Sweets and Savories - Chicago

[Alex]

FYI, S & S is now offering a $26, three-course prix fixe menu from 5-7 p.m. daily. Here's a link.

[jesteinf]

Went for burgers last night. Substituted seared foie for the foie pate. Obscene amounts of black truffles shaved over the whole deal. Finished off with black truffle ice cream and black truffle/white truffle truffles.

Perfection.

[ronnie_suburban]

As great as Sweets and Savories is, on Mondays -- with the tasting menu priced at a mere $50 -- it's simply amazing. A couple of Mondays ago, I walked in at about 5:30 and Paul immediately warned me that because it was Monday night, it was 'Chef's Choice' only. As I told him, that's why I come to Sweets and Savories and even though it had been far too long since my last meal there, I knew I could count on an outstading meal and an exceptional value.

This experience was especially fun because I had with me 2 folks who'd never before been to S&S's. One of these guys is very old skool and will readily admit that he's somewhat difficult to please. I think that their general perspective before our meal was a mix of skepticism and doubt. But, by the time we'd finished our 4th course, they were raving about the food and proclaiming that the meal would have been a tremendous value, even if it had ended right then. But I don't mean to get ahead of myself.

Our first course was a delicious and rich one-biter, Foie Gras Mousseline with seville orange gelee. I loved the creaminess of the foie mousseline and even though I'm not usually a huge fan of seville oranges, the sharp aroma of the gelee complemented the mousseline nicely. A great start.

Next up were Prince Edward Island Mussels in an herbacious tomato lobster cream. Chef Richards is consistently masterful with mussels. Each time I've had them at Sweets and Savories they've been delightful and this instance was no exception. Not only were the mussels tender and fresh but the accompanying sauce was so good, I was eating it with a spoon after the mussels were gone.

While we chatted before the meal, Paul excitedly mentioned that Sweets and Savories had the very first soft-shell crabs of the season, in the entire city. He explained that this was actually because they'd gone out of their way to pre-order them, months back. Course 3 featured these wonderfully fresh creatures, sauteed to crispy perfection and served with watermelon-tomato salad, mango coulis and smoked Spanish paprika. This was possibly the best soft-shell crab I've ever eaten. It was piping hot and the texture was immaculate; delicately crispy on the outside and remarkably tender inside.

Next up was a perfectly-cooked section of moist and fresh pan-roasted Sable served atop a white bean, fresh fava and spring vegetable ragout with bacon and topped with roasted corn butter. This dish was amazing. The sable was remarkably tender and it went so well with the spring vegetable ragout. The smokey note, provided by the bacon, was right on time and tied everything together. The ornate dollup of roasted-corn butter atop the sable was glorious and delicious excess. In this case, atop actually meant 'over the top.' Again, after this course, my hard-to-please friends were basically in awe. One mentioned that if the meal ended right then, it would still be an incredible value. The other said that if it cost twice as much, he'd still be impressed. He also mentioned that there are very few restaurants to which he'd go back but that he already knew that Sweets and Savories was one of them.

A delectable foie gras risotto with dry fig and fig-must was next. I loved the rich intensity of the risotto, which was, again, perfect. At first, the whole, dried fig made me a bit nervous but it was a great accent to the intense risotto and the fig's dense, chewy texture and tiny, crunchy seeds were perfect with the creamy risotto.

The next dish, grilled venison strip-loin with brasied french green lentils, black cherry chutney, veal demiglace and truffle oil, was delicious too. Here again, the components worked in unison to make the dish special. I loved the rare venison and thought that the lentils were a perfect base for it. I couldn't recall ever having this well-suited combination before. The aromatic and tart black cherry chutney foiled the rich venison very nicely. A great dish.

A refreshing salad of roasted heirloom garnet beet, Indiana goat cheese, baby frisee and broken vinaigrette finished up the savory progression very well. I love beets and these were exceptional. The goat cheese complemented them very well. The fresh baby frisee added a wonderful crunch and the broken vinaigrette provided a perfect amount of acidity.

I loved the refreshing Pineapple and Spiced Rum sorbet which was a great intermezzo between the 2 sides of our meal. And the 3 desserts we tried after that were each excellent in their own right. My favorite was the Meyer lemon curd tart with blueberry compote and soft whipped cream. The curd was perfectly acidic but also sweet and not too eggy. The shell was buttery with a perfect texture. The rich, creamy Lemoncello cheesecake with raspberry coulis was also great as was the warm dark chocolate fondant cake with chocolate genache sauce and cocoa-cinnamon sorbet. I loved this dish because I actually needed some chocolate at this stage of the meal and the sorbet was reminiscent of Mexican-style chocolate ice cream, which is one of my favorites.

This was another fantastic meal at Sweets and Savories; probably my favorite in about a half-dozen visits. Even though I personally was not at all surprised by its extraordinary quality or the great value it represented, I was still blown away by it. Of course, my friends were still raving about it days later. It made a lasting impression on them. At $50, there is almost nothing else in Chicago that even comes close to matching up with it. The dishes being turned out by chef Richards are world-class stunners which never fail to satisfy. Is there any other chef in Chicago who can match his mastery over luxury ingredients? Maybe so, but none of them come close to hitting this price point. Sweets and Savories is continually producing phenomenal food and always tailoring their menu to take advantage of what's in season. By any measure its one of Chicago's most important restaurants and for the budget-conscious it's an exceptional restaurant that in a very genuine sense, cannot be matched.

=R=

[molto e]

Sweets & Savories

1534 w. Fullerton (just east of Ashland)

773-281-6778

After trying Sweets & Savories for the first time, I can not believe that I waited this long to make the maiden voyage. With Alex, George, Josh, RS, and Truffle showing the love for the restaurant that should have been enough...When weighing our options for a Monday night dinner, Ronnie S. threw S&S in the ring and the $50 7 course dinner sealed the deal. I want to make one thing PERFECTLY clear...the experience that Chef Richard and his staff provide for $50 is the single best dining value in the city of Chicago-PERIOD! Futhermore on Mondays there is no menu delivered to the table, nothing, and if you owe someone dinner or want to impress anyone and save some $$$ then take them to S&S. The waiter hands you the bill in the end and no one is the wiser .

Foie Gras Mousseline with seville orange gelee

Great opener...this set the tone for an amazing meal. The mousse was very creamy...

Prince Edward Island Mussels, tomato lobster cream

I do not recall ever having a mussel / lobster cream combination before. The tomato lobster cream was mopped up with a baguette after I polished off the delicate mussels.

Crispy Soft Shell Crab, watermelon tomato salade with cilantro, mango coulis, french paprika

I love soft shell crab and the flavor set that Chef Richards used was delicious and evoked spring / summer. The crabs were delicately fried so the crab's interior was not sacrificed for the crunch. At this point in the meal I looked at my finicky father and said that I could not believe that we were at couse 3 and this was what they put out for $50. He told me forget about the price...this place is good!

pan roasted sable, white bean and spring vegetable ragout with bacon, roasted corn butter

This fish was as good of a piece of fish that I have had...fork tender, moist soooo good. The corn butter mixed with a bite of fish on top of the ragout was delicious. EXCELLENT

I turned to my finicky father again and asked him again," Can you believe this is $50?" and again he told me to forget about the price. Really I am not price conscious because unfortunately most fine dining experiences fetch the $$$$$$$, but in this instince believe me this is the deal of all deals. And I think normally it is $70 and that is still a steal!

Grilled venison striploin, brasied french green lentils, black cherry chutney, veal demiglace and truffle oil

I am not so much into game so this course is not one that I can judge.

Kobe Burger with duck pate

I had heard so much about the burger that I requested the kitchen to send out addition to the tasting...they did not have the brioche bun because they bake those on Wednesdays for burger night, and they did not have the proper foie garnish but the kitchen subbed for me. This is definitely a quality burger and on a Wednesday for burger night, S&S must be given strong consideration.

Foie gras risotto, dry fig and fig mostarda

Creamy truffle risotto could be a cure all for me...the addition of the fig and the mostarda worked.

Salade of roasted heirloom garnet beet and Indiana goat cheese, baby frisee and broken vinaigrette

Cudos to Chef Richards for taking us here to before the dessert courses. Beets, goat cheese, balsamic is a money combination.

pineapple spice rum sorbet

Meyer lemon curd tart, blueberry compote, soft whipped cream

Lemoncello cheesecake, raspberry coulis

Warm dark chocolate fondant, chocolate genache sauce, cocoa cinnamon sorbet

This was quite an array for dessert and all of the selections were good...even the chocolate fondant, a dessert that is no stranger, was a great rendition.

and just when you thought it was done...

truffles

This meal was a total success...when you walk into a restaurant and receive this kind of experience, when you are not expecting it, for me that is why I live to dine. When you walk into the French Laundry or Alinea, the expectation is for an experience that will knock your socks off and they do. But when you walk into some neighborhood spot on West Fullerton and get treated to suberb food and service then it does not get much better than that. I have spent more money than this for pub grub...go check it out!

[ronnie_suburban]

Wow! Fantastic images, Eliot. Thanks for taking the time to upload them. I'd forgotten about our 'side' burger. It too, was excellent, even with the Monday modifications. A great meal!

=R=

[molto e]

Wow!  Fantastic images, Eliot.  Thanks for taking the time to upload them.  I'd forgotten about our 'side' burger.  It too, was excellent, even with the Monday modifications.  A great meal!

=R=

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Do you remember the aioli or mayo on the burger??

[nsxtasy]

the experience that Chef Richard and his staff provide for $50 is the single best dining value in the city of Chicago-PERIOD!

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I think the $50 three-course pre-theater deal at Everest is an equally good value.

It's nice to have two great values from two very good (but very different) restaurants.

Edited May 3, 2007 by nsxtasy (log)

[molto e]

the experience that Chef Richard and his staff provide for $50 is the single best dining value in the city of Chicago-PERIOD!

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I think the $50 three-course pre-theater deal at Everest is an equally good value.

It's nice to have two great values from two great (but very different) restaurants.

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this meal was a far better experience than my last at Everest

[ronnie_suburban]

Do you remember the aioli or mayo on the burger??

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A delicious, black truffle aioli, iirc.

=R=

[nsxtasy]

this meal was a far better experience than my last at Everest

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You're welcome to your opinion, but it's quite the opposite of mine.

I've eaten dinner at both places relatively recently (two weeks ago, in the case of Sweets and Savories). And while I like Sweets and Savories, I wouldn't put it in the pantheon of Chicago's best restaurants. I've eaten meals where every bite of every dish is unbelievably delicious, not only at those top tables like Everest, but also at places like One Sixty Blue, Aigre Doux, Michael, and Oceanique, with dinners so good they seem like magic. I just would not put S&S into that category. Not even close. Yes, some dishes were excellent, but others were just okay and not at all remarkable (which is why I didn't post a report on my recent dinner there). Good? Yes, even very good, and I will continue to include it among casual fine dining places I recommend. Great, exceptional? Certainly not.

Sorry to disagree with folks here, but the food I had wasn't nearly as great as some people make it out to be. I can only conclude that much of its attraction is due to its unlikely location and reasonable price (although you can spend a lot more than $50; my dinner was not inexpensive), along with the friendly attitude of Paul and David. All of which speaks well for the place, to be sure. But I wouldn't rank it among the very best casual places here, and certainly wouldn't compare it to Everest, where I have had several of the finest meals I've had in all my years in the city.

Edited May 3, 2007 by nsxtasy (log)

[molto e]

You're welcome to your opinion, but it's quite the opposite of mine.

I've eaten dinner at both places relatively recently (two weeks ago, in the case of Sweets and Savories).  And while I like Sweets and Savories, I wouldn't put it in the pantheon of Chicago's best restaurants.  I've eaten meals where every bite of every dish is unbelievably delicious, not only at those top tables like Everest, but also at places like One Sixty Blue, Aigre Doux, Michael, and Oceanique, with dinners so good they seem like magic.  I just would not put S&S into that category.  Not even close.  Yes, some dishes were excellent, but others were just okay and not at all remarkable (which is why I didn't post a report on my recent dinner there).  Good?  Yes, even very good, and I will continue to include it among casual fine dining places I recommend.  Great, exceptional?  Certainly not.

Sorry to disagree with folks here, but the food I had wasn't nearly as great as some people make it out to be.  I can only conclude that much of its attraction is due to its unlikely location and reasonable price (although you can spend a lot more than $50; my dinner was not inexpensive), along with the friendly attitude of Paul and David.  All of which speaks well for the place, to be sure.  But I wouldn't rank it among the very best casual places here, and certainly wouldn't compare it to Everest, where I have had several of the finest meals I've had in all my years in the city.

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IMO, Everest is not in that top group any longer. I did not say the S&S was in the top eschelon of restaurants in Chicago nor does it aspire to be. If value was factored in then I would put it in best value dining.

Edited May 3, 2007 by molto e (log)

[molto e]

RS,

Turns out my finicky Father went to dinner the following Monday at S&S. That is a good indication of how he enjoyed the meal.

Molto E

[prasantrin]

How necessary are reservations for S&S? We arrive in Chicago on a Monday morning, and I was thinking of doing an early dinner at S&S that night. I don't know if my travelling companion will be up for dinner that night (we have a long drive the day before, and an early flight Monday morning), so I'd rather not make reservations and risk having to cancel them at the last minute.

[molto e]

How necessary are reservations for S&S?  We arrive in Chicago on a Monday morning, and I was thinking of doing an early dinner at S&S that night.  I don't know if my travelling companion will be up for dinner  that night (we have a long drive the day before, and an early flight Monday morning), so I'd rather not make reservations and risk having to cancel them at the last minute.

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Reservations are not necessary

[nsxtasy]

Reservations are not necessary

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For your Monday dinner, I agree. I ate there on a Monday a few months ago and there were maybe three other parties the entire time we were there.

I don't know if the above statement would be universally true (e.g. on a Saturday).

[molto e]

Reservations are not necessary

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For your Monday dinner, I agree. I ate there on a Monday a few months ago and there were maybe three other parties the entire time we were there.

I don't know if the above statement would be universally true (e.g. on a Saturday).

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My answer was to her question regarding an early dinner on a MONDAY...

Edited August 3, 2007 by molto e (log)

[KateinChicago]

For what it's worth I ate there last night. We were a party of 6 and thought we had reservations but found out that we didn't. It wasn't a problem and the place wasn't crowded for a Thursday night, maybe 5 tables the whole night. I was surprised at the low turnout because the tasting menu we had was really delicious. We started with vichyssoise topped with white truffle oil followed by a yummy risotto with bacon, crunchy sweet corn and creme fraiche. The risotto was particularly liked by everyone because of the combination of textures and the surprising but successful inclusion of the creme fraiche. The pan fried salmon with lentils, bell pepper jus and balsamic vinaigrette was perfectly cooked and the beef tenderloin with demi glace reduction with white truffle mashed potatoes and asparagus was just wonderful and a perfect medium rare. We were brought a tasty selection of desserts which included a lemon curd and berry tart, a dark chocolate tart with ice cream a peach cobbler and two others that I can't recall.

The food wasn't cutting edge but it was really, really good and all of us agreed that we would return in a heartbeat!

[prasantrin]

A little late, but thanks to molto e and nsxtasy for their advice regarding reservations.

My mother and I almost didn't make it to S&S. Our flight from MSP to ORD was roughly 4 hours behind schedule, and although we arrived a few hours before dinner, my mother was very very tired. She knew how much I wanted to dine at S&S, though, so she rested a bit and we set off.

We didn't have reservations, so we went quite early--I think we arrived in the area just before 5:30pm, so we lingered at a nearby Walgreen's so we wouldn't seem like eager beavers. Of course, arriving at 5:40 didn't really counter our eager beaver status. When we entered the restaurant, it was empty. We were warmly greeted, and when we informed the waitstaff that we did not have reservations, he went to speak to the chef. Apparently, on Monday nights they do prefer that people make reservations. I can't remember the reason, but it had something to do with the evening's offerings being course-menu only, and how the food was prepared for each table. We were told that they would be happy to have us dine with them, but it may take a bit longer for our meal because they weren't quite prepared, yet. We were fine with that.

I think the choices were a 5-course and a 7-course option. I wanted the 7 course, but knew I would not be able to enjoy all 7 courses, so we both ordered the 5 course. In the end, I was happy with my choice, because by the third course, I was approaching very full, and by the fourth course, I was near bursting. I don't know how people can finish all that food!

Our courses were similar to KateinChicago's. We started with two types of bread (multigrain and I think a French-style loaf) with blueberry butter. Blueberry butter--yum! But rather sweet for the start of a meal, I thought.

Next was the potato vichyssoise with white truffle oil--a favourite for both my mother and me. This was followed by halibut (I think) with a summer medley of vegetables. I liked the lightness of the halibut, but my mother thought the dish was a bit meh. Our third dish was scallop with citrus-infused roe and lentils. This was my least favourite of the night, but my mother's favourite. The scallop was perfectly cooked, and I enjoyed the the citrus-infused roe (I think they used yuzu--one of my favourite citrus flavours), but I hated the lentils. In the defense of S&S, I have never had any lentils I've enjoyed. My mother, on the other hand, loves lentils and all things bean-y, in addition to loving all things from the sea, so this dish had her in heaven. (Later in the evening, her face would sometimes light up with excitement and she would say, "I found another egg in my mouth!" as she crunched down on a wayward citrus-infused roe.)

At this point, I was ready to stop eating, but we had two courses left. We also had the beef tenderloin dish that KateinChicago had. I loved this dish, and ate the entire thing. Had I more room, I would have used some of our multigrain bread to wipe all the demi-glace off the plate. Damn my stomach!! My mother enjoyed this dish, too, but not as much as the scallop dish.

The final dish was some kind of marbled terrine-like dessert with peanut butter mouse and chocolate, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Delicious, but quite heavy after such a large meal. I managed to eat about half of mine, and then I had to give up.

I enjoyed my meal at S&S. Although the Monday evening menu is an excellent value, I think I would try a night when I could order off the regular menu. There was a time when I could eat five courses without so much as a burp, but these days, it's simply too much food for me. I didn't take pictures, because we were the only diners in the restaurant for the first 30 or 45 minutes of our dinner, so I was a bit embarrassed to do so since all eyes were on us.

Thanks again to molto e for recommending the place! It helped give our Chicago holiday a great start!

[jesteinf]

Last night we had the pleasure of getting a preview of what’s in store for white truffle season this year at Sweets & Savories (in the spirit of full disclosure this meal was comped by the restaurant, but I would gladly pay full price for it any day of the week).

We were treated to a fabulous 6 courses with wine pairings. Here’s what we had:

First course – Brandade & Vichyssoise (paired with Tokay Pinot Gris, Wolfberger, France 1999).

The brandade was served on crostini which was balanced on top of a tall, thin glass of vichyssoise. I’m a huge fan of both of these items at Sweets & Savories, so they were only enhanced with the addition of shaved white truffles on top. My only quibble with this dish is that the vichyssoise had a bit of oil (can’t remember if it was olive oil or truffle oil) that had been poured into the top of the glass, so the first sip was really a mouthful of oil and not soup. The rest of the glass was fantastic though. The wine had a nice sweetness that worked well against the brandade.

Second course – Salade Lyonnaise

A nicely done, smaller version of a classic. A single poached egg served on top of a larger crostini with some frisee and a bit of bacon. Between the perfectly runny egg and the addition of shaved truffle, I was a very happy man. This could have used more bacon (really, what couldn’t?). I actually would have been a lot happier with lardoons, but what can you do.

Third course – Seared scallop served on top of “duck liver” risotto with a mango coulis (paired with Vouvray Demi Sec, Yves Bruessin, France 2005).

Death, taxes, and outstanding scallops at Sweets & Savories. I’m always excited to have scallops here because Chef Richards really has a way with them. Plump, slightly browned on the outside but absolutely perfectly cooked on the inside this scallop was a real treat. The risotto speaks for itself, adding a wonderful richness to the dish, with the mango coulis providing just the right amount of sweet/tart notes to bring the whole dish into balance. I would gladly eat this even without the truffles. One of my two favorite dishes of the night.

Fourth course - Alaskan Halibut Sous Vide, served over a truffle potato pauve with sauce Periguord (paired with Merlot, Hawkes, California 2002).

I felt this dish was the closest we got to average over the course of the night. I’m just not really a fan of fish prepared sous vide (on the other hand, I love meat prepared this way). The halibut was a gorgeous piece of fish, but it just didn’t do it for me as much as the other courses. The potato pauve was fantastic, and if there’s one thing I like at Sweets & Savories more than scallops it is Chef Richard’s sauce Periguord.

Fifth course – Beef Tenderloin with White Truffle Butter, Lobster, Corn and Cremini Mushroom Ragout served with Maytag Blue Cheese Crease (paired with Barolo, Elio Grasso, Italy 2001).

My other favorite dish of the night, maybe the favorite dish of the night. The beef was served a perfect rare to medium rare and just sung when paired with the white truffle butter and the blue cheese cream. The beef was served with perfectly cooked lobster claws that added a nice amount of sweetness to the dish along with the corn. The lobster also added a nice salty note to the whole thing. I’m probably not doing it justice, but this was about as good of a “surf and turf” dish as you’ll find anywhere. The Barolo was easily the star wine of the night. We all remarked that it was a real treat to be able to enjoy it with this course.

Sixth course – Roasted Peach Tart served with white truffle ice cream and “duck liver” caramel (paired with Muscat, Casta Diva, Gutierrex de la Vega, Spain)

OK, first of all, I’m completely convinced that Chef Richard’s is putting crack in the white truffle ice cream. I was introduced to it a couple of years ago and I absolutely crave the stuff at all times. Last night it was fantastic as always. Honestly, words cannot describe how much I love this ice cream. If not for the ice cream, the best thing on the plate might have been the “duck liver” caramel. We were all scraping our plates to get every drop of the sweet, salty, and just slightly liver-y concoction off of our plates. Oh yeah, and the peach tart was pretty good too.

Again, just a fantastic dinner. I believe during truffle season they will be offering a 5 course white truffle dinner for $100 per person. Given what some of the higher end restaurants in town will likely be charging, this is a steal if you need your white truffle fix.

[yellow truffle]

God, I love the white truffle ice cream. Sous vide, huh. I don't recall chef preparing things sous vide. Oh man, I have been there in a while. I think it is time to take a return trip. This sounds much better than the last white truffle I had there a while back. Thanx Josh.

[Alex]

God, I love the white truffle ice cream. Sous vide, huh. I don't recall chef preparing things sous vide. Oh man, I have been there in a while. I think it is time to take a return trip. This sounds much better than the last white truffle I had there a while back. Thanx Josh.

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White truffle ice cream. Oh, yes. One of the best things I've ever eaten. I hope there's some left when Ms. Alex and I roll into town next month.

Here's my post about the white truffle dinner that jesteinf, yellow truffle, and I had at S & S two years ago.