For a still-new restaurant, there hasn't been much written here of late. So, I wanted to share our experience last night. We were there by 7 pm on a frigid Sunday. No problem getting a table, but the place was filled by 8 pm.

Our first reaction was to the width of the communal tables. They're sufficiently wide that it's difficult to hear your companions across the table. We quickly moved to a table along the wall - - closer to the cold door, but nearer to our dining companions. Note to future diners - - the narrower tables are the way to go.

Service was pretty good. Water glasses were filled quickly. Plates and flatware were replaced about halfway through the meal. When we really didn't like a dish, it was removed, no questions asked, and taken off of the bill. When we were told that olives were a certain type, but arrived differently, we received an apology, an explanation that the chef had changed them just that day, and a new plate of olives to our liking. If I had to be picky, I'd say that it took far too long for one of the drinks to arrive. I tried to patiently wait for one drink to arrive so that we could toast (we were celebrating), knowing that my ice-free cocktail was warming by the minute (perhaps there are benefits to sitting closer to the drafty door).

The good: Really tasty octopus with chickpeas; a nice relish plate with radishes, cheese, and beets; skatewing; bone marrow; boudin blanc with cabbage; the poire and elderflower cocktail; the beer list.

The strange, but good: One of my companions ordered a bloody mary. Strange, in that it's a rather atypical dinner drink. But, even stranger because of its accompaniments. The drink included a small plate of pickled okra and charcuterie (salami and, I think, hot coppa). The charcuterie, which was quite tasty, was nowhere to be found on the menu. I don't order bloody mary's, so maybe this wasn't weird? In any event, it seemed unusual to the table.

The okay: olives; fried sardines; cheesecake; nutter butters and chocolate sabayon.

The not good: mussels (I didn't try them before they were sent back, but was told they were dry and tasted a bit past their prime).

I liked, but didn't love the restaurant. The location is convenient for us, and I like that the chalkboard menu changes daily (it's quite different today than it was yesterday, for example). But, the food just wasn't as tasty as I'd like it to be at the price point. I didn't have anything that was crave-worthy, that would entice me back.

Ronna

Mellonhubby and I had dinner at the Bristol last Friday evening (I'm just getting to this post now...) and we really enjoyed it. I think we both agreed that we liked it better than the Publican.

We started off with a creamy brandade that was perfectly seasoned in all of it's buttery, fishy goodness. Then we checked out the regular menu and the chalkboard selections but were stumped. We asked our server for some suggestions and she hit it out of the park.

I had a boudin blanc with gnocchi, 'kraut' and quince. It was a flavorful, but not too greasy example of a really good smooth-textured white sausage. The gnocchi and quince were the perfect buttery and sweet foils for the sour kraut and salty sausage.

Mellonhubby chose the goat stew which was also really excellent (all the goodness of lamb, half the 'lamb-y-ness') - nicely spiced with a bit of chili heat.

We finished with the 'nutter butters' for dessert - which was the perfect size and level of sweetness for a bit of palate cleansing after a rich dinner.

We were impressed with the large but not overwhelming beer selection and our server was VERY knowledgeable (which was awesome when she could actually describe the characteristics of the dishes - like flavor, texture, etc. - rather than the usual "oh - it's really good!"). She was also able to appropriately pair beer with Mellonhubby's goat stew.

We got out of there for less than $100 - which for what we ate and drank I thought was a pretty good value. The more concise beer menu and wider selection of food at The Bristol makes it the repeat spot for us rather than The Publican...not that we didn't enjoy The Publican - we just left a bit overwhelmed by the beer menu and a tiny bit underwhelmed by the food (though the 'fatty meat' selections at The Publican was pretty killer.) Add the fact that it takes 5 minutes for us to get to The Bristol and you've got yourself a repeat-destination for the Mellon household.

Glad to hear the positive and semi-positive recent reports. I don't think there's anyplace that roasts a more perfect chicken than the Bristol, and I'd return over and over again just for that and the nutter butter cookies. I did have one downer on my last visit - my companion's salmon, while delicious and well prepared, had a couple of pin bones - one of which got caught in her throat, making for a very uncomfortable rest of the meal. When I brought it to the attention of the otherwise attentive server, she didn't seem the slightest bit concerned or apologetic. Oh well.

Another visit to the Bristol today. Burger might just have ended the debate about where to get the best burger in Chicago. Don't expect a monster - the Bristol's burger is probably a mere 1/3 pound of pure, beefy grass-fed cow accented by a bit of smoke from the wood grill, sweet pickled onions, and garlicky aioli. But the flavor you'll remember is just plain, juicy cow. Real cow. A very nice, fresh pretzel-style bun holds up nicely too. Duck fat fries were crispy, salty, potatoey, and as good as any rendition I've had. Nutter butter cookies full of salty, buttery deliciousness. Mussels...well, don't order those. Do wash your burger down with a bottle of Southern Tier Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale, as intensely hoppy, bitter a beer as you can get, but it still manages to be balanced and food friendly. It was great, but I imagine there are other great beers too from what has to be one of Chicago's best beer lists.

On the current chalkboard menu is a phenomenal goat carpaccio. Loin of goat rolled in cinnamon, cumin, and other spices I associate with slow-cooked Mexican stews, except instead of long-cooking this gets a very quick sear. Then the beautifully marbled meat is shaved thin and served on the side of perfectly cooked lentils with a lemonny green salad. Get it while it lasts!

The Bristol, I have mixed feelings about this place. While the Duck fat fries were excellent, and their beer selection massive. I did not like a few things. I arrived @ 5:30 as they opened, and was ushered upstairs to what is basically a service bar with no chairs. The downstairs bar was for people ordering dinner. I wasnt sure I was going to be ordering dinner, but sampling some plates, but was still sent packing upstairs. I ordered the fries, and a beer from Minnesota that was on tap & a shot of patron Silver. The fries, the best french fries I have ever eaten. The duck fat makes these, and the garlic aioli dipping sauce was great. The staff upstairs was decent, 2 bartenders, and a cocktail waitress. The younger bartender who I believe was new, and the cocktail waitress were friendly and engaging(the upstairs was empty so they were not slammed). The other "veteran" bartender was not. If they would have had barstools upstairs, or let me sit downstairs @ the bar I would have ordered more food, and drinks. However I wasnt in the mood to stand, so I left, and went down the street to a local bar, and finished out my night.

Overall I probably wouldnt return to The Bristol(unless I get a hankering for duck fat fries again), the place seemed to be a little full of itself, and that really stood out after my afternoon @ Paramount Room.

Duck Fat Fries:

Three LTHers joined me for a last minute dinner yesterday, and the Bristol served the finest meal I've had there yet. Congratulations to JermAngela, who had just completed her finals and joined us to celebrate before taking off on a much-deserved vacation. She was the evening's photographer, so I'm not sure if pictures of our dinner will make it to LTH very soon.

What I like best about the Bristol is that the food is cooked and presented to look and taste like the essence of itself. Last night, chicken hearts looked like hearts: a perfect Valentines Day dish - with 8 of the little organs skewered onto a rosemary sprig and adorned by, well, nothing. At the bottom of the dish was soft, delicious polenta that had been intensely perfumed by the gamey organ meat. To me, that dish represented what the Bristol is all about. In a similar theme, sweetbreads were sautéed and served not with a typical, thick breading, but just a light coating which let the luscious texture and gamey flavor be the star. A side of rapini was grilled over intense wood, imparting smokiness that really brought out the greens' bitterness. Rapini that tasted like rapini. Some places that serve bone barrow scoop out the goods and texturize/ flavor them before returning the marrow into the bones for service. Not the Bristol. Here, the bones are popped into the oven and then onto a plate. That's how you get them (with, of course, some intensely sweet shallot/ red wine jam to spread on the house-baked bread that has been perfectly toasted).

I'll save further comments until others chime in and, perhaps, we have pictures to recap what I thought was a marvelous meal.

Last night's dinner at The Bristol was really wonderful. This is a restaurant run by people who really, truly, love food and there are many rewards to be found for the patrons that share that love.

As GAF mentioned, we had 12 dishes with not a clunker among them. We didn't take a menu, so forgive some of the imprecise descriptions.

Our first round consisted of three of the lighter dishes on the menu:

Trout roe with pureed cauliflower and freshly made blinis - This was one of my favorite dishes of the night. The saltiness of the roe played beautifully off of the smooth puree. Also, the warm, just made blinis were the perfect vehicle for this little "snack".
Goat carpaccio - Teeny tiny slices of seared goat plated nicely along side lentils and a bit of frisee(?). I've never had goat raw/barely cooked and I have to say I really enjoyed this preparation. The goat was nicely seasoned and the lentils were an interesting companion to the dish
Rapini - I can't really add to Kenny's description of the rapini. This dish contained the only small miscue of the night, with the poached egg served on top of the rapini coming out a bit too poached (depriving us of the joys of the runny yolk). That being said the rapini was tasty enough to make up for the overcooked egg.

Next we moved on to the more substantial:

Chicken hearts - Not for the faint of heart (sorry). As Kenny said, just a bunch of chicken hearts on a rosemary skewer. Interesting texture, but the flavor was like nothing I've ever had before. I think we all agreed that the best way to describe the flavor was "intensely chicken-ey". Probably what chicken used to taste like before the advent of factory farming. The flavor that the hearts imparted on to the polenta was just brilliant. Outstanding dish, and good for The Bristol for serving it.
Roasted chicken - As good a roasted chicken as I've ever had. Moist meat, crispy skin, what else do you need? How about some outrageously good broth for dipping your...
Duck fat fries - Some of the best fries I've ever had. Thicker than the frites at Sweets & Savories, the fries packed a powerful taste and crunch. They were served with garlic aioli and a housemade ketchup. I wasn't nuts about the ketchup, but I loved the garlic (and I mean GARLIC) aioli.
Roasted marrow bones - Again, hard to go wrong here. I slightly prefer the bones at Volo if only for the trio of salts that you get.
Sweetbreads - Not the usual fried to the point of maybe being a Chicken Mcnugget, these bad boys were big and meaty. As Kenny said, you knew you were eating sweetbreads.
Squash with ricotta - I'm not a big squash fan, but covering it in ricotta will at least maybe think about being a convert.

And then, dessert:

Chocolate sabayon with housemade nutter butters - Done, nothing else needed. Thank you very much.
Meyer lemon panna cotta - Better than any I've ever had in NYC!!! (/ducks)
Pistachio tarte - Good if you're in the market for a more savory dessert.

So thanks again to Kenny for suggesting this last minute dinner. I think I need to get back for another soon. The egg sandwich with pork belly is calling my name.

For me the two greatest surprises of the night were the rapini (although not so much the dish that they were in). I had never realized how savory rapini could be, and the chicken hearts, which I had expected to be like livers and gizzards. They weren't. They were slightly more solid and dense chicken with a flavor that was solid and dense. They were the heart of the chicken.

I had somewhat mixed feelings about the marrow, comparing it to St. Johns, where the marrow was chopped up and seasoned with parsley and garlic, but there is no doubt that it was a pleasure to know where to go for a marrow fix.

The Meyer lemon panna cotta was a wonderful if straightforward dish - the best of the desserts.

I recently had 2 new-to-me dishes at the Bristol: one big winner and one relative dud.

The winner was a Grilled Mackerel Caesar Salad. A creative twist on the classic, this one used oily, flavorful mackerel in the dressing and then topped the dish with a succulent piece of the grilled fish. The romaine was cold and very crisp, and the many toasted, super-thin and crispy garlic chips adorning the plate were excellent. The flavors in this salad really popped.

I've been to the Bristol several times and truly loved almost everything I've eaten, so when I call soemthing a relative dud, I mean that only in the context of how wonderful everything else has been. The Porchetta di Testa was decent, but not worth ordering in light of the many superior choices.

peaches wrote:This restaurant looks and acts a whole lot like MADO, except MADOs desserts are fabulous. You must read Michael Nagrant's Article in New City 10/9/08! He also tried to copy Sweets & Savories Duck Fat Fries.
http://www.newcitychicago.com/chicago/8213.html

With some hesitation, I resurrect this ridiculous notion that the Bristol copies Mado or other places, a notion espoused early on by a local food writer, a misguided fan trying to "protect" his or her favorite restaurants, and perhaps a couple of others. I bring it up here because it was interesting that I was able to get a rolled pigs head at Mado on my last visit, then saw it on the menu at the Bristol just a week later. Maybe my testa-dar is just heightened of late, but I don't recall ever seeing a dish like this on a Chicago restaurant menu before. I was delighted to be able to try these two versions for comparison's sake.

Mado's pig head was far superior. The meat was completely unadorned, and sliced very thin it packed a ton of flavor from the curing spice and the unctuous fat. I loved it. At the Bristol, my first thought was that there was way too much on the plate: I had to work through some nuts, some pesto, some chicharrones, and lemon-dressed greenery just to get at what should have been the star of the plate, but was instead buried underneath it all. Thankfully, as with the rest of the Bristol's food, all of those toppings were fabulous. When I tasted the pig head, I knew why the accoutriments were there - the head was bland. I love pork fat, but this felt like eating fat for fat's sake. None of the meaty flavor, and little discernable spice to complement it.

But for a few superb and inexpensive ethnic places, Mado and the Bristol are about the only places in Chicago I feel like eating these days. I love them both. The comparison above should by no means suggest that one restaurant is better than the other. I've had standouts from both places, and both have talented chefs with constantly-changing menus. Go to both places. If Mado has pig's head, don't miss it. Skip the head at the Bristol, but don't fail to order the mind-alteringly-good chicken hearts and the mackerel caesar if they're in the house.

I have dined here for brunch a few times now, and I must say that every experience has been nothing but pleasant and delicious.

Service is warm and unobtrusive. Whenever and wherever I go to brunch, there is always an attitude with the servers. I know I'm being quite general here, but it's either too crazy for them or they're annoyed they're working the brunch shift or they roll their eyes at my request for Splenda or all of the above. There is not even a hint of this at the Bristol.
Foodwise, this place really hits the mark. Brunch at restaurants that are more dinner-centric can taste and feel like you are having whatever didn't sell last night. Not so here. Everything but a few dishes has eggs, and although it's mostly heavier stuff (biscuits and gravy, porkbelly and fried egg sandwich) I think the best dish is the salad. It appears lackluster, but really packs a punch with tarragon and fennel. Next time I might just throw a poached egg on there and call it a day.
Oh, and they serve Lavazzzzzaaaa. MMMMMmmmmm..

Kennyz wrote:With some hesitation, I resurrect this ridiculous notion that the Bristol copies Mado or other places, a notion espoused early on by a local food writer, a misguided fan trying to "protect" his or her favorite restaurants, and perhaps a couple of others. I bring it up here because it was interesting that I was able to get a rolled pigs head at Mado on my last visit, then saw it on the menu at the Bristol just a week later. Maybe my testa-dar is just heightened of late, but I don't recall ever seeing a dish like this on a Chicago restaurant menu before. I was delighted to be able to try these two versions for comparison's sake.

With all due respect to Kenny and others, I recently had a nice testa at Anti Prima, which was a special. Dare I say they're "copying" Mado too?

I have a hard time with this notion.

JLenart wrote:

Kennyz wrote:With some hesitation, I resurrect this ridiculous notion that the Bristol copies Mado or other places, a notion espoused early on by a local food writer, a misguided fan trying to "protect" his or her favorite restaurants, and perhaps a couple of others. I bring it up here because it was interesting that I was able to get a rolled pigs head at Mado on my last visit, then saw it on the menu at the Bristol just a week later. Maybe my testa-dar is just heightened of late, but I don't recall ever seeing a dish like this on a Chicago restaurant menu before. I was delighted to be able to try these two versions for comparison's sake.

With all due respect to Kenny and others, I recently had a nice testa at Anti Prima, which was a special. Dare I say they're "copying" Mado too?

I have a hard time with this notion.

I sure hope you didn't interpret my post to mean that I think the Bristol was copying Mado. The point I was making was exactly opposite - I think that notion is as crazy as you do. That said, "testa" is not the same as a rolled pigs head. I like Anteprima a lot though, so I'm sure what you had was quite good.

Sorry for the delay; I don’t have time for a full post, but I did want to get these pictures of our meal at the Bristol up. I really enjoyed my meal with fellow LTH’ers last month. We had 4 people, which I feel was a great number as we did get to sample many things without getting palate fatigue. I genuinely loved every bite that I ate, but if I had eaten only the blini with trout roe and half chicken I wouldn’t have been nearly as satisfied. My two favourites were the chicken hearts and the sweetbreads. I found the roasted half chicken to be pleasant in texture and quite juicy but after the intensity of the chicken hearts, almost lacking a little in flavour. I admire the Bristol’s philosophy of snout to tail dining and I look forwards to having many more great meals there.
Goat carpaccio with pomegranate and frisee

Trout roe with cauliflower and blinis

Skewer of Chicken hearts on a polenta bed

Duck Fat Fries

Roasted Half- Chicken

Kabocha Squash with ricotta

Bone marrow with shallot-wine jam

Sweetbreads

Nutter Butter with chocolate sabayon

my wife and I agreed the chicken hearts tasted like hot dogs. Bristol was fine but we were annoyed at how much stuff ran out by the time we were seated. That is a minor gripe, though I think they should prepare enough cassoulet on a Friday night to last a few seatings.

Everything we had was good to very good (green salad, hearts, skate, steak) and I appreciate a solid wine by the glass program (we are off grains for the foreseeable future under medical advisement so no beer for me).

Service was slightly aggressive/annoying but that could have been that one waiter.

Overall, it reminded us greatly of Resto in NYC, a restaurant that was also opened by industry vets and which garners a lot of media attention.

60654,

Glad you enjoyed everything you ate.

I found this interesting...

60654 wrote:my wife and I agreed the chicken hearts tasted like hot dogs.

... as it shows how different people's palates can be. Hot dogs might be the last thing I'd think of when describing how the chicken hearts taste. Either way, glad you liked 'em.

Kennyz

After a couple of misfires, I finally got a chance to eat at The Bristol last week and while I didn't love everything, some of the dishes were fantastic, and there was a lot more good than bad. I documented the meal as best I could but as the light outside faded, so too did the quality of my shots. Happily, the same cannot be said of our meal . . .

We started with a few cocktails, which were enjoyable . . .


Moscow Mule

I thought the mule was excellent, with a predominant note of aromatic ginger that really sang, although I'm not sure what type of ginger ale/beer was used in it. My sazerac was pleasant enough but it didn't blow me away. I realize that The Bristol is much more focused on beer and wine than cocktails (even though they do have a menu of crafted cocktails) but the bourbon selections were very slim. I think there were only 3, the best of which was Knob Creek.

Next up, the food, as we worked our way methodically through the 4 sections of the dinner menu: Bar Snacks, Salads/Sides, Medium Dishes and Large Dishes, and the Dessert Menu . . .

Bar Snacks

Stuffed Chicken Wings with Chorizo and Blue Cheese
This reconstructed take on a barfood standard was tasty enough but I'm not sure it was really enough of an improvement over the original to warrant such manipulation. The components were actually obscured and didn't really shine individually. Also, at $8, it was a pricey 3-biter, which was out of sync with our overall meal, which was very reasonably priced (more on this later).



Scotch Olives, Pork and lemon
Hot, crispy, salty and meaty, these stuffed olives were damned fine and here, the re-take on the original made sense because of its easy-to-eat, bite-sized nature.



Grilled Flatbread with Bacon and Melted Sweet Onion
Loved the harmonious marriage of the sweet onions and the smokey bacon. This was a great dish.


Salads/Sides

Heirloom Apple Salad with Hazelnuts and Marinated Manchego
Owner John Ross brought this out to the table for us and I'm very glad he did. It was a delicious salad in which the apples and the rich cheese played together very nicely. Toasted hazelnuts were a well-placed accent, too.



Duck Fat Fries with House Ketchup and Garlic Aioli
Possibly the best rendition I've had in town because they were actually really crispy. The aioli was a nice complement but I didn't care for the house-made ketchup. I'm with Gladwell, in that for me, no ketchup -- no matter how thoughtfully crafted -- ever tops Heinz.



Grilled Mackerel Caesar, Romaine and Croutons
Pickled, grilled mackerel (not sure which of those happens first) highlighted this excellent salad. The menu bills the greens as romaine but they were heartier and more interesting than romaine. This was a real show-stopper.


Medium Dishes

Porchetta di Testa with Watermelon Pickle, Arugula and Herbs
Another winner. I loved the carefully crafted components and their overall combination. The textures in the porchetta were great -- some tender and some a bit al dente.



House-Cured Salmon with Herbed Mascarpone and Sorrel Potatoes
As a salmon-curer myself, I had to try this and I thought it was a very respectable rendition. I wasn't crazy about the accompaniments, even though the inclusion of house-made crackers was absolutely commendable.


Large Dishes

Egg Sandwich on toast with Grilled Fresh Pork Belly
Another stellar dish. Not really a trailblazing combination but extremely well-executed. We split this 4 ways and I really wanted to order another one.



Lamb Sausage with Polenta, Salsa Verde and Caperberries
Good flavors here in another thoughtful combination but the definition of the sausage was not quite right -- it was crumbly and a bit dry. Still we finished this quickly, because it was so tasty.



Grilled Sturgeon with Beets, Tapenade, Dill and Mustard Cream
This was another well-conceived and well-executed dish. I loved the oily sturgeon and I thought the tapenade and mustard cream accentuated its fattiness really nicely. The tender, sweet beets were a nice note, too.


Desserts

Cheesecake with Apple Chutney (definitely apple and I'm pretty sure it was chutney)
Nothing special but not bad, either. Generally, I prefer a denser, creamier cheesecake. This was a bit fluffier than I would have liked. For some, this rendition would probably really scratch the itch. I think cheesecake is a pretty personal thing.



Chocolate Sabayon with 'Nutter Butter Cookies,' Sea Salt, Olive Oil
I don't know if this is the same dish referred to upthread as a 'mousse' but it was billed on our menu as a sabayon and it was tasty. I liked the salt a lot but the olive oil floated on top was a step backwards, IMO. Otoh, the peanut butter cream cookies were spectactular. We couldn't finish them but we made sure to take them home.

I really appreciated the Bristol and what they've set out to do. Their original menu is thoughtful and their ingredients -- many from local producers -- are very high in quality. I also like that their offerings are distinctive, and frankly, I'd rather eat an ambitious dish that just misses the mark (as a few of the things we ordered did) than a perfected version of something I could order at 10 other places. In this respect, I think The Bristol very much succeeds. For all we ordered -- everything shown above (including the one comped salad) and 6 cocktails -- the price after tax and before tip was $200. I thought the service was excellent and friendly. We were served promptly and our server answered all our questions with knowledge and enthusiasm.

I liked our plan of going during the week, arriving at 5:30 (right when they opened), grabbing a table by the window that faces Damen and having a leisurely meal. By the time we departed, at about 8:00, the place was full, with a few folks waiting for tables. That was a joy to see on a Wednesday night, especially in light of current economic conditions. it doesn't suprise me, though, the this place is so popular. I wish The Bristol nothing but the best and I look forward to returning.

=R=

Went to the Bristol for brunch yesterday with RAB and my father. At 10:15 am there were still plenty of tables open. By the time we left, it was quite full.

Service was friendly, patient, and helpful. Our coffee mugs were quickly filled (a very important breakfast/brunch criterion for me).

I ordered the pork chilaquiles. The dish was wonderfully spicy. Just the right amount of heat without being too hot. The salsa roja was flavorful. The fried egg on top was wonderful. Really a great dish. Two smallish problems, though - - I only found four small bits of pork totaling less than an ounce in the entire dish; and the portion was on the smallish side (I was hungry 90 minutes later). Still, the flavor of the complete dish was compelling enough that I'd happily order this again.

RAB ordered the poached eggs over biscuits in tasso gravy. He was so happy he didn't offer to share. Dad ordered the yogurt and homemade granola with a biscuit on the side. (We were careful not to tell dad that it was probably whole milk yogurt and that granola ain't all that healthy. There wasn't anything healthier on the menu, and so we decided not to dampen his spirits.) Dad was quite happy with his dish. The biscuit, though, was $2 and was super-small - - maybe 2x3 inches. Although $2 isn't a lot, I think you should get at least two of these tiny biscuits.

All-in-all, a lovely meal. We'll definitely be back.

Ronna

REB wrote:RAB ordered the poached eggs over biscuits in tasso gravy. He was so happy he didn't offer to share.

Oops. She's right though. I was very happy with my breakfast. Delicious, fresh biscuits; perfectly poached eggs; rich, smoky gravy.

REB wrote: The biscuit, though, was $2 and was super-small - - maybe 2x3 inches. Although $2 isn't a lot, I think you should get at least two of these tiny biscuits.

See above re biscuits.

Had a nice meal at the Bristol last night, and I generally echo this thread's positive tone. The burger is, indeed, excellent, and it's worth emphasizing that it comes with a nice handful of the duck fat fries---really no reason to order those on their own unless you don't feel like the hamburger. I really enjoyed the roast chicken's crispy, peppery skin, and the herloom apple salad that Ronnie pictured above was just excellent. It was dressed absolutely perfectly. I had to try the Moscow Mule after I saw that it's served in the correct copper mug---tasty, but small enough that I polished it off in four good sips (no good for a $9 cocktail). I'm pretty sure the menu specified that they make their own ginger beer. Her pisco sour was nothing special, either. I would definitely stick with beer and wine: it was great to have a glass of Founders Breakfast Stout with the burger, and she had a tasty glass shiraz.

Hm, I can't help but notice that it looks like JermAngela got four of the housemade cookies with her chocolate sabayon. We only got two; that's disappointing, because they are quite good, and at $6...they could spring for it. I didn't feel like the prices were out of line with the quality being offered, but some dishes definitely seemed like better values than others. I wish I'd opted for the scotch olives, at half the price, over the three bites of chicken wing. After the mini Moscow mule, I was looking forward to a pint of Founders for the listed price of $6...I got a four-ounce snifter. C'mon. They seem to be doing good business (we got stuck at one of the communal tables at 7:30 on a Wednesday), and much of the food's so good, it's a little disappointing to perceive cut corners.

That olive oil topping on the chocolate sabayon must be a new touch. I've had the dessert three times, and that has never been a part of it. Sounds like an experiment that I hope will end. Regardless, those cookies are the World's Best (sorry Hammond), and I am an instant hero whenever I bring one home to my wife.

David Hammond's World's (2nd) Greatest Cookie, picture taken at the LTHForum picnic by Mike G:

Went tonight and although much of what we had was covered by Ronnie's post above, a couple of new things were perhaps my favorite things of the night, so you are hereby advised to go have them:

• Poached duck egg with ramps, lonza, and pesto-- I didn't have huge expectations for this, I mainly ordered it to have ramps, but it was really terrific, the lemon-tinged pesto a wonderful fresh, spring-y setting for the egg and the ramps. A real wow dish, approaching the level of Schwa's quail egg ravioli.

• Huckleberry panna cotta-- huckleberries are like blueberries squared, and the combination of them with gooey, slightly tangy panna cotta lightly tinged with lemon was really simple and delightful.

Of the things mentioned before, let me reiterate support for the sturgeon, which was delicate in all the best ways, though the coldness of the beets was a little out of place-- room temperature would be better. (I wouldn't mind if they weren't so soft, either, and had a little crunch. But the sturgeon is great.)

On the other hand, stay away from the bird's-eye-chili-tinged honey mead on the dessert drink menu. The chilis add a dry, dusty flavor, it's like drinking rattan furniture.

The first time I went to The Bristol I felt like, even though there were many ways in which it did not resemble Mado, whenever it did, it came out the lesser of the two, with a lot of things on the menu that were just kind of gimmicky. This time, I felt like it's really moved much more in its own direction, nothing especially reminds me of Mado (one testa on the menu, that's all) and nearly everything seemed brighter, sharper, very well thought through.

I visited the Bristol only once so far, but I've got to call attention to the most impressive aspect of my visit- the busboy. That's not a knock on the food (which I thought was great), or the restaurant as a whole (we had a lot of fun), but our waters were never more than half empty (or less than half full, if you prefer), our settings were always marked before the food came, and the table stayed clean and crumb-free. He would put the back-waiters at La Grenouille to shame.

-LFS

I ate at Bristol again tonight, and the food was uniformly excellent, particularly the ravioli with goat brains (yum), the anchovy salad, the huckleberry panna cotta, and the duck confit.

With regard to the busboys, I agree about their enthusiasm, although several times they tried to whisk away our plates before we had finished the last bites - but our water was always filled.

I wish that the restaurant was able to modulate the noise level. I love the food, but if one eats at a peak period (and apparently Wednesdays at 8:30 is a peak period), conversation is a challenge.

I hope what I had tonight at the Bristol wasn't a one-time menu item, because it was fantastic. Most restaurants throw out the leftover parts of weekend fish preparations, or some of the better places use them for stock. At the Bristol, they throw these parts on the wood grill after marinating them in olive oil, lemon, thai chilis, and mint. On the plate is perhaps the most generous $10 dish in Chicago: 3 Kona Kampachi heads (eyeballs, collar and all) and 2 meaty spines, an array of mixed textures of rich, fatty fish and charred smoky bits with just the right undertones of acid and spice, and some reduced marinade on the plate to moisten and flavor it all. I picked up each of the big pieces of fish with my hands and ate them fried-chicken style, being sure to get every tasty morsel from underneath bone, cartilage and cornea. I needed a shower when I was done, but it was well worth it.

Kennyz wrote:On the plate is perhaps the most generous $10 dish in Chicago: 3 Kona Kampachi heads (eyeballs, collar and all) and 2 meaty spines, an array of mixed textures of rich, fatty fish and charred smoky bits with just the right undertones of acid and spice, and some reduced marinade on the plate to moisten and flavor it all. I picked up each of the big pieces of fish with my hands and ate them fried-chicken style, being sure to get every tasty morsel from underneath bone, cartilage and cornea. I needed a shower when I was done, but it was well worth it.

You've got to be kidding... I'd only imagine getting this at an Asian restaurant... I applaud their lack of waste. My favorite Japanese fish market sells EVERY part of a fish... even the bloodline from tuna (which is a hard sell... although I've tried it... and will no longer eat it considering it's prob full of heavy metals/PCB's). I buy fish heads and bones quite frequently for soup stock - I LOVE a good Japanese madai stock for the base in miso shiru. I've also enjoyed some grilled kampachi heads... although the last outing put me off them for a little bit...

One thing you'll never see on a George Foreman commercial...

Kennyz wrote:On the plate is perhaps the most generous $10 dish in Chicago: 3 Kona Kampachi heads (eyeballs, collar and all) and 2 meaty spines, an array of mixed textures of rich, fatty fish and charred smoky bits with just the right undertones of acid and spice, and some reduced marinade on the plate to moisten and flavor it all.

Kenny, Sounds fantastic! My one venture to The Bristol was no great shakes, though between teeth to tail fish bits, and other recent posts, a revisit seems in order.

Jay K, I've had grilled head, collar spine any number of times at Japanese restaurants, never anywhere else, and never thought to do it at home, great idea. Might just have to get myself a George Foreman grill. (No, no way, not a chance. )

Salmon Head and Spine at Tampopo



Enjoy,
Gary

Tampopo
5665 N Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL
773-561-2277

ndgbucktown wrote:Hm, I can't help but notice that it looks like JermAngela got four of the housemade cookies with her chocolate sabayon. We only got two

The Bristol is quite generous in this regard, and true to its phiilosophy about sharing. The regular order has 2 cookies, which is what I get every time I'm there alone or with my wife. But on the occasions that I've been there with a bigger group, the kitchen has been kind enough to send out enough cookies for us all to share, without charging extra.

My wife and I enjoyed a great meal at the Bristol on Saturday night. We arrived before the rush, about 6:30 p.m. and dined at the bar. I prefer the bar over tables in some establishments. I feels more intimat, especially when it's not so busy. We started with the scotch olives, grill flat bread (bacon and onions), and shared a spinach salad. My wife ordered the halibut for her entre and I had the burger with duck fat fries. I havd a few glasses of a Greek red wine which paired great with my dinner and my wife had a reisling. I really enjoy the Bristol. It and Avec are two of my favorite restaurants in the city. I can't wait to go back.

If the turnout at 10PM on Friday was any indication, The Bristol is--as oft-mentioned--a nice alternative to the things-get-hectic vibe at Avec: only three tables were occupied, and the place was quiet and welcoming.

The food, while not quite at Avec's (or, for that matter, Mado's) level, was promising. We had a nice Heirloom Apple Salad to start with some groovy parts (Manchego, especially), though the dish could use a bit more of the Miner's lettuce to balance out the equation. The bone marrow dish features some pretty clever conceits with its use of a full-on parsley salad instead of chopped herbs and an accompanying red wine shallot jam to provide textural contrast and cut the richness, but the marrow itself was somewhat marred--as marrow sometimes can be--by its quick congealing. I realized I'm a fan of marrow dishes where the bone is cut on a bias, a la Blue Duck Tavern in DC and Minetta Tavern in NYC--anyone know where in Chicago they are served this way?

We also had a halibut dish that was perfectly fine but boring, save for the cattails; should have ordered the snails dish, I think. But the brown butter raviolo, originality be damned, was stellar, of course.