Very cool (and rare) of you to come back and share the details about your Avec experience...great write-up too, by the way!

Don't be a stranger

Day 2 (Monday)
Day’s Events: A marathon visit to The Art Institute of Chicago, open to close. Second City comedy at night.

Lunch: The Berghoff

Why There? J. chose this one based on her parents’ recommendation.

Experience: I had a special of pecan-crusted halibut over a salad of sliced heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, and soft goat cheese with greet vinaigrette. ($15-ish) (At least, I think that is an accurate description. I am going from memory almost a month later, since I seem to have misplaced the notebook I used to record this.) I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of this light fish dish in a restaurant that seems to bill itself as a destination for heavy German fare. I deconstructed the dish and ate the fish separate from the Greek salad. Each element was lovely by itself, but I am not convinced that they would have benefited from being eaten together. The salad was a perfectly-proportioned mixture of crisp cucumbers and ripe, juicy heirloom tomatoes, set off well by the salty zip of goat cheese and a simple olive-oil-based dressing. The fish was light and flaky, while remaining suitably moist. The nuts provided a tasty crunch to enhance both flavor and texture.
J. had Sauerbraten, and L. Had the Berghoff Burger. Both seemed to enjoy their food, but L. complained that the 10-ounce patty was excessively large and expressed a wish that they offered a smaller option.

Overall Impressions: As someone who was completely unaware of the controversy recently surrounding this restaurant until I googled it back at the hotel, I enjoyed my experience here a great deal. The atmosphere of masculine paneling and dark colors seemed to evoke power lunches from the early decades of the 1900s. The service was friendly and competent, and my meal was a light and tasty. We were seated immediately and the food came relatively quickly, which was a big advantage to a party like us anxious to hurry back to the museum.


Dinner: Corcoran's Grill & Pub

Why there? J’s suggestion after searching for places in close proximity to Second City.

Experience: J. and I both had Fish And Chips ($12); beer battered fried cod, French fries and green peas. This was decent pub grub, but nothing terribly remarkable. The fish had a slight quality of the fish sticks one would have eaten as a child, visually appearing more like giant mozzarella sticks than pieces of battered fish. The fries were quite good; crisp on the outside with an interior that seems to melt away when bitten. I was a bit afraid the peas would turn out to be canned, but I was pleasantly surprised that they seemed to be either fresh or of the well-preserved frozen variety. L., who was completely in her element, raved about her grilled chicken sandwich. At L and J’s prodding, I tried Magners hard cider. I found it much more pleasant than beer, which I have yet to develop a taste for.

Overall Impression: I wouldn’t go out of my way to hit this pub again, but I don’t regret stopping in. On the positive side, the food was a bit better than average, and the location was perfectly convenient for our needs that evening. On the down side, the service was quite inattentive and food seemed to take oddly long to reach us for being simple fare in a 1/3 full house.

Day 3 (Tuesday)

Day’s Events: The Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium

Lunch: Corner Bakery at the Field Museum

Why there? Tight schedule made eating at the museum a necessity.

Experience: I had the Turkey Frisco sandwich (Smoked turkey breast, marinated artichokes, roasted sweet balsamic onions, fresh spinach, provolone cheese, and sun-dried tomato pesto mayo on Asiago Cheese Bread.) I was regretting my choice when the cashier grabbed the thing out of a cooler case. But when I bit into it, boy was I pleasantly surprised. It certainly wasn’t the best sandwich I have ever had, but it sure was good for something that had been premade and languishing in a cooler. The quality of the artichokes and roasted onions was especially surprising to me for a joint that has a captive audience and therefore wouldn’t have to put much effort into its food. L offered up the bacon from her Uptown Turkey sandwich, and this made a welcome addition. J. had a bread bowl of some sort of cheesy soup, and I rounded out my meal with a solidly average cappuccino.

Overall Impressions: Better than it would have to be. And that says something to me.


Dinner: Tru

Why there? For the “big event dinner,” I wanted to choose a real destination restaurant that could push my friends (and me, to a degree) outside their culinary comfort zones as well as providing a grand overall dining experience that we can all draw on over the rest of the lean years of study that stretch before us.

Experience: We had the Grand Collection ($110) plus the 3-course extended dessert option ($25 upcharge.) We wanted a versatile wine that would take us through the entire meal. The sommelier made a few recommendations, including the 2004 Beaujolais Morgon Côte du Py Potel-Aviron that we wound up going with. As a relatively new wine drinker only a smattering of months beyond the “big birthday of legality,” my only familiarity with Beaujolais was the big show made of the Nouveau of that region. After my initial trepidation, I was happy to find that our Beaujolais was far superior to that. As requested by L., it leaned slightly to the sweet side without being jammy.

I wish I had taken notes or something so I could have more in-depth responses to each course. By the end of the night, I was suffering from an intense food coma. All I can muster up at this point are some general impressions of each dish. The courses were as follows:

Cauliflower sphere, trout roe, salty-sweet orange. I felt that the fishy taste took over in this concoction. Not bad, but definitely not the strongest presentation of the night.

Nigella seed cured salmon, cucumber gelée, cucumber skin emulsion, candied lemon peel. I recall the candied lemon peel being a great touch, adding a burst of flavor and an interesting texture.

Smoked sturgeon “caviar,” avocado, hazelnut. This came with three very small triangular crackers. It may be a small point, but I wish the quantity of crackers had been proportionate to the amount of faux-caviar. Overall, this was an incredibly strange and imaginative course, and mostly in a good way.

Artichoke consommé, cucumber, turnip, mustard, peanut oil. The first course that was universally beloved by the three of us. L. suggested that it slightly resembled a specialized reimagining of hot and sour soup broth with little spheres of consommé added into the mix.

House-made porcini tagliatelle, condensed tomato, asparagus cream, parmesan. Another delicious offering. I am amazed at how the chef could make what is essentially pasta with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese taste completely novel.

Knob onion poached halibut, hearts of palm, pickled carrots, English pea nage. If I had to choose a favorite, this might be it. The halibut was exquisitely done, managing to be the moistest halibut I have eaten without veering even slightly toward being soggy. This also elicited the widest range of reactions among the three of us; L. hated it, J. was so-so, and I loved it.

Duet of lamb, daikon, watermelon radish, olive, star anis lamb jus. The “duet” portion of the description refers to the fact that this dish is comprised of shredded lamb shank over lamb tenderloin medallions. The shank was superb, but the tenderloin was just too fatty for me to enjoy.

***Here ends the “dinner” portion of the dinner***

Chambord & mandarin gelée, mandarin curd, blackberry. A tasty little poof of fruity froth.

"Secret" chocolate truffle. They aren't kidding when they tell you to eat it in one bite.

Poppyseed madeleines. Even better than Mom’s, and she is a fabulous baker. Yummy.

Coffee. I would order the coffee here just to watch the waiters pour it out of the magnificent contraption of a silver coffee pot that they used.

***Dessert Course 1*** (In courses 1 and 3, each person got her own different dessert and we were encouraged
to share them amongst ourselves. In course 2, each person received matching desserts.)

Almond-violet mousse, poached rhubarb, lemon sponge. The rhubarb taste was my favorite part of this, pairing especially well with the lemon sponge.

Summer consommé, strawberry, blackberry, lemongrass, lychee sorbet. My top pick this round. Very fruity and fresh-tasting.

Greek yogurt, mint, honey, grapes & raisins, frozen mint julep. I felt that the frozen mint julep was the star flavor in this presentation.

***Dessert Course 2***

Lime and blueberry “vacherin,” cinnamon chiboust, pan-fried buttermilk cake. I can’t seem to recall any specific details about this course, but do remember enjoying it thoroughly.

Before this course, I decided it was time for something to drink with our dessert. I wanted the Delaforce 1985 port, but after I had ordered, the sommelier returned and told me that there was not sufficient time remaining to properly decant it. Not his fault, but especially disappointing after he talked it up. I “settled” for the Porto Rocha 20-Year tawny that he recommended in its stead. And what a good suggestion it turned out to be, delicious and full of depth. J. was pleased with her 2008 Moscato d’Asti.

***Dessert Course 3***

Chocolate bar, wattleseed ice cream, burnt caramel mousse, malted carmel. Fun to get to taste the dessert that I had seen in several pictures. Lucky for everyone, it tastes just as good as it looks.

Gianduja crèmeux, hazelnut, manchego, basil, grape. I have a mild obsession with hazelnuts in my own cooking as well as ordering, so this dessert was a big hit with me. The other flavors seamlessly combined with my beloved hazelnuts.

Baked chocolate mousse, raspberry gelée, olive oil ice cream, Chambord, croquant. The olive oil ice cream was my favorite bit of this dessert, although the other ingredients were also top-notch.

***Post-dessert dessert***

Gale’s homemade root beer floats. The food just kept coming! Served in teeny-tiny glasses, these provided a fitting wrap-up to a fantastic meal.

Mignardises + lollipops. By this time, each of us was completely stuffed. I don’t think any of us was able to fittingly appreciate the cart of treats.

Overall Impressions:
Where to begin? Tru continued to impress me throughout the entirety of the dinner, which lasted from 7:00 until around 11:00. The house was relatively empty when we arrived a few minutes before our reservation, but I was glad to see the room fill up as the night went on. I was, nevertheless, relieved that I had not opted for an earlier time at which my friends would have been more used to dining. As soon as we were seated, out came the purse stools and the choice of napkin colors. The sommelier was remarkably helpful, and I was highly impressed that his suggestions included an option well below the price point I had suggested would be acceptable. After one of my companions mentioned that we were relatively new to the world of wine, I noticed him quietly sampling our bottle over at the wine service station. It may have been slight condescension, but it was a kind-hearted one. I appreciated his desire to prevent us from drinking a corked bottle simply because we may not have known better.
The rest of the service was equally stellar. In addition to the choreographed, synchronized presentations, they seemed to anticipate our every need. The smallest touches made the night all the more special. When each of my companions in turn spilled a few drips on the tablecloth, a clean napkin was placed over the spoiled cloth. Napkins were replaced during every trip to the restroom, and a thousand other minute details.
The food, as described above, was fabulous. The desserts were slightly more consistent than the mains, but none of the dishes completely missed the mark in my view. As a minimally-employed student with years of study ahead of me, I do not anticipate the chance to go all-out like this again in the near future. But boy am I glad I did it at least once!

Thank you for your reviews - they were extremely entertaining. I look forward to more of your contributions.

Kman wrote:Thank you for your reviews - they were extremely entertaining. I look forward to more of your contributions.

Entertaining/informative indeed. I particularly like Why there?

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I'm glad my ramblings were worthwhile.