Plate of feijoada and acarajé (on far left) from Sinhá
It was really love at first bite for me. The first time I did a story at Sinhá, the Brazilian gem of a restaurant on the West Side, I was treated to a feast beyond anything I had ever had in my eating experience. The restaurant is only open on Sundays, for starters. Owner Jorgina Pereira has a catering business during the week, but on Sundays, she opens her narrow brick home on Adams Street, almost directly across from the United Center, for two seatings of a magnificent Brazilian buffet. The best time to go is when it’s warm out, so you can sit in her charming backyard. But frankly, I would go any week if I knew she was making acrajé. Read the rest of this entry →
Pata negra with grilled bread at Julian Serrano (photo by Steve Dolinsky)
Our final meal of the night was right next door to Bar Masa. Julian Serrano is Spanish, and yet up until now, he’s only been known for his fine-dining Picasso at The Bellagio. This new project in the Aria was supposed to be a homecoming for him. There is the requisite patatas bravas (roasted potatoes coated in garlicky aioli) and charred green peppers; the luscious pata negra ham (finished on acorns before slaughter) with the grilled bread. There is also an impressive list of wines to accompany them, as there are on just about every menu in Vegas; Bill Wirtz would have loved to run the liquor distribution here I bet. So by this time of the night, I’m getting a little sleepy, and after sampling at least two (or was it three) different sakes at Bar Masa, I’m getting a little confused. I think in the video I say this is our third dinner of the night. That would be wrong. It was definitely number four. Thank God I know how to pace myself.
Ngiri sushi from Bar Masa (photo by Steve Dolinsky)
Dinner number three takes us to the new Aria hotel again, where Bar Masa is tucked between Sage and Julian Serrano. I’ve been dying to try this place, ever since I read Frank Bruni’s review in the New York Times five years ago, talking about how Masa at the Time Warner Center was sooo worth the $400-$500 price tag. The Bar is a bit more casual, and from what I’ve heard, in New York, it’s a tiny thing. In Vegas, it looks like an airport hangar, with the tables spaced far apart and the menu reaching for stratospheric prices. One highlight from the “chilled” section of menu, right after salads: ohmi beef sashimi with garlic soy…$89. WTF? Does that come with a massage? I think it’s so-named because after you order it and try it, you say to yourself, “oh my, how in the world did I ever decide to order that?”
If you’re cashing in your bonus from AIG, you could try the masa toro with caviar for $240 or just a simple grilled maitake mushroom roll with black truffle for a more reasonable $34, but there is so much more to this menu than just sashimi and maki rolls. Think amadai (snapper) skin that’s been fried until the scales have popped out, making the tiny piece look like a piscine porcupine. Starters of sea cucumber poached in Genmai-cha tea are common, as are spicy dancing shrimp (shell-on fried prawns) seasoned with spicy salt and lemon. You could probably navigate a lesser expensive meal if you were careful. We thought the ngiri and maki were pretty great, but not sure it’s worth the inevitable $150 per person you’re going to drop (which you’ll have to double if you’re drinking premium sake).
The bread cart at L'Atelier de Robuchon (photo by Steve Dolinsky)
Dinner #2 took us to the MGM Hotel & Casino, where chef Joël Robuchon has two restaurants: a seriously upscale salon called Robuchon at The Mansion, which looks like a purple-covered lounge for visiting royalty (they wouldn’t let me take a picture of the dessert cart, which looked as if it had been painted by Seurat), but they did let me shoot some video going into L’Atelier, his “workshop,” or rather, his more casual/hip expression of his food. You are absolutely paying for the privilege to say you’ve eaten the Master’s food: the king crab on turnip discs with sweet and sour sauce you’ll see in the video runs $25, while the smoked eel and fingerling potato with oscetra caviar (I think I mistakenly refer to it as sevruga) runs a cool $60.
Dessert cart at Guy Savoy in Caesars Palace (photo by Steve Dolinsky)
It wasn’t a dare, I promise. But I was in Las Vegas this past weekend, and when you pair up with John Curtas (Eating Las Vegas), it’s a little like going down to Bridgeport with one of the Daley boys. Curtas has not only been to every restaurant of note in town, he’s been to each one twice. This is no small accomplishment, but again, Vegas doesn’t have near the breadth and depth of dining options we do in Chicago. In fact, it’s kind of weird how just about all of the major players – the ones you hear about in the national press – tend to co-exist all along or adjacent to The Strip, in a 4.5 mile radius. I was partly there to visit Sage, Shawn McClain’s new place, tucked into the massive Aria Hotel, which itself is part of the $9 billion dollar City Center complex. My head was spinning after touring the sleek new Mandarin Oriental, its 23rd story lobby lounge, über cool bar and signature restaurant – Twist – from acclaimed 3-star Michelin French chef Pierre Gagnaire. I really wanted to just chill out and take in the view; I did it once at the Mandarin in New York City, overlooking Central Park (and have the $140 bill to prove it), but there’s something odd when you’re paying top dollar for dramatic views of the street below, containing more neon and golden arches than I care to see (at least in the daytime).
Corned Beef Hash from Meli Cafe (photo by Steve Dolinsky)
Steve O’Dolinsky here, reporting on this fine day in Chicago on yet another St. Patrick’s Day. In the city that dies its river green, we have somehow come to believe the Irish consume prodigious amounts of corned beef and cabbage with their Guinness, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Irish don’t really eat corned beef (unless it’s in a deli, served on rye with mustard). They tend to lean toward the tougher cuts of mutton/lamb and would most likely eat it with potatoes. But since this is Chicago, and the corned beef is plentiful, I thought we would substitute that cabbage for potatoes; it’s as good a reason as any then, to eat a little corned beef hash today. Read the rest of this entry →
The shepherd's pie from Chief O'Neill's (photo by Steve Dolinsky)
I know we’ve all been partying the past few days, drinking green shakes and beer and calling everyone “O’-something,” but you still need to sit down at some point and fill up. A Guinness is a given; what is lesser known is the shepherd’s pie. Read the rest of this entry →
I was in Las Vegas over the weekend, and caught up with Shawn McClain, the Chef/Owner of Spring and Green Zebra in Chicago. McClain has a new restaurant – Sage – tucked away within the $9 billion dollar City Center project; specfically, in the Aria Hotel. I brought my camera inside to see if I could show you some of the dishes, and discovered he was actually in the kitchen that night, so I also grabbed a quick interview with him.
There are some events so over-the-top and out of the ordinary, they come along only once every 20 years.
Redmoon Theater, a Chicago performance group renowned for their imagination and invention, is throwing a food-filled birthday party that will capture their signature creativity. Tonight at 7 PM, Redmoon celebrates its 20th anniversary with a Spectacle Lunatique, a ‘Mini-Taste’ that will allow guests to experience some of the most diverse and acclaimed food in Chicago. This “Bombastic Birthday Celebration” will feature food from restaurants such as Blackbird, BOKA, Coco Pazzo, Tocco and Urbanbelly. Tickets are $150 for individuals and $625 for couples packages and will be on sale at Redmoon’s website or at the door of the event if tickets remain. Redmoon Central is located at 1463 W. Hubbard. Contact the Box Office for ticket information at (312) 850-8440 extension 111.
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