Fulton Market Kitchen

I did not see a previously started thread on FMK – please merge if one exists and I missed it.

We tried out Fulton Market Kitchen for dinner last night on recommendations from friends who went shortly after the restaurant opened two months ago. A number of the reviews on another site suggested issues with being seated on-time even if holding a reservation, but on a Wednesday night, we did not have any issues being seated immediately when we showed up with our OpenTable reservation (party of 5). The space is tremendous and the best part of the experience, I think – tons of exposed brick, with bold, dramatic art throughout, including full-wall sized graffiti painting. FMK is from the team behind Sunda, Ceres Table, Naha, and Hubbard Inn. It seems like a pretty trendy clientele right now, and with the big open space, it gets really loud when crowded.

Menus are bound in dusty vintage artbooks (the musty smell and dust bothered some members of our party). Our server was knowledgeable about the food, recommending 2-3 dishes per person (dishes come Small Canvas, Medium Canvas, or Large Canvas, in keeping with the art-theme). We got 8 for the whole party and was reasonably full. She was not quite as knowledgeable about the wine selection. The first by-the-glass cava they brought me was either completely flat, or was mixed up with another’s white wine pour. They brought a second pour to fix the first, but the pouring of the cava from a carafe into the wine glass (no champagne glass was offered) seems to dissipate any bubbles that might have existed.

We ordered:

Small Canvas
Ravioli & Foie, Beef Tartare – both were very good and the Ravioli/Foie was my favorite dish of the night. The mushroom duxelle in the ravioli was delicious.

Medium Canvas
Roasted Cauliflower, Papardelle, Two Tails – the Two Tails (pig + lobster) was the best of these three, and a very interesting, delicious take on surf & turf. The roasted cauliflower was beautifully presented (purple, yellow, and white cauliflower with a variety of surrounding flavors). The papardelle was generally not that interesting.

Large Canvas
Pheasant – probably my favorite
Skatewing
Flounder

The large canvas dishes were all good, but none of the three really stands out in my mind as being particularly outstanding. Overall I remember a generous use of mushrooms (hon-shimeji, trumpet, maitake) in everything, which was worth points in my book. Perhaps my taste preferences run to slightly higher salt levels, but I found a number of the dishes to be a bit under-seasoned. Everything was beautifully presented, and the price points are on the higher-side for the small portion sizes that you get. We had no issues with the pacing of the meal or service beyond the initial challenges with my wine. With 1-2 drinks for each member of our party, our total bill was about $60 inclusive of gratuity per person.

We also tried the banana bread pudding for dessert, which was itself not that notable, but the root beer sauce and greek yogurt with honey that accompanied it made the dish quite a bit more interesting.

I’d probably go back, more for the atmosphere. The food wasn’t terrible, but nor was it so consistently outstanding that FMK is at the top of my list of restaurants to frequent again. Seems like a good spot for drinks and snacks if you’re spending a night out around a few spots on Restaurant Row/Randolph.

Fulton Market Kitchen
311 N Sangamon St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-6900
http://www.fultonmarketkitchen.com/#of-the-moment

bluepig wrote: FMK is from the team behind Sunda, Ceres Table, Naha, and Hubbard Inn.

The various individuals who own FMK, work there or designed the space may have owned or worked or designed spaces for the aforementioned restaurants but I don't think any of those restaurants are, otherwise, affiliated with FMK.

Chris Curren, a chef who most recently cooked at Alpana Singh's Seven Lions and once ran his own critically acclaimed Blue 13, has landed at Fulton Market Kitchen.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... et-kitchen