In 2000 Words, My Last Meal

Did I mention there's another one-- that I have a brother?  There's an older, wiser, more gastronomically adept Stash out there.  Long time readers may remember him from such blogs as this one, where he gave us a fine lesson in cutlery. 

After half a decade of sailing around the world, he's back in Chicago.  And hungry.  Monday's lunch was a good start, but we're still hungry.  We're ready for more great food.  It's time to go to Publican.

Publican is Paul Kahan's latest restaurant, following Blackbird and Avec.  It's been nominated three times by the James Beard foundation in 2009 for Outstanding Chef Paul Kahan, Best Restaurant Design, and Best Restaurant Graphic Design.  Paul is finally getting the attention he deserves, and since its opening in October, I couldn't be more eager to visit.

We walk in just before six, with no reservation (would never dare this on the weekend), in proper attire.  The attentive hostess asks for seating preference, takes coats, and seats us immediately at the bar, which serves the full menu.  Great start, until I start reading the beer list.  I'm not a big drinker, but I have to get a beer, one of the three founding consumables, of the establishment.  The waiter comes for our drink order and my brother puts in his request.  I stare.  The waiter asks, "What kind of beer do you like?"  I stare.  "Do you like a more hoppy beer?"  More staring.

After a brief moment of silence he gives me his recommendation, which doesn't happen to be on the menu since many of the beverages are rotated.  So I have no idea what I'm drinking, except that it starts with a 'b,' is light enough not to kill the taste of the food, and is good enough for me to ultimately order three more goblets of it.  Immediately I am impressed by the wait staff's knowledge.

Hamachi crudo with green almonds and chili.

As the freshly baked sourdough and butter arrive, we place our opening order for the chef's tasting of oysters, chef's tasting of aged hams, hamachi crudo, and potted rilettes.  Everything comes out as it's ready, so seamlessly adding dishes to our queue will be a simple task.

The oysters come out first.  Now I've had terrible oysters, and passable oysters, in my life.  Not too eager about this dish, but oysters are a founding pillar of this establishment.

I start with a Shigoku (Samish Island, Washington: sweet, pure, refined) because it sounds cool.  To my personal taste-- it's edible.  Objectively, it's great.  Surprisingly fresh, the juice tastes like the ocean, and I feel like I understand better what people mean when they evaluate seafood as 'fresh' or 'tasting like the ocean.'

Chef's tasting of aged hams.

Next, the yellowtail crudo comes out.  Hamachi is my all time favorite fish.  I love it raw in sushi, and adore the collar grilled.  There's no going wrong when ordering it.

The dish does not disappoint.  Dressed in olive oil, accompanied with green almonds and chile, the fish is fresh and perfectly fatty.  The green almonds add texture, and the chiles chime in with heat and more texture throughout the dish.  It's a fantastic starter, even for people with a lesser obsession.

The chef's tasting of aged hams arrives as the empty hamachi plate leaves.  The plate reminds of of my days back at Chicago Gourmet, where I ate half a pound of proscuitto in a single sitting.  Have to be careful.

I taste the three, Serrano, La Quercia Rossa Ham, and Col. Bill Newsome's on their own first.  Delicious.  Can't believe they're served with bread and butter.  Do these products really need to be eaten with an additional lipid?  I don't even butter bread when I'm eating it on its own.  I try it-- hot piece of toast, layer of butter, topped with a mound of Serrano.  Pretty frickin' good.  The addition of butter isn't needed, but if such a canape is handed to me, I won't say no.

Potted rillettes with currant and rhubarb jam.

The potted rilettes arrive with more bread.  Didn't mean to order so many bread intensive dishes, but it doesn't matter when everything is this good. 

I've heard of duck rilettes before, but nothing like this.  Pork rilettes with rhubarb and currant jelly.  Spreads like a soft cheese or butter and is really good.  No idea how they do that.  Great balance of sweet and salty, with hints of shredded pork.

Easily the best bite of the night so far.  There's something special about it that makes me want to keep eating more and more.  I have to discover its secret and try to recreate on my own.  So first I think, what exactly are rillettes? 

Doesn't look like they added any cheese in there.  But then what's that white stuff?  Oh, that white stuff is fat.  Of course!  No wonder it's so spreadable, so delicious, so wonderful.  Expect a future post with recipe.

Pork shoulder with chorizo and clams, sweet tomatoes, fingerlings.

Enough of the bread and the small plates-- it's time for entrees.  The first one to come is the dish I lobbied for, pork shoulder with chorizo, clams, and sweet tomatoes.  There are some perfectly cooked fingerlings thrown in to make the plate more omnivorous.

My brother has concerns when reading the dish's description.  Combining pork shoulder with chorizo and clams is risky business.  Clams are light, sweet, and delicate; pork shoulder heavy and fatty; then chorizo is fatty and incredibly seasoned, often overpowering its comrades.

The dish is disgustingly well balanced.  I hate it.  Paul shouldn't be able to do this.  I can't tell what kind of chorizo he's using, but I can deduce that it isn't Mexican.  Spanish or Portoguese?  Maybe he made it himself.  Whatever it is, it isn't overly spicy.  Along with the clam jus, it adds wonderful flavor to the broth radiating at the bottom of the bowl, and adds pleasant flavor and texture to every bite.  The clams are tender-- perfectly cooked, and irresistable with a spoonful of the orange broth underneath everything.  As we progress through the dish we wonder, "Why, why did we finish off the bread?  This jus needs to be sopped up with bread."

Pork belly, tenderloin, crepinette, over vegetables, pickle and jus.

As tears clear, the next homage to pork arrives, as a trio over vegetables.  The potee includes tenderloin, belly, and a crepinette, which is a sausage wrapped in caul fat.

I start with the tenderloin while my brother digs into the belly.  The tenderloin is juicy and has flavor-- something very uncharacteristic of this expensive cut of meat.  Unlike the offerings of past Top Chef finalists, the belly is perfectly cooked, and outstanding.  Don't be intimidated by it, it can be very similar to other slow cooked porked products.

The crepinette is objectively good.  While it may be difficult to believe reading this, I don't crave very fatty foods, and so i found this to be a bit much in excess.

The vegetables are good enough for any stubborn six year old to love, especially the brussels sprouts, my brother's favorite.  The medley is highlighted by the occassional pickle slice, which adds a wonderful bite of brine.

At this point of the meal we evaluate our capacities.  Doesn't take long to conclude that we are still hungry and able.  Ramps come up to be healthy, beef hearts beat out sweetbreads, and the boudin blonc because apparently we aren't eating enough pork.

Ramps with walnuts and mint.

The ramps with walnuts and mint arrive first.  We realize while we know what ramps look like, and are supposed to taste like, we've never really had them on their own before.  I know they're going to be good because the first bunch of the season came out a few weeks back.

Ramps look like the crazy, big leafy cousin of the green onion.  Thankfully, they aren't nearly as pungent as onions.  The white stalk is somewhat stringy, and offers a mild bite, while the leafy green top is comparable to other ruffage.  The dish is cooked well, and beautifully interwoven.  Topped of with the crunch and nuttiness of walnuts, the dish is a wonderul accompaniment.

The offal of the night arrive next, beef heart with bone marrow gremolata.  I've had heart before, and have always found it to be bland and tough.  This dish is going to have a hard time crushing the pre-conceived notion I have.

Beef hearts with gremolata, bone marrow.

First impression is how aromatic the dish is.  But wait, this is a trick.  It isn't the heart I smell, but the gremolata.  Not going to fool me.

I take a portion and easily cut through with my fork.  Doesn't seem so tough.  It chews and goes down easy.  The heart doesn't have a very strong flavor.  I can tell it came from a cow, because there is a beefy underlying flavor, but it's very light and has a smooth texture.

What I'm trying to say, is that it's good, really good.  To me, the heart isn't the focus of the dish.  The heart is just a vessel for the wonderful bone marrow gremolata that was prepared.  Just takes one bite for the dish to lose any intimidation it holds.  Trust me on this one.

Boudin blanc , apple, fennel, raisins, grainy mustard dressing.

The final [savory] dish, boudin blonc, arrives with perfect timing, like all the ones before it.  The sausage lays atop a frisee salad with pears, fennel, and raisins.  Grainy mustard dressing accompanies.

Could not ask for a better final dish.  The sausage is light, and has a very summery feeling to it.  For once, I feel good about myself after eating a sausage.

Apparently the secret to the lightness of the sausage lies in adding cream to the mix.  Not sure if that makes me feel better or worse about myself.  Regardless, I still enjoy the dish.

Knowing the dessert course is coming I focus on finishing my beer.  Don't want it interefering with the sweet dreamland I'm about to enter.

With the dessert, wine, and cheese menu, the waiter brings [comped] his favorite dessert drink, Frambozenbier (Brouwerij Liefmans, Oudenaarde, Belgium).  After all the effort of getting through the last goblet, a new one has arrived.  It isn't technically a lambic, but is incredibly light, fruity, and goes surprisingly well with dessert.

Waffle with rhubarb and creme fraiche.The desserts come out together.  I start with the waffle before indulging in the bay leaf pound cake.

The warm waffle is topped with whipped honey butter and rhubarb.  The texture is light and crunchy, nothing like what I've been able to pop out of an iron.  Washes down perfectly with the Frambozenbier.

Next I move on to my final bites of the night.  The bay leaf pound is topped with citrus and frozen yogurt.  Not too sweet, and has great acidity from the citrus.  While not as imaginative as the savory courses, the desserts are still plenty satisfying.

The evening ends all too soon.  Never thought I could go through 11 plates in 90 minutes at such a place. 

Bay leaf poundcake with citrus, ice cream.I'm in a wonderful place.  Not stuffed, but just feel really good about everything, and life in general.  I've spent more elsewhere and been less satisfied.  Publican has a wonderful ambiance, and approachable environment that isn't found in many other places.  There were people in shorts, jeans, and business attire.  The friendly vibe is perpetuated with beer, and removes the fuss from great food.

So if any of you happen to be nearby, and hungry, let me know.  I can't wait to go back.

Comments

[greg]

ramps, walnuts and mint! I am going to rip that off and make it my own. It sounds so great. Would you say the ramps were steamed or wilted in oil?? GREG

[Jeff]

11 plates?!? It still blows my mind on how you're able to pack all that food!

[Chef E]

Somehow I missed all these goodies...nice dishes too...

[Tatiana]

The Publican is stellar. I would go back anytime. Just say when. And that ramps dish is making me so hungry for ramps! Hurry up, spring!