Chef Romy Jung

I recently received a call from Chef Romuald “Romy” Jung, former executive chef of The Palace Restaurant at The Cincinnatian Hotel. I met Romy while working in his kitchens for GOURMET SENSATION and other events, and have gotten to know him well by bumping into him at frequent chef-crawls (a clandestine operation involving lots of chefs, lots of food, and lots of alcohol). We’d dined at The Palace recently, as written up in this article. Since he left The Palace a few months ago, I’d lost touch with Romy.

But I am happy to report that Romy has resurfaced at Vito’s Café in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky. (The Happy Mouth Supper Club dined at Vito’s Café in November 2005.) Vito’s Café is run by Victor “Vito” Ciepiel, who ably manages the front-of-house operations. Vito occasionally takes to the small stage (which is situated between the two dining rooms, allowing great views from any seat in the house) and sings songs accompanied by a piano. In fact, all of the servers at the restaurant sing — arias, standards, and show tunes. Vito’s Café is known as the “Home of the Singing Servers”. The servers are from local colleges and universities where they’re studying vocal performance, and many go on to future success. Just ask Vito — he’s happy to tell you about their successes! The sound system is nicely managed — the volume of the music and signing never blows you away.

Vito, of Vito's Cafe

The restaurant is decorated in a kitchy-elegant style and the atmosphere in the dining room feels “clubby”, intimate, and relaxed, despite tablecloths over padded tables & cloth napkins. Tables aren’t too close together. Vito does a great job of circulating to all the tables to make sure everything is going well and that diners are satisfied. He also prepares one of their signature items tableside, the Wheel of Parmigiana (Fettucine Alfredo for two, prepared in a giant round of cheese).

The food at Vito’s is top-notch Italian, with a few American favorites added to the mix. Presentations are very nice, and portion sizes are not overwhelming. Prices are reasonable — entrees are in the $16-$29 price range. Vito’s is “kid-friendly” and yet manages to be a good choice for a romantic dinner as well (I’ve seen reviews where people write that they’ve gotten engaged at Vito’s — I’m sure Vito & staff go crazy over them!).

Chef Romy called to let us know that he started a Sunday brunch menu at Vito’s Café on September 21, 2008. He invited us to brunch, so we joined him on Sunday, September 28 for a lovely meal. We were greeted by name by Vito when we walked in (Vito is a tough one to miss — not only does he cut a commanding presence with his broad shoulders, big smile, and ponytail, but he does a great job of making sure you’re welcomed and seated as quickly as possible) and shown to our table near the center of the small dining room. Our server, Peter (a doctoral student at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music), took great care of us (and sang beautifully).

We started with eye-openers — a Pomosa for Wendy (Pomegranate juice & champaigne) and a Kir Royale for me. For brunch, Wendy sampled the Vito’s French Toast which is thick slices of homemade brioche drenched in vanilla pastry cream and studded with raspberries. I tried Café Benedict: two perfectly poached eggs (last week was “Poached Egg Week” in the cooking class I teach, so they’re on my mind) atop English muffin halves with Canadian bacon and a lovely Hollandaise. A roasted tomato cup accompanied my Benedict. Both dishes were delicious — the French Toast was delicious and delicate, and my dish was hearty and satisfying. Simple presentations were attractive and not over-done.

Chef Romy visited the table a few times to chat about his new position and how much he’s enjoying putting his 30+ years of fine dining experience and French training to use in an Italian kitchen. He showed us the new dinner menu which debuts in a few days (and is not yet on their website at this writing), and it looks outstanding. A few standouts to look forward to:

• Gorgonzola Garlic Bread with a white wine sauce
• Celery Root Cannelloni “without dough” — celery root shaved thin and wrapped cannelloni-style around fresh seasonal vegetables
• Warm goat cheese & pear salad
• Wild Boar Ragu — Wendy zeroed in on this dish and would have eaten it right. now. if only Romy had taken her subtle hint (which was, “bring me some of this right. now.”)!
• Lamb “Stinco” with creamy polenta and porcini sauce
• Truffle Risotto… Need I say more?

As we finished our brunch entrees, Peter quietly asked if we had any room left, because Chef wanted to send something out to us. Remember, kiddies… If the Chef wants to send something out — LET HIM. This is always a good thing. And Romy did not disappoint. He sent a Bellagio Omelet which is chunks of Lobster, fresh thin asparagus tips, Boursin cheese, and diced tomatoes and a side of their house-made Corned beef Hash. Both of these dishes were truly amazing, and despite feeling pretty full we finished them both (remember: eat through that feeling of saitity!).

The brunch at Vito’s is a casual, comfortable, enjoyable affair. The music is nice without being overwhelmingly loud, the hospitality is top-notch, and the food great. And good prices, too.

Vito’s Café is located at 654 Highland Ave. Suite 29, Ft. Thomas, KY 41075. The phone number for reservations (which are strongly recommended, and should be considered essential if you’re celebrating anything) is (859) 442-9444.

Closed since early January 2008, the IRON HORSE INN in Glendale Ohio has recently reopened. The building has a storied history, and it is great to see it open again under new ownership. Wendy and I have dined there twice as guests of the restaurant. This is a “preview-review”. Both of our meals have been in the upstairs dining room, so this review focuses on that space.

The IRON HORSE INN has clarified the vision of the restaurant, envisioning it now as two distinct eateries contained under one roof — downstairs presents a fine dining menu while upstairs has re-adopted the original name of the restaurant “Bracker’s Tavern” (which is slightly confusing…) and offers upscale bar food. It is possible to enjoy an informal meal with a cold beer or a nice glass of wine upstairs or to dress up and enjoy the fine dining options offered in the formal dining room downstairs. The downstairs dining room also features a chef’s table that, while not located in the kitchen, promises as-yet-unknown (to me) special treatment from the chef.

The exterior of the building has been spruced up — and it needed it since it had been neglected. The restfully-colored exterior is invitingly lit and the restaurant beckons with a warm glow. The patio out front is a great place to get a drink and a meal on a comfortable evening. Entering the front doors of the restaurant, you can either climb the short set of stairs to the second floor (an elevator is available and the entire restaurant is handicapped-accessible) for an informal meal or meet the front-of-house manager straight ahead, whose desk is placed at the French-door entrance to the downstairs (formal) dining room. The manager’s desk is imported from Vietnam and is decorated with crushed eggshells (really! — we checked this out with Robin, the owner) and is prettier than you would imagine.

Upstairs, there is a new sitting area just past the top of the stairs that provides a nice place to wait for a table, should the need arise. This new sitting area replaces a small dining room that was wasted space most of the time, and it houses another of the eggshell-decorated furniture pieces. The dark green walls, exposed ceiling beams, and long dark-wood bar of the dining room create a comfortable lodge-y feel. The tables are well-space, so your dining neighbors do not become your dining companions.

The kitchen has received a face-lift with the appointment of Chef Stefan Marcus as Working Chef in charge of the kitchen. His team puts out creative, confident dishes that give testament to Chef Marcus’ years of experience. The kitchen demonstrates restraint — there are no superfluous ingredients or garnishes on the plates. In conversation with Chef Marcus, his enthusiasm for the new venture is evident and infectious. He’s got big dreams for the IRON HORSE, and appears to be in a good position to make them come true.

In our meals there so far, we’ve sampled Jerk Chicken Quesadillas, Crab Cakes with house-made Remoulade, Clam Chowder, Buffalo Chicken Penne with a bleu cheese sauce, and a couple different Paninis with Sweet Potato Fries. Everything has been top notch (standout favorites include the Buffalo Chicken Penne, the Crab Cakes, and the Sweet Potato Fries) and the menu offers sufficient variety to remain interesting for some time. I don’t know if they run specials upstairs or not; on our two visits (one of which was a preview) there were no specials.

They offer “Funny Name Wines” in Bracker’s Tavern, too… an ever-changing selection of value wines with, well, funny names. While I think the idea is somewhat hokey, it seems to work and the couple different wines we’ve tasted have been very good values and reasonably drinkable.

For the most part, the IRON HORSE INN feels like an established restaurant, mostly free of the “opening jitters” experienced by some new places. However, on our visits, there have been a few issues ranging from menu grammar & spelling errors (”Tuna Tar-Tar”, anyone?!), the lack of short descriptions (or even just regions) on the “Funny Name Wines” list, and a few service issues (the wrong entrees were delivered to our table on one visit) reveal that this is, in fact, a new restaurant with a few growing pains.

But the IRON HORSE INN is worthy of your visit right now, and will continue to grow and mature through the startup. It might just become your new (old) favorite restaurant.

(We will eat downstairs soon and I’ll post about that.)

Contact the IRON HORSE INN at 513-722-3333.

Finally, some national attention paid to the developing food scene here in Cincinnati!

This time in an article about Lavomatic, which is run by a good friend of mine, Chef Joanne. The article is by David Tamarkin at Gourmet.COM and is worth checking out.

A few days ago, the members of Happy Mouth (and guests Julie & Terry) met to dine at Holly’s pick, Apsara, an Asian-fusion restaurant. We found that they had very nice sushi and a lobster soup that Wendy loved, and a nice curry. The rest of the food was very good as well (despite strong rumors to the contrary — inside joke).

There were a couple missteps, though. First, in a large (mostly-empty) restaurant, the management seated our large party (12-14) next to another large party in an otherwise-empty dining room. The noise was staggering, but even worse was that one lone server (with a lovely mullet) was serving both of our tables, which meant that service was slow and uneven.

But worst of all was when I noticed that my sushi order was a bit light — I hadn’t received everything I’d ordered. The server realized that he’d set my sushi plate down at the end of the table, and their sushi order was set before me. Both of us had started eating, but the server simply grabbed the plates and swapped them. Now, I’m no prude, and the folks that had their fingers in my food are friends, but that still counted as a giant mistake in my book. <sarcasm>Fortunately, the server went deaf just before I started complaining.</sarcasm> Otherwise, the food and experience was fun.

Another successful Happy Mouth!

From August 8-12, 2008, Wendy & I were in lovely Houston Texas to attend the wedding of a friend of mine. Why they chose to get married in TEXAS in AUGUST is beyond me, but we had a great time despite the oppressive heat and humdity!

Our flights were short and uneventful and we landed in Houston’s Hobby Airport with the entire day stretching out ahead of us. We got our rental car and headed to the hotel, the La Quinta Inn on West Loop South, in the city’s swanky Galleria district. We didn’t expect to be able to get into our room since we were several hours early for their 3:00pm check-in. We were pleasantly suprised that Paul, the front desk clerk, allowed us to go right up. The La Quinta Inn was much nicer than we expected. It had a nice pool and hot tub, and the room was clean, interestingly laid-out (not just a box), and included a mini-fridge and a microwave. We got settled into our room and then went out to find some lunch.

I’d done some research on dining options in Houston (B4-U-EAT was very helpful) and we had made some dinner reservations (NOÉ and Feast) and decided against various restaurants (Cafe Annie, Mark’s American, The Grove, DaMarco, Dolce Vita, etc) for various reasons. However, as we were driving toward our original lunch destination that day, I spotted Cafe Annie. We pulled in to get some lunch only to be informed that they weren’t open yet that day. Wendy & I went and did a little shopping for stuff we’d forgotten and then headed back to Cafe Annie for a really enjoyable lunch and a nice culinary introduction to Houston.

Cafe Annie is an elegant place, once you’re inside. From the outside, where it sits at the end of a strip mall, it looks a little dilapidated. Walking up to the doors, we were a little nervous. But once inside, there are comfortable banquettes surrounded by rich wood and brass trimmings, and padded tables set with table linens and nice silver. Professionally attired servers and bussers move silently through the room.

We were seated in a corner table on the raised perimeter of the room, overlooking the entire dining room. Shortly, we were served an amuse bouche of salmon salad with a spicy sauce on a small thin square of fresh jicama. We ordered soups — Wendy had tortilla soup and I had roasted corn soup. Both were very tasty. For my entree, I had the Wood Grilled Salmon with BBQ Guajillo Chile Sauce, which was absolutely delicious. The salmon was perfectly prepared — just a touch translucent on the inside — and the Guajillo Chile sauce was piquant without overpowering the flavor of the fish. The entree was served with a very fresh roasted corn salad. Wendy enjoyed her Redfish Roasted in Banana Leaf with Artisan White Grits very much — the fish was tender and delicious, and the white grits were outstanding. The entire experience at Cafe Annie was very pleasant. I’m glad we were able to eat there!

That evening, we dined at NOÉ (pronounced “no-weh“, shockingly (and inappropriately) close to “no way“) at the Omni Houston Hotel, again surprisingly close to our hotel. Finding the restaurant makes you forget that you’re in the middle of a giant city. The huge red sign outside the hotel is easy enough to spot, but you wind your way back quite a distance down their long driveway before coming upon the lobby entrance. You feel like you’ve driven well out of the city and are miles away. Inside the lobby, the Omni is very impressive. The entrance to NOÉ is off to the left side of the lobby, and walking through their doors transports you again from the bustling lobby (which was hosting a noisy wedding reception) into a quiet, calm, and welcoming restaurant with modern touches.

As I recount our courses, please excuse any name errors — I am reading from the scribbled shorthand notes provided to us by the waiter. (It is another opportunity for the restaurant to impress customers with the level of service when the request to “keep track of what we eat and drink” is taken seriously! The shorthand notes are acceptable to me, but a “civilian” diner might not like them. There is nothing like a beautifully printed, dated menu of food & wine to send with the guests.)

• Amuse Bouche: Gazpacho shooter
• Tuna Tartare with Pineapple, Avocado, Cilantro, and Soya, paired with a Jenna Reisling
• Roasted Sea Scallops with Forest Mushrooms, Vidalia Onions, and Crispy Parsley paired with Sterling Sauvignon Blanc
• Pan Roasted Salmon with Pasta Pearls, Baby Spinach, Grape Tomatoes, and Basil Broth paried with Bargo Macredo Pinot Nero (this wine was a real standout)
• Braised Beef Short Rib with Baby Leeks, Horseradish Soubise, Carrots, and the delicious Braising Jus paired with an Edna Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Gosh, do I love short ribs. I know they’re the trendy food right now, but goshdarnit, they deserve to be.
• a fairly pedestrian cheese course with three selections paired with a nice 20-year old Floodgate Tawny Port
• Creme Brulee with Ellio Perron Rose Moscato di’Uva.

It was a wonderful meal! Chef Steven Musolf came out and chatted with us for a while after dinner. It was nice to meet him — he’s a young guy, very passionate about food (he recently — and controversially — took foie gras off his menu), and quite talented.

Our chief complaint (one of only a few — for example, I wish they had foie gras on the menu though Chef Steven was able to articulate their reasons for not having it in a convincing way) was that the place was essentially empty the entire time we were there on a Friday evening. We saw just a few other diners during our meal, and were significantly outnumbered by the number of staff running around trying to look busy. I don’t understand that… The restaurant is very good, the prices are reasonably within fine-dining standards, the hotel is posh, & parking is easy (valet). Plus, the chef is new (he arrived in May). I think the place should be packed with local foodies checking it out. And it’s worth it. After a tremendously enjoyable and relaxing dinner, we headed back to the hotel and to bed after a busy day.

The next day was the wedding of Tucker and Patience. We woke up in the morning, went for a dip in the hotel’s pool, and then went to the church (which wasn’t far from our hotel) a bit early. We were the first guests there, followed shortly by Nora, the next-door-neighbor of Tuck & Patience. After chatting with her for a few minutes, a long-haired guy in a tuxedo came out. I thought he was Tucker (we’ve been email friends for over 6 years but had never met in person), so I jokingly asked him for a kiss. The guy’s eyes went really wide, and he looked very confused, at which point I said, “You’re not Tucker.” He quickly agreed, informing me that he was, in fact, NOT Tucker and was the best man. Embarassed, I asked him to take me to Tucker. I went back to the groom’s ready-room to find Tucker standing, nervous. I talked to him for a few minutes before assessing that he was far too focused on the upcoming nuptials to be a sparkling conversationalist, so I excused myself and went out to the sanctuary.

Their wedding was very nice — understated and intimate. Patience appeared just a little petrified as she walked down the aisle, but still managed to look stunningly beautiful in her dress. Tucker did NOT lock his knees and, therefore, did NOT pass out (though he was sweating up a storm!).

At the end of the wedding, we followed the caravan of people to a lovely house for a reception with cake, champaigne, and all manner of snacks, including our first taste of true Tex-Mex fajitas. Delicious! While there, we learned that if you’re a young Texan, you stand outside in the heat & humidity. If you’re an older Texan, you stay inside in air-conditioned comfort. Wendy & I drifted back and forth from inside to outside, and that was reasonable. We also learned a new (drinking) game — The Name Game, the rules of which are as follows:

• Go around in a circle in one direction. One person starts with a name, for example, “Johnny Rotten”.
• The next person says a name beginning with the first letter of the last name you said (”R”, in this case, resulting in “Robert Goulet”, followed by “George Thoroughgood”). You must be actively drinking while thinking of the name. Real, living, dead, fictional — it doesn’t matter as long as another person backs you up on the name.
• If it’s a double-letter name (”Tommy Tune”) or a single name (”Zeus”), then the direction reverses, which allows for “battles” between two players.

It’s really easy, a lot of fun, and FINALLY provides an outlet for all your esoteric band-member names or comic-book hero names.

A day or so later (Wendy & I somewhat holed-up and swam, watched Olympics, and were lazy, so time is a blur), Tucker & Patience joined us for dinner at FEAST, a 3-month-old restaurant in Houston for a delicious dinner celebrating their marriage. It was their first time expreriencing fine dining, so it was very exciting to watch them, and the fine folks at FEAST took outstanding care of us.

We started with Sweetbread and Pea Soup (though we didn’t tell Tucker or Patience what sweetbreads were until after they tried them (and loved them!) — don’t worry; we weren’t being deceptive… Tucker & Patience told us to encourage them to try new things and they were real troopers about it!). The soup was pureed and finished with a handful of fresh peas thrown in for texture and color, and the sweetbreads were a delicious replacement for a crouton garnish. A second starter of Roast Pork Belly with Radish and Orange Salad was lovely. I am so happy pork belly is appearing on more menus… Two of my favorite things (pig and roasted meat) are involved! The weakest dish of the evening was the Duck Liver Pate, which had a too-soft texture and was overly liver-y. Throughout the evening, we enjoyed two wines… Macon-Villages Old Vine Unoaked Chardonnay (2006) and Albert Bichot Bourgogne Pinot Noir (2006).

We moved on to our entrees… Wendy had the Lamb Shank with Kale and Roasted Potatoes, perfectly prepared and cooked. I had the Pork Cheeks, Duchess Potatoes, and Red Cabbage with Apples, which was delightfully fatty (perhaps too much so if you weren’t expecting it, but if you’re not expecting it, what are you doing ordering this dish?!) and extremely tasty. Tucker & Patience both enjoyed their Smoked Salmon, Bacon and Scallop Pie, Topped with Mash and served with Braised Leeks. Tucker called it “a bowl full of awesome”, and I do believe he was correct. The braised leeks combined two of my other favorites — braising and leeks — (though I particularly adore fried leeks (take note, future culinary students of mine!)).

We were pleasantly surprised when the server brought out a lovely Summer Berry Pavlova to commemorate their wedding day (a pavlova! in Houston! in August! — check that out, Joanne!), and we added a scoop or two of the outstanding Treacle Toffee Ice Cream to round out the excellent meal. A visit from Chef Richard completed the evening, and we headed home, full but tired.

The next day, Wendy & I explored Rice University, the Houston Zoo, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. All were excellent (though the Zoo in August was a sweaty experience!). Lunch was at Mi Luna (against the protestations of one of my students, Rice alum Miguel, who encouraged us to RUN!). We bravely chose not to heed his warning and were rewarded with a very nice brunch.

For dinner that evening, we decided to lay low, near the hotel, and ended up at California Pizza Kitchen. After eating their frozen products for so long, it was nice to enjoy it fresh-from-the-oven. The next day, we had lunch with Tucker & Patience at one of their favorite TexMex places (delicious brisket tacos!) before heading to the airport for the ride home.

It was a great trip. We really enjoyed the food, the company, and the wedding.

Independent Restaurant Week is coming! Independent Restaurant Week is coming!

Check out the list of independent restaurants, many of whom will be participating, on the site. There are some mighty-fine eateries there!

Join in for restaurant week, won’t you?!

This month’s selection, by Ted, of the outing for HAPPY MOUTH SUPPER CLUB came as an accidental surprise. Apparently, when Ted was seeking a place for us to go, someone mentioned Maribelle’s CAKERY, which Ted misunderstood as Maribelle’s TAVERN, which he picked as our destination.

A happy accident it was, too… Situated near the river on the east side of town, this small neighborhood place offered good upscale-bar-type food and beverages at reasonable prices. Everything was plenty tasty! A few mis-steps here and there (some of our party had overcooked food and heavy seasoning on a few items). Accidental or not, it was a good pick, Ted!

Wednesday, July 16 2008 was a Wine Dinner event at the Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. It was hosted by Chef Matt Winterrowd and the cooking staff of The Summit restaurant, and they did a great job.

First Course
Scallops with gnocchi and fava beans served with Basa Blanco Rueda 2007

Soft-shell crab

Second Course
Soft shell crab with black beans, avocado, lime and chilies with Vega Sindoa Chardonnay 2006

Roasted Pork

Third Course
Roasted Pork with tomatillo, jicama and plaintain with Tres Picos Garnacha 2006

Grilled Wagyu

Fourth Course
Grilled Wagyu Hanger Steak with Porcini, Polenta and Pecorino and kale with Bodegas Volver Tempranillo 2005 and Altos De Luzon 2004

Cheese course

Fifth Course
Cheese Tray of LaSerena, raw sheep, Spain
Drunken Goat, Spain
Mrs. Quickes Cheddar, England
Bleu d/Auvergne, France
and white chocolate truffle with Jorge Ordonez Especial Muscat 2005

For this month’s outing, a bit of a change-up… The members of HAPPY MOUTH SUPPER CLUB met for brunch at Lavomatic, one of the Jean-Robert French Restaurant Group’s newest places. It’s a favorite of mine for their fresh, local, organic ingredients and whimsical preparations, plus the executive chef is a good friend of mine (hi Joanne!).

Wendy & I just got home from a short trip to Chicago. We went so I could participate in the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) Annual Industry Conference. Wendy went along for the ride and to take in the sights of Chicago.

The conference was extremely informative as I come up to speed in my new position (Associate Director of Graduate Admission) in the College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. There were approximately 750 attendees from all over the world who went to lots of concurrent breakout sessions on varied topics – from Women’s MBA issues to pitching an idea in 30 seconds to evaluation of Customer Relationship Manager software and much, much more. One of the stated goals of the conference organizers was to make it difficult to decide between concurrent sessions, and they overshot in that attempt – it was nearly impossible to select between sessions! In fact, one suggestion that I will make to the conference organizers for future conferences is to offer some of the concurrent session offerings multiple times. During one of the breakout times, I wanted to attend 3 of the 4 offered sessions! The sessions I attended were excellent and really helped me in my ongoing learning process.

During the conference, Wendy enjoyed the Field Museum, some shopping, exploring Navy Pier, and other solo endeavors.

Around my sessions, we enjoyed exploring Chicago’s many fine eateries.

After a reasonable & uneventful 4-hour drive to Chicago, we had time for lunch before my conference began. We walked to Giordano’s Pizza, just a few blocks from our hotel near the south end of the “Magnificent Mile”, which is Chicago-style pizza at its finest. At the suggestion of our server, we split a small stuffed pizza filled with pepperoni and mushrooms. The menu (and server) will tell you that the pizzas take 35-40 minutes to bake and you may be tempted to order an appetizer to nosh while you wait (like we did). I suggest that you resist this temptation – not because their appetizers are not excellent (they are delicious) – but because the “small” pizza was too much for us to handle after the appetizers!

And you want to enjoy as much of this pizza as you can – the thick bottom crust is filled with an obscene amount of gooey, melty mozarella cheese and your selected ingredients, then topped with another crust which is itself topped with delicious marinara sauce. The server brings the pie to your table and offers to plate it for you. Say yes and you’re treated to her efficiently sliding the spatula under the thick slices and lifting it high into the air, delicious strands of cheese arching gracefully back to the pan. The pizza is delivered to the plate, the long cheese strands cut (and delivered onto your plate where they quickly cool and become a delicious chewy first bite before you dig into the pizza). Each bite is a mixture of pleasure and pain – pleasure because it is just. so. good, and pain because you know you’re filling up (especially after appetizers) and that you won’t be able to a> finish the pie or b> take the leftovers to the hotel (no fridge in the hotel room, you see). If you are hard-core, you might even find room for their exceptional desserts.

After conference events, Wendy & I were joined by my boss Jackie for dinner at Le Colonial, a short cab ride from the hotel. Le Colonial is a French-Vietnamese restaurant that captures the spirit of French colonial Southeast Asian from the 1920s. We started with drinks in the cozy upstairs bar (I had a lovely glass of Block 19 Cuvee from the Hess Collection (Napa)) then moved to our table in the front of the restaurant, overlooking Rush Street. We sampled a variety of dishes, and all were exceptional… Banh Cuon (steamed ravioli with chicken and crimini mushrooms with a lime garlic sauce) was tasty but lacked the promised “slight kick” of spiciness that led me to the dish. Ca Bam Xuc Bahn Trang was a real highlight of the evening. A dice of monkfish (poor man’s lobster!), chili, lemongrass, and peanuts served with toasted sesame crackers had us all craving more. I could have eaten a full order of that myself. Ca Song, tuna tartare with cilantro, tomato, and cucumber in a ginger soy dressing and served with wonton chips was another favorite on the table. The dressing added a subtly different flavor than what we’re used to on tartare, and it worked beautifully. Entrees were Ca Nuong (grilled salmon over vermacelli noodles with lime-garlic sauce), Vit Quay (roasted duck with a tamarind dipping sauce), and Wendy had a delicious shrimp dish (will check and get the correct dish on here ASAP!). Everything was very fresh and well-presented (though my hot duck dish was served on a cold plate – my Basic Cooking 1 students do not make this mistake!). I felt like the restaurant was a very good choice, though it wasn’t attempting to blaze new culinary frontiers (I cannot fault this – it has a laser-focused concept which does not permit much culinary invention). Still, a rock-solid meal and well-worth a visit.

After Friday’s full day of conference sessions, Wendy & I grabbed an enjoyable meal at Heaven on 7, directly across the street from our hotel, before heading to the Oriental Theater to see WICKED. The restaurant is on the second floor of the building and sports the largest collection of hot sauces I’ve ever seen (and I’ve see the collection at Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati!). Apparently, if a chili-head can bring in a bottle of hot sauce unknown to the restaurant, they award a free meal. We very much enjoyed our dishes – I had BBQ Brisket served with etouffee of the day, tater tots, and cole slaw) which I liberally dosed with some of the (18 bottles – we counted!) of hot sauce on our table. Wendy had Orzolaya which was also delicious. We split a Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffin which was served warm from the oven and was delicious slathered with honey butter.

After dinner, it was a quick cab ride to the Oriental Theater to see their production of WICKED. The inside of the theater itself is so ornately designed that it’s almost in competition with the spectacular set for WICKED. Ornate designs and sculptures line the enormous domed ceiling and surrounding pillars, with some truly fascinating work visible just over the head of the set’s moving “Time Dragon” piece. The show was very good (as expected), though the performances were lowest of the 4 times we’ve seen the show. It was as if the three leads (Glinda, Elphaba, and Fiyero) eased into their performances – the first half of each of their songs was their vocal warmup. Overall, the performances lacked the power and vocal strength that we’ve come to expect from other productions. Still, an extremely enjoyable evening, even with these minor annoyances. We also discovered the trick to getting a cab outside a busy theater… Walk half a block away from the theater and you can get a cab without delay.

After the conference ended on Saturday afternoon, Wendy & I were joined by Eric, my colleague at University of Kentucky, to wander around Chicago a little bit. Eric & I went to the top of the Hancock Tower while Wendy shopped at Water Tower Place (Wendy is not interested in ANYTHING 94 floors off the ground!). Expect photos shortly. After returning to earth, the three of us explored all three floors of the American Girl store, because, well, you have to see it to believe it. And even then, it is truly unbelievable. Eric was a capable tour guide through the store – he, like me, had learned that American Girl existed only a short time ago. Before you freak out, consider this… Eric & I are the wrong gender, the wrong age, and entirely the wrong demographic for American Girl. Therefore, I hope it is understandable how we were ignorant of this phenomenon. Get your photo with your doll? Get your doll’s hair styled? Take your doll to the “hospital” for repairs? Buy matching outfits for you and your doll? Pay over $100 for a doll?! Whodathunkit!

Once we picked up our jaws, we walked down to Navy Pier to get cheeseburgers at Billy Goat Tavern, reportedly where John Belushi got his idea for the famous “Cheeseborger… Cheeseborger… Cheeseborger… No Pepsi! Coke! No fries! Chips!” routine for Saturday Night Live. While we didn’t hear any of that patter and the burgers led us to a discussion of our favorite burgers (note that Billy Goat Tavern appeared on no one’s list!), it was reasonably tasty food. We walked all the way around the pier and headed back to the hotel so Eric could (not) catch his plane back to Kentucky.

Wendy worked out and I napped in the room before heading off to an anticipated dinner at Blackbird, in the West Loop of the city. We entered the funky, bright space and were promptly seated at a small table along the wall. The space is very open, bright, and minimally decorated. It is also fairly loud, which makes intimate conversation difficult (though we did enjoy talking with the locals to my right (thanks for the brunch suggestion) and the recent college graduate and her family to my left) but evokes a community experience.

When Wendy made our reservation, we decided to do the 7-course tasting menu since that gave us an opportunity to see the scope of the restaurant. Our server was David (“Bear”), who took exceptional and extremely personable care of us through it all. We opted for paired wines with our tasting menu (a great value). The dishes and wines were as follows (thanks to David for keeping track of what we ate – and for doing so on one of the restaurant’s menus, so we not only have a list of our food, but of the restaurant’s offerings!):

• Amuse: Marinated Octopus Salad with Rapini Pesto, Strawberries, and Sea Beans
  Henriut Brut, N.V., “Souverein”
• Chilled Cuttlefish with Jicama, Snow Peas, Cardamom – the cuttlefish was cut into long, thin, spaghetti-like strips. The entire dish screamed freshness.
  2006 Dr. Von Brasserman, Jordan, Trocken Riesling
• Grilled Beet Marinated California Sturgeon with Boiled Beets, Stinging Nettles, Rhubarb, and Sunflower Seed Puree – a definite highlight of our evening, this dish with its mile-long list of ingredients actually worked extremely well without an ingredient out of place. A revelatory dish, instructing on balance and careful thought to ingredients.
  2006 Francois Pinon Vouvray, “Cuvee Tradicion”
• Seared Tasmanian Sea Trout with Cherry Molasses, Kohlrabi, Baby Turnips, Forbidden Black Rice, and Salad Burnet – such a lovely, unexpected dish. The sea trout has a salmon-like texture and color, perfectly complimented by the flavors of the cherry molasses. The black rice tuile was a nice textural counterpoint.
  2006 Gypsy Dancer Pinot Noir “Emily Ann Cuvee”
• Seared foie gras with pickled cherries, caraway ice cream – in honor of Chicago’s recently-lifted foie gras ban, we requested this special course. While not seared as “hard” as I’m used, it was delicious. The caraway ice cream was a funky counterpoint to the flavor, and it worked.
  2002 Chateau Sigalas, Rabaud, Sauternnes
• Braised Rack of Lamb with fresh soybeans, spring radishes, pickled feta, and lovage
  1999 Mazur & Fils Cotes Du Rhone “Cuve Mazurka” – we felt that this wine didn’t pair particularly well (with the radishes), so David brought a wonderful Zinfandel that was outstanding (though he didn’t write down what it was!).
• Cheese tasting, epoisses, germain affine au chablis. David offered an extra course, a cheese course that he feels “is missing” from the tasting menu. He asked Wendy (I was away from the table) if she “wanted Epoisses or…” and Wendy cut him off, saying, “Epoisses”. So David brought a lovely taste of epoisses.
  Unibroue “Ephemere” – a wheat/barley beer brewed with apple must, this was a shock (especially to Wendy who is a reluctant beer drinker (at best)) but it paired surprisingly well.
• Goat Cheese Tart with pumpkin seed granola, meyer lemon sorbet, and marmalade and Milk Chocolate Fritters with apricots, soy and rice milk sorbet – the tart was excellent, perfectly complimented by the sorbet (I could eat gallons of that stuff). The soy and rice milk sorbet was an interesting flavor profile with the chocolate fritters, but it satisfied on multiple levels – deep sweet notes from the chocolate, crunchy from the exterior of the fritter, bright sweet notes from the apricots, and a salty flavor from the sorbet.
  Elio Perrone Moscato d’Asti and
  2000 Bertrand Grand Cru Banyuls

We were both deeply impressed with the service, atmosphere, quality of food, and overall experience at Blackbird restaurant. It’s a fun, funky place with great, innovative food at reasonable prices considering the quality and variety of offerings. One of the owners (“Danny” or “Donnie” – as stated, it is a fairly loud place!) stopped by the table and we shared our enthusiasm with him before we headed back to the hotel.

Sunday morning, we had time only for brunch before hitting the road, so we walked down to Bistro 110, one of Wendy’s brother’s favorite places to eat in Chicago. And it’s easy to see why it’s a favorite. Everything – from the warm bread with roasted garlic, raspberry jam, and butter served when we sat down to Wendy’s Grand Mother’s Frittata with bacon, mushrooms, onions, parsley, and garlic to my Eggs Louisana (poached eggs atop crab cakes with creole and hollandaise sauce) to the pomme frites & angel hair onions we shared – was excellent. It’s a lovely place for brunch, too, offering jazz on Sunday (maybe other days as well). Simple food done exceptionally well.

After eating, we jumped in the car and headed home from a great trip to Chicago. We look forward to going back!