I think I count about 17 people signed up so far.... is there room for one more? I would like to come to this event (just me). I'll PM you.

I'm hoping that you have room for one more....

One of my clients just made a change in their schedule, which suddenly frees me up for Wed. 10/10.

Flamingo's looks fantastic! Please let me know. Thanks.

HI All, a number have sent me pm's, I'm just getting done with a 3 day weekend in Seoul and will respond when I arrive home and have more time (which will be Tuesday, Oct 2)

Thanks !!!!

Sweet Willie wrote:HI All, a number have sent me pm's, I'm just getting done with a 3 day weekend in Seoul and will respond when I arrive home and have more time (which will be Tuesday, Oct 2)

Are either of your +1s going to attend?

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to drop out - I've been asked by a client to go to KC for a meeting that afternoon, will not get back in time so I'm going directly to where I had to go on morning of the 11th anyway.

Next time.

threadkiller wrote:Next time.

sorry you can't make it

Hello All,

I just spoke with chef today, due to ingredients the bill is $30 pp (not including tax/tip/beverages). I told him I would get him a firm count by tomorrow, so if you are unsure you can make it, please let me know.

Thanks

Room for one more?
I'd like to go and work nearby in Elk Grove so no excuses!

BrendanR wrote:Room for one more?
I'd like to go and work nearby in Elk Grove so no excuses!

I would say yes but I really need to speak with Chef first which I plan to do tomorrow evening. I had given him a cap of 20.

Can I get the address for this restaurant?
Thanks

Cookie Monster wrote:Can I get the address for this restaurant?

Flamingo's Seafood
1590 S. Busse Road
Mt. Prospect, IL 60056
847-364-9988

Sweet Willie wrote:I just spoke with chef today, due to ingredients the bill is $30 pp (not including tax/beverages).

Presumably this also doesn't include tip?

LAZ wrote:

Sweet Willie wrote:I just spoke with chef today, due to ingredients the bill is $30 pp (not including tax/beverages).

Presumably this also doesn't include tip?

correct, I'll adjust my post to reflect this. thanks.

No posts for a while. Is everything still on?

jlawrence01 wrote:No posts for a while. Is everything still on?

Just met with chef about 10 minutes ago, I've been out of the country as well as traveling like a madman.

ALL IS A GO FOR TONIGHT, SEE Y'ALL AT 7PM

Couldn't get it on the schedule, looking forward to hearing aboutyour dinner tonight.

Wow. Sensational meal. Thanks for planning this, Sweet Willie.

Everything was splendid, but I think my two favorite things were the avocado gazpacho with crab and the pumpkin seed-encrusted sea bas with huitlacoche mashed potatoes. The pork was also amazing. I enjoyed everything we ate and all of the conversation I could hear over the din.

Thanks to all that showed! I really liked the starter, masa was a bit on the heavy side (but then I usually feel that way anyways). Soup and sea bass were the highlights for me.

The menu from last night:

Starter:
Grilled cactus masa bout huarache with chile adobado

Soup:
Avocado gazpacho with crab meat

Entrees:
Pan roasted pork tenderloin with chili mulato port wine porcini mushroom sauce, cajun oven roasted mashed sweet potatoes and verdolagas

Pumpkin seed crusted Chilean sea bass with huitlacoche mashed potatoes caramelized chayote and tequila tamarind ancho chile sauce

Dessert
Rice flour doug tamale canario with vanilla ice cream and guava compote

--

Thanks to everyone for coming out last night, to Sweet Willie for doing the planning and to chef Jorge and crew for the great meal they conceived, prepared and served us.

Willie already provided a description of the great, custom menu above but here are a few images from our meal at Flamingo's . . .


House margaritas



Tomatillo salsa



Ceviche of mahi mahi



Grilled cactus masa boat huarache with chile adobado



Avocado gazpacho with crab meat



Pan roasted pork tenderloin with chili mulato port wine porcini mushroom sauce, cajun oven roasted mashed sweet potatoes and verdolagas



Pumpkin seed crusted Chilean sea bass with huitlacoche mashed potatoes, caramelized chayote and tequila tamarind ancho chile sauce



Sweet corn flour doug tamale canario with vanilla ice cream and guava compote listed on menu as "rice flour" but after chatting with chef, I'm fairly certain it was corn.



Us



Chef Jorge (left) and his kitchen brigade

I really enjoyed this meal because not only was it created especially for us, but it really captured the spirit of what Flamingo's is all about. The food was innovative, distinctive and delicious -- and the ingredients were top-notch. I enjoyed it all but my favorite was the perfectly cooked sea bass, which broke into moist flakes with just a touch of the fork and paired wonderfully with the tequila tamarind ancho chile sauce. I also loved the caramelized chayote in that dish and the pumpkin seed crusting was seasonal and inspired.

It was also great to have such a large group (19?) on weeknight in the burbs! Can't wait to do it again, real soon.

=R=

Thanks again Sweet Willie.

The meal was exceptional but the pumpkin seed encrusted sea bass with huitlacoche mashed potatoes has definitely become one of my favorites.

It was a great meal and meeting everyone made it even better.

Sweet Willie,

Thank you for organizing such a wonderful dinner for us - what a great way to kick off what, I hope, will be the first of many monthly NW Suburban LTH meals.

Like my fellow diners I enjoyed every single dish but a couple were remarkable. Of particular note was the Guacmole soup which was garnished with fresh crab. Served in martini glasses this was visually stunning and the lime infused taste of the guacamole soup married beautifully with the sweetness of the crab. The sea bass was cooked to perfection - moist and flaky. The somewhat sweet pecan crust provided a nice taste and textural contrast with the mild flavored fish and the accompanying tamarind and ancho sauce was, in my opinion, an inspired combination of ingredients.

Thanks to Chef and his crew for producing an elegant array of dishes. Each had unique flavors and was presented beautifully, as evidenced in the gustatory orgasm-inducing photographs by our award-winning photographer Ronnie_Suburban.

Again, thanks Sweet Willie for a delightful evening.

This was my first time at an LTH get-together, and I am so glad I was able to participate. My only regret is that I arrived late and did not have time to mingle more and meet some of the people at the other end of the long table. But I had a delightful time putting faces to the names, and then chatting with, my neighbors Cynthia, Tarte Tatin, and Saint Pizza, and I was especially delighted to finally meet Sweet Willie, famous on more than one message board that I know of ...

And I was pleased to finally meet ronnie_suburban, with whom I have so much in common, we both being so ... well, suburban. But did you ever notice how, in a Superman/Clark Kent sort of way, he and Cathy2 are never seen in the same place at the same time?

I agree that the sea bass was perfect, but then, so were the pork medallions, and maybe it's just because I've been lucky enough to get to eat more than the average person's lifetime allotment of Chilean sea bass, that wasn't what I enjoyed as much as (what can I say? I'm all about the starches) the mashed sweet potatoes and especially the huitlacoche (did I spell that right?) mashed potatoes -- a new experience for me. Thanks especially to Cynthia for helping me decipher some things on the menu.

Of course, I would have been happy to spend the whole evening with just a big bowl of that mahi-mahi ceviche in front of me.

Thanks again to Sweet Willie for organizing it all and to Ronnie for taking the memorable photos. I am definitely up for more N/NW suburban get-togethers.

And I was pleased to finally meet ronnie_suburban, with whom I have so much in common, we both being so ... well, suburban. But did you ever notice how, in a Superman/Clark Kent sort of way, he and Cathy2 are never seen in the same place at the same time?

Now that is a new one! LOL! (I'd have been there, if I wasn't supposed to be somewhere else.)

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote: (I'd have been there, if I wasn't supposed to be somewhere else.)

I rest my case.

Katie wrote:

Cathy2 wrote: (I'd have been there, if I wasn't supposed to be somewhere else.)

I rest my case.

LOL! I guess we're busted . . . or is that "I'm" busted?

=R=

Katie wrote:Of course, I would have been happy to spend the whole evening with just a big bowl of that mahi-mahi ceviche in front of me.

My thoughts exactly, Katie! But then, I certainly would not have wanted to miss the pumpkin-seed crusted Chilean sea bass with huitlacoche mashed potatoes and that terrific ancho chile sauce. From the first bite (WOW!) to the last (regrettably), it was the highlight of the meal for me! (in addition to the company, of course....)

Kudos to Cynthia for knowing that the verdolagas that accompanied the pork tenderloin translated to purslane. I have to admit my knowledge of the plant under either name was limited, so I just had to look it up. I hope everybody ate up, because it turns out Chef Jorge was feeding us some very delicious health food:
>>From Wikipedia: Purslane contains more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant (5x that of spinach). For land-based vegetable sources, purslane has an extraordinary amount of EPA, an Omega-3 fatty acid normally found mostly in fish and some algae. Purslane also contains vitamins (mainly vitamin C and some vitamin B and carotenoids) as well as dietary minerals, such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and iron. Also present are two types of betalain alkaloid pigments, the reddish betacyanins (visible in the coloration of the stems) and the yellow betaxanthins (noticeable in the flowers and in the slight yellowish cast of the leaves). Both of these pigment types are potent antioxidants and have been found to have antimutagenic properties in laboratory studies.<<

And kudos to Sweet Willie for all of his work in putting together such a great inaugural (with many more to follow, I hope) NW Suburban LTH dinner! Well worth the trek from Evanston on a rainy night!

Sorry I couldn't make this wonderful meal due to personal matters. I did stop in for a quick bite late last night and Chef Jorge was beaming with pride and felt like he put out his best for the LTHers. Tasted the avocado gazpacho and it rocked. Chicago Magazine just named his fish tacos best in Chicagoland also. Looking forward to the next get together and meeting everybody.

I really wanted to attend this dinner because I am somewhat new to LTH (<6mos) but couldn't. The comments were interesting and I really need to try this place! Thanks for all the pictures especially the group one, now that I know you guys don't look like ax murderers I might look into the next one that is in my area!

Katie wrote:Of course, I would have been happy to spend the whole evening with just a big bowl of that mahi-mahi ceviche in front of me.

Ditto! I would go back for the ceviche alone!

Ronnie, those are some gorgeous pics... I wondered whether there would be enough light in there for your pictures. Clearly there was. I have serious camera envy (mine is held together by a rubber band - I kid you not).

Since there seems to be a good amount of mutual support between the west and northwest suburban contingents, it was my hope to somehow figure out a way to join you for this, and the report just confirms how much it was my loss that the schedule did not allow it. Sadly, I will just be returning from the UK the night of the next meal, so I most probably will not attend that one either.

But I do plan to attend as many of these as possible.