Vintage Wine Bar -- Chicago, IL

Howdy, I am attempting to back track here since I have been to many a restaurant I have not commented on. A few weeks ago, we were wandering Division Street. We were planning on going to Jerry's Sandwich shop. Jerry's is a fantastic little place that serves about 100 sandwiches on their menu. It sounds like a deli but it really is a very nice, quaint, down-to-earth deli that serves wine and beer as well. Anyways, Jerry's was a minimum 30 minute wait so we decided to continue walking. We did not get far (next door) and I said I had always wanted to go to Vintage Wine bar but never had. We checked out the menu.

It is a quaint little restaurant, dimly lit and a very nice, easy going atmosphere. They a few $10 flat bread pizzas so we decided to try it out. This ended up being a nice little gem. I think I will go back there often. We ordered a bottle of wine and then got two pizzas (a BBQ Chicken pizza and an Artichoke, spinach and goat cheese pizza). Both were really, really good. The main complaint I found with Vintage resides in the small jazz band that was playing. They were really loud, really too loud for a smaller, quaint restaurant.

I am still amazed by how much the atmosphere of a restaurant can influence your night. You would think it is all about the food and the people you are with. We enjoyed this place because we were able to just relax. The pizzas were very moderately priced and a good size, let alone good.

To close the dinner out we ordered the creme brulee. It was good, but not as good as the creme brulee I had in St. Kitts. All in all, a really good dinner for $80 considering we bought a bottle of wine. We lingered in Vintage just chatting it up and staring at other people around us. It is funny, sometimes when you call a restaurant a "wine bar" you will find "wine snobs" that clearly frequent the place just because it is a "wine bar." We enjoyed about a 8 minute convo/laugh watching a young gentleman who would only hold his wine glass by the stem (clearly to not compromise the temperature of his white wine, which clearly would have occurred had he held the wine glass by the actual oblong vessel in which the wine was relaxing).

I have probably ordered around 10 bottles of wine together in the past 5 weeks. No, I do not have a problem but every time, the server is clearly trained to go through the "wine presentation" with me. This would include:

1. Presenting me with the bottle
2. Uncorking (hopefully cleanly though we have run into a few servers in those 10 who broke the cork and had to get a new bottle)
3. Pouring the individual who ordered the wine a small tasting
4. Allowing me to comment on the wine, the serving glasses to those other(s) at the table.

To me this process is annoying. I ask the server sometimes if they have actually ever had someone send a bottle back and they commonly say, "Yes, I have." This astonishes me. It also makes me proud to be only a pseudo-wine snob. I like wine that I like. Typically I stay away from the boxed stuff or overly fruity wines but that is where I draw the line. Some of these people get so full of themselves and "enjoy the process" described above. Just pour me the wine, let me drink it. If I order crap wine, that is my fault. If I order crap food, that is my fault for not (1) finding a good restaurant and (2) ordering something that I could trust would turn out well.

Well, I turned Vintage into a wine tangent but it was a good place, I will definitely go back. It was nice to go to a place that is not commercially known and still enjoy the experience. I hope to try something new next time and write another great review.

Nacional 27 -- Chicago, IL

So, once again I have been slightly slacking. Aunt Peggy thank you for the virtual kick in the ass to "lock it up" and write a post. I will start with my dinner last night but then go back and review a few of the places from St. Kitts.

So, last night a few friends and I decided to try somewhere new. We chose Nacional 27 in River North in Chicago. Here is what was ordered:

1. Ceviche Sampler: Shrimp and Scallop • Cold Smoked Tasmanian Salmon • Ahi Tuna and Watermelon -- $11.95
   
2. Grilled Tasmanian Salmon: Spinach, Fennel, Spring Onions, Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette -- $19.95
   
3. Beef Tenderloin "Medallions": Spanish Cheese-Potato Gratin, Red Wine Jus Truffle, Blue Cheese -- $23.95
4. Me: Pacific Blue Nose "Huachinango": Tomatillo Salsa, Arroz Verde, Cilantro Sauce -- $21.95
5. Bottle of Wine: 2005 Fillaboa Albariño -- $32

I will get the negatives out of the way first because overall this was a great dinner and experience and I would definitely go back to Nacional 27 again. We wanted to sit outside but decided against it as the table next to our's had a dog that was walking around our table. So, we opted to sit inside. It was a Tuesday night around 8:15. As a result, it was a pretty slow night. The wait staff was fairly slow in dealing with us. After an initial greeting from David, another server took over. This was fine as maybe it was time for David to go home since it was slow. Our new server was knowledgeable and nice but like I said, he was slow. Not like, sorry I am busy slow but almost like he forgot about us a few times. We ordered the bottle of wine and instead of leaving the bottle at the table, it was set away from us and we had no idea where it was at. Our server did refill our glasses for us but only when he saw we were sitting with near empty glasses of wine. Other then the slow service, this was truly a great experience. Once again, I attribute this to the slow night they were having.

We were started with a chef's treat of three homemade fried potato chips with a house made ceviche on it with manchego cheese and a drizzle of lemon vinaigrette. I think every single restaurant that truly serves great food should do this. No, we did not pay for it but it was a fantastic treat while we were looking over the menu and provided us with a trust in the chef that whatever we ordered was truly going to be amazing.

After long deliberation, we chose our meals as stated above. They provided us with a bread basket with homemade bread and some breadsticks along with a black bean dip and a chipotle dip. Both were great and it was nice to get different types of bread with something other then the standard butter.

The wine was fantastic, light, crisp and dry. It would have tasted even better had Rufus the dog not inhabited our outdoor table. The food was great. I did not taste The other dishes but they said the food was great. My fish was fantastic. There was a really spicy salsa verde which made each bite fantastic and luckily for me went great with the wine. I had never heard of Huachinago fish before. It is from the pacific and my waiter informed me it was similar to grouper. It was fantastic and grilled. Dinner did not last that long because the food was so good.

We decided to try some desserts. I had the coffee creme brulee. This was a let down. The creme portion was very bland with an overwhelming espresso taste at the end which was somewhat bitter. There needed to be some sort of sweetness added. Reid had the Roasted Pumpkin Flan which he was was great and tasted like really good pumpkin pie. A flan should not have the consistency of pumpkin pie but as long as it tasted good, that is what matters. I guess flavoring the flan with pumpkin automatically will make it a different consistency.

Overall a great meal and I would definitely go back. Nacional 27 has salsa dancing on the weekends which would be fun to go and watch. Apparently they have fantastic mojitos and one has habeneros in it, sounded really interesting. I would try the churros with carmel ice cream if I went back and I was very tempted to try the skirt steak since that is typically a stable at a latino restaurant.

Once again, I had a different dining experience. It was nice to have people from different aspects of my life at dinner. Everyone had met previously, which I think helps. But, once we got the ball rolling, we talked about a lot of stuff and did a little people watching (always a fun Watson past time). The nice part as well was this felt like we were actually adults. Sometimes, at the age of 26-27, people are stuck in one extreme or the other (socially speaking). They either want to run around wild and crazy like they are actually on spring break or they are married and only do the dinner party thing. This was the perfect adult mix for us because we had fun, laughed and enjoyed some wine and good food but also were able to get out to this nice dinner on a Tuesday night, something inconceivable when we were younger.

More to come....

NaHa -- Chicago, IL

On March 7th, I went to NaHa in Chicago. It is located in River North, near the Hard Rock restaurant in Chicago. I had a visit that day that did not last all day so I figured this was a good chance to try a more expensive restaurant.

NaHa was fantastic. I ordered the Wood-Grilled Cap of Sirloin Brushed with Olive Oil and Herbs, Caramelized Broccoli, "Hen of the Woods" Mushrooms, Glazed Shallot, Butternut Squash and Herb Natural Jus. It was $19 and fantastic.

The cap of sirloin was smoked while it grilled. They must have used wood to burn the grill (cedar, I think). I have never tasted a steak that was so tender, so well grilled and had such an overwhelming (but not overbearing) smokiness. It almost reminded me of chirizo with the smokiness.

This was one of those types of restaurants where the item you order is paragraph long but the plate is more sofisticated so the portions are not huge. An example is the Butternut squash which was about the site of a melon scooper amount. It was the perfect size for lunch and it was great to try something completely new.

My one negative is that the food was so good that I want to go there many more times. This is not a cheap restaurant but I think it is worth it to go once and a while. Since this was a lunch during the day when I had to work, this lunch was quick so I will have to spare you the sarcastic comments.

The one no-food related topic I will extrapolate on deals with dining alone. I have talked in the past how dining with someone else really can add a great intangible which I am not used to. I stress the word CAN here. However, on the other hand, dining alone is so great too. I love watching people when I sit down alone. Depending on the restaurant and the clientèle, people can give you an almost "I feel sorry" for you look. It is actually quite funny. I think people who are really comfortable with themselves have the ability to go to a restaurant, movie, etc by themselves. I owe this quality to my mom and dad who raised us to be comfortable in our own skin.

I think dining alone, you just have to find something else to focus on, rather then conversation. For me, it is food, reading the newspaper, doing some work, people watching, etc. I truly find that I enjoy a dining experience a la mode because you can really focus on those types of things. It helps me to focus on what I have to do the rest of the day; relax and just forget about what I have already done that day or just day dream.

This all being said, I have decided I want to start a super club. Not in the sense of a group where the dinner changes location monthly. The purpose would be entirely selfish. I would pick 2-4 individuals from different walks of life (High school, college, work, the gym, etc) and each of them can bring 2-3 people (some I may know, some I may not). The focus would be on getting to know new people, relaxing in a relatively more mature environment (which could very easily become immature depending on those present) and enjoying (hopefully) some good food.

I consider this selfish because (1) I want to meet some new people and going to the bar is not the best atmosphere for that and (2) because I love cooking for others. I want to plan the entire thing myself, cook it all myself, provide the wine/drinks and each person can pay an admission fee of $10-15 which in these days is really quite reasonable. I may meet people I don't like, I may meet new friends. The fun part is knowing that everyone present has the same mentality on trying new things and meeting new people.

Ok, two posts in one night after a long sabbatical from this thing is a good start for now. I promise to write more soon and to stay more consistent on these posts now. I hope you are doing well and if you are actually reading this, thank you and I appreciate you being a part of my life.

Sage -- Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Ok, I know it has been a while. I have no excuses. I would to tell you that I literally have just not eaten since my last post, but that would be a lie. A lot has changed since that last post. Barack has a chance, the snow in Chicago has melted and I have put on 15 lbs. Good weight I think. I was working out less, eating less and traveling more. Thus the loss of weight.

Anyways, I was in Edmonton, Canada earlier this week to cover a pre-study visit for a colleague. I stayed at the Marriott Cree River Resort. It was located on an Indian Reservation and to be honest, there was not much around there (I was about 7 miles from downtown Edmonton (it was actually Kilometers that they used, but I had no clue regarding conversion). There was a casino with plenty of white trash, older people looking to get out of the trailer they lived in and of course, Native American (or I guess it would be Native Indian Canadians, is that correct?). I don't know if they were native but they were Indian. I saw a lot of fanny packs, lots of missing teeth and to be honest this was a very nice hotel, nice looking casino with good restaurants located right there.

One of those restaurants was Sage. I saw I could get some Open Table points and not eve have to leave in my car so I jumped at it. There clearly had to have been some sort of convention at the Marriott that day because (1) I have never seen so many trucks in my entire life (I mean Ford F-150, Dodge (whatever they call their "big truck"), etc) and I have never seen so many mustaches. I am guessing a plumbing convention. No offense to plumbers but, they are relatively easy to pick out of a crowd, kind of similar to prostitutes.

Sage was fantastic. I decided I wanted to go only with Canadian wine. I started with a local Pinot Noir and opted out of an appetizer and did some work. The restaurant was very nice. My only negative was that it was essentially fully open to the casino so there were some distracting noises which I felt took away from the ambiance. Don't get me wrong, if Thelma at the electronic slot machine closest to my table hits it big, I want to see her dance around, her fanny pack bouncing (among other things) and the incestual, southern twang shouting of "I'm rich biatch" just as much as anyone else. Alas, Thelma did not win.

I did win though. I ordered the Chilean Sea Bass. It was served seared in a ginger soy broth, in a bowl. This was such a different presentation. I had never seen this. I loved it though. There was literally about a ladles worth of "broth" (consistency of chicken broth) floating over the bottom of the large bowl. It was just the right amount as well.

The fish was set atop a bed of bok choy, a few spears of asparagus (just enough to make the pee smell), chantrelle mushrooms, baby bella mushrooms and a few edamame. The reason I said the broth was just the right amount for my bowl is because it did not drown the fish. It just sat therewith just enough vegetables to keep it afloat. However, the broth was easily accessible to coat the crisply seared fish. I had a Pinot Gris from near Vancouver. The food was fantastic.

I really don't know how much my dinner cost. They use those crazy Canadian dollars (or pesos or something). I think the exchange rate was $1 for 1.08 Canadian yen. So, the meal ended up being $65 shillings and it was well worth it.

The scenery was not the best, but the super long elevator ride from floor 9 to floor 1 was well worth it.

My Cooking: Fall Chicken

Ok, so I am posting my first in what I hope will be a long series of ever evolving entries designed around my own personal cooking. I hope to look back on this one day and realize that I actually have learned something from dish to dish and more importantly, applied what I have learned to future dishes. Further, the secondary point of this is to show people just how easy cooking is. I mentioned in my Ponti entry that I get annoyed when people say they can't cook. Don't get me wrong, I am sure there are plenty of people out there who should not cook. However, I think everyone has the ability to follow a recipe and to come out with something edible. This blog is meant to teach anyone who may want to learn as well.

So, it was a little chilly in our apartment tonight so I decided to go with deep, rich fall flavors. This is likely not something to be made in the late spring or summer. I personally look at this as comfort food (at least for me) -- something that when you eat it, you are transported to the place you want to be, the way you want to feel, etc.

So, my first dish was a Chicken dish as I am sure you gathered from the title. Since I am not a true chef, forgive what I will call this...Rosemary Fall Chicken with a chunky tomato and cucumber vinaigrette and baked vegetables. The center piece of this entire dish is the Rosemary. I look at rosemary and sage as just truly fall/wintry flavors, similar to cinnamon and nutmeg. These flavors can be enjoyed in the summer but they shout fall to me. I paired this dish with a Bogle vineyards Petite Syrah. Petite Syrahs are really full, almost thick wines. They are the type of wine you would want to have if you came in from the cold. They have deep berry flavors and should have a decent amount of tanins (but not overwhelming). They differ very much from a regular Syrah or Shiraz (same grape but a Shiraz comes from Australia).

So, the steps:

1. Cut up one small to medium, seeded and skinned cucumber. Place in bowl.


2. Cut up 1 beefsteak tomato (or whatever tomato you prefer. Place in the Cucumber bowl. These can be roughly 1/2 inch cubes. Of note: when I cook with tomatoes, I will scoop out the innards (the middle seeds, etc and then I will be left with the actual fleshy part of the tomato).


3. You can add a pinch of kosher salt, a grind of pepper and a splash of extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. Toss this mixture and let sit for around 15+ minutes. The salt will drain out some of the water from the cucumber and the tomato. The longer you let them sit, the more water will come out.


4. Trim up your chicken breast for excess fat.


5. But up as much asparagus as you would like and mushrooms (I used baby portabella mushrooms).


6. Place the asparagus and the mushrooms in a sautée pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper.


7. Now our flavor agents: Mince up two cloves of garlic, half a red onion and your rosemary. I separate these out so I can utilize each in different amounts with the three different things I am cooking (the chicken is 1, the asparagus and mushrooms are 2 and the cucumber/tomato vinaigrette is the 3rd.


8. Add as much of each of the three flavoring agents to each portion of the dish. I find that when I cook, I like to focus on my flavoring agents. You can mix flavors but I feel if you use one agent as your "focus" it will create a dish that is bound by 1-2 ingredients. So, you can cook your veggies separate from your protein but still when they are added to the same plate, they flow.


9. Now, this is the technique I have really been working on perfecting (and I am far from it right now), take another sautée pan and put it on as high of heat as you can for about 3-5 minutes. This will be to sear the outside of the chicken. Searing is what I am really trying to perfect. It is not just throwing a piece of meat or fish on a hot stove. There are different fats you can cook with (butter, oil (and many types of oils), bacon fat, etc) and they each have a different smoke point (the temperature at which they will begin to smoke because they are at their personal heat threshold). I am not good with the different fats and I am trying to learn.


10. Now the pan is hot, throw in some butter to melt just a bit. Then add in the chicken breast. Let this sizzle for about 2 minutes and then flip. In the meantime, while your breast(s) are sizzling (hopefully just your chicken breasts) turn the oven on to 400.


11. So, another 2 minutes for the other side of the chicken and then turn the heat off and let it sit. After about 3 minutes, the juices will settle somewhat and you can add this pan to the oven. This is the second thing I am trying to focus my culinary education on, how long does it take to cook something in the oven? All ovens are different despite the fact they all have temperature dials. Not to mention, all pieces of protein are a different thickness.


12. I left my chicken in for about 12 minutes and it was cooked all the way through. It was still juicy in the middle and I will not lie, it did taste good. However, I think the next time I use this technique with a different focus flavor, I would leave the chicken in the oven for only 9-10 minutes.


13. The searing was a success though, the outside was more of a firm, crisp texture which I wanted.


14. Meanwhile, once you throw the chicken in, wait about 2 minutes and then add the asparagus/mushroom pan into the oven. You will be able to pull this out right about the same time as the chicken. If they don't look done, leave them a minute or so longer.


15. Finally, added a pan to a medium high heat stove top and then added butter (my fat of choice tonight) and let that sizzle for a moment then added my chopped onion and left over garlic. This sautées til translucent which will be roughly 2-3 minutes. Then, add the entire vinaigrette bowl and some more rosemary and sizzle away.

When you are done cooking, plate however you'd like. Personally, looking at the pictures now, I should have added a stem of rosemary to the plate somewhere (probably on top of the chicken) since this was a my focus flavor. But do what you think looks nice. Personally, I take the time to plate because it is the only slightly artistic thing I am interested in. I know it will all end up in the same place, but there is a moment when you are about to eat, you look at what you are about to eat (especially if you made it) and you grab a sip of wine and give yourself a pat on the back (even if it is not bad, it was fun, hopefully) and then you dig in (or start to write a blog while you eat). Personally, I love to cook with music in the background. I find it therapeutic and it helps me to clear my mind. Tonight I was listening to Damien Rice and Joshua Radin. Sometimes I like Norah Jones or Frank Sinatra. Most of the time it is Dave. But the point is, find what you like...even if it is just the Jerry Spring show on in the background and COOK. You will be amazed at how quickly you learn and how much of a difference you will see in your cooking if you pay attention to what you are doing and really enjoy the process. If I ever cook for someone now, they will always tell me, "you didn't have to do that.....You shouldn't have....I hope it was not to much trouble." What they truly do not get is that the cooking process is not a burden to me. I get consumed with it once I realize I am going to cook for someone. I start to think about different things that I would like to cook and making lists of things I need to get. I truly, honestly love the process from beginning to finish. There is not one point while I cook during which I am annoyed or wish I was doing something else. Some people do yoga, some people play the harp, some people paint...I work out or cook. I hope you try it sometime soon. :)



Finally, just because I am finding all these cool new things on this blogger thing, I wanted to add one last picture of a shrimp dish I made a few months ago. Yes, I know I do take pictures of my food. I know it is gay, so be it. As you should be able to tell on this dish, the focus flavor was basil.