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!