Gourmet Wine Cellar, May 15, 6 pm, Field Museum

Hi- I just wanted to see if there are folks going to Gourmet's Wine Cellar on Thursday, May 15, 6 pm at the Field Museum. I'm going (gratis!) thanks to my friend's husband who's the Marketing Manager for Gourmet in the West Coast. I guess tickets are sold out already.

http://www.eventier.com/events/gwc4/register.aspx

Did anyone go last year? How does it compare with other similar events such as Taste of the Nation or the Food and Wine Showcase at the MCA?

Hope to see some folks on May 15!

As it turns out, we're going too. The Lovely Dining Companion just surprised me this evening by announcing that she'd managed to get two tickets (not gratis 'cause we don't know nobody). So, I'm learning about the event even as we speak (write). Sounds like a great event, particularly since the money goes to a good cause. Looking forward. Anyone else be there besides we two lonely posters?

I was so sad when I heard it was sold out. Then I scored a late invite and was thrilled to attend and I enjoyed a fantastic tasting menu.

The Stars of the evening, in order of ranking:
Naha - Chilled Spring Carrot Soup w/ Granny Smith Apples, Mint and Coriander w/ Pea Tendrils and Cracked Wheat - I would kill for the recipe. This might have been the soup I've ever tasted and it was my favorite dish of the evening.

Avec - Red Pepper and Tomato Braised Cod w/ Caperberries and Spicy Mustard Greens. Beautiful cod, great combination of flavors. The addition of caperberries was the perfect finish. Koren Grieveson once again proves that she's among the heavyweights of the Chicago culinary scene.

NoMi - Asparagus and Parmesan Mousse w/ Braised Morels and Jamon Iberico - Speaking of heavyweights, there was Chef David with a huge whole leg of Jamon Iberico, slicing off thin slices of the ham in front of everyone. The amazing thing is that the morels and mousse were so good that you didn't forget they were part of the dish.

MK - Hamachi, Pencil Asparagus, Shaved Fennel and Agrumoto Olive Oil - a beautiful piece of fish, wonderfully fresh and complimentary flavors. Seemingly simple and perfect.

Vie - Fines Herbes Gnocchi, Local Asparagus, Preserved Lemon and House-Made Feta - Another magician. The gnocchi was perfect and the flavors excellent. My DC complained about excess salt, but I thought it was just right.

Also very good to excellent:

Angel Food Bakery - Assorted Retro Desserts - I've heard mixed opinions about Angel Food, but I have always enjoyed their take on some of the classic mass-produced school snacks (and I love their mac & cheese) and the variety served tonight was no exception. I particularly liked the takes on moon pies, almond joys and zingers (raspberry & coconut).

The Cafe at the Ritz Carlton - Burrata, Fava Bean, Morels and Aged Balsamic - Spring is here!

DeLaCosta - Tuna Fire and Ice Ceviche - A nice piece of tuna, and a nice combination of hot chili pepper and something cooling (can't recall more).

Jackson Park Bar & Grill (not yet open? - Jason Paskewitz) - "Bacon and Eggs" - Kudos to Jason for a wonderful braised pork belly and perfectly poached quail eggs. With the frisee, it was a nice take on the Lyonnaise salad. Otom's bbq pork belly was also very nice, but this particular dish was King Swine tonight.

Moto - Baked Alaska Inferno - And yes, the flame thrower was loud. Great flavors though - strawberry and truffle? Yes, and the toasty meringue topping . . . it was great.

Tru - A Study in White Gazpacho - a gelee, a cream soup and a macaron . . . all representing an interpretation of white gazpacho. The cream version was very good, but the macaron so creative and great tasting.

Been there, done that:

One Sixtyblue - Coconut Crunch-White Chocolate-Coconut Mousse, Macadamia Nut Crisp, Lime Foam and Fresh Pineapple. This was very good, but they served this at another similar event (Bon Appetit I believe).

Alinea - Bacon Butterscotch, Apple & Thyme - Same issue here. I've had it before, and judging by the number of people skipping this taste, many others have too.

What Would Have Been A Bad Top Chef moment:
Yes, Stepanie Izard was there tonight, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Sepia. Charred Baby Octopus and Toasted Bread with Tomato Sauce. Many problems here. My octopus was mealy and not nicely charred. The toasted bread was part soggy, part stale and the tomato sauce was ok but not enough to rescue the dish.

Hi. I was also at the Field Museum last night. My stand outs are different than BR had posted. I had a very enjoyable evening,the Field was a great venue I enjoyed it more than the MCA last year.

My favorite for food and wine was Michael Sheerin from Blackbird. Parmesan Gazpacho with Beet-Cured Sturgeon, Soy Beans, and Pumpernickel. With a fabulous Riesling from New Zealand.

Sara Moulton's Lamb Keema Mater was excellent.

Adam Schop from DelaCosta's Tuna fire and Ice Ceviche- great, had wonderful Thai peppers.

Jason Paskewitz from Jackson Park Bar and Grill- I arrived at 6pm and had one of the first offerings of his Bacon and Eggs (Braised Pork Belly with Poached Quail Egg). Incredible - perfectly flavorful.

The chilled Spring Carrot Soup,from Naha- so delicate and naturally sweet.
Would love to try to make that myself.

Best presentation - Seeing Chef Christophe David from Nomi thinly slicing Iberico ham from the whole hind leg - with skin and hoof. The Asparagus and Parmesan Mousse - yum.

At Vie a delicate but satisfying Herb Gnocchi,with Asparagus, preserved lemon and a wonderful House Made Feta Cheese.

And the sauce with the Arrosto di Maiale ( Pork Braised in Milk) intense. From Robert Reynaud at ViVere. very robust.

The third sweet offering from Tru, Tim Graham's Study in White Gazpacho - garlic and sweet.

The others either missed it for me or were just good.

The chefs and assistants you can tell worked very hard, but the audience seemed uninvolved with the offerings. I tried to thank and engage with some and the wine merchants too. It would also have been better with some lively music than the trip-hop quiet beats. Well thats my view last night. I left at 855pm - curious if anything took place later.

A few scattered notes: lots of asparagus, lots of pork (esp. pork belly), and a surprising amount of parmesan. Watching Homaru entering the museum with a flame thrower (“The Inferno”) still in the box! Gee whiz is Sara Moulton tiny! The Lovely Dining Companion is only 5 feet tall and she looked big next to Sarah; loved her arty sneakers, too. I thought Grant Achatz looked a bit peaked and haggard, LDC thought he looked great. Given what he’s been through, the man is amazing simply for showing up—much less for working as hard as he did.

We were both impressed with the running of the show. (Except for the opening, which was not handled well at all: they refused to check anyone in before 6 pm and then, finally, when they opened, they only allowed you to “pre-check-in” and insisted that you get back in line all over again.) The great hall was full but not overpacked like so many of these events are. There was some occasional jostling but you weren’t a sardine and could actually get to every station with little difficulty. There were plenty of people around collecting plates and glasses. We both particularly liked the effort to match wines to specific dishes: each station had its own adjunct wine station. Well-done!

On to the food. We clearly had some difference of opinion with those who preceded us. Still, it was a great event, the money went to benefit the American Institute of Wine and Food (to help underprivileged kids learn how to cook, among other things), and we had a great time. Our quick takes:

Top-notch
Vie - Fines Herbes Gnocchi, Local Asparagus, Preserved Lemon and House-Made Feta – Happy to agree here. This was unqualifiedly excellent; so much so that we’re now putting Vie near the top of the list to visit. Beautiful tiny gnocchi, wonderfully complemented by the presentation. If there was a problem, it was that the lemon was neatly missing to our taste buds. Still, one of the absolute highlights of the evening.

The Cafe at the Ritz Carlton - Burrata, Fava Bean, Morels and Aged Balsamic – Simple, unpretentious, and absolutely delicious.

Jackson Park Bar & Grill "Bacon and Eggs" - Braised pork belly, poached quail egg, frisee – Each elements was perfect and combined into one hell of dish. Loved the concept, the execution, and the presentation. Even the frisee contributed by taming the richness of the pork making for a truly special dish.

Very good but not quite top-notch
Sepia Charred Baby Octopus and Toasted Bread with Tomato Sauce. Didn’t have the problems noted above. My octopus was remarkably tender and flavorful and the whole thing worked very well for me.

A Mano - Organic chocolate gelato and mostarda gelato and lemon sorbetto. Very nicely done, nicely flavored but not knockouts.

Aigre Doux - Seared tuna wonton crisp with pickled ginger – very tasty and nicely presented but nothing to make me want to return later and have a second one.

Alinea - Bacon Butterscotch, Apple & Thyme – Though we’ve had this before (as BR noted), I think the only fair way to judge is as if we hadn’t. And on the scale, an excellent introduction to Achatz. Flavorful, thoughtful, and delicious. Nothing earth-shattering, but very enjoyable.

Don’t know quite where to put Prosecco’s risotto crab cake with roasted red pepper aioli. The crab cake was very good, as was the aioli, but the crab cake was also way too oily (they were finishing them/reheating them(?) in a non-stick frying pan with a surprising amount of oil.

Not so much
Naha - Chilled Spring Carrot Soup w/ Granny Smith Apples, Mint and Coriander w/ Pea Tendrils and Cracked Wheat – Really wanted to like this but neither the Lovely Dining Companion nor I were greatly impressed. We both thought the soup—which promised wonderful flavor—passed over the line from light into thin.

Avec - Red Pepper and Tomato Braised Cod w/ Caperberries and Spicy Mustard Greens. And again, I’m a big fan of cod and looked forward to tasting this. It looked beautiful and sounded delightful. Somewhere, somehow, I thought it left the rails and the dish never really came together for me.

Pomme Rouge – New Orleans Crawfish Pie and Bourbon Street Espresso Beignets. The pie was a little chewy and the crawfish didn’t really come through. The beignets disappointed, even though we had extremely fresh ones. Not much there, there. A little espresso flavor came through, but not a lot and the texture of the beignets disappointed. (Maybe things would have improved with a little French Market coffee....)

Vivere – Arrosto di Maiale – I recall very little about this pork except that it was braised in milk and came out thoroughly pedestrian. Bland and mostly uninteresting.

DeLaCosta - Tuna Fire and Ice Ceviche – I like hot but was over the top for me; just too hot and that made what I think would otherwise have been very enjoyable into the not-so-much category. Too bad.

One Sixtyblue - Coconut Crunch-White Chocolate-Coconut Mousse, Macadamia Nut Crisp, Lime Foam and Fresh Pineapple. Too much going on here. The lime foam didn’t work for me and added nothing. The fresh pineapple, on the other hand, added too much acid. The mousse was fine but the elements were too disparate and I didn’t think it came together.

I’ve left out a number of stations because, for varying reasons, the dishes either didn’t work or didn’t impress us at all. We were surprised a number of times and disappointed several times as well. But, there you have it. So, no reports from us on Blackbird, Otom, NoMI and MK.

The Barilla station (they were a sponsor) offered two kinds of pasta: we thought they were both atrocious. The Kerrygold (yes, the Irish butter folks) offered three kinds of Irish cheese: all excellent. And they had the thoughtfulness to serve toast crisps with either salted or unsalted butter. Haagen Dazs was there too, offering samples of their new fleur de sel with caramel. Scrumptious! Oh, and Bin 36 brough several artisanal cheeses from Wisconsin, including a blue, a gouda, and a something-else. Superb cheeses.

A few illustrations in closing:


Grant Achatz working hard (as always). The man is indomitable.



Homaru Cantu: a boy and his (latest) toy



The Moto station at work

PS Welcome to LTH, karen m! Nice post; looking forward to hearing more from you. Thanks to you and BR for your thoughts--sorry we missed you. And sorry to miss you too, fusionfan!

Good to hear some varying opinions here. One thing I liked about this event as opposed to others of its kind is that it was not crowded at all. Anyone who has been to similar events (such as the one at the Museum of Contemporary Art) knows how terribly crowded they can be. I thought the Field Museum entrance made for a beautifully striking and spacious setting.

karen m wrote:My favorite for food and wine was Michael Sheerin from Blackbird. Parmesan Gazpacho with Beet-Cured Sturgeon, Soy Beans, and Pumpernickel. With a fabulous Riesling from New Zealand.

This was very good indeed. I didn't comment on it only because I preferred the "study" in white gazpacho by Tru, but Blackbird always impresses, and last night was no exception.

karen m wrote:Sara Moulton's Lamb Keema Mater was excellent.

It was tasty. But even better was Sara's sense of humor . . . particularly her witty gibes at the Food Network which everyone knows has become quite the joke. Go Sara!

karen m wrote:And the sauce with the Arrosto di Maiale ( Pork Braised in Milk) intense. From Robert Reynaud at ViVere. very robust.

Like Gypsy Boy, I was not a big fan of this dish either, but that's what makes horse racing.

Gypsy Boy wrote:Not so much
Naha . . . Avec . . .

Just funny since these were my two favorite dishes of the evening (I might have even had three servings of that soup). But even my DC and I differed on some dishes. By the way, her favorite: the espresso beignets . . . I thought they were pretty good but they didn't excite me - I prefer "cakier" beignets, like Cafe du Monde's, and these were a little too fluffy for my taste . . . and the crawfish pie was a bit mushy for me, but I did like the crawfish flavor.

And as for Barilla, with so many outstanding restaurants to try (and Sarah's Lamb Keema Matar), I opted to avoid the boxed pasta station.

I finally get around to posting. Thanks for the photos, Gypsy Boy, and I'm sorry I missed you. I was a little distracted trying to find my friend's husband from Gourmet magazine who invited us to the event. Overall, I thought it was a terrific showcase for Chicago's vibrant, acclaimed restaurant scene. I was very heartened to see the biggies like Grant Achatz and Rick Tramonto and Homaru Cantu (who looked like he was having tons of fun alternating between blowtorching that baked alaska and recording the proceedings with his video cam) actually working on their food and mingling with the guests. Like Gypsy Boy and BR, I liked the fact that there were a lot of people but it didn't really feel crowded and you got to the food and drink quite quickly (and regularly). Here were my own personal favorites:

MK - I thought the hamachi was very fresh and expertly prepared, and the delicate Agrumoto olive oil perfectly complimented it. The 2006 Chablis that was paired with it also struck wonderful notes, really bringing out the flavor of the fish.

Jackson Park Bar and Grill - Yes, I agree with Gypsy Boy that there seemed to be a lot of pork belly last night, but the braised pork belly with poached quail eggs was the hands-down winner. I thought the pork belly was very tender, and I loved having the quail eggs become all gooey and drippy over it. It was very fun to see Jason Paskewitz very intently plate this dish.

Avec - I initially didn't think too highly about this dish. However, now having almost 24 hours to (literally) digest the night, I really think this very flavorful braised cod with a robust red pepper and tomato puree, spicy mustard greens, and startlingly used caperberries was one of the more memorable dishes of the night.

Moto - Quite the crowd-drawer with the Cantu hijinks (well aside from the Alinea station where many people were trying to get a glimpse of Grant, and also trying very hard to stay out of the Food Network film crew who were following Grant around for a documentary). Not surprisingly, I think, the Baked Alaska Inferno lived up to the showiness of the presentation; I thought it was just the perfect blend of sweet-sour (thanks to the meringue and the strawberry puree) and the savory (white truffle oil).

DelaCosta - I had several seconds (aha) of the tuna fire and ice ceviche. I thought the tuna was very fresh and well-seasoned, and I really liked the kick of the chili sauce. Like BR, I can't seem to recall the cooling agent used, but the dish was delicious nevertheless.

One SixtyBlue- I have had the coconut crunch pastry Martial served last night during One SixtyBlue's tenth year anniversary party, and I must say I think it is still quite wonderful. Who doesn't love white chocolate and macadamia nuts? I think the lime foam was a nice complement to tone down the sweetness of the pastry.

Vie - I liked the softness and plumpness of the gnocchi and the sauce was just something you would like to lick the dish clean for. The house-made feta cheese sprinkled on top was a nice touch. This could be the one thing that would make me finally take the Metra out to Western Springs!

I also liked Sepia's charred octopus with tomato sauce, which I always order when I'm at the restaurant, but I did think that the bread was a little soggy last night; Tru's A Study in White Gazpacho, which I have had during the Saveur Chicago issue reception last October; and Alinea's butterscotch bacon flavored with apple and thyme, which I have had in some form at the restaurant (and I think the 2007 Riesling paired with it was my second most favorite wine pairing of the night after MK).

I was underwhelmed by Blackbird's Parmesan Gazpacho with beet-cured sturgeon (I thought the sturgeon needed more flavor) and Aigre Doux's seared tuna on wonton crisps, which I thought was pretty easy to make.

We joined the Gourmet crew upstairs for the Chateau St. Jean vertical tasting of its Cinq Cepage cabernet sauvignon. I thought the 2003 vintage was the best of the five vintages we tasted- very strong, very mature, but not overwhelming.

I'm a little surprised by Karen M's comment about the attendees being "uninvolved". I thought there were lots of conversation about food and wine swirling around us, and you could see many of the chefs trying very hard to balance plating/cooking/serving with being attentive to the attendees trying to converse with them. I really think the night proved what a very enthusiastic, very encouraging and very appreciative food community we live in.

I had a great time- looking forward to next year.