All Things Michael Miles

This is going to be a strange review. First, I usually don’t write about a restaurant after visiting only one time. So much can be overlooked, so keep that in mind. Second, q is an enigmatic concept. It’s just… well, different.

Let’s start with the location. q is on the Gold Coast, at Dearborn and Division – a quiet, upscale neighborhood you wouldn’t expect to host a barbeque joint. And the buildout is really nice. And they have an Executive Chef.

Okay, enough with the italics. After being seated in a spacious booth and opening my laptop, a server came by with what we in the South call lagniappe – a bit of something for free. House-made chips and bread & butter pickles made my mouth water. Bread & butters are my favorite pickle, and these were exceptional for having all the flavor without being as sweet as the store-bought variety. The chips had an excellent texture but were lacking just a bit of kick (especially for this genre); I would have enjoyed a dash of paprika or something similar to light up my tongue. However, they steadily disappeared as the meal went forward.

Oh yeah, another important benefit to eating barbeque in a more formal environment: there is a full bar. And they carry Chopin vodka.

A server named Ya-Ya (hope the spelling is correct) came by and chatted. She was friendly, laid-back, and answered all my questions. We talked about favorites and what I might eat. It was decided that the bacon-cheddar hush puppies were a must-try. They rocked. Crispy outside, flaky inside, with flecks of jalapeño and wonderful bacon-cheddar flavor. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! The tasties were served with a chipotle aioli that was the perfect complement. It had just a hint of sweetness to it. Use the sauce and life will be good.

Being a native of St. Louis, the St. Louis-style ribs were a no-brainer. These are spare ribs and contain a bit more fat than back ribs, but are all the more flavorful for it. I highly recommend them, but some people may be put off by the small layer of fat along the edge, if you’re not expecting that. My half-slab contained about seven bones, which were smoked to the most beautiful pink. They were so tender the meat fell from them while I inhaled their intoxicating aroma. They were served with three sauces: a Carolina-style vinegar sauce, a sweet & smoky sauce, and a sweet & smokey sauce with some heat in it. While all good, do what any self-respecting barbeque eater does, and push them to the side. The meat doesn’t deserve to have sauce put on it.

And yes, those are tasty pickled onions. And the cole slaw is excellent: red and green cabbage with a mix of savory herbs in a creamy dressing. My pet peeve with barbeque joints is the crappy sides they set alongside their food. Why spend so much effort getting the meat right and then slap cole slaw from a bucket on the plate? From what I experienced, you won’t have that problem at q.

It’s only been open a couple of months, but q has its shit together. My service was attentive. Ya-Ya was friendly but didn’t hover over me. The restaurant manager found a good time to ask how everything was going. I was able to talk, eat, and work on my laptop without ever feeling like I was being interrupted. The environment is beautiful. And, as I’ve shared my experience with others over the past week, I’ve discovered there is quite a bit of buzz in the city. This restaurant is not undiscovered.

I’ll be going back, just as soon as I nap off the last meal. I noticed a macaroni & cheese brulée that has my name on it.

Friday was my day to be the guest chef at Charlie Trotter’s in Lincoln Park. I bought the privilege at a recent Make-A-Wish Foundation gala, which in itself was worthwhile. But being quite passionate about food and cooking, the combination of the two was overwhelming. So, camera in hand, I arrived at 2:00p.m. and donned my chef’s jacket to experience one of the most amazing kitchens in the United States.

The guest spot is all about getting your hands dirty (at least until dinner service starts), so I began immediately by cleaning mussels. Afterwards, Chef Bill asked me to pull some pig tails for shredding, so we spent quite a bit of time stripping the fat and pulling the meat off the tail. There isn’t much there, but the result is tender and very flavorful. The fruit of our labor was destined for a delicious ravioli cooked in pork broth.

The staff breaks for lunch about 3:30. Since the haunches of the rabbit are not served to customers, we got to enjoy them in a fabulous curry. Rabbit is becoming popular again, and I’m very happy about it. It’s a lovely, tender flesh that doesn’t taste remotely like chicken. One benefit of having “guest” in your title is the addition of wine with lunch. I learned that the Australians have adopted a practice from the northern Rhone region, in which they blend Syrah (red) and Viognier (white) grapes. They are macerated together, and surprisingly, the chemical reaction produces a darker wine with a mellow, rich flavor.

After lunch and the staff meeting, I helped Chef Shaun prep the amuse bouche. The restaurant had a bag of fennel tops, harvested after the plant had bloomed, but before it went to seed. I spent some time picking the fragrant blooms from the stems, which had a lovely anise flavor and would be paired with a whitefish sashimi and grapefruit tasting. He was really nice to explain the tasting wheel to me, and how he was balancing all the different sensations in a single dish (no part of the grapefruit was spared; he even candied the rind.)

There’s a lot of creativity in the kitchen. Everyone is encouraged to work up their own recipes, and the pride really shows. I had the good fortune to taste a number of the dishes, thanks to restaurant’s great generosity, and it made me want to go back as a diner. Trotter’s is not a cheap evening, and everyone who works there knows that they have to hit it out of the park with every dish. Even the bread is singular. Chef Meredith oozed passion when describing the black Tahini bread she made – scented with ginger – and the vintage baskets she used to proof the dough. And one of the vegetarian desserts combined fig sorbet with eggplant in a truly memorable taste experience.

Friday was a genuinely enjoyable experience, and it’s clear that the staff at Charlie Trotter’s thrives on achieving excellence. As diners, we rarely understand the complexity of our experience, especially at an establishment like this one. Working in the kitchen of Trotter’s, preparing food at the many different stations, talking with the diverse collection of minds that create the food and the service experience, and witnessing the professionalism of each team member helps one appreciate what is required to deliver the pinnacle of dining. Enjoying such a meal may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some people, but if you love food like I do, it’s an experience you cannot do without.

Well, we tried one of the hot, new restaurants in Chicago: Sable at the new Palomar Hotel. It has been trending high on Urbanspoon, as well as written up in Chicago Reader and Time Out Chicago. So, I called and got a table after work, and off we went on Friday evening.

The Palomar is a Kimpton Hotel, and the executive chef, Heather Terhune, was responsible for the Atwood Cafe, down the street at The Burnham, another Kimpton property. I’ve eaten at the Atwood a couple of times, and always enjoyed it. However, the whole executive chef idea makes me nervous in general, since the organizational structure removes the chef from the stove. I believe that my suspicions in this regard are justified, for reasons I will now provide.

The place looks hip when you walk through the door: dark wood, faux suede fabrics, cork, and some funky 70′s wallpaper above the kitchen. Contemporary with a touch of retro. Nice, but nothing earth-shattering. What was an immediate turn-off was the mirrored surface behind our booth. For those unfortunate enough to sit in the chairs, the effect was more disconcerting than having the wrong prescription in your eyeglasses (see photo.) That blob to the right of Laura? That’s me, taking the picture. And believe me, this is compounded as the drinks flow. I’m not sure who came up with that idea, but I’m pretty sure they haven’t eaten in the restaurant.

I can echo the review from the Chicago Reader: this seems to be more of a cocktail place than anything. Even though I could not secure a table at 7:00, when I arrived at 6:30 the restaurant was basically empty. It did eventually fill, but there wasn’t much of a hurry.

I started with a cocktail called The Bridal Shower, which combined vodka, rhubarb syrup and Campari. It was good – a commendable mix – but I was definitely not in the mood for it, and switched to a glass of Cerdon du Bugey. The wine selection seemed pretty good, albeit a bit pricey. But hey, it is downtown Chicago. An Argyle Pinot Noir was a good complement to my dinner.

The food was really inconsistent. We started with mussels in broth and found a number of them were spoiled. Otherwise they were good, but nothing special. My scallion hush puppies were like eating plain corn meal they were so dry. And the girls order deviled eggs – not my favorite – and both agreed they were only passable. Again, nothing special. That was followed by a delicious tomato cucumber salad, dressed in a tomato vinaigrette and topped with roasted peanuts. Sandi and I had flatbreads for dinner: mine a glazed pork belly and hers a mushroom and asparagus combination. They were both tasty but mine left me feeling heavy after eating just half of it.

The most disappointing aspect of the evening was the service. It was really inattentive. In fact, I would call it a deal-breaker and it will keep me from trying Sable a second time.

Back to my initial assertion, I think Sable really suffered from execution issues. Whether that is due to the absence of the chef, or just the absence of simple passion, I didn’t get the feeling that anyone was invested in creating a great dining experience. That, coupled with the fact that it wasn’t cheap, pretty much insures that my future efforts will be finding other places to patronize.