Chicago 2010: Sable

Housed in the Palomar hotel in River North, one of Chicago's newest hot spots is Sable. The restaurant has an open kitchen with edgy and attractive decor, and the friendly service you would expect of a hotel restaurant. But what sets Sable apart is the unique, but oddly accessible, offering of both drinks and cuisine.

The bar area (which opens onto the main entrance) boasts a host of mixologists pouring a menu designed by Mike Ryan (formerly of Violet Hour and MOTO) that has a bible of cocktails that will delight. These range from elegant versions of old stand-bys (a Manhattan with Rittenhouse 101 was my first beverage of the evening) to the inventive "Trust me" page which sports The Most Dangerous Game (Vodka, Fernet Branca, fresh beet juice and Mexican coffee bitters) as well as the Yoino Buta, or "Drunken Pig" (Yamazaki 12 year Japanese Whiskey, housemade bacon bitters and bacon-brown sugar syrup). The service is much faster than many of the other "craft drink" spots that have cropped up across the nation recently, despite being of equal or better quality.

Following our sojourn at Mike's amazing bar, we made our way to the dining room on the East side of the restaurant. The menu in the restaurant is slightly more tame than the bar. A range of unusual preparations of standard dishes - veal meatballs, ham & swiss "poppers", buttermilk fried quail, among others, make decisions difficult. In addition, the portions of the dishes, even though served in a "tasting" style are substantial. I don't think I have ever cautioned my readers about over-ordering; but I must here, as I was tempted to order "one of everything" given the relatively inexpensive panoply of fine dining.

We began with the veal meatballs, which are served with a spicy ketchup glaze. The veal is smooth and tender, and the spicy sauce is truly a crisp glaze. Excellent and served in a cast pot with bamboo toothpicks.

We were mistakenly brought a dish of the mini soft pretzels, with a rich and tasty cheddar cheese dip. We ate them promptly.

The mussels were spicy and of very high quality - served with oiled bread in a cast iron pot - and excellent. The perfect size and flavor. Next came a small basked of corn & scallion hush puppies, with a smoked paprika salt. These were excellent as well.

I snuck in an order of deviled eggs, as the menu description intrigued me. They were orgasmic, with truffle oil whipped with the egg yolks, and topped with a crisped black trumpet mushroom. I really recommend these - I have never been one to order deviled eggs, but it was a standout.

By this time, it had became apparent that we had over-ordered a bit, as we continued to be plied with the delicious yet heady cocktails. Then the BLT sliders arrived. They were made with crispy pork belly instead of bacon. I would change the bread (egg bun) to a firmer bread, perhaps toasted whole grain, but the small sandwiches were rich and excellent.

The tuna tartar tacos appeared suddenly. They were small homemade tacos, with rounds of corn meal and a spicy sauce. These were very good and a lighter, refreshing course.

Having nearly forgotten there was more to go when the prosciutto pizza arrived, topped with oil-soaked olives (I would pass on the olives) and arugula. Well-cooked and excellent with a fried egg on top. Finally, a set of short-rib sliders came to the table. They were good but a little rich (oddly) with some interesting spice.

Overall, this was a great meal and a great experience. You should get to Sable before it becomes to crowded to enjoy - its that good!

Chicago 2010: The Purple Pig

Just to the South of 500 North Michigan Avenue, there is a a grand entrance, wrought of iron, proclaiming the way to the The Purple Pig, through which one passes to the restaurant's spacious outdoor patio before arriving at the door of the restaurant. However, if you approach from the North, you stumble upon a more traditional office building, and hidden away behind the elevator bank, a rustic wood and glass door declares "Cheese, Wine & Swine". It was in this way I entered the restaurant for the first time, having retreated from an art opening and seeking an early Friday evening dinner.

Inside, the place is all hustle and bustle with loud-ish music pumping, which was frankly a bit in contrast with the country-kitchen decor (floral tiles and light wood walls).

There was a large selection of accessible wines (many priced at less than $40), as well as some very nice higher-end vinos (but all very young vintages). They pour by the carafe, half bottle and glass for any of the less than $40 selections, which is very nice for tasting and for larger parties. We selected a bottle of the popular Whispering Angel Rose '08 for this hot early summer evening.

The fresh-baked foccacia (sans herbs) which came out with the menus was not very good, but the service was prompt if a bit hurried.

The menu is all served tapas style, and comes out quickly when ordered. With antipasti such as salt-roasted beets with whipped goat cheese (a great flavored beet, and I really could have eaten several orders, unusual for my carnivore self) and rock shrimp with spring peas (very good and 'fresh' tasting with a touch of lemon), it is hard to narrow down choices. Next up was a decent selection of cured meats (we started with a pile of thinly sliced Jamon Serrano, which was ok, but not to the quality of, say The Publican) and "smears" to spread on crostini (we sampled the bone marrow with herbs, two huge chunks of bone with parsley, capers and fennel, and a salt dish, which was very good but the crostini were over-oiled for such a rich flavor). The cheese is a highlight of the menu, with sampler plates of 3 or 5 types from the broader list of 16 available. We tried a camembert (very nice), a 6-month aged gouda (could have been a 5-year, excellent), and a manchego (not that good). The crisp yet chewy bread served with the cheeses were excellent (perhaps better-suited for the marrow dish as well).

We then got more serious, we decided to skip the list of tasty sounding "fried items" (you know, health reasons) and went with the octopus from the "A La Plancha" menu. Thick pieces of octopus (1 inch radius) were very well grilled with a hash of swiss chard and a small tapioca-esque grain. This was a highlight.

The menu has a salads and a few panini as well, which we did not try.

The atmosphere and decor could use some work. The restaurant has badly-spaced tables and a strange combination of white marble tables, country kitchen walls, dark reclaimed wood floors and red diner banquettes. It needs to make up its mind and space itself out. There is a nice outdoor space, though.

In all honesty, I had forgotten for many months about this restaurant. I recall the opening and a bunch of good PR, but then it dropped off my radar (largely due to location). However, while I would go again if I were in the area, this is not a spot I would make a special trip for - too many pieces missing to make the whole a complete and exciting experience.