Balena.

My Dinner Club went to Balena last week. I absolutely love this space*, so I was glad I got there early for a good look around and a drink while I waited for people to arrive. For starters, I have to say the specialty cocktails were probably my favorite thing any of us ordered. Since I've been on a brown liquor kick I was deciding between the Francesco and the Mirto. The bartender wouldn't pick one over the other so I chose the Francesco. I had two. But I tasted several others and with one exception (the Dark&Stirred), loved them all. 

So awesome – we decided to just order a bunch of stuff and share. The Kale "Caesar" Salad for starters. I try and try, but I do not like kale. I also do not like anchovies but I tried those again too. I still do not like either one. The croutons and dressing were fantastic. Then we had the Brussels Sprout pizza. Out of all the things on the menu, I was the most ho-hum about the pizzas. Big mistake. It was my favorite thing we ate.

Of course I had studied the menu before we went and was deciding between the Tagliolini Nero – crab, sea urchin and chili – and the Roast Porchetta with creamy polenta and parsley red onion salad. We ordered both. The crab on the pasta was super good, but the dish itself could have been a lot warmer, temp wise. I didn't distinguish any sea urchin and I didn't care. I love black pasta though, so this was a good choice overall. We got two portions of it – good thing, otherwise we'd have each only gotten about a bite. The porchetta wasn't quite what I was expecting but it was also decent. More like a thick slice of ham with a crust of bacon around it (this is probably normal, I just wasn't expecting it). The polenta side was YUM. Better than the additional side of Baked Polenta with tomato fondue we also ordered, I thought. 

Dessert. Not normally having strong feelings about dessert one way or another, I conveniently opted out of the discussion on which one to pick. If pressed I side with chocolate anything. This was the case when a deciding vote was needed between the Mocha Parma Cotta and the Caramel Pine Nut Tart. As we ordered the Mocha, Teresa snuck in the second choice tart. Both were delicious, but the Mocha Parma Cotta – I can see myself going back for just that dessert alone. It was ridiculously good. Only one other dessert comes to mind that similarly blew me away, the salted caramel cheesecake at Enoteca Roma. 

And something must have been in the air because two people also ordered Caffé Corretto + Liquor. Who knows what the other liquor choice was – she sent it back to get the Faretti Biscotti Joy had chosen. I don't want to give too much credit to this shot of a coffee accompaniment, but it prompted a passing around of the small glass and sharing stories of losing virginity. Even the server delivering it was practically drooling just from it's scent.

So basically, I'd go back for sure. But I'd like to sit at the bar for drinks, pizza and dessert (+dessert coffee!).

*Our table was under the window (and kitchen!) on the right in the top image. 

**All images are from the Balena website.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

I seriously want to plan a trip to Japan around eating at this restaurant. I want to meet Jiro. What a fascinating, simple, disciplined, thoughtful, stoic man.

I want to walk in that subway. I want to breath in that restaurant. I want to watch him assemble the sushi. I want to bite into that tuna. I want to taste those damn eggs! (The egg apprentice made over 200 pans before one was accepted – then he cried). 

Jiro Dreams of Sushi was an interesting look into the life's work (literally, he started at age 10 and was still at it in 2011 at age 85) of a culinary master. The 10-seat restaurant, set underground in the subway, creates a custom 20-piece sushi menu every day for lunch and dinner. There is at least a month's wait to get a reservation, and the meal will cost around $300. I think I'd like to save up, reserve my spot, and fly around the world for dinner.

Ruxbin

We had Dinner Club at Ruxbin on Thursday. I loved this place.

I read about it a little online and of course studied the menu beforehand. I loved that they don't take reservations. I loved that it's BYOB. I loved their "house rules". I loved their rooftop garden. I was so excited to go.

Then I got there and one of the chefs was just hanging out outside. Totally nice. Totally approachable. I recognized him from the blog and felt awkward at first – but was quickly put at ease. So nice. I was glad I'd read about their seating policy and how our whole party was supposed to be there, but then I wasn't quite sure what to do/where to go – he was kinda blocking the door. It was nice out so I just decided to sit down on this – I don't know what to call it? – Structure? It was kind of a salvaged patio, kind of a train car, kind of an uncovered covered wagon? The seats were made out of plastic crate pallets, the end tables old elementary school desk tops, there was a "bar" with sliding glass medicine cabinet doors. The roof was simply a criss-crossed string of lights.

The other DC members started to arrive and we all sat out on the benches with the other people waiting for their complete parties to get there. It was a diverse group of people. The chef/greeter/"bouncer" went over the entire menu in extreme detail with one girl who was waiting. We listened. We drank cans of beer. At one point Jason let us know we could wait upstairs, inside, but we stayed put. (Upstairs on the landing there's a stainless steel industrial table and wooden bench on a balcony for waiting, a bathroom to the right, and an open doorway blocked with a deli-style refrigerator case and a view to the little kitchen with the chefs cooking behind it. Above the opening was a chalk board with the housemade sodas of the day: some kind of citrus passion fruit tea and a lavender lemonade (we had both, yum!)).

So before I talk about the food, I have to describe the bathroom. Remember those photography class dark room doors? That are more like a cylindrical can, and then the door spins around as you turn it and next thing you know, you're inside? That's the door to the bathroom. "VACANT --->" and "OCCUPIED <---" signs show you how to get in and if it's in use. Super cool and great. Then the walls were wallpapered with concert flyers and it was dark inside and lit by candles.

Ok, and the decor is all random and vintage and salvage and wood and metal and the overall effect is cozy and warm. Light streamed into the intimate tight dining room from the large picture window. All kinds of interesting lighting, shades, beams, bars, and colors filled the room. The ceiling is papered with pages from cookbooks.

There were five of us and we decided immediately we'd just order and share. We got four appetizers (tuna, beet salad, octopus, and garlic french fries). The octopus (grilled chickpeas, pickled green onions, radish, black soy bean, grapes and a ginger-scallion vinaigrette) – I think he said is marinated in wine for two days before it's prepared – was my favorite. But I don't think you can count the fries. Because the Fries. Were. Amazing.

For entrees we got the Tomato Tart, Sea Scallops, Amish Chicken, Pork Loin and Salmon. You can read the details here while the menu lasts. I loved it all. I think the consensus of the table, if we had to order them, went pork/chicken, tomato tart, scallops, then salmon. The dishes kind of rolled out staggered as they were prepared. Our server let us know/asked if that would be ok. We said yes.

Which leads me to, I thought the service was excellent. It was kind of service by everyone. Different people took our order, delivered plates, cleared empties, opened wine bottles. You could tell everyone there worked as a team and truly, they seemed to all genuinely love what they were describing, preparing, and serving. When we asked our waitress what her favorites are, she literally basically ended up listing everything on the menu!

I didn't get any shots of the actual food!
It was like the plates were cleaned the minute they were set down.

After dessert – we got both the berry shortcake and the pretzels & beer – we felt like we needed to beat it out of there to open up our table. So we took our leftover beer and wine and headed back to the "patio" out front for our after dinner cocktail. I have no idea if this was allowed or not, but nobody stopped us and nobody seemed to care.

Anyway, like I said originally, I loved this place. I can't wait to go back.

PS: The blog, which I kind of can't stop reading, is a thorough account of concept to creation to the opening of this restaurant. You can tell everyone involved loves it, which is probably why the people that go there love it too.

Nellcóte

Went Thursday with dinner club. AWESOME atmosphere. Adored our server (some girl with dark hair). Becker asked her if it was the old Marche (it is) and it launched into her taking us on a tour of what they are developing out back. There's a full champagne tasting room. All dark wood and marble. Then you walk out these french doors. They have this back actual alley that's been blocked off. Cobblestone-y, brick patio alley. Old French style poster ads are kind of plastered on garage doors and light strings illuminating the area. They plan to have tables back there. You access that area not thru the crazy bustling restaurant but down a little cobblestone pathway? I have no idea if this is true or not, but it also literally looked like a Hollywood set it was so perfect.

Seeing that was the highlight for me. We got 3 pizzas (margarita, sausage and mushroom (fave), truffle and fried egg); the asparagus salad; some skate fish thing (with persimmons I think?), to me too salty but a great consistency; and the steak (ribeye?) thing with pearl onions (yum!). Fancy shaved asparagus with dark walnuts and shaved parmesan. I'd like to try to recreate this at home. It's the kind of thing I could eat a huge bowl full..

Crazy friendly staff. Did not care at all that we were easily 20 minutes late for our reservation once everyone got there. Before dinner drink service was SLOW, but I guess if you order a specialty cocktail, the kitchen staff gets involved and well -- so duh, it takes longer. BUT yum. My "vodka" cocktail was delicious. It had mint in it. Not sure what else. Awesome contemporary music was kind of blaring (our server said it wasn't as loud as usual – Serious?) overhead. It is a huge, high-ceilinged place, with chandeliers and large pillars, and the poor acoustics are the only drag result of a super cool, simple, modern and antique architectural space.

So it was noisy. Our table of 8 turned to 6 was unable to hold one conversation. One solution is to go with a way bigger party, so it doesn't matter you can't hear everyone. But I would love to go back for an early dinner with a party of four or to sit at the bar for appetizers and cocktails right after work. Or brunch! Then watch the place fill in and leave when I couldn't hear anyone anymore. Although, I do think some time around midnight is when it's heightened sound and not being able to hear a single word anyone is trying to tell you, is part of what makes it so much greater.

And anyway, then there was this floor to ceiling wall of individual fresh lavender stem vases. Sorry but that's cool. Sitting outside in the summer would probably give you the perfect mix of music, vibe and talk-ability. I'd totally like to go back.

Chicago Chef's Table @ Province.

Two weeks ago, Marcia and I went to a book launch party for Ameila Levin's cool new cookbook, Chicago Chef's Table, which features over 50 of Chicago's best chefs, restaurants and recipes. It's a beautiful book, well designed with wonderful photography – a great addition to any cook's library, but especially for one with ties to Chicago.

The party was hosted by Province, and we got to enjoy not only champagne and several passed appetizers, but a 5-course dinner with accompanying wines, all put together by the restaurant's chef Randy Zweiban. It was amazing! I wish I had written down the appetizers (bummer!), but here's what we had for dinner:

Course One: Nichols Farm Asparagus Salad | goat cheese, pretzel chip, preserved lemon. Tomero, Torrontés, Medoza, Argentina, 2009.

Course Two: Tortilla Soup | Laughing Bird Farms shrimp, avocado salsa, smoked tomatillos. El Albar Lurton, Tempranillo Rosé, Castilla y León, Spain, 2011. (image sans soup)

Course Three: Alaskan Cod | fingerling hash, piquillo romesco. Hermanos Sastre, Tempranillo, Roble, Ribera del Duero, Spain, 2008.

Course Four: Becker Lane Pork "Cubano" | Nichols Farm black beans, rice, orange mojo. Cedro do Noval, Syrah/Touriga Nacional, Vinho Regional Duriense, Portugal, 2007.

Course Five: Chocolate and Orange Flans | orange-dulce de leche ice cream, orange salsa. Casa de la Ermita, Late Harvest Viognier, Jumilla, Spain, NV.

In looking up the Province website again now, I noticed they have a Spring Menu Dinner tasting event this Thursday.  It's $75 and totally worth it in my opinion – there's so much to try complete with great service and atmosphere. Unfortunately, I'll have to miss this one – I'll be enjoying a steak at Ruth's Chris.

One more thing. I think my favorite of the meal was the Tortilla Soup. I just happen to have the recipe!

Chicken Tortilla Soup by Randy Zweiban. (Serves 8)

3 chicken legs
3 chicken thighs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 cups canola oil, divided
6 white corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 cup diced red onion
6 tomatillos, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
3 medium red peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
2 quarts vegetable broth or stock

For the avocado relish:
1 ripe Haas avocado, peeled, pitted, and finely diced
1 tablespoon minced red onion
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Saute chicken until nicely browned, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from pan, set aside.

Add remaining oil to the pan and heat to 175°F, checking the temperature with a thermometer. Return chicken to pan and cover with lid or heavy-duty foil.

Roast in oven for 35-40 minutes or until meat is fork-tender. Remove chicken from pan, reserving the oil. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred, discarding skin and bones.

Heat the oil back up to 325°F. Fry the tortilla strips until crispy, about 1-2 minutes. Drain the strips on paper towels. Pour off all but one-quarter of the oil.

Heat the remaining oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion, tomatillos, garlic, and chile until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers, broth, and all but 1 cup of the crispy tortillas.

YUM!

No. 2

Pesto, tomato and mozzarella on crusty Italian bread. Tomato from Steve & Katy's garden.

Pizza Party.

We had a "build-your-own" pizza party on Saturday night. The idea was to bring ingredients and roll out/build pizzas for everyone to sample. Lindsey kicked it off with a truffle oil/truffle salted crust topped with arugula and pear and walnuts. Clay made one with carmelized onion and fennel, goat cheese and tomato. Another good one had sausage and gorgonzola, and another was a classic – pesto, garlic and tomato.

Steve made one with eggs, peppers and cheese, dipped in salsa (good, but we all sort of agreed it needed some meat). Katy made her spinach dip with parmesan cheese appetizer pizza. I loved Lindsey's dessert pizza: mascarpone blended with honey and spread over the crust, then topped with apricot, cranberries and pine nuts. Wow.

But for sure the show stopper was Dave's Fried Chicken Pizza.

On top of the crust he put a layer of provolone cheese, spread a layer of gravy, and heaped on a pile of mashed potatoes.

Then he added the shredded fried chicken, and finished it off with a layer of cheddar cheese.

After it came out of the oven, we garnished it with cole slaw. I've had cravings for it every day since. YUM!

Corn and Brat.

Went up to Wendt's place for the annual Corn and Brat festival in Williams Bay this weekend. Caribbean steel drum band, all the corn and brats and beer you can consume, fireworks, DJ, bands, beer pong... What more can you ask for? Except, of course, kicking the whole weekend off with dinner at Mars.

There was immediate seating on the patio, but how can you choose to do that when the alternative is to wait an hour for a table in the elegant dining room while you enjoy your first cocktail outside on the water? Um, not us. You need this in the background while you enjoy your ribs:

The SAME LADY is still playing the damn piano bar?! This lady was entertaining this joint when I was 10 years old.

Saturday it was grey and rainy. After a drive-by in Lake Geneva (town) we opted for a more local and lower key lunch at Gordy's. Bloody, beer back, tortilla soup and lunch followed by... a nice, long, 2 hour... NAP! Perfection.

So after numerous drive-by's of the C&B all weekend, it was time to hit it. But first, we loaded up our roadies and walked a couple blocks to Gage for the Caribbean band and party before the fireworks. Nothing like a band set up on a platform with a boat as the background to get you in the mood and watch the sun set.


When it seemed the kegs had run out at Gage, we made our way down to the madness of Corn and Brat.

This is where you got your ears of corn. As I got my second (sorry it was so good!) ear of corn, I realized that they weren't taking them out of the large tin cans that were lined up – stuffed full vertically on the grill with their husks sticking out – and THEN dipping them in butter...

Nope. On closer inspection (see the shiny, greasy husks?) it appeared they were literally heated IN the butter. And then you got to take your drenched corn to the shaker section and spice it up. Holy goodness.

The crowd was amazing. This t-shirt was a favorite.

A 12-oz beer was 2 tickets (2 bucks) and a "pitcher" was 7. No joke there was a table of people playing flip cup by the band/DJ that had, not exaggerating, a tower of at least 50 pitchers stacked empty on their table. We ended up beating it out of there, after dying laughing with two women who were convulsing over their 30 terrible i-phone self portraits, and joining some failed beer games – "If this is a beer drinking game when am I supposed to DRINK?" – around 11. Both nights had the most amazing, see-your-shadow, full moons that I've seen in a long time, too. Layed out on Pier 301 for a few hours and stopped by the Farm Stand on the way home. Super weekend.

DMK Burger.

Finally had dinner at DMK Burger this week. It was yum.

I ordered the #1 – Aged Cheddar, Smoked Bacon, Charred Balsamic Red Onions, Rufus Teague's BBQ Sauce. It was like a taste explosion happening in my mouth. Mary Jo got the #8 Patty Melt – Smoked Bacon, Burnt Onions, Leroy's Remoulade, Smoked Swiss on Griddled Rye. This was also delicious.

We split the Chili-Rubbed Onion Strings and Parmesan Truffle Cream fries. The fries were amazing. Onion strings were good. Then, we went right overboard and ordered shakes for dessert – To Go. I got the vanilla and it had flecks of vanilla bean in it. Her chocolate had a fudge swirl blended in. They were both so thick we couldn't sip them thru the straw and even added a second straw to get the pull going. I'd go back just for another shake.

*Photos from DMK website.

Cinco (Siete) de Mayo.

This party is a fun little "anniversary" of sorts. Besides the hosts, Eric and Kris, & Katy and Steve, it's the only time a year I see the other 20 or so other guests, and it's always interesting to catch up with them. I so love this now "tradition" and look forward to it again just about the minute it's over. Interestingly, now over the past two years, I've been reminded that altho we complain about it year after year, it really never is warm at the the beginning of May. Thinking back there's always a chill on the deck when we step outside, but the flowers are blooming and the Japanese maple always looks incredible. And even tho it was kind of raining, it was the perfect day for a party, and it's always a perfect day to eat some good food!

But let me back-track a second because prior to the party, I was given a very important assignment: Eric asked me to visit El Milargro at about 26th and California to pick up the chips and tortillas straight from the source. It was like a total different world down there. I want to go back and have dinner! But, going to the little store front and picking out tortillas from boxes on palettes on the floor (still warm) plus the chips everyone loves so much was a mini-adventure. The best part? 10 dozen tortillas and 4 bags of chips was only $9!!

Back to the party... There is always an assortment of beverage choices. Last year the hibiscus margarita made a debut, and I am happy to say there was a repeat performance (thankfully for my head, I learned a lesson and limited myself to only 2 instead of 30). Something made that a little easier... New to the mix was a melon horchata (like a cantaloupe juice, including blending the seeds which added a creamy consistency, and I believe maybe sugar and rice water?) that you could enjoy plain or with rum (with rum!). Super tasty.

Three different kinds of salsa (tomatillo, chipotle, and pasilla), plus a cucumber salad/relish/topping and chipotle relish. All great on chips (or tacos later).

The guacamole was amazing, but the second batch added a new twist. Eric blended in smoked salmon. I didn't think I'd like it but guess what? Delish!

The real visual stunner for me were the short ribs, prettily wrapped in banana leaves and cooked indirectly over the coals as well as steamed by their own juices dripping into a pan underneath outside on the grill. These were just as pretty to look at as taste.

Unwrapped short ribs.

The roasted pobano peppers, onions and cream is a crowd favorite. My favorite last year, I was glad to see it again.

This chicken might look pretty ordinary on the grill. I have no clue what he did to this thing. It was, truly, the most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth chicken I have ever eaten. This might be my second favorite thing I tasted all day. I was kind of bummed I got so full off the chips and everything else before I tried it, stupidly thinking, Eh, chicken? I went back for seconds even though I was totally stuffed.

Skirt steak, chicken and at the top there, the short ribs now off the bone for making tacos. There were chopped onions, cilantro, all the salsas and toppings, queso fresco, etc. to create your own combinations on lightly grilled corn tortillas.

That up there? Now, I'm not a dessert person. At all. Savory for me always wins... but this was my FAVORITE thing I tasted all day. What you're looking at is strawberries, bananas, plums and pecans, sauteed in butter and TEQUILA, and was served over homemade SOUR CREAM ice cream!! It was to die for! There was also chocolate chipotle ice cream, with chunks of chocolate covered chipotle peppers in it. Ridiculous.

What a great party. We missed Katy and Steve this year. That kid and all. But new to the crowd was my friend Sara who I have a feeling will be wanting to come back next year.