Tarka in Chicago

[Suzi Edwards]

well i'm glad this diary has helped someone make a choice about where to eat. the more time i spend in chicago the more i realise how many more places i have to go to...it's a bit like going into a bookstore and getting novel prevarication. spring is one place that i will return to before i leave.

i am sleeping a lot this weekend (still exhausted from my three day trip to london last weekend) and i had a huge meal at monsoon last night, so i'm planning to eat light.... i have a lot of stuff to catch up on and hopefully will get to tell you all about my meals at moto, monsoon, pasteur, le coloniel, nomi and cafe bolero by the end of the weekend.

i'm also planning to go to the seurat exhibition at the art institute and do the architecture river tour tomorrow morning.

and i'd like to go to the cat/dog santuary on la salle today to play with the animals. i miss my cats so...

i think i'm also going to treat myself to ghiardelli hot chocolate and maybe pop by vosges to see if they do it too.

[Suzi Edwards]

So saturday turned into a hot chocolate taste comparitor day while i tried to find a new charger for my cellphone. Luckily I managed to taste some hot chocolate as the search for a charger was fruitless.

I tried Ghiardelli, Vosges and Moonstruck Cafe.

In last place....Ghiardelli. This was the cheapest of the three hot chocolates and the only one to be served to me by a spotty teenager. I was expecting this to be exceptional, as Lady T has only pointed me towards the best so far, but it didn't taste of chocolate at all. In fact, the closest it came to hot chocolate was that it was hot. It was characterised mainly by a complete lack of chocolate flavour. It went straight in the bin outside. I haven't had a huge amount of sucess in this part of town as I noticed I was right next to Bistro 110 where I had brunched a week or so ago and that hadn't set me on fire either. I do hate restaurants that have one menu outside but when you sit down you're presented with the "lunch" menu which is really just a shadow of the real thing.

In second place....Vosges. I had a choice of three here. Mexican, Le Parisienne and a white chocolate one that I can't remember the name of. I went for Le Parisienne, being of European extraction. And you know, it wasn't bad. It wasn't good either and at $5 I was expecting it to be. But I got past the first few sips before relegating this one. There was a sort of slightly metallic flavour to it, a really sort of harsh top note which I put down to a low quality chocolate.

And the winner? Moonstruck Cafe almost opposite my appartment on North Michigan. I drank exactly half of this. With hindsight I should have gone for their "Chocolate Truffle" which had been described as "a short intense shot of pure chocolate, kind of like an espresso" The one I has was this watered down (or should that be milked down?) Anyway, the flavour was well rounded and it really improved as the drink cooled down. There was a definite creamyness coming through from the chocolate and not from the milk.

So I'll be going back there. Any more suggestions for places I can try? Although maybe July isn't the best month for a project like this....

OOOOH. While I think. Do go to the Seurat exhibition if you get the chance. It's really well curated and a great way to while away a couple of hours. And if you decide to have a drink while at the Art Institute, do not go to the cafe. Make sure you go to the Garden Restaurant. You cannot take beverages purchased in the cafe outside and are forced to watch others merrily frolicking in the garden with glassware while you sit inside on a formica bench sipping from a polystyrene cup.

[Lady T]

In last place....Ghiardelli. This was the cheapest of the three hot chocolates and the only one to be served to me by a spotty teenager. I was expecting this to be exceptional, as Lady T has only pointed me towards the best so far, but it didn't taste of chocolate at all. In fact, the closest it came to hot chocolate was that it was hot. It was characterised mainly by a complete lack of chocolate flavour. It went straight in the bin outside.

Ehh, now. This won't do. Many apologies...the hot chocolate was better than that last time I was there.

[Suzi Edwards]

And so on to Fuse. I believe this is Eric Aubriot's new place and I was excited to be eating here as the Fish Stew dish was named dish of the year in the issue of Chicago that I was lucky to find in the hairdressers on Friday.

The did sort of break rule number 9 of the sole diner's manifesto but I was next to a couple of tables having very amusing conversations so I didn't really mind. They also made me create a rule number 11 which runs along the lines of

11. If your restaurant has a bar attached and it is a Saturday night, the bar is heaving and full of groups of men and your single female diner is early for her table, it might be nice to seat her straight away rather than making her loiter alone for a while.

Ahem.

The food was good. It was nice to be served a flaky parmesan puff with garlic aoili as an amuse as most Chicago places seem to be doing fish based ones at the moment. The parmesan puff felt quite European, which was nice. It was a hard menu to chose from and it took me quite a while (and a glass of Louis Roderer) to decide. I went for gazpacho with crab salad and brioche for my appetizer and the famous fish stew for my entree. The crab in the gazpatcho was nicely set off by a really quite pungently garliky/spicy soup that set the tastebuds tingling and that showed a dab hand with strong flavours.. I had high hopes for what he was going to do with bouillabaise at this point. And I was a bit dissappointed. It was too thin for me, no depth of flavour to the broth although the shell fish was good and fresh. The clams were especially juicy. So I felt a bit let down and have eaten many significantly better dishes while I have been here...The waiter kindly comped me a glass of sauternes to make up for the disapointment of the stew, which I managed to ruin by ordering a lemon meringue tarte to go with it. That said, the tarte was good (although the stewed blueberries that came with it where redundant) with a really tart fresh lemon curd topped with a french style meringue.

The place was busy and quite full of people on dates/groups of friends. It's not a place to go for a romatic meal a deux but it would be great first date territory.

[yellow truffle]

...They also made me create a rule number 11 which runs along the lines of

11. If your restaurant has a bar attached and it is a Saturday night, the bar is heaving and full of groups of men and your single female diner is early for her table, it might be nice to seat her straight away rather than making her loiter alone for a while.

Ahem.

ROFL

LMAO

[yellow truffle]

The parmesan puff felt quite European, which was nice.

Ahem.

Expound further, please, ty.

[Suzi Edwards]

I think I might just associate delicious cheesy baked goods with the French. I have not had great pastries while I have been here. This was a good one.

I am so not happy with you finding amusement in my Saturday night predicamant Mr Truffle.

[robyn]

OOOOH. While I think. Do go to the Seurat exhibition if you get the chance. It's really well curated and a great way to while away a couple of hours. And if you decide to have a drink while at the Art Institute, do not go to the cafe. Make sure you go to the Garden Restaurant. You cannot take beverages purchased in the cafe outside and are forced to watch others merrily frolicking in the garden with glassware while you sit inside on a formica bench sipping from a polystyrene cup.

Must be a great exhibit. I'm sorry I'll miss it. Don't know if I mentioned it - but one thing you can't miss in Chicago is Graceland. Right near Wrigley Field if you happen to like baseball. Robyn

[curlywurlyfi]

Ah, vicarious eating, my favourite. Means I can use the calories I save by merely thinking about the food elsewhere. this blog is beginning to be like a siren call, particularly since I had drinks with some friends last Friday and we were discussing The World's Top Five Cities, and after much horse-trading, argument and downright shoving the list ran like this:

1. London (well, obviously, since I live here, me me me me me)

2. Venice

3. Chicago

=4. Madrid+ Berlin

note absence of New York and Paris. (ducks to avoid hail of incoming from wrathful Americans and Francophiles).

And for cheesy baked goods, may I recommend the cheese straws at Baker and Spice? oh sorry, that's London not Chicago. Still, they'll be here when you get back...

Fi

[Suzi Edwards]

I think I'd put Chicago above...wait for it....London at the moment. But then you know what they say; "if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with"

So last night I went to Le Lan. And I had a completly lovely and glorious meal. The serivce is absolutly superb and I cannot make any complaint at all. Which as those of you who have been reading this thread know says a lot. They welcomed me like an old friend, gave me a lovely table on the side of the room towards the back so I could watch the comings and goings and just really made me really special. Which was nice as I'd had a terrible day and had ended up being 90 minutes late for my reservation with a pile of work still to do.

The menu doesn't cater hugely well to non-meat eaters and it was one of the few times this trip that I ended up eating red meat. But I figure you can only test the mettle of a Vietnamese restaurant by trying the Pho, so pho I ordered. I decided to go for three courses from the "Soup, Salad and Appetiser" page of the menu. The entrees looked tempting, but when there's so many good looking smaller dishes on offer I wanted some variety.

My lovely waitress suggested we play around with the order of my food a little as I'd asked her to match two glasses of wine for me. So I started with Roquefort Sorbet and a nice Viognier, followed by "Chef Roland's Garden" and then had a Pinot Noir with my Pho.

The Roqufort Sorbet will be a contender for my dish of the trip. A small scoop of sorbet was served over crushed pistachios and alongside a salad of mache with a sherry-basil dressing. Strips of julienned apple added texture. The depth of flavour in the sorbet was amazing and the textures of the soft mache, nuts and crisp apple really complimented it. This was the sort of dish that I would expect to find at somewhere like Moto or Trio. A real study apple and blue cheese.

So I was pleasantly surprised at this point and started really looking forward to my next dish. And what a dish it was. There was a crispy shrimp wonton, peeky toe crab salad and zuchinni flowers stuffed with truffled scallops. It was served with a mussel and scallop reduction. This was a totally burlesque dish, with the pink of the scallop mousse straining against the yellow flowers like a thigh encased in a silk stocking. The texture of the mousse was spot on, none of the soggyness you can get from a mousse, it was simply scallop and truffle. The sauce was a pungently fishy extra that worked especially well with the wonton. And the cold crab salad just rounded everything off. There were maybe 15 bites in the dish. Probably less but I started rationing myself towards the end to make it last longer. And there were so many flavours and textures in it...I might go back tonight to have it again.

My Pho had a really tough act to follow, and it didn't quite manage it. But I think this is more because I'm not really into red meat at the moment. It's a really fortified broth, rich and dark with beef and noodles. It was a bit too rich and dark for me, I like my pho to be steaming hot and thin, but I could see what they were doing. It was certainly a very French preparation, more like a gutsy consomme than a broth.

I certainly didn't leave disappointed. The meal had a good progression from light to more filling. And I will definitly go back. Possibly tonight.

[curlywurlyfi]

But then you know what they say; "if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with"

is this a Barry Manilow quote?

[Suzi Edwards]

No, he said "I made it through the rain" which suggests to me he's spent far too long in London and not enough time in Chicago :-)

[gmi3804]

No, he said "I made it through the rain" which suggests to me he's spent far too long in London and not enough time in Chicago :-)

He also wrote, "She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind."

Hmmm...

[Suzi Edwards]

No, he said "I made it through the rain" which suggests to me he's spent far too long in London and not enough time in Chicago :-)

He also wrote, "She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind."

Hmmm...

have you been stalking me?

[gmi3804]

No, he said "I made it through the rain" which suggests to me he's spent far too long in London and not enough time in Chicago :-)

He also wrote, "She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind."

Hmmm...

have you been stalking me?

[robyn]

Ah, vicarious eating, my favourite.  Means I can use the calories I save by merely thinking about the food elsewhere.  this blog is beginning to be like a siren call, particularly since I had drinks with some friends last Friday and we were discussing The World's Top Five Cities, and after much horse-trading, argument and downright shoving the list ran like this:

1.  London (well, obviously, since I live here, me me me me me)

2. Venice

3. Chicago

=4. Madrid+ Berlin

note absence of New York and Paris.  (ducks to avoid hail of incoming from wrathful Americans and Francophiles).

And for cheesy baked goods, may I recommend the cheese straws at Baker and Spice?  oh sorry, that's London not Chicago.  Still, they'll be here when you get back...

Fi

Being an American (although not exactly a Francophile these days) - and not being from any large city in the US - I think New York tops Chicago in some things (like theater - which is pretty much bush league in Chicago). But what is charming about Chicago is that has a lot to offer - particularly when it comes to architecture and the fine arts - in a reasonbly compact package. It's simply a more manageable city. On our last couple of trips - I think the only places we didn't walk to were Chinatown and the Field Museum (the latter because it was raining). Caveat - I usually walk more than 5 miles a day in a "walking city". So your mileage may vary - particularly if you're wearing high heels . Robyn

[sieve]

I think New York tops Chicago in some things (like theater - which is pretty much bush league in Chicago).

ouch. maybe this very recent article will help:

"And while New York, with its suffocating commercialism, seems increasingly hidebound, it is to Chicago that the true theatregoer now avidly looks."

the guradian on chicago vs new york theater

[JimInLoganSquare]

Thanks, sieve for finding that piece. "Bush league" is certainly not the appelation I would ever have chosen for the fertile and thriving (and independent) Chicago theatre. Certainly, there is more Equity work in New York; scads more. Chicago's strength is in the non-Equity groups (think Terrapin, Lifeline, etc.). I think the reality is that theater work will almost never pay a living wage, but in Chicago (unlike New York) you can keep a 9-5 job that pays the rent and devote your off hours to the theater. That explains why my wife has been here, actively making great professional (non-Equity) theater for 16 years now.

[gmi3804]

Thanks, sieve for finding that piece. "Bush league" is certainly not the appelation I would ever have chosen for the fertile and thriving (and independent) Chicago theatre. Certainly, there is more Equity work in New York; scads more. Chicago's strength is in the non-Equity groups (think Terrapin, Lifeline, etc.). I think the reality is that theater work will almost never pay a living wage, but in Chicago (unlike New York) you can keep a 9-5 job that pays the rent and devote your off hours to the theater. That explains why my wife has been here, actively making great professional (non-Equity) theater for 16 years now.

I agree. NYC may have the big commercial hits, but Chicago has a great regional theatre scene. Lots of great talent has come out of Chicago.

[JimInLoganSquare]

And I'll just add the following: Why do guys like John Mahoney keep coming back to Chicago? Why does he continue to be an ensemble member of "bush league" Steppenwolf when he could easily use his Hollywood connections to get a one-man show on Broadway? The reason is that here he can do real theater for an educated and appreciative audience. Period.

[gmi3804]

And I'll just add the following:  Why do guys like John Mahoney keep coming back to Chicago?  Why does he continue to be an ensemble member of "bush league" Steppenwolf when he could easily use his Hollywood connections to get a one-man show on Broadway?  The reason is that here he can do real theater for an educated and appreciative audience.  Period.

...and we also got The Producers and (domestically, at least) Mamma Mia! first!

Edited July 15, 2004 by gmi3804 (log)

[Lady T]

That's the essential point, I think: we've got Goodman and Steppenwolf doing the cool serious stuff, and we also have Bleacher Bums going on at the same time. Second City (and its offshoots) I put in a separate category. It's rather like the kid in the old nursery rhyme: when it's good, it's really really good, and when it's bad, it's horrid.

I was born here, and the wide, wide variety still blows my mind.

*Edited to add: What we call 'horrid' would be welcomed with thanks in a whole lot of other places where funding cuts have made theater of any kind a happy rarity!*

Edited July 15, 2004 by Lady T (log)

[Suzi Edwards]

I hate chewing gum. I specifically hate people chewing gum noisily. It makes me curl up my toes, clench my fists and start counting to ten. It makes me curse Juicy Fruit's name. I makes me want to track down the living relatives of the Wrigley family andforce them to step into discarded gum while wearing their best shoes. Now hold that thought. It will become relevant shortly.

One of the pleasures of eating along is being able to concentrate on the food. To lose yourself in the moment. An equal pleasure is being able to earwig on conversations without the person you're actually dining with thinking you're terribly rude. I do, however have some issues with the human equivalent of noisily chewing gum shouting through my meal at Sarah Stegner's Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton last night.

I would like to recreate the effect of the nonstop drone of their voice throughout the rest of my report.

The room here is very traditional, big chandeliers and lots of wood. Not a lot of natural light. It's an accurate reproduction of highend French dining rooms. I was lead to a good table (yay) overlooking Janet Jackson's nipple shield was so wrong it was just her advertising herself the rest of the dining room.

It's not irritating at all at first, is it?

I decided on their short tasting menu, negotiated briefly about my "no red meat" requirement with the waiter (does anyone else here think that veal counts as white meat?) and kicked off with a glass of champagne. My amuse swiftly followed, a small pearl of he was a simpleton chicken liver pate. This was spot on, a perfect, classic pate with a nice depth of flavour and served with toast points and a red wine reduction. My early expecations and thoughts about the room had been matched by the food.

Next up was ricotta gnocci served with a red pepper coulis. I think my expectations were out of whack here as I was expecting gnudi, not gnocci and so the lumpen quality of the dumplings depressed me slightly. The sauce was no better, slightly creamy but lacking a depth of red pepper flavour. Michael Moore, is that his name? The one who did that movie? Is that his name? Isn't that incredible? The dish had the air of canteen food about it.

Luckily next up was he would weasel out of it wouldn't he? lobster with heart of palm salad, jicama and mango. This was a delight, with lots of different textures and a variety of sweet flavours working harmoniously on the plate. This was a perfect summer dish that made me wish I was lady who lunches so I could have it every day. My mother says that she had pictures of her in her bathing costume and my father wouldn't talk to her. I replaced the beef tenderloin with some striped wild bass served with tomatoes, patty pans, truffle "and a lot of other stuff, there's a lot going on here" (quotation taken from the waiter, not my 90 year old friend) that was more autumal in flavour, the truffle really accentuating the flavour of the bass. It was one of those dishes that was fine, but really no more than the sum of its parts. Even though they were pretty good parts. I saw a business woman parking today. Her skirt was up to here.

There was cheese for me next, a really good selection of European and American. I couldn't resist some Brillat Saverin which was as ripe as it gets. Not sure that the soggy toast that it was served with added too much to the experience though but I felt more European at this point of the meal than I;ve felt for the rest of my trip. It was the orgasm that was the problem. He didn't know what it meant.

Finally, dessert, a cold lemon souffle with a citrus lavender syrup served with creme fraiche and a lemon tuille. Again, it was very summery but the lime chunks in the syrup gave it some guts and made it a resfeshing way to end the meal. My friend had left at this point, so I enjoyed this and my tea in relative peace.

I left thinking this couldn't possibly be the best restaurant in Chicago. The food wa uneven and the service passionless. But in truth it's not my sort of place. It's perfect for business dinners and trying to impress people. It's for *ducks to avoid flack* older people who want classically prepared food with nothing to challenge them. I was about 30 years too young to be eating there.

I also left thinking that Trio has probably ruined my expectations about almost every other meal I'm ever going to have.

[gmi3804]

I also left thinking that Trio has probably ruined my expectations about almost every other meal I'm ever going to have.

Have you been to TRU?

[Suzi Edwards]

not yet, it's going to be my last big meal here.