Pop the Champagne and Let Them Eat Foie Gras!

Posted by Bridget at 7:25 am

Jun 182010

Foie gras slider tasting at Cyrano's.

Foie gras is a always celebrated at Cyrano’s Bistrot — there’s even a museum-like tribute to it nestled by the bar — and all this week, you can sample foie gras starters for the bargain price $12 in honor of Foie Gras Week 2010. This special appetizer menu runs for two more days and features dishes created for the occasion both in-house and by guest chefs. I’ll tell you this… the foie gras I had last night was so incredible that I’m tempted to go back tonight for more!

It appears that the special menu changes daily depending on the availability of ingredients and which guest chef is featured. I was initially disappointed when I discovered that I couldn’t order foie gras sliders because they were out of the right kind of bread, but my disappointment was completely forgotten when my taste buds started doing the neutron dance over the fresh goose rillette with foie gras — a pate served simply with grilled toast (although we preferred it on the house French bread).

Then, things were taken to a whole new level with guest chef Michael Foley’s foie gras truffle pasta, a rich creamy dish that quite literally melted in my mouth.

We topped of the meal with a sampling of what the sliders would have been, foie gras with cherry and foie gras with grilled onion, served open face on a different kind of bread compliments of the chef. These birdie bites were as unique and tasty as their predocessors.

T will no doubt accuse me of gushing about foie gras here — and I say, in this case, rightly so and well deserved! If foie gras is your thing or you’ve always wanted to try it, get thee to Cyrano’s before the deal is done. It’s money well spent!

Cyrano’s Bistrot
546 North Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60654-8191
(312) 467-0546
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Specialty Cocktails & More Shine at Sable

Posted by Bridget at 9:30 am

May 222010

At $13 a pop, the cocktails are worth every penny.

When we heard that bartender Mike Ryan had abandoned the Violet Hour to mix handcrafted cocktails at Sable instead, we rounded up a group of friends (including @ginnygetsfloury and @MKinChiTown) and headed over there for happy hour. The drinks took center stage, but the tasty tidbits on the menu quickly turned our “hour” into a full-fledged dinner that left us too stuffed to even consider dessert!

The oven roasted chicken was one of the only full-size dishes we ordered and it was flavorful.

The food is meant to be shared, and I would say the same about the drinks if your dining companions don’t mind you sneaking a sip or two. Ask your server to help you navigate the menu so you get something that suits your tastes drink-wise and the right amount of food to match your appetite. One thing is for sure, you’ll want to try as much as possible at Sable.

The cocktails are spectacular – each one distinctive and beautifully presented — and they’re worth the $13 price tag applied across the board. Likewise, the food is a creative complement to the libations, and well worth a taste. Plates can be ordered in different portion sizes to best accommodate your table.

The crispy artichokes are better than fries and good for dipping.

My favorites included the Sweet Corn Creme Brulee, the oven roasted chicken entree, the crispy artichokes and the baby beet and goat cheese salad. Some of the dishes were certainly better than others, but we still cleaned our plates for every course. We liked the wild mushroom flat bread better than the wild mushroom pasta for example, and several of the mussels we ordered weren’t open enough to eat, but the sauce they were in was good. In fact, the mussels were served in a container that had a reservoir built in to collect the sauce making it easy for bread dipping!

We ordered to our heart’s content, and our bill averaged out to be roughly $40 per person including tax and tip. It was a great deal, and the best “happy hour” I’ve been to in a long time!

The blue cheese was the table favorite from the cheese board.

Sable Kitchen & Bar
505 North State Street
Chicago IL 60654
312-755-9704 | Make Reservations
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Lunch at Mercadito
Chef's Week

Posted by chicagobites at 4:30 pm

Mar 242010

Mercadito!

If you’re eating out this week, don’t forget Chef’s Week runs through Sunday! Fortunately, I was able to combine a little biz with a very nice lunch at Mercadito.

A selection of ceviche and guacamole for the table.

The structure for the Chef’s Week Menu is a little different. Here, you get a choice of two types of guacamole, two types of ceviche, three different tacos and one dessert for the table. This was a lot of food and covered a generous amount of their regular lunch menu.

We tried the mango and manzana guacamoles. The waitress promised us the added flavors wouldn’t overpower the avocado — they didn’t, but we can’t say they added much either. The ceviche was a little more successful with selections of mahi mahi and delightfully tender bay scallops.

The tender tilapia was overpowered by the chile poblano & tomatillo-garlic mojo.

We went with our server’s recommendations and tried the pastor taco, served with grilled pineapple and a spicy chile salsa. It was a huge portion that made a mess as you bit into it. The tilapia taco was even spicier and had a combination of flavors that overwhelmed the delicate fish. Since neither of us had tried huitlacoche, a fungus that grows on corn, we had to place an order. I’m very glad we did — the hearty corn flavor married well with the mushrooms, manchego and salsa verde.

While the plating for the other dishes was lovely, dessert was served in a salad bowl.

Dessert was my favorite part of the meal. We ordered a smooth, creamy caramel flan that came paired with mini pound cake and raisins. The texture was amazing. I would return to this restaurant just for that flan.

Mercadito
108 West Kinzie Street
Chicago, IL 60654-4508
(312) 329-9555 | Make Reservations
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