Tuna Tuna Salmon = Love Love Lust

Went to Japonais this weekend because it's good, I love it, and our friends Mica and Peter hadn't been there in forever. Who are we to say no to raw fish? We started the night in the subterranean lounge and it was packed...like people have been hibernating and were just LET LOOSE on the city's best indoor bars. Yes, it was that packed. We were relegated to the corner of the corner near the service station (the bartender actually came all the way out and around the bar to return our tab because people were 3 deep at the bar - crazy).

After a glass of my favorite sauv blanc we were seated upstairs in a comfy banquette. Immediately we ordered the Rock and the Kani Nigiri - surf and turf, if you will. I elected myself Chief of the Rock and made everyone seared, salty slices of beef. We ordered a variety of warm dishes to appease Peter, but ultimately the main event was the (two orders of) Tuna Tuna Salmon. Honestly, it's so good - it's like my personal brand of fish candy. Here's the equation, if you're not familiar:

Sushi rice+salmon tartar+avocado+perfectly sliced tuna+wasabi tobiko sauce = deliciousness!

I am mildly obsessed and have been reminded of said obsession - now have to plan my next meal of wine and Tuna Tuna Salmon, any takers?

the girl & the fig

As far as challenging meals go, we've had our fair share: bad servers, messy menus, incorrect orders, allergies (eggplant is my "allergy"), strange table placement, aggressive food runners, out of stock wine orders, late mise en place. You name it. We can now add "food poisoning" to the list...NOT from The Girl & the Fig, but from the restaurant the evening before. The challenge for us was that we had been so looking forward to this vacation, this specific town, this specific meal, that one of us having food poisoning was quite possibly the worst dining challenge yet.

How can you visit an acclaimed, adorable, farm-to-table restaurant in the midst of your food-and-wine-centric vacation and not order anything? Let me tell you - you eat a lot of bread. Thankfully the bread is lovely.

C is a wonderful companion and dolefully accompanied me in his time of pain - my mother called it heroism - and we called ahead to ask about the daily menu and the more bland possibilities for his recovering stomach (Side note: asking a hostess for bland items at a renowned restaurant is not a call I'd like to make, but I digress). We were seated on their gorgeous, plant and ivy covered patio, between a fire pit and glowing lanterns. Totally cozy, neighborhood vibe, shiny, happy people.

With a French focus on wine (Rhone-alone) and cheese, it was a tough restaurant to have a man down. I ended up ordering the Arugula and Fig salad (how could you not?) followed by the Pan Roasted Black Cod. Both were well-executed, light and summery, incredibly fresh dishes - I truly could eat the black cod time and time again, especially in warm weather, as it was the essence of an Indian Summer: fresh corn, crunchy cabbage, tender fingerlings, made more earthy with black truffle oil and the hearty skin on fillet of the fish. Sigh...so good.

Highly recommend it, whether for lunch or dinner. Try to keep your dinner company healthy, though, the fromage looks divine...

Coopers - town 101

I'm going to go ahead and NOT mention the fact that I haven't written anything all summer. I figure that it's obvious (hello, sidebar) and after the long, not-so-summer that we've had here in Chicago, I'd like to just move on. Okay?

So, take two: C and I went to Napa and San Francisco last month. We have been trying to get out there for the past few years and finally it worked out. I have a LOT of food and vino stories, but think this one is appropriate for this time of year, namely, harvest time.

Any wine drinker (and most common folk) know that wine is generally aged in barrels. C and I understand the intricacies of the different types of barrels to an extent - we know we like a little oak in our pinot noir, a stainless steel barreled, crisp sauvingnon. What we did not know was manipulating the barrel was a) an uncommon practice or that b) it would have such an amazing output. We learned all about barrels, coopers, the forests of France and more at Del Dotto Vineyard. We elected to kick off our vacation here and splurged on the Cave and Barrel Tasting at their St Helena estate. We ended up with a private tour and a very informative and well-sipped tour guide (I spit/poured more than he did and I was quite tipsy). After an hour of thief poured wine and some of the best cabernets I've ever tasted, we got to this barrel (pic above): 2007 St Helena Block 1, 6 oaks French Selection Cabernet Sauvignon.

Commonly, all oak barrels are either French or domestic (Missouri/Ozarks) and are better known for being "lightly, medium, or heavily" toasted, with each level lending certain characteristics to the wine. Wine makers don't usually disclose the type of oak, though more modern vineyards will let you know since the flavor profiles can so vastly differ. I know this is a lot of info, but bear with me... Del Dotto, not only tells you the type of oak used for aging, they can tell you the forest and the location WITHIN the forest where these trees were pulled from. That was impressive - for instance, "Troncais, center" and you the consumer will know that the center trees are the purest and will affect your wine in a very subtle way. To take it even further, they have petitioned their individual cooper to experiment with alternate woods, grooves in the barrel staves, different forest ranges, etc. All at the price of nearly $2500 each, plus the risk of the wine in that barrel (approximately 30 cases) - all in all, it's an expensive experiment. I applaud their innovation and Mr. Del Dotto's quest to do something different and "mix it up" in Napa and the industry.

The barrel pictured was a patented mix of SIX types of French Oak, one from each of the major harvest areas. The wine was a bold cabernet, medium tannins and very, very smooth finish. Priced @ $125 we could hardly escape with the barrel....although we wanted to try. Sadly, our tour guide wasn't as inebriated as we'd hoped.

Highly recommend a visit to the vineyard - it's small, family owned, accommodating and the cave tour is one-of-a-kind.

Old Town Brasserie

In a recent game of restaurant roulette (of sorts), my friend Amanda and I both randomly selected the Old Town Brasserie for a weeknight dinner out. It was a cold, windy Chicago day (read: normal) so the thought of cozy French fare was comforting.

I made reservations easily and beat her to the restaurant. Still freezing from the cold, I went right to the table, anything to get away from the door...The dining room is bright and yellow and inviting. It was smaller than I thought it would be, but a perfect neighborhood size. The tables are set with French country plates and napkins folded like little spa robes (lapels and all).

After perusing the wine list, I had a lapse of judgment and ordered a Spanish Malbec...quite ripe and not at all what I was expecting or wanted. The waiter was quick to notice and replaced my poor choice with a French Cabernet - much better.

Amanda and I were both struggling with the menu - many interesting things and seasonal dishes to choose from, she and I decided to divide and conquer - she ordered the apple and parsnip salad with maple walnuts, I ordered a roasted beets and goat cheese salad (yes, predictable).
Her salad had this wonderful parsnip pancake - moist and dense, like a blini - that was warm and added great texture to the apples, nuts, and red leaf lettuce. The beets on my dish were minimal, but the haricot verts and crisped chevre was delicious.

Next course was difficult...I read that you should always order the "duo" on the menu...I just wasn't in the mood for steak/lamb, so I went with the roasted duck and Amanda chose the duo. I think her dish might have been superior, though for any duck lover out there, the confit was amazing and the duck breast was plentiful and cooked perfectly medium rare. The duo had braised beef and roasted lamb ribs - the lamb was too infused with rosemary for my tastes, but the beef was absolutely perfect - tender, flavorful, perfectly sauced.

We couldn't stop there so we moved onto dessert and had pre-ordered a chocolate souffle with almond ice cream. The souffle was gooey, chocolate goodness. Light and super chocolate-y. The tiny speck of ice cream that we received was unbelievable...like I can't believe that they put this miniature dot of ice cream on a plate...it was two bites (at best) and was melting fast next to the warm-from-the-oven souffle dish. Poor judgment OTB - that's like kitchen 101 stuff, right?

Regardless, we still had a great meal and I would definitely go back again...a few quick things to point out is that this is not a menu of "obligatory French". You will not see Onion Soup or Steak Frites - so don't go expecting that.

Okay, who's been there, any other major standouts?