Tag: pisco

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Chicago Restaurant Week

Chicago Restaurant Week 2015: Dinner at Tanta

This is part of a series of posts about Chicago Restaurant Week 2015, held January 30–February 12. Check out recaps from 2014 and 2013, or browse all Restaurant Week coverage.

Tanta Dinner

Cebiche clasico, Tanta
Cebiche clasico with mahi mahi, red onions, cilantro, habenero, and natural leche de tigre

Best Bite: Between this meal and my previous visit, I’ve really fallen in love with Tanta’s take on Peruvian cuisine. An eclectic set of culinary influences – Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, French – make for an irresistible mix of flavors and ingredients. The classic mahi mahi cebiche was bright and balanced with additional unique texture from the hominy. The alfajor dessert also might have been the best I ate during Restaurant Week this year. I couldn’t get enough of the dulce de leche and hot chocolate sauce together.

Alfajor, Tanta
Alfajor with shortbread cookies, lucuma dulce de leche, hot chocolate sauce, and vanilla bean ice cream

Other notes: Many of Tanta’s cocktails involve pisco, the national spirit of Peru, and they are not to be missed. This pisco punch exploded with cinnamon and lime, and I was immediately transported to warmer climates. The basket of plantain chips was also a great bread basket substitute.

Pisco punch and plantain chips, Tanta
Pisco punch with porton mosto verde pisco, zucca,
lime, cinnamon, and cusquena beer, plus a basket of plantain chips

The details: Tanta, 118 W. Grand Ave., Chicago.

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Best Bites Chicago

This week’s Best Bite: Chicken & andouille gumbo and Best in Show cocktail, Analogue

Chicken and andouille gumbo, Analogue
Gumbo with Gunthorp chicken, house andouille, and potato salad

Why it’s this week’s Best Bite: Analogue, a fairly new addition to my neighborhood, has introduced me to a combination I never knew my life was missing until now: craft cocktails paired with authentic Cajun food (in other words, just one more reason to love living in Logan Square). On the cocktail side, the Best in Show had the citrusy tang and foamy egg white crown of a Pisco sour, plus a heavy dose of cinnamon. It had sweetness and complexity that made it exciting to drink – although that probably was to be expected from the Violet Hour veterans who are behind the drinks here. Meanwhile, the standout dish was a Cajun classic: gumbo with tender chicken, house-made andouille sausage, okra, and a small dollop of potato salad, which I later learned was the result of German influence on Creole traditions. The moderate heat and blackened, smoky base notes in the meaty broth were what really kept me going back for more spoonfuls.

Best in Show cocktail, Analogue
Best in Show cocktail with Encanto Grand & Noble Pisco, cream sherry, lime, cinnamon syrup, and egg white

The details: Analogue, 2523 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago.

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Best Bites Chicago

This week’s Best Bite: Octopus skewer and Lima Llama cocktail, Tanta

Pulpo (octopus) with chimichurri, fried garlic, and olive sauce
Pulpo (octopus) with chimichurri, fried garlic, and olive sauce

Why it’s this week’s Best Bite: Nearly three-month-old Tanta is carving a new place in the Chicago culinary landscape for its upscale take on Peruvian food, a type of cuisine that I consistently enjoy. I was immediately refreshed by the Lima Llama (think Moscow mule, but with Peruvian pisco and lots of lime), one of the two cocktails on draft. It was the perfect precursor to one of the best octopus dishes I’ve ever had, right up there with Taxim’s Greek version from earlier this year. Cooked in the style of street-food skewers, the plump tentacles were draped with roasted red pepper, which added its own complementary char and spice. The extra-garlicky chimichurri potatoes underneath were like a more exotic version of hashbrowns, brought together by a briny, brilliantly purple olive sauce. The bright colors were what really made the plate – which seems to be Tanta’s strategy across its vibrant menu.

Lima Llama draft cocktail with pisco, lime, and ginger beer
Lima Llama draft cocktail with pisco, lime, and ginger beer

The details: Tanta, 118 W. Grand Ave., Chicago.

Categories
Best Bites Chicago

This week’s Best Bite: Japanese pancake and Feijoada fries, La Sirena Clandestina

Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) with asparagus, kewpie mayo, bean sprouts, and green onions
Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) with asparagus, kewpie mayo, bean sprouts, and green onions

Why it’s this week’s Best Bite: La Sirena Clandestina is a South American-influenced restaurant that’s been on my list for a while, but moved up toward the top once I saw their out-of-the-box brunch menu. Faced with too many interesting options, my friend and I split a breakfast empanada to start, then shared two other dishes (and we must have been onto something, because the women at the next table over copied our order exactly). The okonomiyaki was a thick, scallion-heavy pancake with two complementary, umami-rich sauces. This version rivaled the ones I’ve had as appetizers at Japanese and Korean restaurants in the past, but still managed to feel like a morning dish. The fries were what I would imagine Brazilian poutine to be like, generously doused in black beans and gooey cheese with surprising notes from the pickled fresnos and mustard sauce, plus a fried egg to tie it up in a more breakfast-y bow. I loved the whole design of the space, too: turquoise walls, light streaming through salvaged windows, beautiful wood everywhere. To top it off, La Sirena made a spicy, no-frills Bloody Mary with pisco and Fernet that far exceeded the usual brunch benchmark.

Feijoada fries with black beans, provolone, pickled fresnos, green onions, sour cream and mustard sauce, and fried egg
Feijoada fries with black beans, provolone, pickled fresnos, green onions, sour cream and mustard sauce, and fried egg
Bloody mary with Peruvian pisco and Fernet Branca
Bloody mary with Peruvian pisco and Fernet Branca

The details: La Sirena Clandestina, 954 W Fulton Market, Chicago.