Chicago

Over the holiday weekend, I was lucky enough to visit Chicago for a friend's wedding. While the wedding was lovely, it was really the great restaurants that were the highlight of the trip.

Of all the meals we enjoyed over our four day stay there were three meals that really stood out:

Brunch @ Feast - we just stumbled across this restaurant near our hotel and we were blown away with the menu. We tried the "eggs portobello" which was basically an eggs Benedict served over a breaded portobello mushroom with steamed spinach and oven-roasted tomatoes and the "breakfast croissant" with prosciutto, arugula, mozzarella, and scrambled eggs. I was impressed with the local-sourcing mentions on the menu and the coffee (Intelligentsia, roasted in Chicago) was fabulous.

Lunch @ Frontera Grill - Of course, everything was just as great as we expected it to be, but one dish really stood out. The goat-meat enchiladas with a tomatillo salsa and black beans. I had never had goat before and I was pleasantly surprised. It was super tender and reminded me of a cross between beef and duck.

Dinner @ The Publican - Paul Kahan's newest place is now my favorite spot in Chicago. Everything was amazing so I'll list it all out: yellowtail crudo with fava bean salsa, mint & pistachios; country ribs with asparagus and polenta; yellow beets with housemade ricotta; and grilled ramps with hazelnut-breadcrumb salsa. Everything was perfectly cooked and so flavorful. I was especially impressed with the kitchen's use of finishing salts. Each dish was perfectly seasoned without being noticeably "salty".

**I apologize for the lack of photos; I was so busy swooning over my food that I totally forgot to snap photos! I guess I'll just have to go back, you know, for the sake of the blog...