Food Finds: New Year’s Eve Plans

Although my astrological sign (Cancer) would tell you otherwise, I don’t have much desire come New Year’s Eve to make lists of all that’s been accomplished this year and things that still need to get done in the next or generally reflect on the past 364 days.  By this time of year, I’m more than ready to get started on a new path with new adventures.  I tell you this because I’d thought about doing a round up of all things food as we head into 2011, but I’d much rather think about what you’re doing on NYE and all the yummy things we have to look forward to in the coming year.

I’ve never been a fan of spending gob loads of money to stand around with a bunch of strangers trying to pretend that we’re having a good time, so I rarely venture out on December 31.  This year, though, I’m putting on a nice outfit and heading to Vermilion for a 5 course Indian-Latin meal.  There appears to be some Iron Chef battle going on that night, too, which I’m not entirely clear on, but if you’re giving me duck vindaloo and shrimp paella while a DJ spins, battle it out to your heart’s content!  Other restaurants you should check out if you’re interested in ringing in the next decade on a tasty note:

• Mercadito is also doing a 5 course menu with an open bar option.  This is one of my favorites for always good, always fresh and always fun Mexican.
• Cafe des Architectes will let you celebrate in grand style by adding black truffles to your entrée. Go ahead! You deserve it.
• Recently reopened Avec is throwing their hat into the 5 course NYE ring and has an optional wine pairing in case you don’t want to have to figure that out on your own.  As one of the best communal table places in the city, you may meet your 2011 crush while feasting on pork belly cassoulet.
• I’ve never had a bad meal or a boring time at Carnivale, which on top of Caribbean inspired food will have samba dancers and other live entertainment. Really, can you go wrong with that?

If you’re looking to bring in the new year like a rock star, check out these sure to be spectacular parties:

• After you have dinner at Cafe des Architectes, head to Le Bar which is located on the other side of the Sofitel. It’s one of my favorites for its cozy atmosphere (fire place included!), St. Germain inspired cocktails and lovely park view.
• Sable Kitchen & Bar (which provided the delish treats and liquor laced cocktails for my birthday this year) is going retro with a 1940s theme party, complete with small plates, desserts and champagne.
• Only a few tickets are left for Lumen’s Vintage Vegas Party, so get moving (procrastination is sooo 2010!).  I’ve had many a fun night at this swanky and sophisticated club, including birthday ’09.

And when you wake up on Saturday morning, feeling less like a rock star and more like you’ve been hit on the head with a boulder, put a coat on over your pjs (or your going out clothes, either way) and find yourself at one these hangover cure spots:

• Eatt’s menu reads like the comfort food lover’s dream: corn beef hash and eggs, sausage, bacon and ham skillet (yes, that’s all in one dish!) and Dutch apple pancakes.  Go even if you aren’t hung over.
• The Bongo Room is a no-brainer.  Just say yes to chocolate tower french toast, smoked duck breast Benedict or (and?) pumpkin spice pancakes.
• If you can’t get to breakfast, let breakfast come to you.  Grub Hub offers delivery from hundreds of restaurants that usually don’t deliver.

I am wishing you all health, happiness, laughter, love and joy in 2011! Celebrate well and see you next year!

Just a note from your friendly lawyer by day, food blogger by night to say that all of my recommendations above are purely based on my own independent non-NYE visits to these places (except Grub Hub, which I’ve never used) and while I can’t guarantee that they’ll wow you like they did me, I really hope they do.  Obviously let me know if you go and what you think.

Tru Love

My birthday is tomorrow and, despite a few moments of sheer panic that I’m going to be an age that I never imagined and can barely count to, I’m starting to get excited.  It helps that I have a party planned for this afternoon where specialty cocktails (St. Germain mixed with Hendricks and a splash of club soda) will be flowing and tasty appetizers and desserts will be on hand (bacon wrapped dates and mini chocolate mousse cakes anyone?).

Last year was not a big birthday–unless you consider that I have outlived Jesus, which I suppose is a milestone worth noting–but after a bittersweet year, I felt that there was never a better time to reflect on the past and celebrate all that lies ahead with a bit of decadence. 

Lucky for me, my mother is a fan of celebrations and doing things on a large scale.  I mentioned in passing that I would love to one day have dinner at the chef’s table at Tru, never imagining that it would happen within this decade.  One afternoon she announced that she had made a reservation for us to sit in the kitchen of one of Chicago’s best restaurants and experience first hand how they’ve come to win several James Beard awards.

I should pause here to say that we actually celebrated her birthday there just 6 weeks before, so the extravagance of going back within a lifetime, let alone sitting in a private room in the kitchen was a little overwhelming.  I had no idea what to expect, but you couldn’t have convinced me that it would have involved our own personal waiters (one for each of us), a valet to keep us happy between courses, a personal tour of the kitchen by Chef Tim Graham, and the ability to take as many pictures as I wanted and ask any question that came to mind.  BEST PRESENT EVER.

I’ve only ever been in one other professional kitchen and it was pure chaos from the time it opened until the minute it closed.  Tru’s kitchen on the other hand is like being in your grandmother’s kitchen–if your grandmother had a staff of 30 and every conceiveable appliance to make good food outstanding–where everything has its place, everything moves and flows in a practiced yet original way and the anticipation of what’s ahead makes you a little giddy, because you know that not only will it be prepared to perfection, but prepared with true skill and love.  

I admit to being so afraid of falling over in my fancy shoes and bringing an entire fish course down with me that I didn’t walk around as much as I should have.  But I did have the courage to talk to the pastry chef, Meg Galus, about the exploding truffles which look like regular chocolate truffles, but when you pop it in your mouth, it explodes with a lavendar flavored liquid.  I seriously wanted to curl up in her little corner of the kitchen–a seperate room stuffed from floor to ceiling with industrial sized mixers, pans and whisks–and listen to her stories of creating desserts under Gale Gand, but restrained myself.  I watched her and her sous chefs slice vanilla beans into slivers as thin as a thread (I actually gasped at one point, because one man’s finger came so close to the knife.  He didn’t even flinch.).  I also took a walk around the station where they put together the “caviar” (in quotes because it’s actually boiled milk flavored with sturgeon that’s made to look like caviar).  The sous chefs actually took tweezers to remove any errant pieces of caviar… TWEEZERS, people!

Our special room was made even more special because Chef Graham came to describe each course to us.  I was rendered completely speechless at first, but I think I must have asked at least one intelligent question, because he asked me if I was in the “industry,” which was so swoon worthy I checked for a ring on his left hand (none!). 

I wish I could describe in detail each course of our Grand Collection menu, but everything was more about a feeling than an actual taste to me.  It was as though the chefs had taken all the emotions of my previous year–happiness and joy and longing and desire and sadness and hope and love–and served them to me in a gorgeous glorious array of food in a stunning atmosphere.  I realize now that it is the last two– hope and love–that carried me through a bittersweet year that ended in me experiencing such a lovely meal at a time when I couldn’t have imagined anything so grand or magical ever happening to me. 

Which makes me think that as long as I have both of those things, anything and everything is possible…

Where I’ve Been…

So one of my New Year’s resolutions (remember those?) was to aim for a weekly post, usually on Wednesdays, and up until yesterday I was doing well.  But, I’ll fully admit to you that nary a thing has been cooked, baked or eaten in my kitchen since last week, because it’s Restaurant Week here in the Chi, and well, why cook when someone else wants to do it for me? And only charge me $32 for a three-course gourmet meal? And then do the dishes afterward?  You can see why dust is collecting on my stove.

Starting last Friday, I have eaten just about every meal out at one of these fabulous restaurants.  I started at Brasserie Jo with a frisee salade Lyonnaise with bacon and a poached egg, followed by sautéed skate wing with caper brown butter and culminating with chocolate mousse.  Saturday found me at Japonais, feasting on an unagi trio, tuna tuna salmon roll and basil ice cream.  Sunday and Monday were days of rest so I could get ready for lunch with the ladies at NoMI (we did wear fancy dresses, but no hats this time) where we had butternut squash soup, tuna and salmon rolls (and some random California like roll with tomatoes. Not a fan) and fromage blanc mousse with roasted pineapple.  Tuesday night (yes, you read that right. I had the nerve to go out to dinner that night), I was laughing it up at Roy’s over tempura spicy tuna sushi rolls, coconut crusted tiger shrimp, Mongolian grilled baby ribs (that was the appetizer sampler), followed by blue crab dynamite crusted Mahi Mahi and a baked pineapple strudel.  Last night, instead of posting here, I was celebrating a friend’s birthday with a lamb shank with braised artichokes at Andalous Moroccan Restaurant.  I am only slightly ashamed to admit that several glasses of Champagne accompanied each of these meals.

If there is such a thing as a food hangover, I’m just about there (oh. Forgot to mention that I’m going to Eve tonight and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse tomorrow).   I even started googling the Master Cleanse this morning.  But then I realized that it has been a wonderful, lovely week of food and laughter and friends and family and I thought how lucky I am to break bread and raise glasses with so many people.  In this busy world of relying on facebook updates and texts to keep in touch, to be able to sit across the table from some of my fave folks for a few hours and catch up in person is definitely worth those extra 5 lbs (that was as of Tuesday… we’ll see what happens by Saturday).

So thanks to Mayor Daley and the City of Chicago for a really stellar week.  I’ll be sending you the bill for my new larger wardrobe…