Publican [Chicago]

[MJN]

I interviewed Chef Paul Kahan of Blackbird and Avec in Chicago last week. We talked about all kinds of stuff, but the most exciting news is that he and his partners are on the verge of opening a new gastropub. It's not set in stone, as the papers have yet to be signed, but we talked alot about his vision for the new spot in the interview. Imagine pork based comfort food, reasonable prices, and great beer - all in the architectural spirit of Zuni Cafe in San Francisco. To hear more:

Paul Kahan Interview

Also, we took some photos of Paul and the Blackbird kitchen:

Blackbird Slideshow

[ronnie_suburban]

Yes, this is the place to which Dish alluded back in their March 22 edition (Commence Salivating). Sounds like a great concept.

Thanks, Michael, for the links and the good work.

=R=

[ulterior epicure]

Salivating has commenced. Thanks Michael.

Can anyone list a couple of other good gastropubs in Chicago, please?

Thanks!

u.e.

[MJN]

Hopleaf in Andersonville is probably the best example. Darwins in Bucktown used to be great, but I heard they retooled and the food is not quite as good as it used to be.

[ulterior epicure]

What news, if any, on Kahan's gastropub venture? When is it (or is it?) slated to open?

[Alchemist]

This year.

Toby

[smorris291]

On the question about other gastropubs, I strongly recommend that everyone try The Gage. Since it's located at 24 S. Michigan you might have to face some crowds near Millenium Park to get there, but it's well worth it...beautiful interior design, good beer list, great (and reasonably priced) wines by the 8 oz. carafe, and good food (although I have not tried too much on the menu). If this place were closer to my home in River North, I would be there ALL the time.

[babern38]

Just got back from Avec. Went alone and luckily had a chance to sit at the bar right in front of the chefs.

While I had been looking forward to going here for some time, the fact that many of the chefs at Avenues on a recent visit ranked it very highly on their personal favs lists.

In short, had a very nice, fresh tomato salad with white anchovies and lemon cucumbers.

- just out of curiosity, is there such a thing as a lemon cucumber or is this a regular cucumber that is marinated in a lemone juice? they seemed to have a different texture as well as flavor than the other cucumbers in the salad

I then had the Haddock in an awesome tomato sauce with caperberries followed by the housemade pork sausage with paprika bacon. The sausage was good, though a bit too salty.

I decided to forgo dessert and try the chef recommended (and proclaimed house specialty) of the chorizo sutffed and bacon wrapped dates. These were an excellent and satisfying end.

I greatly enjoyed my first experience at avec. I absolutely love the decor. Also, I think it is interesting to note that many of the presentations and flavors were far from my expectations from what was described on the menu. This was obviously for the better. I also think they have an excellent wine selection. I look forward to returning.

[tetsujustin]

  - just out of curiosity, is there such a thing as a lemon cucumber or is this a regular cucumber that is marinated in a lemone juice?  they seemed to have a different texture as well as flavor than the other cucumbers in the salad

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Lemon cucumbers are a different varietal of cucumber. It's short, stumpy, and yellow, and looks like a lemon minus the rough skin. The flavor I thought tasted pretty similar, though slightly less watery than say an english cucumber does.

Avec is one of my favorite restaurants I've been to... say.. ever. I'd say it's the type of place a cook would love to hang out after work.

Now lets get on with the gastropub. Chef Kahan's been making us wait way too long.

[Fat Guy]

I spoke to Paul Kahan yesterday and apparently the new place is close to completion. He is now shying away from calling it a gastropub, though, perhaps because he doesn't want to be associated with the sort of food the gastropubs are doing. His concept is more of an upscale beer hall, with a menu split between simple seafood dishes and meaty, porky delights. "It's all about oysters, pork and beer," he said. The centerpiece will be a long communal table.

[ulterior epicure]

I spoke to Paul Kahan yesterday and apparently the new place is close to completion. He is now shying away from calling it a gastropub, though, perhaps because he doesn't want to be associated with the sort of food the gastropubs are doing. His concept is more of an upscale beer hall, with a menu split between simple seafood dishes and meaty, porky delights. "It's all about oysters, pork and beer," he said. The centerpiece will be a long communal table.

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FG, would you mind calling Paul up an asking if he's any closer to completion??

I'm chomping at the bit to see what he comes up with.

[towncompany]

this doesn't tell you how close they are but...

http://www.hungrymag.com/2008/06/05/huston...-menu/#more-577

[towncompany]

http://www.hungrymag.com/2008/07/17/kahan-...en-august-18th/

so, there you go...

[philadining]

Well, I was hoping to give a report from Publican. I tried, I really did, but my attempts to eat there devolved into a bit of a comedy of errors.

First, on sunday night, I forced myself off of my barstool at Violet Hour, compelled by the potential for porky indulgence. This was partly by pre-arrangement, but reinforced by enthusiastic reports from the folks sitting next to me at the bar. I'd seen some compelling photos and descriptions on the LTH Forums, and I hadn't really eaten anything substantial since breakfast, so I hopped on the Blue Line, wandered through a few desolate blocks, and finally found myself at their door. (Hey, what can I say, I'd rather spend my money on ham than taxis... )

Sadly, I discovered that Sundays are different from the rest of the week at Publican. This being the first sunday, it was even more unusual. The short version is that they're doing a fixed-menu, family-style dinner on sundays, with set seatings, and I'd missed it. I get the impression they're still working this out, so it may change, but I think the plan is for two seatings on sundays, although they had only done one this first sunday as a trial.

What this meant at that moment was that they would be happy to pour me some beer, but there wasn't really any food to be had. I asked if they knew of anywhere I could eat at that hour (9-ish) and the folks at the front couldn't think of anywhere, but asked around, and found another employee who suggested I go a block or two down to Follia. (Which by the way, did squeeze me in, despite the fact that they were clearly in the process of closing, serving me some absolutely stunningly delicious lamb chops, with remarkably gracious service.)

I'm not from Chicago, so I don't really know the geography very well, but in retrospect, I can't figure out why the folks at Publican didn't direct me to Avec (which, later, Chef Kahan assured me would have been happy to serve me at that time.) I suspect this might come up in a staff meeting...

Sadly, I was flying out of Chicago the next evening, but I thought I might have found a way to still squeeze in a visit. On that failed sunday-night attempt, the very nice folks at the front had told me that they open at 3:30pm, but only serve beer, oysters and ham in the afternoon. The full menu would be served at 5. I did the math, and figured that if I got there a little early, so that my order got taken immediately, I could try a couple things that didn't take too much prep, get out of there by 5:30, and still make my plane.

So, I headed back on monday about 4:30, dragging my luggage behind, ready to make a mad dash to O'Hare as soon as I finish. After I'm seated, the waiter gives me the backstory of the restaurant, describes the general philosophy of the place, etc. and explains that right now, there's only beer, oysters and ham, but the full menu will be served at 5:30.

Huh? 5:30?!?! I swear they said 5:00 when I was there on sunday night!!

Of course it's possible that I mis-heard, or mis-remembered. I see that the 5:30 start is mentioned on the LTH Forum that I had read-through, so it was probably my mistake. I'm really not trying to make trouble for the hosting staff, in fact they were very nice to me both times I was there, but I'm pretty sure someone told me 5:00... And hey, it's the first few days that they're open, I wouldn't be surprised if someone made an honest mistake about the hours. Normally it's not of any major consequence if someone had to wait a half-hour for the kitchen to open, it just so happens that I had a slightly ludicrous plan that relied on split-second timing.

I explained my predicament to the waiter, and asked if there were ANY chance that the kitchen could flex on that start time a little, perhaps on something less made-to-order, like rillettes, or one of the salads. He seemed very sympathetic, and said he'd ask, but he couldn't promise anything.

This is all reasonable, especially in a brand-new place, I can understand that they might not be up-to-speed for normal service, let alone for making exceptions for weird tourists. And sure enough, a few minutes later, he returned, saying that sadly, the kitchen was just not prepared to put food out before 5:30.

I honestly do understand that such a request could throw-off a kitchen, but I couldn't help wondering, was it really impossible to toss anything on a plate for a desperate customer? The situation became clearer later when Chef Kahan came by and personally offered apologies that they could not start serving early, especially because at least one other party had requested the same thing. While it might not be a big problem to give one guy some rillettes, it could very quickly devolve into chaos if they have to serve several tables before they're ready. And I completely buy that rationale: Imagine a server or chef having to explain to everyone else in the place why I was able to get something off the regular menu, but they can't. The place wasn't full at 4:30-5ish, but there were enough people there that it could have created a problem.

So, frustrating as this was, I figured I'd make the best of it, and get a Goose Island Matilda, and console myself with ham.

I've had Iberico, Benton's and La Quercia Rossa hams before, but not side-by-side, and it was an interesting experience. They're very different expressions of the paradigm, and while I know it's not a competition, I couldn't resist choosing a winner. That was, unsurprisingly, the Iberico. It seemed to be on a whole different level, with elegant intensity of flavor, and a perfect balance of texture - firm yet tender. Tasting all three in turn, the La Quercia practically vanished on the palate, and the Benton's seemed a bit brash and loud. But of course, each has its place, and in the right circumstance, any of the three might be the perfect ham.

In fact, the Benton's calmed down and tasted exactly perfect when placed on top of the very good bread and butter. And the La Quercia gained some charm when eating several slices in a row, allowing its subtleties to emerge. In the end though, the Iberico really dominated the others.

This was, of course, an expensive experiment, but certainly worth it, and made me feel like my trek over there hadn't been in vain. Of course those hams are all pretty pricey, the Iberico ridiculously so, and they were meticulously sliced on a bright-red hand-cranked Berkel. It's going to take a few plates of pork to pay off that beauty.

The beer list is very impressive, with an interesting collection from around the world. I try to stick to local beers when I'm traveling, if good selections are available, especially on tap, but if I lived in Chicago, I'd really appreciate the depth of this list. There's an especially strong Belgian section, but given that the Philadelphia municipal water supply was replaced with Belgian beer a few years ago, or at least it seems like that sometimes in the local bars, the Goose Island actually seemed more exotic to me.

And the food menu is really quite intriguing, hence my repeated attempts to sample some of it. It strikes a really nice balance of informality and culinary creativity, at least on paper. Sweetbread Schnitzel, Wagyu Tartare, Boudin Blanc, homemade Pork Rinds, Potée with pork cheek, short ribs, and oxtail...

The space itself is very attractive, but set-up in an unusual way. I'm sure it's very different when filled with people, so I can't really say how well it works. I like the idea of large communal tables, a few of which dominate this room, punctuated by some small rounds for people to stand at, along with some stall-like booths along one side that I don't quite understand.

I also think it could use some sort of seating more like a conventional counter or bar. I wonder if the space along the kitchen could be used like that? - maybe not, it's a bit low for a counter. But solo diners, and even couples, seem a little out of place in the current seating scheme, it's much better-suited for larger groups. And I think that's the idea - that you'll come with a few friends, order a bunch of things to share, probably get in conversations with the convivial strangers sitting next to you, and fun will be had by all. I'm sure that will work well, but I could see this menu appealing to solo diners as well, and it would be great if there were a more elegant way to seat them.

I'm willing to entertain the possibility that I'm weird, but I kind of like grabbing a bite by myself from time to time, not just when I'm traveling for work, and this combination of a great beer list and simple, but carefully-made food is just the kind of thing that would appeal to me. And sitting at a bar or counter feels a little more natural than at a large communal table.

In any case, I don't really care, the next time I can manage to get to Chicago, I'm going back here, hopefully with some friends to help plow through more of the menu. But if not, I'll do my best by myself.

At least I'll try!

Edited October 15, 2008 by philadining (log)

[smorris291]

I managed to make it over to The Publican with a couple of friends yesterday. I hadn't seen the info on LTHForum regarding the kitchen being fully open at 5:30, so when we showed up at 4:30, we were a little disappointed to know we'd have to wait for an hour to experience the full menu.

We consoled ourselves by starting with oysters and ham, and a couple of beers suggested by our server (that were excellent). The ham was wonderful...I actually preferred Benton's ham the most...it was the closest I have come to having lardo in the U.S. with it's rich, creamy veins of fat. Having all three hams at once was interesting because you could really appreciate the differences. I liked the other two hams as well, with the Iberico nosing out La Quercia (the nutty flavor was really striking).

5:30 finally rolled around and we ordered several more items:

-Frites: Served in a paper-lined pint glass, these were not as thin as I'd expected, but the flavor was even better. Very crunchy on the outside, not very greasy and with flecks of sea salt...wow.

-Mussels: The best mussels I've had in Chicago, period. My francophile (and hard to please friend) agreed, and after the mussels were consumed we were furiously eating spoonfuls of the remaining broth as fast as we could. (During this time, Paul Kahan sptopped by to see how we were doing and introduce himself--he was very nice).

-Rillettes: Wonderful, rich and salty, served with an excellent grilled bread.

-Potee: Unfortunately it didn't have the oxtail from previous nights, but with port belly, shank and tenderloin was quite good, the pickled veggies giving a great tart contrast to the rich flavors of the meat.

-Cavalo nero: We balanced out our meat-heavy meal with this veggie side dish. Ha! Laced with generous chunks of pancetta, this was no light dish. But it was extremely flavorful and one I'd definitely have again.

-Country ribs: We were starting to fade a bit by the time the ribs showed up. They were cooked just under medium and the texture was great...there was wonderul tartness and acidity provided by some small heirloom tomatoes and a couple of hunks of watermelon as well.

Despite our fullness, we wrapped up with one of three desserts, the cocoa nib panna cotta with pickled plums and ginger snap cookie. The panna cotta was good, but the cookie was the star for me.

All in all, great food, although you should refrain from a cholesteral test for several days. The room that seemed a bit stark upon entry (probably because there were so few people there initially) warmed up as it became darker and more crowded. Although it's not a cheap place, I'll definitely be back to try some other items on the menu, as with our focus on pork we unfortunately missed most of the seafood as well as the sweet breads and steak tartare...

Edited October 15, 2008 by smorris291 (log)

[ulterior epicure]

philadining, was it quite dark in Publican? The apparent ISO setting on that shot of the prosciutto suggests to me that it was. Thanks for the report.

From the food (mind you, I haven't seen the menu or its website), it sounds like Publican is less a gastropub and more of a collision between a bistro and an enoteca.

[philadining]

It's not dark in there, in fact there's a forest of globe lights in the center of the room, and I was there in the afternoon, but there's something about the yellow-ish color temperature of the light that was throwing off my camera's sensor a bit. So it was indeed shot at a high ISO setting, hence the grain.

[ulterior epicure]

It's not dark in there, in fact there's a forest of globe lights in the center of the room, and I was there in the afternoon, but there's something about the yellow-ish color temperature of the light that was throwing off my camera's sensor a bit.  So it was indeed shot at a high ISO setting, hence the grain.

←

What is it with these white balance-disarming, sensor-disrupting lighting that's going into restaurants these days? I couldn't get my camera to behave at graham elliot.

I suppose restaurateurs are asking, what's up with these photo-snapping, food-obsessing, bloggers these days? They can't just eat the food anymore, they have to snap and talk about it too!!

Edited October 16, 2008 by ulterior epicure (log)

[DutchMuse]

First time there tonight, and throughout the meal I thought "Serious food; amateur service." The frites--and I say this as a Belgian frites loving Dutchman--are killer. Some of the best I've ever had; notably better than the two times I had Vlaamse (Belgian) frites in Amsterdam a couple of weekends ago. These are serious frites--fried, according to our waiter--in duckfat and lard. (Maybe one for the first fry and the other fat for the second? I'm not sure). The apple salad was also killer, as was the Tuscan kale. The trio of hams was outstanding, except that no one ever told us which was what--the plate was just put in front of us and the server walked away without a word. The two "mains" (my term) were just ok---the pork shank (huge portion) and the country ribs. Both were a bit dry and on the bland/flavourless side. But the country hams, frites and kale more than made up for the deficiencies in the larger portion dishes.

The service could use a total makeover. Greeting at the door was somewhat perfunctory and lifeless. I had read they had a "beer sommelier" and when I asked our waiter if the "beer sommelier" was available, the reply was "He might be if he's not busy." My reply was "Not too busy to help out a customer, I hope." He did come over and offered guidance and is quite knowledgeable but with little enthusiasm or energy. He did (correctly, I believe) correct my misunderstanding as to which Saison beer was still brewed with steam, but commented "If I have time I'll look it up and let you know." He came back to the table twice (in the role of 'runner' to bring food to the table) but never again mentioning whether he looked up the issue or not.

That said, the food--most of it--is really serious and spot on. Next time, I'll avoid the two larger dishes we had and focus instead on the smaller plates. The frites were so good we ordered a second order. And they're ('correctly' I might say) served with mayo/aioli rather than ketchup.

If the service were as serious as the food, they'd have some place on their hands.

[KD1191]

Wanted to bump this thread as it seems The Publican was getting discussed in another place or two.

I've long been fond of the food here, but this evening I had perhaps my best meal yet.

Kumamoto and Kushi oysters were perfect. The presence of oysters this good, presented this well, in a city this far from the ocean is really just short of a miracle. I'd happily make a meal of 2 dozen of the chef's selection of oysters if there wasn't so much else that looked intriguing on the menu. Hamachi crudo, pork rinds and frites for starters were all excellent, with a special shout-out to the inclusion of calamansi on the hamachi plate. Among entrees the country ribs, always a crowd pleaser, and flank steak were the stars. Mussels were very good. Suckling pig wasn't quite on the same level. Beets with ricotta, pistachio and balsamic & white asparagus draped in thinly shaved ham were clean and well balanced sides. A waffle with honey butter and amazing tangerine marmalade for dessert capped a near perfect meal.

Several wonderfully pork-friendly beers, including a saison whose name escapes me on draught and the Oro De Calabaza from Jolly Pumpkin.

[nsxtasy]

I ate at Publican last month. Most of the food was very good, particularly the country ribs and the sweetbreads (I'm a big fan of sweetbreads, and these were among the best in town). Although they are known for meats, the seafood was quite good as well, notably the mussels, which were huge.

The bread service was excellent - and interesting. The standard bread they brought to the table was a hearty type bread with a dark crust but a light middle. The mussels came with a traditional French baguette that was even better (also it arrived hotter than the hearty bread which was only slightly warm). Good stuff, both.

The desserts (we tried all three) were uniformly dreadful and a real let-down for such an otherwise good place. The waffle was one of the desserts we had and it was just so bleh - just an ordinary waffle topped with butter and a little bit of honey and some golden raisins. It was not at all unusual in any way. I've seen waffles used by other restaurants as the starting point for some interesting dishes, both sweet and savory, but in this case it never developed into anything worthwhile. The other two desserts were a dry bland lemon-poppyseed cake, and a chocolate sorbet that was allegedly flavored with sea salt and caramel, which were imperceptible. Hire a real pastry chef, please!

Also, like Kahan's other restaurants, it was really *really* REALLY NOISY. With three of us on each side of our table (private table for six - see below), those on one end could not hear those on the other end.

Casual attire (e.g. blue jeans, and not necessarily nicer ones) is perfectly acceptable.

Tip - About half the seating is at two long communal tables. If you have a preference, either for a private table or for the communal seating, you can indicate it when making your reservation (either over the phone or in the comments field on Opentable), and they will try to accommodate your stated preference when seating you.

Here's more info on their seating. They have four-top booths along the west side of the room; I loved the way they have doors that close on the outside of the booth, because they reminded me of stalls in a stockyard. They have small tables on the north side of the room, which are primarily two-tops but they can push them together as they did for our group of six. And the rest of the room consists of communal seating, basically two loooong tables, with one in an L shape. Personally, I hate communal seating, although I can see how it might be enjoyable for a solo diner (as would the seatless high-tops in the center of the room). But the fact that you can express a preference for the communal seating or a private table makes it more palatable.

Overall, I'm glad I tried it, but between the noise and the awful desserts, I don't have any desire to return.

[Florida]

I’ve eaten at Publican on several occasions and have enjoyed it greatly each time. There is a convivial atmosphere to the restaurant, something approaching gemütlichkeit, but not quite getting there. I guess this shouldn’t be surprising given the beer hall theme.

First of all, it should be noted, the restaurant is essentially one large room. There are two heavy wooden communal tables in the middle of the room, booths to the left, bar to the right, open kitchen to the rear and smaller tables to the front. The only artwork on the walls consists of large paintings of (what I will assume are) different breeds of swine. Everything else is wood and straight lines. “Modern medieval” is what I’ve termed it. The restrooms, while not communal, do all share a central “fountain” for hand washing. Its interesting, almost like a tiny piazza.

The food is excellent. I’m a huge fan of charcuterie and the Publican serves it up well. Hams, sausages, offal, and braised lesser cuts all make it on the menu. Paired with one of the many fine beers and, for me, there isn’t anything better. As for the desserts, I haven’t much of a comment. I’m not a huge fan of dessert to begin with, so I rarely order them. Personally, I'd rather just have a tawny port or a PX sherry to finish the meal, both of which the Publican offers. On my last visit, I had a fortified mead to finish my meal, admittedly a beverage which I am entirely unfamiliar.

The only issue I have with the Publican concerns the service, which can be somewhat thin for the size of the restaurant. While the servers are knowledgeable, friendly, and they do attempt to be attentive, when the restaurant gets busy, they also get quite harried. Adding a server or two would improve the situation, but, as it would directly affect how much a server earns on a given night, I can’t imagine any of the current servers would be overly excited about this suggestion.

Though, I’ve got to admit, one of the reasons I am such a fan of the Publican is that I can bring my 2 ½ year old daughter. We request the booths, which have doors on them, so I can keep her contained. They don’t have high chairs or booster seats or anything of the like so my daughter gets to eat right at the table, which she loves. And with the kitchen opening around 5, we can enjoy our meal with “fresh” servers and be done before the place gets packed.

[nsxtasy]

The only issue I have with the Publican concerns the service, which can be somewhat thin for the size of the restaurant. While the servers are knowledgeable, friendly, and they do attempt to be attentive, when the restaurant gets busy, they also get quite harried. Adding a server or two would improve the situation, but, as it would directly affect how much a server earns on a given night, I can’t imagine any of the current servers would be overly excited about this suggestion.

.

.

.

with the kitchen opening around 5, we can enjoy our meal with “fresh” servers and be done before the place gets packed.

The restaurant opens at 3:30. I believe they offer a limited bar menu until 5:30, when the full dinner menu begins. When I went there recently, we had a 5:30 res, at which time they were mostly empty. They were starting to fill up by the time we left. We didn't observe any service inadequacies, but perhaps that was due to our timing.

[Florida]

The only issue I have with the Publican concerns the service, which can be somewhat thin for the size of the restaurant. While the servers are knowledgeable, friendly, and they do attempt to be attentive, when the restaurant gets busy, they also get quite harried. Adding a server or two would improve the situation, but, as it would directly affect how much a server earns on a given night, I can’t imagine any of the current servers would be overly excited about this suggestion.

.

.

.

with the kitchen opening around 5, we can enjoy our meal with “fresh” servers and be done before the place gets packed.

The restaurant opens at 3:30. I believe they offer a limited bar menu until 5:30, when the full dinner menu begins. When I went there recently, we had a 5:30 res, at which time they were mostly empty. They were starting to fill up by the time we left. We didn't observe any service inadequacies, but perhaps that was due to our timing.

You are correct. And, from my experience and for obvious reasons, the service is better at 5:30 than it is at 8:30. It’s the same at Avec, though Avec is not somewhere I would ever imagine bringing my kid.