Chicago 2008: Publican

A beer hall dressed up in couture fashion, the spacious market district addition to the numerous nightclubs that line the meatpacking corridor, brought to you by the creators of The Violet Hour and Blackbird, is off to a strong start. Fresh faced and attentive servers help fill the spacious, german-styled hall across from the Fulton Fish Market, which has been christened the Publican.

Large, communal tables of sharp-looking wood ring the outside of the room, while the East wall is adorned with booths (replete with swinging doors) that sequester you from the balance of the room if you have a party of four (similar to the reserved boxes in Oktoberfest tents in Munich).

The draft beer list includes eight varied beers (three locals, some fruity Belgians, a festival German, and an esoteric coffee-based beer as well as a cider); the bottled beer list numbers about another sixty, and is organized by country and representative of a well-thought our selection of craft beers. Wine is also available (but you should not come if you need it, the experience is really best with beer).

We started with a ham tasting - rare and fine Iberico (true to the menu: rich, nutty and sweet and worth the $35 for the tasting), an 'Iowa version of Iberico' (good but not as rich), and a Tennessee ham with a smoky flavor. Served with thin-sliced German brown bread and unsalted butter, a nice way to start a meal (although we couldn't resist also sampling the pork rinds - served hot with just a dusting of salt & vinegar, they would have delighted Homer [Simpson, not the Greek] at his brightest moment of food bliss).

For a main course, I took on the crispy sweetbread schnitzel, which was very mild versus many sweetbreads I have tried. The lemon & caper sauce, coupled with a rather thick breading, was a bit overpowering on the palette for such a rich organ meat, but it was a substantial portion and a very nice meal despite lacking the delicate nature of a typical sweetbread preparation.

My dining partner opted for the potee (pork shank, belly and tenderloin) served with mushrooms and a horseradish aioli. I tested the belly for him, it was excellent and a gracious cut - and the sauce paired quite well.

Despite the orgy of (unhealthy) beer hall noshing, we also opted for dessert, a crisp, flaky waffle with a fresh churned butter honey and figs - resplendent, particularly paired with the Norwegian Winter ale we sampled alongside it.

One constructive criticisms (which a few faithful readers have asked me to be 'less polite' on) would be the side dishes need some work - the frites were a bit 'vacuous' in their crispness (although the aioli dip was amazing); I would also not order the cavalo nero again (too bitter).

Overall - a good joinder of old world and new world, and a good time will be had by all who attend. Prosit!