One and Two are away for a few days. Friends were so excited when Two announced an upcoming trip.
"Oh how exciting! Which bikini are you taking? Where is One taking you?"
"Well, actually I am packing my warmest coat, gloves, and two pairs of boots."
"Are you nuts?"
One and Two arrived in Chicago. And yes. It's cold. It's windy. What two better reasons to pack in the carbs? Ten floors down from the room in which One and Two are staying is C-House, the award-winning celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s highly acclaimed restaurant designed by Arthur Casas, a Brazilian architect. The room is big and airy but has a nice sense of intimacy created by the warm wood tones and the coffee table design and cook books that are sitting around when one sits down to eat. Diners can order from the menu or they can select a tasting menu. There is also a tasting menu paired with beer.
One and Two chose to order from the menu. The first thing placed on the table was warm, homemade brioche style bread. Inside the delicate aromatic puff of yeasty delight were little warm buds of cheese. Well, it's cold in Chicago. Why not eat two brioche loaves the size of large softballs...with warm cheese inside? Two lightened up and ordered 6 very fresh raw oysters from the C-bar, the restaurant's raw bar. They came with a great house made smoky tomato relish and did not fail to deliver a quick mental trip to the ocean.
Two is constantly wondering why One keeps telling her that bringing tupperware to restaurants is tacky...but this sauce was amazing and so much went back to the kitchen. Tomorrow's eggs were screaming for it. But no matter. One keeps Two in line. One ordered Octopus Terrine with a fennel and satsuma salad with bacon aioli. Wow. It was outstanding. Imagine the smooth melt in your mouth pure pleasure of sweet cream butter but replace the flavor with octopus. It was outstanding. The aioli was a perfect compliment.
As an entree One ordered Poached Sturgeon wrapped around peekytoe crab, fennel and pickled crab apple. It tasted like the bottom of a muddy river...in a good way. The fish was not overwhelming but definitely had the distinctive flavor of sturgeon. The fishiness was lightened by its pairing with the fennel and apple. Two ordered Scallops perched on parsley root, golden raisins and brussels sprouts. The dish was well presented and tasted great but nothing terribly unusual or breathtaking about the concept.
Like so many restaurants these days the food comes on large plates in small portions with even more amusing dribbles of sauce wrapping around the plate. It seems that some chefs recognize that in every grown adult is a little kid who just wants a big plate of mashed potatoes. Mr. Samuellson addresses this need with his offerings of sides that arrive family style in cast iron dishes in quantities to satisfy any inner child's needs for something to go with the increasingly decorative entrees that are offered. The brussell sprouts in balsamic vinegar were decent, though One's are better. But the Polenta...oh the polenta. It was loose and light and just outstanding. Had there been any left, Two would have dumped it into the zip lock she had used on the airplane for her lip gloss.
In fact, the little girl in Two wished she had left the scallops on the raw bar and ordered the mac and cheese. Now that would have been a meal paired with the bread...
One and Two chose to order from the menu. The first thing placed on the table was warm, homemade brioche style bread. Inside the delicate aromatic puff of yeasty delight were little warm buds of cheese. Well, it's cold in Chicago. Why not eat two brioche loaves the size of large softballs...with warm cheese inside? Two lightened up and ordered 6 very fresh raw oysters from the C-bar, the restaurant's raw bar. They came with a great house made smoky tomato relish and did not fail to deliver a quick mental trip to the ocean.
Two is constantly wondering why One keeps telling her that bringing tupperware to restaurants is tacky...but this sauce was amazing and so much went back to the kitchen. Tomorrow's eggs were screaming for it. But no matter. One keeps Two in line. One ordered Octopus Terrine with a fennel and satsuma salad with bacon aioli. Wow. It was outstanding. Imagine the smooth melt in your mouth pure pleasure of sweet cream butter but replace the flavor with octopus. It was outstanding. The aioli was a perfect compliment.
As an entree One ordered Poached Sturgeon wrapped around peekytoe crab, fennel and pickled crab apple. It tasted like the bottom of a muddy river...in a good way. The fish was not overwhelming but definitely had the distinctive flavor of sturgeon. The fishiness was lightened by its pairing with the fennel and apple. Two ordered Scallops perched on parsley root, golden raisins and brussels sprouts. The dish was well presented and tasted great but nothing terribly unusual or breathtaking about the concept.
Like so many restaurants these days the food comes on large plates in small portions with even more amusing dribbles of sauce wrapping around the plate. It seems that some chefs recognize that in every grown adult is a little kid who just wants a big plate of mashed potatoes. Mr. Samuellson addresses this need with his offerings of sides that arrive family style in cast iron dishes in quantities to satisfy any inner child's needs for something to go with the increasingly decorative entrees that are offered. The brussell sprouts in balsamic vinegar were decent, though One's are better. But the Polenta...oh the polenta. It was loose and light and just outstanding. Had there been any left, Two would have dumped it into the zip lock she had used on the airplane for her lip gloss.
In fact, the little girl in Two wished she had left the scallops on the raw bar and ordered the mac and cheese. Now that would have been a meal paired with the bread...
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