Restaurant Week Part II - onesixtyblue

This review is way overdue. We ate there almost 2 weeks ago for Restaurant Week but I was too lazy to get the pictures off the camera.

We ate there on a Tuesday. We had called nearly a month in advance for reservations and were told our two choices were 5pm or 8pm. Hmmm must be a popular place. When we got there it was pretty crowded but there were still tables available.

I loved the decor. Very warm and welcoming. The bar looked like a great place to have a drink. The Husband was embarassed when I brought out the camera so I don't really have any pictures of the restaurant. That's also why several of the pictures are really dark and basically suck because the flash was too much.

We had originally booked because their 3-course Restaurant Week menu looked fantastic. However by the time Restaurant Week had come they'd changed the menu a bit which was disappointing.

Then after looking at the regular menu I decided I wanted to get the blue crab ravioli and an appetizer instead of the Restaurant Week menu. Unfortunately they were out of the blue crab ravioli. I had been really excited about that too.

We decided to each get different appetizers, entrees, and desserts to try some different things. I got the short end of the stick with this arrangement as The Husband's appetizer and entree were vastly better than mine.

I had the chicken chorizo gumbo for an appetizer which had okra, molasses, and smoked rock shrimp. It wasn't really any better than other gumbo I've had. I wouldn't get it again.

The Husband had leek gnocchi with baby leek, leek emulsion, and black perigord truffle. This was delicious. I could have eaten a whole bowl of this.

For my entree I had the chicken and biscuits with a roast amish chicken, braised kale, and foie gras sauce. The chicken and the sauce was good. The biscuits tasted like any other biscuit I've ever had. And there were these little fried things on my plate which I thought would have chicken inside but they tasted like fish. I made The Husband try them without telling him what it was and he said it wasn't chicken either.

The Husband had the hanger steak. This was excellent and served medium rare. It came with fingerling potato, wild mushroom, and smoked italian sausage. Fingerling potato is just a fancy word for really good mashed potatoes.

I had the trio of sorbets for dessert that came with vanilla bean shortbreads. There was an apple, orange, and I think it was raspberry sorbet. Good, but nothing exceptionally exciting. The apple one had a great tangy flavor though.

The husband had the chocolate panna cotta which came with cocoa nib streusel, spanish peanut crisp, and coffee cocoa nib ice cream. He's not a fan of coffee flavor so the dessert was only so-so. You can see the foam in this picture. There was liberal use of foam throughout the meal. Definitely some in the leek gnocchi. Maybe in another dish as well.

I almost forgot. The best part of our meal was a fabulous sauvignon blanc. And because we are member's of the West Loop organization and have a special discount card, we got 50% off the bottle.

We really enjoyed our meal but I don't think we'd go back in the near future. There are too many other places to try and this one didn't make our favorites list.

Restaurant Week - David Burke's Primehouse

I've been waiting forever. Restaurant Week is finally here! We only booked at two restaurants this week since that's all my wallet or my waistline can handle. But I would love to pick a new restaurant for every night. Dinners are $32/person for 3 courses and lunches are $22/person for 3 courses.

David Burke's is one of our favorite restaurants. Both The Husband and I are huge fans of steak. So when we have a special event we're celebrating and we're shelling out a lot of cash for dinner we frequently choose a steakhouse. We've been to David Burke's before - once to celebrate our birthdays and once for NYE last year.

David Burke's Primehouse is in the James Hotel. I checked hotel rates and they were only $129 for that night. What a deal. They can be up to $400/night during prime time. Thought it would be a nice treat for us but we decided not to book. Really no reason to stay in a hotel that's close enough that we could walk there.

We started with drinks at the bar. I had a bellini ($8) and The Husband had a vodka tonic ($12). A little disappointing. My bellini was just champagne and peach schnapps instead of a peach puree and they didn't have the Effen vodka that The Husband wanted for his V&T. I'd expect a little more at such an upscale bar. Plus The Husband's V&T was way too strong. He said at least he got his money's worth.

We were seated shortly. Since it was Restaurant Week we had a set menu to choose from. The choices were very extensive though unlike some Restaurant Week menus I've seen. Instead of bread they bring out individual gruyere puffs. By now we also ordered a bottle of pinot grigio.

For an appetizer I had a pretzel encrusted crab cake with poppy seed honey and mango mayonnaise. This isn't your traditional crab cake. I love the texture from the pretzels and the flavor of the mango mayonnaise.

The Husband had the lobster bisque which came with a little lobster spring roll. The lobster bisque was excellent, maybe even better than the crab cake, but I found the presentation a bit lacking.

For dinner we both had the 6 ounce filet mignon. I got mine with a blue cheese add-on for $4. The filets were excellent as always. I loved having the smaller portion. I didn't feel like I had to finish the whole thing and stuff myself.

The entrees were accompanied by 4 sides: mushrooms, creamed spinach, asparagus and shallots, and basil whipped potatoes. I tried all of them but I really dislike mushrooms and don't really care for spinach or asparagus. The basil whipped potatoes were good though. Very creamy and had a nice hint of basil.

The Husband also got a side of Cavatelli "mac n' cheese" ($5). He enjoyed it. I thought it was good but nothing special.

The Husband's dessert was called "Slice of Prime" and had layers of rich chocolate mousse, cake, and fudge s'mores ice cream. The dessert was more mousse-y than cake-y and very rich but The Husband really enjoyed it.

I got the apple cheddar pie which had granny smith apples, aged cheddar, and salted caramel ice cream. I know this sounds like a weird combination but it was very good. When the cheddar was covered by all the sweetness and ice cream it didn't taste like typical cheese at all. I don't know that I'd order it again since I'm not a dessert person at all, but it was nice to try.

Service was decent but was very rushed by our waiter. Probably a result of it being restaurant week. I loved the meal because it provided just the right amount of food. If we'd ordered everything a la carte there would have been larger portions of everything and we would have had to be rolled out of the restaurant. It was nice to have a meal out where I cleaned my plate but didn't feel the need to unbutton my pants afterwards. Total cost for the meal, one bottle of wine, 2 drinks, and tip was $170.

gruyere puff

The Husband

pretzel encrusted crab cake that I'd already taken a bite out of before I remembered to take a picture

lobster bisque with lobster spring roll

filet mignon

entree sides - mushrooms, basil whipped potatoes, creamed spinach, and asparagus with shallots

mac n' cheese and my side of blue cheese

apple cheddar pie with my bite out of it

slice of prime chocolate goodness

Restaurant Week

The best part about the cold, gray, and slushie month of February is Restaurant Week. I believe Restaurant Week started in New York City several years ago. Even Dayton, Ohio had a restaurant week several years ago that I dined at with my mom. Chicago just caught on last year though.

We have reservations at two restaurants right now and we might add a third.

One of our reservations is at David Burke's Primehouse. This is one of our favorite restaurants. We really set out to try some new places but their menu was too good of a deal. Here's the menu for you to salivate over: http://www.jameshotels.com/chicago/menus/dbph_restaurant_week_2009_dinner.pdf

I can already tell you what I'll be getting. I'll start with the pretzel crusted crabcake while stealing half of The Husband's lobster bisque. Then I'll have the petite filet. It's half the size of the regular filet on the menu but I really don't need 12 ounces of beef anyway. When I try and eat the whole filet is when I also have the desire to unbutton my pants under the table. Finally I'm going to try the Apple Cheddar Pie for dessert which sounds like quite the interesting combination of flavors.

The other restaurant we chose is onesixtyblue which is owned by Michael Jordan. I feel onesixtyblue flies under the radar. I never hear about it but it gets great reviews. Plus it's in our neighborhood so we could theoretically walk if I wasn't going to be all dolled up in my heels. I'm really excited to try this place since it's a slight departure from our normal restaurants. Generally when we have a more expensive dinner out we choose steakhouses, seafood, or Italian. They are our favorites and if we're spending the money we want to like them. So we're excited to try some food that's a little more fancy. Here's the menu: http://www.onesixtyblue.com/pdf/restaurant_week_2009_menu.pdf

Here's the listing of all the restaurants who are participating in Restaurant Week: http://www.choosechicago.com/eatitup/Pages/default2.aspx

And if you have any recommendations for a third restaurant let me know.