Silver Spoon w/Pictures [Long]

LTH,

When I heard the owners of Spoon Thai opened a Thai/Japanese restaurant on Rush street, no less, I started to worry. I pictured a celebrity interior, Versace plates, Chai in chinos, gold chains and a pinky ring, Vanna in a sleek pair of Feragamos and Sushi Samba/Saiko/Japonais fusion for fusion sake culinary cliches.

Not to worry, no leopard interior, no gold chains and not one pair of Ferragamo's in sight. Spoon's same high level of Thai, well executed Japanese and a smattering of incredibly well thought out Thai/Japanese fusion. The fusion dishes we had were not fusion for fusion sake, gilding the Lily if you will, but a delicious, vibrant flavor enhancing blend of style and culture.

OK, yes, I know, I'm gushing, well it was really damn good, though I should point out I've only been to Silver Spoon once, Chai and Vanna tested a few soon to be on the menu items on us, they knew the four of us were coming in at 2pm and we're regulars at Spoon Thai.

Things got off to a flying start with red snapper sashimi topped with slivered daikon, flying fish roe, bits of scallion, a drop of two of hot sauce, all topped with a confetti of crisp fried onion slivers. Onion slivers? Yep, and damn if it didn't absolutely enhance the overall flavor of the dish. Red snapper sashimi and crisp fried onions, who da thunk it?


Next was seafood salad presented in a hollowed out green pepper with a porcupine radish for decoration. Really delicious, light Thai curry flavor with hints of apple.
[img]http://www.sptsb.com/SilverSpoon6.jpg
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A few pieces of nigari sushi came next, quite nice yellow tail and escolar.


Pan fried chive dumpling was up to the usual Spoon Thai standards, in a word, delicious.
ht

Tuna on the outside, crab on the inside maki with a slightly sweet reduction of soy on the plate was good, but contained krab, as opposed to crab. Standard at many Japanese restaurants, but something I, personally, can do without.


Next up was a real high point of the meal, a futomaki sized inside/outside roll filled with moo ping (Thai grilled pork) served with full flavored papaya salad on the side, decorated with a cucumber that looked like a spouting whale. This was simply delicious.


Shrimp tempura maki with green curry sauce, might sound odd, but the flavor combination was wonderful. The green curry was whipped, almost frothy, with a light texture, but a solid curry flavor that really complimented the shrimp.


Tri-colored caviar topped crab maki was visually appealing, but as krab was used it lost something in translation for me. I am just not a fan of krab.


The papaya salad accompanying the moo ping maki rolls was so delicious we a stand alone papaya salad, equally as delicious.


Inside out tuna maki topped with mango and avocado was delicious. I liked the little hint of sweet the mango provided and the shreds of cucumber, in the roll, for slight added texture.


We finished our meal with peach sorbet, the same type they serve at Spoon Thai, which is excellent. I especially like the pineapple.


Silver Spoon's interior is nice, comfortable, but not over done in the way of so many fusion type places. Currently Silver Spoon is BYOB.


Here's a picture of Chai and Vanna in their new restaurant. When I started to take their picture they just naturally held hands. A simple sweet gesture from two of the nicest people I know.


I wish Chai and Vanna the best of luck in their new restaurant. I intend to go to Silver Spoon in the finest of Chicago tradition, early and often.

Silver Spoon
710 N Rush Street
Chicago, IL
312-944-7100
11am to 10pm
7 Days a Week
BYOB

Spoon Thai
4608 N Western
Chicago, IL 60625
773-769-1173
BYOB

Silver Spoon is coming up with some truly innovative dishes that draw brilliantly on the Thai and Japanese traditions; most of the dishes work, but even those that don't work were 'fun' and well worth eating.

The red snapper sashimi with fried onions, hot sauce, daikon and roe was killer; the flavors and textures balanced each other very well (the acid of the onion and the richness of the roe, the moist fish with crisp daikon, plus - it looked great)

The shrimp tempura maki with green curry was also just wonderful. Drizzling whipped creamy curry over maki was a new one on me, and a stroke of culinary inventiveness that I have not encountered before. Again, nice meld of flavors and textures - actually, it looked a little weird, but only because you don't expect to see a sauce on maki.

The fotomaki with mooping was excellently complemented by the papaya salad - and a gushing cucumber sperm whale to the side (several of the dishes had whimsical carved veggie creatures - anemone, octopus, etc. - which I dig). The papaya salad was a very fine accompaniment for this, the sharpness and funk of the green papaya leveling out the sweetness of the pork. As Ultimo said, the salad was so good we had seconds.

The maki were less than great: the tuna/krab maki, the tri-colored maki, and the mango avocado tuna maki were all reaching for something special and falling short. All the maki looked FABULOUS, particularly the mango avocado tuna maki, which was a true work of art -but, something was lacking. Because these three maki dishes look so damn good, and because the ingredients are high quality and complementary(krab excepted, though I don't have a big problem with surimi), I believe all these dishes are 'fixable' - maybe some interesting ginger sauce, or perhaps even a hot sauce, or some other accompaniment to pump up the flavors a little and bring out the natural goodness of the beautiful components (using crab would also help). As it stands, these maki preparations are pretty faces in search of the right escorts.

Overall, this was a very good dining experience. I think it's great that Chai and Vanna are pushing the boundaries, and they're doing so in ways that make sense. They're 'fusing' traditions in a way that respects both the Land of Smiles and the Land of the Rising Sun.

I agree with Wiv. This was truely an outstanding meal, and the fusion items were better than the sum of the two parts. They were not standard preparations of dishes using an ingredient from another culture as is presented in so many other fusion restaurants. The fusion dishes at Silver Spoon were actually new unique dishes combining the flavors of Japan and Thailand in new exciting ways. Of course, there were straight ahead Thai and Japanese dishes available off the menu as well. I will definately be back for mare!

I don't have too much to add about this meal. I think Hammond's assessment was right on--the red snapper sashimi, the shrimp tempura-green curry combo, and the moo ping roll with papaya salad all were outstanding.

For a point of comparison, I visited Silver Spoon for lunch the day before this meal, ordering nam sad, a Thai chicken salad. My waitress said they didn't yet have any of the Thai-menu dishes from Spoon available. The menu was pretty similar to the Spoon Thai English menu, with an additional Japanese/sushi menu. Incidentally, I've had very good meals at Spoon off their English-language menu, so I don't think it's just a "secret menu" type of place.

But making an effort to let them know how you like it does pay off. I asked for my salad Thai-style, spicy, "pet-pet", and it was. When I asked for Thai-style, the waitress also asked if that meant I wanted ground chicken, instead of chunks of breast meat, implying that ground chicken might not be the standard prep customers would expect.

In any case, the nam sod was delicious--pleasantly fiery, lime juice, fish sauce, a bit of ginger. Compared to other area Thai spots, like Dao and Star of Siam, I think this is a really strong addition to dining in this area.

And when they implement some of the more creative combinations we enjoyed yesterday, this will be a mighty fine restaurant.

Cheers,

Aaron

Yea! I'm excited that there's now a little bit of Spoon Thai a little bit closer to me. I might try to convince my coworkers to try it out for lunch tomorrow.

Was wondering how the prices compare w/ the original location's? I'm assuming there's a reason why this one is called "Silver" Spoon, but as long as the prices aren't closer to platinum, I'll probably end up a regular.

Janet,

Silver Spoon prices seem comparable to those at Spoon on Western.

Maybe they're calling it Silver Spoon because 1) it's in a fancier location and 2) it's a better name than Spoon II.

I did notice a lunch special for around 6 bucks, so for the area, I think Silver Spoon is probably a fairly economical choice for lunch.

Hammond

I think the "Silver" is more reflective of its Gold Coast location than its prices. Thai dishes are maybe a dollar or two more than the Lincoln Square location. Didn't notice sushi prices. Quite affordable, especially for the area.

Aaron Deacon wrote:I think the "Silver" is more reflective of its Gold Coast location than its prices. Thai dishes are maybe a dollar or two more than the Lincoln Square location. Didn't notice sushi prices. Quite affordable, especially for the area.

I thought the sushi prices were very reasonable. they averaged in the $4 -5 range (IIRC) for a 2 piece order of very fresh sushi. Not Katsu grade, but very good.

Gary wrote:OK, yes, I know, I'm gushing, well it was really damn good, though I should point out I've only been to Silver Spoon once, Chai and Vanna tested a few soon to be on the menu items on us, they knew the four of us were coming in at 2pm and we're regulars at Spoon Thai.

With the descriptons and pictures I'm in sensory delight everywhere but taste. And even taste is drooling.

Great write-up and Fosco photography .

Moo Ping futomaki? I am SO there

Octarine wrote:Moo Ping futomaki? I am SO there

It was quite good. The only surprise is that the moo ping is cold, which in itself is a new taste sensation.

Just got back from a lovely dinner at Silver Spoon. An ex-client and now friend moved here from Paris last week and, always looking for ways to show off my excellent taste, I decided this would be the spot for my "Welcome to Chicago" dinner for her. For 8:30 on a Thursday, they were doing O.K.; maybe five tables were filled. At first I was disappointed not to see some of the specialties pictured above on the menu (which looked more or less like Spoon's normal English menu, plus a separate card of sushi and maki), so I dropped some LTH names, asked about the off-menu items and they were more than happy to oblige (it's sure nice knowing such heavy hitters as you guys; it's like saying, "Frankie sent me"). Unfortunately, the only special I could recall (we'd come from a couple hours at Fado and my brain cells were a bit slow) was the green curry on tempura shrimp maki, so we ordered that, a papaya salad and one other item that escapes me, but included shrimp. Salad and unnamed shrimp dish were at the usual Spoon quality level (i.e., excellent); the green curry maki was the highlight, a revelation, everything and more it is described as above. And this is seconded from my friend coming off three years living in Paris ("nothing like this in Paris," I think she said). Thank goodness there were an even number of pieces on the plate, or my guest and I might have ended a wonderful friendship right there. The curry maki dish was worth the whole tab (which, by the way, was $31.90 including tax -- barely enough to get valet parking and a cocktail at Rosebud up the block). Fantastic; I'll be getting people here for lunch, and soon.

JILS,

I'm really glad Silver Spoon turned out okay for you. Chai and Vanna were going out of their way to make things nice for us, and they seemed to do the same for you, but the big question is: will they do it for someone whom they do not perceive to be connected with LTH?

Of course (I think).

But they have to know you want something different. If you come on a like a civilian, they'll assume you want the regular fare, and that's what you'll get because that's what a lot of people want.

Announcing the LTH connection is kind of code; it tells them you want something from the heart, something twisted and real, and if you don't tell them you're associated with LTH, I guess you'd just have to convey the same message to them in your own original way.

Some people may resent having to pantomime to get the best; of course, many don't want what 'we' consider good. To use green curry maki as an example, it's not even "authentic." But it's what we like, and if/when Spoon and other restaurants understand that you're looking for more than the straight menu, you'll get it (most of the time).

Hammond

JimInLoganSquare wrote:Just got back from a lovely dinner at Silver Spoon. An ex-client and now friend moved here from Paris last week

Jim,

Not bad, first couple of weeks in business and Silver Spoon makes a good showing with both you and your friend just in from Paris. I'm glad they were able to roll out a few Thai/Japanese fusion dishes for you, I think it's going to be another week or so until they have a printed fusion menu available.

One thing I noticed I neglected to post, was the vinegar level in the sushi rice seemed to be lower than in most. It seems to me this is one of the reasons the Thai/Japanese fusion dishes work so well, the flavors are not in competition with each other.

I'm looking forward to going back to Silver Spoon, I seem to have a craving for shrimp tempura maki with Thai green curry.

Enjoy,
Gary

My fiance and I went to Silver Spoon on Saturday hoping to sample the dishes we saw in this thread. Vanna(?) denied that they even had a fusion menu, and refused to serve us any dishes off of the regular menu, even though I described the shrimp tempura/green curry maki and a few other dishes. I told her I read about them on the lth/little three happiness forum, and she just looked puzzled.

So, we ordered off of the sushi menu. The food was mediocre overall - not good, not bad. The "special" roll seemed to consist of a log of cream cheese wrapped in seaweed/rice and liberally doused with mayonnaise. Yuck!

And, to top it all off, the service was HORRIBLE. We waited 10 minutes before giving up on someone noticing that we had no menus. We never got water (we BYO'd, but still - we weren't even asked), and had to ask for soy sauce and dishes for wasabi/soy sauce when the food arrived. Not once did anyone stop at our table to see if we needed anything and if we were satisfied with the food.

Overall, a sorely disappointing experience.

S4shon,

What we may be seeing here is a struggle to keep up the quality while at the same time extending the operation. I think someone else also commented on the slow service, and that, plus your concerns about food, lead me to believe that Chai and Vanna may be getting stretched thin ( About Vanna's response: perhaps she just didn't understand what you meant).

At any rate, I'm going to be there this weekend, so I'll keep my eyes open for any of the slips you mentioned.

Hammond

LTH,

Had a very nice meal at Silver Spoon last evening, a mix of Thai and Thai/Japanese fusion dishes. For example, we had Shrimp Tempura maki w/ slightly aerated green curry, which has been on the menu from the start.


Moo Ping Maki with SomTam


The incredible Red Snapper sashimi w/caramelized onions.


Naam Tok


Boat Noodle, which our dining companions went absolutely wild about.


We had a few other dishes, Thai Fried Chicken w/sticky rice for one, but Chai also tried out a new fusion dish on us, Maki roll w/unagi (eel), avocado, strawberry, 'crumb', topped with spicy tuna. Strawberry combines surprisingly well with the meaty taste of unagi.


Everything was great, service, setting, food, price, just a general feeling of being in a restaurant where they really care about the customer. Silver Spoon and Spoon Thai are two very good restaurants in a great restaurant town.

Enjoy,
Gary

Looks great Gary! Have they made it any easier to get your hands on the fusion stuff yet? I went there a few times when I worked downtown and mentioned a few of the dishes that I'd seen in this thread. Each time I was told that they were not available and never had been. I was under the impression that there was going to be a fusion menu introduced soon, but the last time I checked it had yet to appear. That was a while ago though, so I'm hoping it exists now. It would seem a shame for such interesting looking dishes to only be available for a select few!

Hi LionRock,

I'm not sure I am addressing your question directly.

It is my understanding there were people coming to Silver Spoon requesting food on the menu of Spoon Thai. Apparently Silver Spoon was initially accomodating these requests though it was becoming a problem. Especially as Silver Spoon's kitchen was stocked to support a menu not precisely like Spoon Thai.

Also if you saw some Silver Spoon menu items initially or at least on this board, as Erik M as pointed out on menus from other restaurants, they sometimes withdraw items from a menu. It may be due to a small volume of interest or unreliability of ingredients.

It has been my long standing suggestion to restaurants where they have dishes where the ingredients are unreliable to obtain, to treat these dishes as specials. I think having a broad menu with some items available seasonally or irregularly leaves the customer with the impression you came away with: these dishes are for a preferred customer, when in reality NOBODY can have it because the ingredients are simply unavailable.

I hope this provides some insight.

Regards,

I had the same problem as LionRock: I went to Silver Spoon and explicitly asked if they had Moo Ping Futomaki, or any of the other thai/japanese fusion specials, and they said no.

I've never seen any of them on a menu or a specials board, either, but that has perhaps changed.

Gary, did you actually order these off the print menu? I somehow suspect people who don't know the owners get different treatment

So after the folks were in town visiting and made their abode at the Whitehall Hotel I think I have walked by Silver Spoon 10 times in the last 5 days. Hence, I had to resurect this thread. Anyone been there recently? Any improvement on the ease of getting the "fusion" dishes? Or is it still a call ahead, nudge nudge, wink wink thing? Not that I'm against nudging and winking but the distant memory of this thread kept me from bringing the folks on the fear that I might have visitors all the way from Connecticut eating Pad Thai and satay (not that there is anything wrong with that...) Love to hear that things have gotten easier.

I just ordered delivery from there last night, via delivery.com. There were some issues-they thought my order was for pickup, so it sat for about 45 minutes before the mistake was realized. My food arrived cold, but they issued me a credit for the next time I order from them. The online menu was completely thai, with no mention of sushi/japanese anywhere. The paper menu they gave me with my food was the same. The delivery.com people i spoke with said the place had recently changed owners.

Some of my food seemed like it would have been very good if it had been fresh, but was just okay cold. I ordered the marinated fried chicken app, some potstickers, some crab rangoon, vegetable eggrolls, and curry fried rice. The potstickers and chicken were the ones that had most potential. The rice and eggrolls were blah. Crab rangoon was okay, though it was overly sweet, like all of the crab rangoon i've had in chicago.

those pictures look so appetizing!

i love oriental food so much i'll just have to visit this restaurant the first chance i get...

also the owners look like nice folks, which is also kind of important to me, to know decent people are looking over whats going on in the kitchen.

Ritchie from TheReefTank

Richard_a wrote:those pictures look so appetizing!

i love oriental food so much i'll just have to visit this restaurant the first chance i get...

also the owners look like nice folks, which is also kind of important to me, to know decent people are looking over whats going on in the kitchen.

Ritchie from TheReefTank

This is an old thread...those pictures are from a brief golden era at Silver Spoon. If you dine at Silver Spoon expect a very small, very plebian Thai menu and some mediocre tourist sushi. The once-celebrated "fusion" dishes were AWOL last I popped in for lunch. If you love "oriental" food you would be much better served going to the original Spoon or Ros Ded, or Opart all in Lincoln Square(none of which to my knowledge serve maki if that's indeed what excites you about Silver Spoon). Then again...the mighty TAC(no sushi) is just a hop skip and a jump on the red line.

We will be in Chicago this coming weekend and were debating between Spoon and Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon is tempting simply because it's closer to our hotel but the last post didn't make it sound like it was worth going to..especially over Spoon. Has this changed in the last 2 years or is Silver Spoon still lackluster?

Thanks in advance!

Given the choice, I would go to Spoon. But that being said, I would prefer TAC Quick. Just one man's opinion.

Silver Spoon is good if you are in that neighborhood, but it really doesn't compare to Spoon Thai. The menu of Thai food is far more simple and the cooking really does not rise to the same level as Spoon Thai. I live around the corner from Spoon Thai, and it's easy to get to from your hotel (assuming Michigan Ave. area). Just take the Red Line train north (towards Howard) for about 10 minutes, then exit the train at the Belmont station and on the very same platform switch to the Brown Line train (towards Kimball). Take the Brown Line for about 10 minutes to the Western Ave. station. Exit and cross the street - Spoon Thai is less than 1 minute from the station. Even with waits for trains and/or delays, it shouldn't take much more than 30 minutes for the trip (same applies for your return trip). Note that Spoon Thai is byo but there are two liquor stores on Western within 1 block (north) of the restaurant.

BR wrote:Silver Spoon is good if you are in that neighborhood, but it really doesn't compare to Spoon Thai. The menu of Thai food is far more simple and the cooking really does not rise to the same level as Spoon Thai.

Much as I love Spoon, the "simple" dishes there - i.e., those that are most popular on Thai menus throughout the United States - are dreadful. Noodle dishes like pad thai are particularly horrible at Spoon - perhaps the worst I've ever had. I've never been to Silver Spoon, but I have to guess that they do a better job than Spoon in preparing most of the very basic items on the menu. Spoon shines with the more exotic and funky dishes.

HI,

Spoon Thai has two kitchen crews. The complex dishes are done by Thai cooks. The not so complicated dishes, like pad thai, are made by non-Thais.

Regards,

I don't think I'd say that the typical Thai menu items at Spoon Thai are dreadful . . . I'd say more "hit and miss." But I absolutely agree that if you are going out of your way to Spoon Thai for standard noodle dishes and the like, you are wasting your time . . . equal or better versions of these type items can be found at dozens of Thai restaurants throughout the city.