Chicago Postcard

And now for the food. By far, my favorite restaurant was Custom House. I loved everything and the flavors were unexpected, but harmonious. We began with east coast v. west coast oysters. The west coast won for me. Then locally grown grilled romaine with a smoked mozzarella and eggplant soup. The table favorite (including mine) was the oxtail rillete with rhubarb compote and red wine mustard. The wine pairing for this course: 1991 Reisling Kabinett, "Graacher Himmelreich," Richter, Mosel-Saarruwer, Germany. I wouldn't have put this with oxtail, but the sweet was a really good match. Next course, Maine diver scallops with English pea compote and fennel ravioli. Then, Mishima Ranch Waygu sirloin with broccolini and aged balsamic. For dessert, white chocolate brioche beignets with rhubarb saffron soda and clover honey. Thank you, Chef Shawn McClain for not serving creme brulee for dessert. I'm so over it – it's becoming a pet peeve.

Also ate at Le Lan, which I found on Chowhound. It's a east/west (mainly Vietnamese/French) fusion restaurant. The cumin scented Chinese chicken soup with chicken and hominy meatballs was really great. The pork belly and shrimp spring rolls were good, but I wasn't a fan of the super sweet sauce. They were very nice, and somehow I got asparagus and fried rice compliments of the kitchen. The last night was Naha. It was good, but my least favorite place. My favorite course was the first – organic carnaroli risotto, Barred Plymouth Rock chicken with grilled ramps and stinging nettles. The chicken was amazing. Then there was a kind of regular salad, although it came with a wonderful Camembert. The lamb was good, but not the best I'd had and the potatoes that came with it were overcooked and dry. Lastly, there was, yes, creme brulee and even the Lingonberry jam on it couldn't change my mind. The wine pairings, done by one of Gourmet magazine's wine experts (sorry the name escapes me) were fantastic. A hearty breakfast place is the West Egg Cafe. Although their coffee isn't great. A place I noticed, but didn't have time to fully check out was Pastoral on Lake. Next time.

On the arts side, I got to see the American Ballet Theatre's performance of Sleeping Beauty at the beautiful Civic Opera House. And spent most of a day at the Art Institute of Chicago. Highlights for me were Ed Ruscha's photography, the work of Graphic Thought Facility, and the Thorne miniatures (a picture of one is above). On a shopping note, Merz Apothecary has an outpost at Macy's which was fun. Lastly, I remembered too late about the eat.shop guides.