Kaze

Last night, my family and I dined at Kaze Sushi in Roscoe Village. We came here in order to try the Tuesday seasonal tasting menu which runs for $45 for 4 courses with wine/sake pairings. It's a great deal for awesome fusion sushi. This is very anti-traditional sushi, so it's definitely not for everyone. Just looking at the menu, even I was a little skeptical because I'm not used to having stuff like mushrooms with my sushi, but everything turned out to be great.


Appetizer: Whitefish wrapped around botan ebi, cheese & chives, served with wasabi custard & natural sparkling sake.

The first course was very beautiful in presentation. We were instructed to first dip the whitefish in the sparkling sake, which had a maraschino cherry, kumquat, and cucumber pieces in it, then to dip into the wasabi creme brulee custard, squeeze with lemon, then eat. This was very delicious, but what stood out to me was the wasabi creme brulee. It sounds bizarre, but it was pretty much amazing. The wasabi was not overpowering whatsoever, and there was a hint of sweetness from the burnt sugar that balanced things out. I could have had that wasabi custard on its own.


Nigiri Course:
White Tuna - East coast white tuna topped with banana-wasabi puree
Tuna - topped with butter sauteed dry mushrooms
Madai - Sea bream with steamed monkfish liver, ohba, fried tofu, pickled onions & chives
Kobe Beef - marinated in a pear & tomato puree torched with garlic butter & finished green onions & sesame seeds
Tako - octopus topped with foie gras sauce, pickled onions & chives

Clearly, there are a ton of flavors going on in here. Some ingredient pairings do sound strange, but everything really did go well together. I really enjoyed how my palette was surprised by many of these flavors. The kobe beef one was delicious and perfectly marinated. I also really loved the madai because the fried tofu provided a nice textural contrast to the softness of the fish. All of the nigiri pieces were great, and nothing came off as strange to me at all. The wine pairing was different than what was on the menu, so I honestly don't remember what the wine was other than it was white and dry. I didn't particularly love it.


Sashimi and Makimono Course:
Hotate - raw scallop with a creamy wasabi & cilantro dressing finished with a touch of yuzu
Shiitake Ebi - wrapped inside out topped a mixture of baked mushrooms in tomato-miso sauce, finished with boiled shrimp, caviar & microgreens

Even though this course was good too, it was probably my least favorite. I did enjoy the makimono because the mushroom was crunchy inside the rice. I didn't care for the boiled shrimp that much only because it didn't have a lot of taste. The raw scallop was surprisingly good with that cilantro puree though. I could have probably eaten 5 of those! The wine pairing for this was a pretty full-bodied cabernet. While I actually didn't think it paired well at all, I did enjoy the wine alone.


Entree: Crab cake - in a purple potato stew topped with uni cream & vegetable chips

This entree course was so good! The only thing is that it seemed really rich after all the other food we ate, but it was so delicious. The potato stew and uni cream was subtly sweet and provided a nice balance with the crab cake. I unfortunately couldn't even finish this course because I was so full of savory-ness by then, but if I had more room in my stomach for salt, then there's no doubt I would have happily finished that off. This was paired with sake, but I actually didn't like it. I've never been a sake fan, and this one was very dry, so I just couldn't drink it. I'm sure it's probably good for a sake lover, but it's just not for me.


Dessert: Asparagus Pudding - in strawberry puree with a touch of Hennessey cream and chocolate syrup, garnished with blackberries and whipped cream

Ok, I know asparagus pudding sounds absolutely disgusting, but this has to be one most standout desserts I've ever had. Supposedly the white asparagus is pureed in there solely for texture. I couldn't even taste the asparagus, so I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's almost like false advertising, but it doesn't even matter because the dessert was amazing. The pudding was firm and creamy without being rich at all. It was so NOT rich that I was able to finish it easily. As you can see, the strawberry chocolate sauce was presented in a beautiful design. I almost didn't want to mess it up.

I would recommend to anyone that they try Kaze's Tuesday $45 tasting menu because it's a great deal for a good amount of food and fresh fish. It's a very small restaurant with simple decor, but I really enjoyed the house/chillout music they played. If you are a sushi purist, you can still enjoy Kaze by ordering off the regular menu which of course has a good selection of raw sushi, sashimi, and nigiri. I would definitely return here again, but next time, probably just for the regular menu.

Feel free to check out more pictures here.

Kaze Sushi
2032 W. Roscoe St
Chicago, IL 60618

Penne with Haricot Verts and Bacon

I'm pretty limited in terms of ingredients here in Dominica, especially with the little free time I have while in medical school. However, my goal for this semester is to cook dinner more often, no matter how simple and unimpressive it may be. Well, I went to Roseau (the main city in Dominica) yesterday. It's an hour away, so it's not too often I can give myself the chance to go there. On Saturday mornings, they have a huge outdoor market where tons of vendors sell their fresh fruits, veggies, and fish. I believe you have to get to the market SUPER early in the morning in order to score some fish, so I haven't had any luck with that yet. Anyways, I bought some onions and haricot verts. I would've liked to buy more fruits and veggies, but food spoils SO quickly here, so I didn't want to buy much more than that. I also had heavy groceries from the grocery store with me too.

So for dinner tonight, I made penne with haricot verts and fully-cooked bacon. Yes, bacon is VERY hard to come by here, so I had to bring a Costco package of fully-cooked bacon with me from home. I cooked the haricot verts and bacon in olive oil, salt, pepper, and red chili flakes. Overall, the pasta turned out surprisingly well. It was simple and healthy, minus the bacon part...but really, everything tastes so much better with bacon.

Sepia: Gabe's Pictures

Some of Gabe's pictures were way better than mine:


The baby octopus with tomato sauce and toasted baguette.


Gabe's skate wing(s) - you can see how large the portion was.


Our pistachio dessert. It felt like we were vertically slicing meat for a gyro.

The Violet Hour

I know this blog focuses on food, but I believe The Violet Hour, a speakeasy cocktail bar in Wicker Park, deserves a review. I actually ended up writing about it in my other personal blog, so please direct yourselves here. It's an amazing cocktail spot that I hope to go back to again and again. The head mixologist there came from Milk&Honey and Pegu Club in NYC, so he has great credentials. It's the perfect spot for a date or to catch up with a friend. I'm hoping I can come back every time I'm home in Chicago.

Sepia

As the last dinner of Gabe's visit, we went to Sepia, another contemporary American restaurant in Chicago. We had so many other options for our dinner date during his visit, but apparently a ton of restaurants close for vacation in the beginning of January, which was a bit of a disappointment. We ended up having to settle with Sepia, however I am not disappointed by that choice at all. My attention was caught when I came across their beautiful website. The music and design had a certain allure about it that screamed romantic but casual and hip at the same time.

Upon entering the door at Sepia, the atmosphere felt cool, hip, and elegant all at the same time. The lighting is very warm (very "sepia"), and they have beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It's ideal for a date or even a group of friends. Our waitress was very kind, attentive but not intrusive, and extremely knowledgeable. She described the dishes so well and even knew where exactly some of the fishes came from.


It seems like most people order a flatbread as one appetizer, but since Gabe and I went to Avec right before Sepia just to eat the chorizo-stuffed bacon-wrapped dates, we were no longer starving. We decided to try the charred baby octopus with a toasted baguette and tomato sauce. The portion was quite generous for octopus, and while it wasn't as amazing as Babbo's octopus appetizer, this one was also wonderfully prepared. It was not overcooked, and I loved the charred taste.


My entree was the roasted cod with spaghetti squash, wild boar sausage, and paprika sauce. There were also carrots and cauliflower. The paprika sauce was a bechamel sauce, but it was not too thick or heavy by any means. I had never tried cobia before, which is partly why I wanted to try this entree. Cobia is quite rich in texture and body, but does not taste fishy at all. It's pretty meaty and firm, so the strong flavors of the accompaniments complimented the fish well. The portion was very generous. In fact, I could only eat half of the entree, so I think Sepia is ideal for people with big appetites. Believe it or not, I think I actually enjoyed this more as leftovers haha. Gabe ordered the skate wing with braised collard greens and a grape-pine nut sauce, which I know he really enjoyed.


Our dessert was the pistachio ice cream with pistachio financier with dark chocolate sauce. This was a good way to cap off the meal, however the dessert didn't stand out to me either. I actually really liked the very firm texture of the ice cream, but the pistachio taste didn't come out as strongly as most of the pistachio ice creams and gelatos I've had.

My drink of the night was a French 75, which I believe is Sepia's most popular cocktail, as it was one of Time Out Chicago's best 100 things they tried in 2008. It was tart and very easy to drink. Sepia is also known for it's cocktails and mixology, but I'm happy I settled with a simple classic drink.

Overall, I think Sepia is a wonderful restaurant. For contemporary American, it has not reached the refinement and creativity of Blackbird, but I would say it's pretty solid. It has a great atmosphere and generous portions, so I give it lots of points for that. The food is more simple without being too simple, and the service is very good.

Blackbird Restaurant

My family and I went to Blackbird Restaurant last summer to celebrate my 23rd birthday, but for some reason, I never got around to writing about it. We returned on New Year's Day to take Gabe out, and I think this visit was slightly better than the first. Probably the one major difference was that we had an early 6pm reservation this time, and since it was New Year's Day, hardly anyone was out. When we got there, there was only 2 other people there, which felt strange since our summer visit was bustling with a full house. I actually enjoy the loud, hip atmosphere that Blackbird normally has, but eventually the restaurant started to fill up, so Gabe got a taste of the normal atmosphere there.


Our amuse was a scallop tartare with avocado, caviar, and a lobster chip. This was probably one of the best amuse bouches I have ever had. The scallop was fresh, and the avocado complimented it well.


We got two orders of the crispy veal sweetbreads with golden raisins, red cabbage, banana, and pumpkin seeds. They change the preparation frequently, but this one certainly did not fail. Blackbird really cooks the thymus gland to perfection, making it taste and feel like a chicken McNugget.


Our other appetizer was the crispy confit of swan creek suckling pig with trumpet royale mushrooms, toasted walnut consomme, and pomegranate confit. I really wish they gave a bigger portion of this appetizer, but either way, it's also an amazing appetizer. The walnut consomme blew all of us away, as there was a perfect blend of sweet and savory in it.


My dish was the crispy swan creek farm duck breast with smoked cauliflower, salsify, fried chocolate and lovage. The duck was absolutely cooked to perfection, and the fried chocolate was a nice and interesting touch. One thing I noticed is that the portions seemed a lot larger this time around. I don't know if it's because a lot of people have complained about the small portions or if it's because it wasn't a full house that night, but my whole family did notice the larger portions for the entrees.


Even though Gabe and I ordered the pear cider doughnuts for our dessert, I'd prefer to comment on the kalamata olive cake with honeycrisp apples, toffee, and buttermilk ice cream. Out of all the desserts I've tried at Blackbird over my last two visits, the kalamata olive cake is by far my favorite, so I'm not surprised that it has stayed on the menu. It's not too olive-y and still maintains a certain sweetness that makes it perfectly appropriate for dessert.

My drink of the night was a Pisco Bravo. I decided on that one since I've been curious to taste Pisco. I know there was egg white and I believe nutmeg in it, but I honestly don't remember what else. It was a fabulous cocktail, and I loved how the egg white added a frothy texture to it without being thick or heavy.

We ordered plenty of other things, but I decided to just comment on the things I really tried during this visit. Blackbird's menu changes frequently. While some of the main ingredients stay (i.e. duck, lamb, sweetbreads, etc), the accompaniments and preparation changes every season. This is definitely a good way to maintain frequent customers. The service is exceptional, the atmosphere is hip without being pretentious or too trendy, and the food truly remarkable and innovative. This is really a place for foodies and anyone who's willing to try creative food. My favorite in Chicago!

Francesco's Hole in the Wall

My family and I went to Francesco's Hole in the Wall restaurant in Northbrook, IL last night. I've never been too impressed with Italian food in greaterland Chicago, but this place is pretty for real. It's one of the smallest sit-down restaurants I've ever been to, which is quite interesting considering this is in the suburbs. It only has 16 small tables and has a very homey rustic charm. Normally they don't take reservations, but for whatever reason, they allowed my family and I to make a reservation last night. It's a good thing because the wait for everyone else around 7pm was a 45 minute to an hour wait.

To drink, I settled with a glass of Ruffino chianti red wine, which was very smooth and medium-bodied. For my entree, I decided on the osso buco served with a little bit of risotto on the side. As anyone familiar with Italian food knows, osso buco is typically of gigantic portions and is a very heavy and hearty dish. This was no different. I think I would've liked to have more bone marrow in mine, but the meat itself was cooked perfectly tender. The sauce had a natural strong flavor. It may have been on the salty side for me, but definitely not shockingly so.

I didn't get to try a lot of everything else, but the rest of my family ordered chicken vesuvio (supposedly one of their best dishes), linguine with shrimp arrabiata, lamb chops, and fried calamari. The fried calamari was probably among the best and most tender I've ever had, so I would definitely recommend that as an appetizer.

I'd definitely like to return to this restaurant and try one of their pastas. For anyone looking for solid food at a restaurant with character and atmosphere in the suburbs, I would definitely recommend Francesco's Hole in the Wall.

Francesco's Hole in the Wall
254 Skokie Boulevard
(between Frontage Rd & Lake Cook Rd)
Northbrook, IL 60062
(847) 272-0155