also gives a big thumbs up.

[bmdaniel]

Linda and Oneida -

I was glad to have found Luna's - I though the breakfast tacos were very solid and would definitely go back there for tortillas (would like to try their tamales as well). For that kind of thing we are very lucky in Texas - there are multiple similar tortilla factories around town.

[Pam R]

I'm envious of the taco places. As you can imagine, central Canada isn't a hotbed of Mexican food.

So, what did you eat (and or drink) today?

[bmdaniel]

Apologies for the dearth of posts today - had a very full day out and about in Chicago (and trying to get some work in meantimes).

Breakfast was Einstein bagels - no pictures, but you probably don't need them.

Lunch - today was my Mom's birthday - we had a low key birthday lunch at Hugo's Frog Bar in Naperville. Nothing earth shattering but tasty, well-done food.

Appetizers -

Baked goat cheese with toast in a tomato sauce

Firecracker shrimp - fried shrimp in a sriracha mayonnaise

Bruschetta

I had a cup of clam chowder - $2!!

Nicole had grilled fish tacos - very well done!

I had a crabcake sandwich

They brought out carrot cake cupcakes for my mom's bday (didn't get a picture of the candle)

Happy Birthday Mom!

[bmdaniel]

As santo_grace guessed, tonight's dinner was at Next. This was probably our most anticipated dinner of 2011 - thanks to eGullet we had signed up for the notification list the first day the Next website was posted, so we actually didn't have too bad a time getting tickets. Our goal is to make it to all the Next dinners, but I am nervous about being able to get tickets now that we don't have a built in advantage.

Did the meal live up to expectations? Well, let's see it:

Next Paris 1906:

The front door - Nicole and I make an unintended cameo in this picture

The room - evokes subway tunnel to me (in a good way)

The setting when you sit down...

...with an overview of Escoffier

Hors d'oeuvres:

Egg custard - truffle custard, brandade, sauce creme; tangy and rich, great start to the meal

Soft boiled quail egg with white anchovy

Leek stuffed with duxelles

Brichoe with foie terrine round in the center with apricot jam - spectacular

Housemade cracker with pork rillette

Wine Pairing: Vincent Carre Brut Champagne

Non-alcoholic pairing: Ginger, elderflower, pineapple soda

(I had booked us both for the reserve wine pairing, Nicole switched hers to the non-alcoholic pairing because she had to feed Charles as soon as we were done)

The champagne was spectacular, the soda was tasty but a bit flat

First Course:

Potage a la Tortue Claire (Escoffier 907) - Turtle Consomme, served with vegetables. This was interesting just in how far a departure it was from anything you would see on contemporary menus. Tasty and very herbal.

Wine Pairing: Jacques Puffeney 'Vin Jaune' Arbois 2002 - I don't drink much Vin Jaune (almost only on pairings), but the crisp yet oxidized flavor was a nice match with the consomme

Non-alcoholic pairing: Blis elixir XO with sparklin apple cider - this was spectacular and a great pairing

Second Course:

Filet de Sole Daumont (Escoffier 1950) - Sole stuffed with seafood mousse, crawfish head stuffed with mousse, sole roe croquette, mushroom stuffed with sole tail and sauce natua (crawfish bechamel)

I thought this course was spectacular - in particular, the stuffed mushroom was one of the best bites I've had this year. The mushroom is an example of the attention to detail of this dinner - fluted, even though (as you can see in the overview picture) it is on it's back and most people probably don't notice

Wine Pairing: Les Heritiers du Comte Lafon, Macon-Milly-Lamartine Clos du Four 2006 - this white burgundy was one of the highlights of the pairing

Non-alcoholic pairing: Carrot, saffron, fennel soda - this was not a hit - too savory, almost salty didn't work

Third Course:

Supremes de Poussin (Escoffier 3130) - Poached Chicken breast under blanquette sauce and chicken mousse inside braised cucumbers inside salt pork

Another spectacular dish - both components were perfect in their own way. Chicken must have been cooked sous vide, probably to 135-140; tender, moist and delicious with the rich sauce. The stuffed cucumbers were so different from anything we've had before (I can't remember the last time I had a warm cucumber dish). Worked very well.

Wine Pairing: Domaine Leon Barral 'Jadis' Faugeres 2007 - this biodynamic Loire red was a great pairing with the chicken

Non-alcoholic: Pomegranata, Pinot Noir Juice, Tea - a hit, one of the best of the non-alcoholic pairing

To be continued..

[bmdaniel]

Fourth Course:

Caneton Rouennais a la Presse (Escoffier 3476) - Duck (breast and legs) with duck press sauce

Gratin de Pommes de Terre a la Dauphinoise (Escoffier 4200) - well, you can figure it out

The duck was spectacular - the sauce made in the duck press is to die for. I threw in some bread pictures here - we actually first got these tasty sourdough rolls with the sole (that sauce wasn't bad either) but they were best used here, to dip into the extra tureen of sauce provided. The potatoes were just perfectly executed potato gratin.

Wine Pairing - Domaine Brusser "Tradition Le Grand Montmirail" Gigondas 2000 - a nice wine that stood up well to this extremely rich dish

Non-alcoholic pairing: Cherry, lapsan souchong tea, sanbitter - Nicole, who dislikes bitter (potentially a supertaster), hated this. I thought it was pretty nice

Salad Course:

Salade Irma (Escoffier 3839) - Nasturtium flower, frisee, asparagum, and egg emulsion with tiny cauliflower florets

Okay, so we forgot to take pictures of ours and Nicole had to surreptitiously take some photos when the next table over got theirs. This was a well executed, palate cleansing salad - I'm not sure I'm sold on the concept of a pre-dessert salad in the classical french tradition. As palate cleansers go, I would've probably preferred the liquid nitrogen sauternes sorbet the table next to us got as repeat customers (normally only on the chef's table menu)

Dessert:

Bombe Ceylan (Escoffier 4826) - Chocolate cookie base, coffe custard center, rum ice cream, chocolate coating

I thought the flavors on this were nice, but mine (for whatever reason) was a little icy. Nicole's was smoother, but she wasn't wild about the flavors.

Wine Pairing: Ramos Pinto 10 Year Tawny Port - another great pairing

Non-alcoholic pairing: Roasted banana tom and jerry - the upfront flavor of this was nice, but unfortunately the finish was 100% handsoap

Mignardise:

Beet pate de fruit

Fennel shortbread

Sea Salt Caramel

Pistachio cookie

I don't like beets and nicole doesn't like fennel; besides that, these were all nice. I had an excellent french press coffee with this, but didn't catch what they were serving (if I had to bet my life, I'd go with an Intelligentsia blend)

[bmdaniel]

So - final verdict on the dinner?

Well, there were definitely mis-steps; both Nicole and I had a vegetable in our consomme that included an inedible piece. A couple of the non-alcoholic pairings (the carrot-saffron soda and the roasted banana tom and jerry) were not good. My bombe was icy.

That said, I think the dinner was amazing - outside of tour d'argent, I don't know where you can eat a dinner like this in the world, especially executed at such a high (but admittedly not perfect) level. Modernist techniques plus classical french recipes yielded a result that was, on the whole, spectacular. I am very excited to see what Achatz and company do with Thai (and hope like hell I can get a table).

It's also worth noting that the service was at the highest level - every runner who brought food had a disarming, funny story to tell about the dish that didn't come off fake at all and our main waitress was excellent, with an enthusiasm that was apparent and infectious.

It's a little too late to recommend Paris 1906 (only 1 week left), but I wholeheartedly encourage anyone thinking about it to try and attend one of these dinners (but not until my table is booked, of course).

[bmdaniel]

Last post before bed - quick overview of tomorrow's plan:

1) Try and wake up earlyish - hopefully Charles cooperates with this tonight

2) Walk over to intelligentsia and get a coffee

3) Keep walking over to XOCO, and get some breakfast when they open

4) Hang out for a couple hours until a happy birthday brunch at Frontera Grill (yes, you can have breakfast and brunch, especially on vacation)

5) Do fun, non-food related things (Charles seems to like aquariums, so I think we're going to try and hit the Shedd)

6) Have an earlyish dinner at a restaurant that is a complete secret to readers of this blog (assuming they missed santo_grace's post)

7) Ditch mom and baby in favor of booze - meeting up with a fellow eGulleteer for cocktails

I don't know if and/or when posting updates will fall in that schedule. I promise to do my best to try and get some posts up during the day (at worst I can post a bit from my phone but no pictures). If not, I will update everything first thing Sunday morning.

[LindaK]

Beautiful. Envious. Must plan a trip to Chicago.

[bmdaniel]

Batting .500 on the plan today - didn't wake up early enough for Intelligentsia, but did make it to Xoco, Rick Bayless's fast casual mexican spot next door to Frontera Grill and Topolobampo

Wood burning oven

Nicole fell in love with this spot on our last trip to Chicago, and so we missed eating here at my peril (and none of Bayless's places are open Sunday). I'm glad we made it too, our pre-brunch breakfast was delightful.

Papaya agua fresca and iced chocolate with mint from the rooftop garden

Aztec hot chocolate (freshly ground chocolate, water, chili and clove) and chocolate cafe con leche (delicious)

Churros - great plain or dipped in the hot chocolate

Chilaquiles with egg - these were a real winner

Torreja - french toast made in the wood burning oven with a maple-bacon-walnut streusel. This was good but a little sweet

Charles enjoyed the eggs and maple bacon

[bmdaniel]

After lunch we walked a couple of blocks to Binny's to pick up a bottle of wine for Tonight's BYOB dinner. What a great spot - excellent selection and not bad prices.

Getting cleaned up now and then back over to Frontera Grill for brunch.

Depending on how cocktails go tonight, I'll try to get some pictures up before bed, otherwise first thing tomorrow.

[nikkib]

ooh those chilaquiles look amazing, i have never been to a bayless restaurant and found it so hard sourcing ingredients from his book in the UK i kind of gave up sadly ;-(

[bmdaniel]

Well, we've had the true Schwa experience - got a call at 3:30 cancelling our reservation for tonight (that was confirmed yesterday and took a month of calling to a full message mailbox to get).

Working on a backup plan.

Edited June 25, 2011 by bmdaniel (log)

[bmdaniel]

Just got back from cocktails with KD1191 at Sable - spectacular. Pictures of that and dinner first thing tomorrow.

Thought I'd go ahead and get brunch up - we doubled up on Rick Bayless this morning at Frontera Grill after Xoco. We had a good not great lunch here in Septemeber, and so were very interested to see how Brunch would be - on the whole, we were very impressed.

Drinks first:

I had an Italian Margarita - this was essentially a normal margarita with Cynar and rhubarb bitters - a little suprisingly it worked well

Nicole had a pineapple agua fresca

For starters we had:

Very well done guacamole

Duck queso fundido (this was one of the best things we had)

And an excellent ceviche

Main courses:

Nicole had a pork tinga cazuela - pork shoulder with chorizo and potatoes - this might have been the best thing served

I had duck tacos - duck breast was smoky and delicious

For dessert:

Strawberry shortcake

Strawberry tres leches

This was a meal without any missteps - really excellent.

Edited June 26, 2011 by bmdaniel (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Wow! Beautiful, beautiful job with the photos and descriptions of your restaurant meals!

Thanks so much for taking us along on this traveling blog!

[Kim Shook]

Ben – I think that I could have made a meal of a double portion of the Hors d'oeuvres assortment at Paris 1906 – just gorgeous! And it’s funny that turtle is such a polarized ingredient – you’ll find it only at truly high-end restaurants or divine dumps near the shore!

[Genkinaonna]

Thanks for taking us to Chicago with you! Paris 1906 looked so cool. I love the whole concept of that restaurant...you can go 4x a year and see a whole new menu each time. And I didn't become food obsessed until I moved to Portland, away from the Midwest, so I've never been to Frontera. Looks like I know where I'm going for dinner when I head back to Milwaukee next month!

[bmdaniel]

Okay, on the final stretch here -

After we got Schwa'd last night, decided to head over to Purple Pig - they don't take reservations and we were able to get seated immediately at 5:50.

Format is rustic small plates - we shared a bunch of different things, which were pretty solid across the board (with the exception of dessert which was blah).

Peas with bacon, pecorino, and spearmint - nice light start

Beet with whipped goat cheese and pistachio (a little late on this picture)

Fava bean, pea, and ricotta salata schmear

Pork Neck Ragu with ricotta on toast

Fried devilled egg - this was quite good (and served in a cute little pig bowl)

Milk braised pork shoulder with mashed potatoes - the reduced milk braising liquid gravy was awesome

Toast with mushrooms, jamon serrano, and a duck egg

Sicilian Iris - essentially a fried bricohe beignet stuffed with cannoli filling - I thought it was okay, Nicole didn't like at all

Strawberry soft serve with balsamic - just tasted like run of the mill soft serve

Dessert aside, this was a great meal and helped soothe our anger at Schwa. They also have a very cool wine program - almost all european, and most bottles availables by the glass, quartino, half bottle, or full. We split a half bottle of a brut rose of pinot noir from Italy and a half bottle of barbera d'alba.

[bmdaniel]

As I mentioned last night,after dinner I ditched Nicole with charles and met up with KD1191 for cocktails at Sable, a very impressive cocktail bar in the Palomar Hotel. He was able to reserve us a couple of spots at the bar, which was awesome at 8:30 on a Saturday night.

Mike Ryan, formerly of Moto and The Violet Hour, took great care of us. I'll share some crappy pictures that I took, but definitely highly recommend it to anyone interested in cocktails (and it's very convieniently located right off the Mag Mile).

Fedora - Buffalo Trace, Grenadine, Thyme Lemon

Dreich and Crabbit - essentially a dark and stormy with Laphroaig - worked suprisingly well

A perfect manhattan made with buffalo trace, old grandad, cocchi americano and punt e mes

Also had an egg white cocktail at the end that I guess I didn't get a picture of - made with a new cherry based quinquina that was very nice - maybe KD1191 can chime in with the name

We also split an order of fried cheese curds that were quite good - would definitely go back for drinks and eats.

Thanks again to KD1191 for organizing! It was a great time.

[bmdaniel]

This morning we walked over to Intelligentsia for breakfast (weather has been gorgeous all weekend) -

We split a currant scone (which was fine) and a caramelized banana tart (which was quite good).

I had a breve cappucino - more boring, beautiful latte art

Plan for the rest of the day is probably to get sausages at Franks and Dawgs (kind of Hot Doug's knock-off) for lunch, and then polish for dinner at Smak Tak and a late flight home (back to the real world unfortunately tomorrow). I don't want to intrude on toolprincess's time, but I'm happy to throw up the last couple of meals and round out the trip if anyone is interested.

[runwestierun]

Me! Me! Me! I want to see! I'm interested! THank you for such an interesting and beautiful blog. I wonder, did Schwa give any reason for cancelling your reservation?

[bmdaniel]

They said the chef had to go to Los Angeles. Apparently this is something that came up between when they confirmed Friday afternoon and 3:30pm Saturday. I've even seen rumors in the past that they cancelled on people to accomodate VIPs, so who knows what happened.

[kayb]

Lovely account of great meals in one of my favorite cities. The one thing I'd recommend that you didn't visit is Ashkenaz Deli. It has the mother of all Reubens, and the quintessential rice pudding.

[KD1191]

Also had an egg white cocktail at the end that I guess I didn't get a picture of - made with a new cherry based quinquina that was very nice - maybe KD1191 can chime in with the name

We also split an order of fried cheese curds that were quite good - would definitely go back for drinks and eats.

Thanks again to KD1191 for organizing! It was a great time.

Had a great time, thanks for suggesting it. The egg white drink was made with Maurin Quina and a touch of Rittenhouse Rye. The former is known these days mostly for the iconic image on the bottle. It has a light cherry flavor with notes of quinine and bitter almond in a white wine base. It's not as syrupy as Cherry Heering, perhaps closer to Luxardo Maraschino, but without any of the funk traditionally associated with that product.