Food + Art (Part 2!)

Well, kiddies, I've gone to the Park Grill yet again.  This is the...third time?  Once again, delicious.  This time there was tapenade and rustic bread, which I am so happy about.

The bread basket came with a too-small bowl of superb olive tapenade, one that tasted strongly of vinegar and Spanish olives and citrus.  I could've just eaten it with a spoon.  As you can imagine, it was gone before I could snap a photo.

Pear Salad at the Park Grill,
with Chicken

My entree was a lovely pear salad with bleu cheese, reconstituted dried cherries (the waiter never told us what they were soaked in, unfortunately), hazelnuts, and chicken (an added charge, but a wise addition).  It is because of this salad that I'm adding mesclun greens to my list of foods that you cannot eat while still managing to look classy.  Spinach stems hanging out of the corners of your mouth unless you turn every lettuce leaf into a work of origami?  Too.  Much.  Work.  And decidedly unattractive.  No me gusta.

Reuben at the Park Grill.
Anybody else hungry?

Mom finally made it to lunch with us!  She had an awesome reuben sandwich on super-toasty marbled rye, topped with a very pickle-y thousand island dressing.  It had just the right balance of meat, cheese, and kraut.  Well done, PG.  Well done.  It was served with a dill pickle spear and a mound of those excellent fries (which essentially meant I really had pear salad and french fries for lunch, but let's not get too technical, okay?).

My sis got the Grand burger again, and it was grand.  Equally as good as the last, not to worry.  You know what it looks like.  If you don't, check my last lunch-at-the-Park post.

My aunt had the spring risotto, which was lovely and creamy with a strong garlic flavor.  It was made with peas and mushrooms.  I was jealous of her lunch, I'll admit.  Especially since you could eat it and still look sophisticated (darned mesclun greens...).  I forgot to take a picture.  And I'm so, so sorry, lovies.

Our purpose in meeting at the park/AIC was to see photographer Abelardo Morell.  He's hilarious.  And so honest and upfront about his photography.  What a cool guy.  Check out his website!  His photos are fabulous!  His retrospective exhibit will be on display at the Art Institute until September 2.

I know the food photos pale in comparison to a well-executed camera obscura.  But the New York skyline rarely makes me drool...

Peace, Love, and Good Eating!

~AF

A Day At the Park (Grill!)

Hey, hey!  The Foodie's back and ready to dish on some dishes.

On the schedule today?  Pablo Picasso at the AIC, and, natch, lunch at the Park Grill next door.

Today was absolutely gorgeous.  The weather was so warm that I could go without a coat, so of course I obliged.  I could've just walked around outside for hours and hours and hours...but I'm only human.  I was getting hungry.

My aunt, sister, and I were planning on hitting the Picasso exhibit at the Art Institute, and the most convenient lunch spot for us was the Park Grill.  Last time we were there, we had Sunday brunch (chilaquiles, chicken and waffles...ringing any bells?).  Today we were in the mood for sandwiches and salads.

Turkey Pastrami Club at the Park Grill

I gravitated toward a Turkey Pastrami Club.  It consisted of turkey pastrami (as in, turkey prepared in the style of a pastrami with lots of assertive and delicious spices and that perfect, slightly chewy, peppery crust around the edges), thick-cut bacon (can I get an amen?), avocado, heirloom tomatoes, aioli, and alfalfa sprouts, all served with fresh-cut fries and a dill pickle spear.

I liked the sandwich, but I didn't love it.  The concept of pastrami-style turkey was genius, and it was very well executed.  The bacon was ah-mazing.  I love me some avocado.  But the heirloom tomato needed salt and there were altogether too many sprouts for my taste.  The fries were tasty though.

My sister had the Grand Burger, which I would choose for my next Park Grill lunch.  A juicy, well-seasoned beef patty is topped with bacon, onion straws, and cheese, plus a barbecue sauce-mayo mashup (PG sauce) that is surprisingly smoky and delicious.

Sometimes the simple choices are the best, and I wish I had gone with something a little less complex (though I hate to admit it).

Even simpler than the Grand Burger was my aunt's steak salad.  The beef was perfectly cooked and tender, served with a simple salad of iceberg lettuce and a few heirloom cherry tomatoes, all dressed in a slightly creamy dressing.

[Here I would like to apologize for my lack of specificity...I didn't take notes on the dishes and the menu online isn't up to date.]

Honey-Lavendar Crème Brûlée

Apple Galette

Dessert consisted of a honey-lavendar crème brûlée (shared between my aunt and myself) and an apple galette.  The brûlée reminded me of lemon-lavendar shortbread.  And by that I mean I loved it.  The galette was warm and flaky and topped with vanilla ice cream(!).  And it was all gorgeous.

I'm sorry if this post seems a little...lacking in pizzazz.  I'm really tired tonight, lovies, but I'll go back through and polish this up when I get a chance.

Peace, Love and Zzzzz....

~af.

C-c-c-culture, C-c-c-usisine and C-c-c-cold! Last Weekend's Adventures in Food and Art

Brrr, lovies!  It's awfully chilly out there!

I'm posting about what I did on Sunday the 20th.  Why wait so long?  Well, my fingers have only just thawed out...

I met up with my auntie and the sis downtown to check out the Art Institute's new Gods and Glamor exhibit, but first we needed some snackies...lunch actually.  We were pretty much starving.

We ran across the same problem we always have when we meet up along Michigan Ave.  My sister's a bit of a picky eater (not that there's anything wrong with that, love ya, L!) so we didn't really have the option to try out places like the Gage or Purple Pig (which I am a little bit obsessed with...gotta go there and try it...).  We eventually settled on trying out the Park Grill at Millennium Park.

Since it was a Sunday morning, the Park Grill was serving up brunch.  I settled into our booth table and ordered a cup of coffee, a beverage I would recommend if you're not part of the Bloody Mary- and Mimosa-drinking set.  After grasping the mug for about ten minutes, I'd finally regained some of the feeling in my hands.

We all went savory-brunchy with our entrees.  My aunt got Short Rib Benedict, which I unfortunately did not taste.  My sister got chicken and waffles, which I did try, and I got (get ready for it...) chilaquiles!

Elegant Chicken and Waffles at the Park Grill

Let's start with the chicken and waffles.  I am in love with the concept.  Crispy, crunchy, fluffy, salty, sweet...just about the perfect meal, no?  This was the first time I'd ever had C & W, and I'm sorry to say I found this plate a wee bit wanting.

Individually, the items were tasty.  The chicken was juicy and delicious, enveloped in a golden breadcrumb crust.  The waffle was fluffy and just slightly sweet, but it lacked the crisp coating I was hoping for.  They'd drizzled the whole shebang simply with honey.  To create a harmonious and really out-of-this-world dish, I would prefer chicken that is seasoned far more aggressively, maybe even with a kick, and I'd like my waffles to be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, with a little more sweetness to counterbalance the chicken.

Overall, I liked the concept, I just wanted more from the execution.

Warm, Comforting Chilaquiles at the Park Grill

My chilaquiles were quite the different story.  While not traditional, they packed a whole lot of flavorful punch into one messy-looking bowl.  I've had chilaquiles verdes from Nuevo Leon and enjoyed them immensely.  The chilaquiles from Park Grill aren't trying to replicate the authenticity of Nuevo Leon...and they shouldn't.

PG's chilaquiles featured a red sauce that gave off notes of complex, smoky chiles.  The salsa-braised nacho chips, an integral part of any good plate of chilaquiles, were not uniformly soggy, but I'll be honest, I didn't really mind.  The dish also featured chunks of fall-apart tender carnitas-style pork, along with two over-easy eggs with perfectly runny yolks, guacamole, sour cream, and little cubes of a salty white cheese.

The subtle heat from the sauce built over time, but the runny yolk, guac, and sour cream balanced the meal nicely.

I only regret that I couldn't take my leftovers with me; at the AIC, there's no food allowed...

As for the exhibit, it was fascinating.  I always enjoy Roman, Greek and Byzantine art.  But the showstopper for me was an exhibit on modern fashion from Japanese designers.  Be sure to check it out if you get a chance.

~AF