BryanZ wrote: Assertive beefy flavor and something bordering on Serious Heat, something that's effectively non-existent in white people food.

Really?

mhill95149 wrote:

BryanZ wrote: Assertive beefy flavor and something bordering on Serious Heat, something that's effectively non-existent in white people food.

Really?

I checked the list and he's actually quite correct.

-Dan

dansch wrote:

mhill95149 wrote:

BryanZ wrote: Assertive beefy flavor and something bordering on Serious Heat, something that's effectively non-existent in white people food.

Really?

I checked the list and he's actually quite correct.

-Dan

LOL but WPF is offensive
Could we all hold ourselves to a higher standard?

#119: Sea Salt:

"When white people think about regular salt, all they can think about sodium and poor health. When they think about Sea Salt they think about France. "

pretty funny stuff.

dansch wrote:

mhill95149 wrote:

BryanZ wrote: Assertive beefy flavor and something bordering on Serious Heat, something that's effectively non-existent in white people food.

Really?

I checked the list and he's actually quite correct.

-Dan

See. I speak the truth.

But, seriously, I can't think of a single cuisine in the European-descended Western world that packs as much of the awesome heat of Thai, Indian, Sichuan, Hunan.

The comment is, of course, tongue-in-cheek, but I do feel like it has some merit.

I wonder if climate has anything to do with the level of heat in a culture's food?
More so than the color of one's skin.....

Speaking of heat, the house made harissa at Mado packs a surprisingly huge punch. When it was served with the grilled trout, at first I was taken aback and unsure that I liked it. I think that was mostly the shock factor though, as when I think about that trout/ harissa dish now, I have nothing but mouth-watering memories.

mhill95149 wrote:I wonder if climate has anything to do with the level of heat in a culture's food?
More so than the color of one's skin.....

That could be the case, but that doesn't intrinsically change the fact that white people food (or "the cuisines of Europe and their progeny" if we're being more PC) lacks the heat of other world cuisines.

BryanZ wrote:

mhill95149 wrote:I wonder if climate has anything to do with the level of heat in a culture's food?
More so than the color of one's skin.....

That could be the case, but that doesn't intrinsically change the fact that white people food (or "the cuisines of Europe and their progeny" if we're being more PC) lacks the heat of other world cuisines.

My guess would be that this is due to the climates/regions in which most peppers naturally grew. If habañeros were indigenous to the Rhône valley, raclette might be mouth-searingly different animal.

Kennyz wrote:Speaking of heat, the house made harissa at Mado packs a surprisingly huge punch.

I agree. My family generally has a medium heat tolerance. I was the only one at our table who could really enjoy the harissa last night because of the heat. My own harissa needs a lot of work; Mado's is my exemplar.

I'd actually like to try the harissa with Mado's pork rinds. The spicy crème fraîche that the rinds are usually served with doesn't have enough heat for me.

Khaopaat wrote:

BryanZ wrote:

mhill95149 wrote:I wonder if climate has anything to do with the level of heat in a culture's food?
More so than the color of one's skin.....

That could be the case, but that doesn't intrinsically change the fact that white people food (or "the cuisines of Europe and their progeny" if we're being more PC) lacks the heat of other world cuisines.

My guess would be that this is due to the climates/regions in which most peppers naturally grew. If habañeros were indigenous to the Rhône valley, raclette might be mouth-searingly different animal.

My two responses to this would be as follows:
Habaneros don't grow in the Rhone, so my point still stands: traditional European cuisines are not as spicy as those in the the East and southern hemisphere.

And the unavailability of certain foodstuffs in said regions of the world, isn't necessarily reason to exclude them from a country's traditional cuisine. Wars were fought over spice trading routes that brought deliciousness from the East to the West. Of course, spices are easier to transport than the capsicum family, but you get my idea.

Regardless of the reason, I think my point still stands. Again, tongue-in-cheek, stereotypical. That's fine, even intentional, but with a kernel of truthiness.

mhill95149 wrote:I wonder if climate has anything to do with the level of heat in a culture's food?
More so than the color of one's skin.....

This I know, or am at least pretty sure of: spicy foods are more prevalent in cuisines of places closer to the equator because of the self-cooling effect resulting from perspiring after consuming them. This I don't know: what it has to do, chicken or eggwise, with wear hot peppers are grown. But there are more things you can eat to make yourself sweat than just habañeros.

Back at Mado again this weekend. Nice meal, but I wasn't as enamored this time around. Server was a bit spacey, not quite as involved and into the food as other folks I've had there. Also, it's really annoying when the server doesn't tell you something is 86'd until you try to order it. Ample opportunity to tell us the beef heart wasn't available but we went unawares. Really wanted to try that.

From a more technical cuisine perspective I found the country pate to be quite good, but the portion was rather small. A very thin slice. Also, to charge $4 for the bread and accompaniments is fine, but all of them should be very good. I like the mustard, love the pickles, but the bread is just too pallid for me. A roasted onion soup was very comforting but light on onion flavor. This seemed more like a potato-onion soup, almost like a warm vichyssoise in flavor profile.

Both mains were spot on, though. Beautifully cooked whitefish with shelling peas and greens. A roasted leg of mutton was also a very nice piece of meat. A couple gristly bits, but that's kind of expected when dealing with the leg of an older animal.

After a fairly long stint with dansch at Bar DeVille last Friday, we made our way over to Mado for a late-night dinner - a great call by him. It was a very enjoyable meal but after drinking for several hours, my already limited powers of observation were somewhat impaired, so commentary here will be relatively brief. Still, I had the camera with me and after a bit of encouragement from dansch, decided to bring it in with us. Between the liquor and the low light at our table, the images that follow are not the greatest but the meal was defintely worthy of documentation. So, with apologies to Rob and Allie here's a brief photo recap . . .


Shishito Peppers, fried in olive oil with sea salt
These little peppers were great, of course, but I quickly realized that they'd actually make for an excellent bar snack, as well.



Mutton Kidneys on toast with creamy mustard sauce
With Rob working through mutton, this dish was one of the perks and I'm so glad he sent it our for us. I was surprised that it wasn't stronger in flavor than it was but the mutton kidneys were actually pretty mellow. That probably had something to do with the mustardy sauce, which was delicious in its own right.



Heirloom Tomatoes with sea salt and olive oil
Very simple but wonderful tomatoes.



Country Ham
Not quite as 'cured' as I expected it would be. Still, tasty.



Watermelon and Cherry Tomatoes with goat cheese and mint
I've had tomato and watermelon salad before but the creamy goat cheese really unified these components in this version and made it distinctive.



Beef Heart with corn bread, beef suet and pickled padron peppers
Stellar dish. I loved every aspect of it from the slightly firm/tender slices of juicy beef heart to the bitter greens, to the rich fried corn bread and the nearly sinful dollups of salted, whipped suet atop the cornbread. The slightly hot pieces of pickled padron were fantastic, too.



Mixed Grill of Mutton Sausage and Loin with Cranberry Beans and slow-cooked melrose peppers
We were told in advance that the loin was 86'd but we ordered it anyway, since we are both big charcuterie fans. Rob sent the dish out with big chunks of house-made bacon in it, explaining that once he saw the BaconFest pin on my shirt, he felt obliged to do so. This was another fantastic dish in which all the components worked together to make the plate much more than the sum of its parts. The sausage was delicate, rich and flavorful. The beans were tender and slightly creamy with zero mush to them all at.



Peach, Plum and Pistachio Crisp creme fraiche
I've encountered pistachios in several desserts at Mado and let's just say that Allie is masterful at incorporating them. Here their richness and crunch played perfectly against the slight tartness of the fruit.



Chocolate Cream Pie
A great piece of pie. The thoughtful decision to make the crust graham cracker was intended to not only make it more flavorful but also make it easier to eat.



Blueberry Streusel Cake with goat cheese-mascarpone cream
Allie sent this out for us and as a huge fan of blueberries, I absolutely loved it. But the streusel element would have been great no matter what fruit it contained. The goat cheese-mascarpone cream was sweet, rich and intense and worked perfectly here, just as it did on the Almond Corn Cake I had at my last meal at Mado.

I needed food after our bar binge and would have happily gone to any old "joint" to get it. But dansch made such a great call by suggesting Mado. Instead of wolfing down some crap on the fly, we got to enjoy a real meal, and an exceptional one at that. What a treat it was to end an evening of drinking at my favorite bar with a meal like this one. Until now Mado has always been a 'destination' restaurant for me but now I can also count it as an 'in the neighborhood' spot, too.

=R=

Ronnie, thanks for posting photos online. I have to admit that they jogged some memories that one too many cocktails at Bar DeVille had made rather fuzzy.

The kidney dish was really a highlight for me. I had kidney at Mado once before (pig's kidney, I believe) and this preparation was wildly different and really fantastic. The kidneys were tender, delicious, and cooked in a mustard cream sauce, which as I think I mentioned to Rob that night, worked well but was unexpectedly French. The crusty bread gave a nice textural contrast to the tender kidneys.

As Ronnie mentioned, the beef heart was incredible. This is a dish I've had a number of times at Mado and each time it's been different, each time I've been a fan, but this time it was just knock-out. The whipped tallow on cornbread was decadent, the tangy/spicy peppers and slightly bitter greens cut through the richness, the whole thing just worked.

The mutton sausage had great flavor, but the standout factor for me was the texture. I've had really mixed luck with definition when making non-pork sausages, and Rob nailed it here.

I'm a sweets man and Allie's offering always scratch my itch.

Next time around I think I'll visit Mado before Bar DeVille...

-Dan

Ronnie,

Was the kidney dish a special for the day or was it on the menu? I was hoping to get something like that last Friday but it was unavailable.

jtobin625 wrote:Ronnie,

Was the kidney dish a special for the day or was it on the menu? I was hoping to get something like that last Friday but it was unavailable.

Seems like it was a one-off comp, much like the pig brain on toast upthread.

BryanZ wrote:

jtobin625 wrote:Ronnie,

Was the kidney dish a special for the day or was it on the menu? I was hoping to get something like that last Friday but it was unavailable.

Seems like it was a one-off comp, much like the pig brain on toast upthread.

You are correct. It was not on the menu. Chef Rob brought it to the table and joked that he was continuing the trend of serving me dishes on toast.

=R=

Ronnie-

I'd really hate to see photos of yours that are bad. Your self-described "not the greatest" photos are a million times better than anything that would come off my Canon.

-Mary

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Seems like it was a one-off comp, much like the pig brain on toast upthread.

You are correct. It was not on the menu. Chef Rob brought it to the table and joked that he was continuing the trend of serving me dishes on toast.

=R=

I was once fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of a lamb-kidney dish at Mado, sent out by Rob. It was so delicious that I said to him that he should put it on the menu. He reminded me that since he's buying whole animals, his inventory of organ meat is very, very low (if he buys one whole lamb, he gets two kidneys, so that dish would probably run out in the first hour of the evening). So, these types of dishes are generally one-offs that get served to friends and good customers.

Best,
Michael

The GP wrote:Ronnie-

I'd really hate to see photos of yours that are bad. Your self-described "not the greatest" photos are a million times better than anything that would come off my Canon.

-Mary

Thanks, Mary, for the kind words. That camera, happily, does not drink . . . at least not that I know of.

=R=

eatchicago wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Seems like it was a one-off comp, much like the pig brain on toast upthread.

You are correct. It was not on the menu. Chef Rob brought it to the table and joked that he was continuing the trend of serving me dishes on toast.

=R=

I was once fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of a lamb-kidney dish at Mado, sent out by Rob. It was so delicious that I said to him that he should put it on the menu. He reminded me that since he's buying whole animals, his inventory of organ meat is very, very low (if he buys one whole lamb, he gets two kidneys, so that dish would probably run out in the first hour of the evening). So, these types of dishes are generally one-offs that get served to friends and good customers.

Best,
Michael

They run into the same issue at Vie, where whole animals are also a big part of the culinary philosophy. I feel honored when I get served something like this I am abundantly appreciative when it happens.

=R=

Had a much more successful dinner at Mado recently. One person in our party had never been and left with a good impression. Of all my visits, this was the one in which I thought the kitchen was most consistent. We started with three "antipasti": The always good, but simple fried shishito peppers with olive oil and salt, beets with ras el hanout crème fraîche and pistachios and fried farm egg bruschetta with smoked paprika butter. The egg bruschetta featured a gorgeous fried egg with a bright orange yolk over bread smeared with smoked paprika butter. Awesome combination. The beets, which were julienned and raw, were less beet-y and more mild than their roasted counterparts and accompanied the ras el hanout crème fraîche beautifully. In a way, I almost always enjoy Mado's antipasti the most and you can make an argument that the restaurant's strengths lie in its ability to uniquely combine flavors and textures.

We moved on to split a pig's head salad with spicy greens and roasted delicata squash. Again, this showed off a fantastic combination of flavors - slow roasted, sweet pig's head meat was delicious complement to sweet roasted squash.

The mains -- we had the "arista," which was roasted pork shoulder and braised cavolo nero and a white fish stew. The white fish stew was big enough to serve two people and the person who ordered the dish was raving about it. I had the roasted pork shoulder, which was a thick, generous piece of pork shoulder carved off the whole shoulder. Although it was well-seasoned (a little too salty, in fact) with nice hits of rosemary, the meat was a bit dry. I think that's mainly the function of cooking this particular cut in the wood oven -- I can only imagine it's hard to regulate the heat generated by wood. It was tasty nonetheless but a little chewier than I like my pork shoulder.

For dessert, we split the migas bark, which was delicious, but misfired with a coffee crème caramel, which we had hoped would complement the chocolate in the migas bark. First, it was served in an oversized tart shell, for some reason, that did nothing for the dish and made eating it clumsy. Second, although I thought the coffee flavor leaned more toward the bitter side, I had a bigger issue with the texture, which was more than a little too firm and gelatinous for me. I prefer a crème caramel that is creamy and smoother-textured.

The service was excellent this visit.

All told, our feast was reasonably priced, especially with the BYO option. In that respect, Mado is more than the sum of its parts if only for the seasonal, ever-changing menu, BYO and the dishes that are hits. Even if I wished the kitchen had a little bit more finesse in executing their dishes, there clearly is a lot of heart there (figuratively and literally).

BryanZ wrote:Regardless of the reason, I think my point still stands. Again, tongue-in-cheek, stereotypical. That's fine, even intentional, but with a kernel of truthiness.

I don't know why stupid comments like this grate on me but sometimes they do. Apparently the mild flavors of Cantonese and Shandong Chinese cuisines were overlooked - not a lot of "white people" there. As were the relatively spicy concoctions of the "white people food" in Cajun country.

Anyway, back to Mado. My wife and I enjoyed yet another meal there last week even though, for the first time, I felt I ordered wrong. I was talked into the beef heart and although I liked the flavor, I had a hard time with the texture. it was a bit rubbery and obviously served rare, so the combo wasn't my favorite. I chalk it up to my mistake (knowing that beef heart may, in fact, have these qualities) and enjoyed the rest of the meal. My wife had a fish course (halibut maybe) that was really good. Along with another couple, we also ordered a bunch of antipasti - shishito peppers (really addictive), fried egg bruschetta, watermelon/cherry tomato/goat cheese salad, corn chowder, and pig's head salad. All were great. For dessert, we had the chocolate pie and it was a big hit.

Good food wasn't the surprise here, it was the customer service. When asked if I didn't like my beef heart, I replied that I didn't but took full responsibility for ordering it - besides, I've had enough food and wasn't leaving hungry and on top of it, I've had great meals there before. When the check came, the beef heart was voided - something I didn't request nor was it presented as such when our waiter dropped off the check. Nice touch. I now kind of feel like I owe them one - and I like that. Great neighborhood place. Wish them continued success.

tyrus wrote:Good food wasn't the surprise here, it was the customer service. When asked if I didn't like my beef heart, I replied that I didn't but took full responsibility for ordering it - besides, I've had enough food and wasn't leaving hungry and on top of it, I've had great meals there before. When the check came, the beef heart was voided - something I didn't request nor was it presented as such when our waiter dropped off the check. Nice touch. I now kind of feel like I owe them one - and I like that. Great neighborhood place. Wish them continued success.

That really is a nice touch, and a short-term revenue loss that pays big dividends in the long run. More restaurants should take this philospophy. And fewer should serve beef hearts.

Kennyz wrote: More restaurants should take this philospophy. And fewer should serve beef hearts.

I got a laugh out of this (and I actually really liked the beef heart at Mado). But I'm curious if by "fewer" you mean zero instead of one.

While I'm at it, my first thought when I saw that the latest post in this thread was by Kennyz was "He ate at L20 last night and he's already gotten to Mado?!"

Kennyz wrote:That really is a nice touch, and a short-term revenue loss that pays big dividends in the long run. More restaurants should take this philospophy. And fewer should serve beef hearts.

So simple and logical, yet there must be a rub....could it be that restaurants routinely deal with deadbeats that complain just to get comped?

Darren72 wrote: But I'm curious if by "fewer" you mean zero instead of one.

that sounds about right to me

Darren72 wrote:While I'm at it, my first thought when I saw that the latest post in this thread was by Kennyz was "He ate at L20 last night and he's already gotten to Mado?!"

not yet, but I did have a little SHEAM* syndrome last night


*acronym coined by eatchicago: Should Have Eaten At Mado

Last night was my second visit to Mado and it was as great as the first visit.

Highlights of appetizers and mains:

Beets with ras el hanout crème fraiche and pistachios - I'm not sure I ever want to eat roasted beets again, because these raw beets were amazing, particularly when served with this Middle Eastern/African spice mix.

Farm egg bruschetta - little more needs to be added to all of the commentary above.

Pork rinds with a spicy green dipping sauce which I believe also contained harissa.

House made garlic sausages served in a skillet - this was served with roasted potatoes and house made sauerkraut, all of it in a thin but fantastic juice in which I believe I tasted some of the Mado grain mustard and caraway. If you're looking for a true Octoberfest, it does not get better than this . . . my favorite dish of the night along with the beets. At our table, we wondered how much garlic flavor there would be - in reality, you can eat this sausage without any fear of lingering garlic breath (which may please or disappoint you depending on your mood), and the flavor and texture of the sausage was outstanding.

Chicken with Chinese broccoli - The flavor of this brined chicken was perfect. I would have also liked a crispy skin, but when chicken is so moist and tastes great, crispy skin amazingly becomes an afterthought.

I had a small taste of the trout with a corn succotash and thought it too was excellent; I liked but didn't love the penne with ragu blanc (which included tasty chicken liver). Many of the shishito peppers were oversalted, but the ones which were not were excellent.

Desserts: Desserts at Mado must not be missed as they are some of the very best in the city. Highlights last night included at least two of the desserts pictured by Ronnie above - the chocolate cream pie (wonderful deep, dark chocolate flavor) and the peach, plum and pistachio crisp (loved it). There was also a wonderful pear streusel tart and an amazing coffee flan inside a buckwheat pastry crust with pistatchios. The flan was so silky smooth and delivered amazing coffee flavor, and the crust was as good as pastry crust gets. The migas bark and shortbread were their usual wonderful selves.

I'm almost at a loss to say how much I like (or love) Mado, but the one thing I can say is that I will be making many, many more visits with many, many more bottles of wine.

I’ve been feeling rather under the weather these days, so my mom is visiting to help me out at home. Feeling particularly crummy and whiny today, I said, “Mom, I feel like I’m dying.” Her prompt response: “Let’s have dinner at Mado.” And so there we were just after 5pm this evening—me and Mama happy_stomach at one table and at the one other occupied table a certain Chicago celebrity chef. I whispered to my mom to take a gander. Her typically irreverent response, not for a moment lifting her eyes from the menu: “I don’t care who he is. They don’t have porchetta tonight?!”

Fortunately, the stellar meal that followed made her forget for one evening porchetta.

Roasted Baby Carrots with Ricotta and Cumin



This dish would really benefit from a competent photographer because it was gorgeous, the deep colors of the carrots against the pillowy ricotta. The carrots were perfectly roasted—just enough bite—though overall I think this dish fell flat. Granted, my taste buds are somewhat off these days, but I couldn’t detect the cumin. I found myself drizzling the honey that had come with my tea* on the carrots and cheese and was pleased with the result.

We then had the pig head salad with spicy greens and agro-dolce delicata squash (unfortunately, couldn’t salvage a picture of this). I was a big fan of the pig head with nectarines, but I think I may prefer the new preparation. The squash was the perfect support for the pork. I only wish this salad—and I felt the same about the nectarine version—was a little less wet because I feel like some of the texture of the greens is lost in the dressing/pig juice.

Sous Chef Chris also sent out an order of Shishito peppers, which I love. I was especially happy for the saltiness tonight given the sweetness of the honey I had drizzled on the carrots and of the squash.

Garlic Sausages with Sauerkraut, Potatoes and Mustard



BR’s description of this dish is right-on—it’s very well-rounded and satisfying. I was hoping for pretty assertive garlic but ended up being quite content with the clearly-garlic-but-not-garlicky-enough-to-give-you-garlic-breath-ness of the sausage. I wish I were better at describing sausage texture, but the garlic sausage tonight made me realize that the texture of most sausage I eat, in comparison, just isn't right. I also loved the tang and thick cut of the sauerkraut here. Again, I wish this dish were a little less wet, but I guess that quality was just my hang-up tonight.

Whitefish and Smoked Ham Hoc Stew with Chick Peas, Greens and Tomato Conserva Crostone



Perhaps the least visually-appealing dish of our meal (I bet ronnie_suburban could make it look good), this stew wowed both me and Mama happy_stomach. I’m not usually one for fish stews, but smoked ham hocs are one of my mom’s favorite foods, and she picked this dish from the menu right away. Thank goodness. I would eat much more fish if it came in such a beautiful, porky broth. Everything played against each other so wonderfully—the ratio of fish to pork, the secondary role of the greens and chickpeas. Wow. Mom said she’s going to try and recreate this dish for me at home. After all, who needs chicken soup?

Coffee Crème Caramel with Buckwheat Crust, Hazelnuts and Caramelized Cocoa Nibs



My appetite was kind of wimpy tonight, so we shared just one dessert. This was just one of two desserts on the menu that I hadn’t had before. The other was an apple crisp. Since I got a little overzealous at the start of apple season this year and have mild apple burn-out, I opted for the crème caramel even though I’m not a flan or a coffee person. Actually, I probably would have skipped dessert altogether, but I’ve been interested in experimenting with buckwheat desserts at home, and I was curious to see what Allie had done.

The odd construction of this dessert—with the flan kind of floating in the crust…I’d never seen flan with crust—made me somewhat skeptical, but I ended up loving it. It wasn't awkward to eat at all. I liked the roasted/toasted/smoky layers of coffee, cocoa nibs and hazelnuts, which the flavor of the buckwheat complimented surprisingly well. I was also happy with the smooth texture of the flan.

Overall, a solid, heart- and belly-warming meal…

*Yet another reason Mado is my great neighborhood restaurant: Given how I’ve been feeling lately, it’s becoming a Herculean effort to get out of the house. I walked into Mado tonight looking and sounding (and feeling) like death and, before anything else, Danielle set me up with a pot of tea and honey. I felt better even before we had looked at our menus and knew the effort it took to get to Mado would be entirely worth it.