Top 10 Chicago Restaurant Dishes of 2009

I ate at more high-end places than usual this year (Vie, Blackbird, Graham Elliott, L2O, Nomi, Signature Room, Schwa), yet my list still gravitates toward more humble places. That should give me a lesson about where to spend my money next year.

10. Kash Ke Bademjan at Noon o Kabob
9. Canele at L2O
8. Seol Lung Tang (bone marrow soup) at Korean Seoul Food
7. Stuffed zucchini blossoms at Anteprima
6. Udon at Urbanbelly
5. Chicken hearts at The Bristol
4. Fried quail at Sticky Rice
3. Genoa salami at Mado
2. Cod with peppers and leeks at Chaise Lounge
1. Tortillas at La Casa de Samuel

Nice list Kenny, Here is mine if you dont mind me adding them to your thread. I ate pretty darn good this year, here are my favorites:

10) Wonton & Chicken Casserole - Chinese Kitchen
9) Bongzilla - Kuma's
8 #108 (Pork chop, sausage, lobster, rice, fried egg) - Tank Noodle
7) Shrimp Crepe - Shui Wah
6) Cemita Atomica - Taqueria Peubla
5) Dungeness Crab in Preserved Egg Yolk - Double Li
4) Gumbo - Cajun Connection
3) Stone Crab Bisque - Joes Stone Crab
2) 3/21 Crawfish Boil - Toon's
1) Alligator Sausage - Hot Doug's


Great Year, great food, tough to list a top 10(more like 1a-j).

jimswside wrote:Nice list Kenny, Here is mine if you dont mind me adding them to your thread.

absolutely, and I should have made my intent clearer - I definitely hope others add their own lists to the thread. I always enjoy reading them, and appreciate the reminders about dishes I should seek out in 2010.

Great thread. I'm guessing you mean our most memorable dishes, not necessarily ones that were new to us in 2009.

For me, in no particular order . . .

Twice cooked pork, Spring World
Lamb Bolognese, Vie
Crispy on choy, TAC Quick
Pork heart, Mado
Pork rinds, Publican
Age Dashi Tofu, Tampopo
Birrieria, Birrieria Zaragoza
Shwarama and double hummus, Salam
Pickled tongue crostini, the Bristol
Sausage pizza with egg, Vito & Nick's

Ronna

REB wrote:Great thread. I'm guessing you mean our most memorable dishes, not necessarily ones that were new to us in 2009. ...

Good question. Most memorable, or new to you in 2009. Either is fine. The only "rules" I hope are followed are (1) restaurant dishes, not home cooked; and, (2) Chicagoland, not out of town places

A hastily composed list:

10) Branzino with Citrus Aioli - Picollo Sogno
9) Fried Egg - Jam
8) Poutine with Elk Ragout - The Gage
7) Homemade Nutter Butters with Chocolate Sabayon - The Bristol
6) Kumamoto Oysters - The Publican
5) Crab in Foie Gras Emulsion - L2O
4) Tacos al Pastor - El Asadero
3) Warm Frisée Salad with Basted Egg and Rabbit Confit - Tallulah
2) Mushroom Bisque - Takashi
1) Boudin Noir - The Publican

I've only lived in Chicago for a couple years now and really only started eating out regularly this year, so I tried probably 50 great dishes for the first time this year. Nonetheless here's a list of 10 that stuck out for me.

Braised Beef Shortribs - Sweets and Savories
Sweetbreads - Publican
Sausage Pizza - Q's (who wasn't eating sausage pizza in October?)
Szechuan Noodles - Katy's Dumpling House
Special Rava Masala Dosa - Udupi Palace
Cheese and Egg Pide - Turquoise
Sizzling Crepe - Tank Noodle
Duck Sausage with Foie Gras and Truffle Mayo - Hot Doug's
Duck Confit Mac and Cheese - Cooper's
Pumpkin Malt - Scooter's Frozen Custard

REB wrote:Shwarama and double hummus, Salam

Before the makeover?

-Dan

dansch wrote:

REB wrote:Shwarama and double hummus, Salam

Before the makeover?

-Dan

Well, certainly before the makeover. And, certainly NOT on re-opening day. But, this last visit, a week or so ago, was nearly as good as ever. Now, the falafel - - well that's another story that hopefully RAB will share.

Ronna

Yeah that's the dish I enjoyed most at Salam. I'd never been pre-renovation, so I think that means it's still good.

Wow, I remember the 2008 edition of this thread as one of my earliest posts on this forum. What an eating year its been.

Snapper and urchin crudo (The Publican)
Goose with quince (The Publican)
Bone marrow beignets (Sepia)
Klug Farm Blackberries and mascarpone cream (Nightwood)
Cheeseburger (Birchwood Kitchen)
Turducken sausage (from Paulina Market)
Chicken liver pate (Rootstock)
Lemongrass tofu bahn mi (Nhu Lan Bakery)
Italian Sub (Bari)
Pain Perdu (Tiny Lounge)
Grease-soaked white bread (Harold's Chicken Shack #36)

I added a token 11th selection, because the two Publican dishes were the same night.
Also I'd have to contribute a freshly-filled cannoli (Modern Pastry, Cambridge MA) and a bunch of raw oysters (Neptune Oyster, Boston MA) if we were talking nationwide or global eats here.

Personally, I think its more fun to do a overall best things I ate all year including home cooking and out of town venturing. I didn't eat out nearly as much this year as year's past, so many of the best things were prepared at home. Funny I picked two burgers this year, as a self professed "not a burger guy", but it certainly was a noticeable trend this year. So, without further ado...

1. Raw Beef Salad- Tank Noodle
2. Sausage/Mushroom Pizza- Coalfire
3. Pork Belly Tacos- Big Star
4. Homestyle Baby Octopus- Double Li
5. Cheeseburger- That's a Burger
6. Double Griddled Cheeseburger- Edzo's
7. Rolled Pig's Head- Mado
8. Age Dashi Tofu- Tampopo
9. Uchepos Gratinados- Mixteco Grill
10. Chicken Wings- Super Sub (1048 N. Ashland)

I'll add a "rule" for at least my own list: ten different restaurants must be listed. Otherwise my list might consist of ten different dishes at Alinea. Actually, there were several restaurants where I simply must mention more than one dish. But this way I get to call out ten different restaurants!

1. Every dish I had in my dinner at Alinea, Chicago/Lincoln Park
2. (two dishes, same dinner) (a) Sauteed Foie Gras Over Foie Gras and Mushroom Strudel (b) Braised Beef Short Rib - Michael, Winnetka
3. (two dishes, separate dinners) (a) Saffron Fish Veloute (b) Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake - Cafe des Architectes, Chicago/Mag Mile
4. Steamed Mussels Slathered with Chunks of Bacon and Strips of Poblanos - Mundial Cocina Mestiza, Chicago/Pilsen
5. (two dishes, same dinner) (a) Sweet Chili Calamari (b) Red Wine and Mustard Short Ribs - Cooper's Hawk, Wheeling
6. Tom Kha Gai - Thai Sookdee, Evanston
7. Costillas (braised short ribs with a hibiscus flower glaze) - Mexique, Chicago/West Town
8. Oatmeal Creme Brulee - David Burke's Primehouse, Chicago/River North (part of their "American dim sum brunch")
9. Apple Pancake - Walker Brothers, Wilmette (This would make my list every year for the past couple of decades.)
10. Pretzel Pancakes with White Chocolate Sauce - Bongo Room, Chicago/South Loop

I also had two meals which were otherwise unremarkable, but which each included one memorable complimentary accompaniment:

a. Canele - L2O, Chicago/Lincoln Park
b. Flatbread - Sam and Harry's, Schaumburg

As you can see, I've obeyed Kenny's dictum of local restaurants only. But I loved my dinner in Grand Rapids at six one six, where the smoked duck flatbread would have easily made my list if it were in Chicago.

I'm surprised I'm the only one (so far) who has more than one sweet dish on my list. But that's the way I roll (out of the restaurants)!

Well, I don't have to decide in town or out, because my few trips out of town this year were unimpressive foodwise (Wyoming has other virtues). I do stick (mostly) to a new-this-year rule, because crispy en choy at TAC would just crowd everything else off every year. And I tried to be specific about individual dishes... but kind of just went for places that overwhelmed me with goodness by the end.

10. Grilled sable liver at Taxim, with a nod to its melitzanosalata, duck gyros, some dish or other with lentils and Greek yogurt, etc. I've always liked the comfiness of Turkish food, which is really a closer description for what this Greek restaurant serves than anything that suggests the party food of Greektown. Others have my same level of enthusiasm (e.g., Mike Sula) while many, including a lot of LTHers, seemed underwhelmed by the relatively restrained approach of Chef David Schneider. I might agree that Taxim still lands slightly more on the potential than the achievement side as yet, but still, I liked the best of what I ate there an awful lot.



9. Cucumber cocktail at Graham Elliot. Though I had some very good dishes on two visits to Graham Elliot, the best thing I had there was a terrific summer cocktail from mixologist Lynn House, using her housemade cucumber soda, vodka and a little egg froth on top. It's called Almost Paradise, and it's too modestly titled.

8. Fried bologna at Taste of Melrose Park. Okay, this one was a total package deal from a pretty magical night, but really, it's surprising how good that fried bologna was. With a nod to Pierogi Fest in Whiting, for also helping redeem my faith in street fests.



7. Steak tacos at Las Asadas and Tacos el Jaliciense, and pastor at Tierra Caliente: Two of these are sort of ringers, since I ate at the old Las Asadas on Western and elsewhere before they opened a new one on Western, and Tierra Caliente is the former, and widely praised, Carniceria Leon on Ashland north of Division.  So I'd been to both in previous incarnations, but both hit new peaks— I ate at both the old and the new Las Asadas within a short time, and the latter blew the former away for sheer juicy beeferifficness.  And maybe I just timed Tierra Caliente perfectly one Saturday afternoon, but it was pretty much the pastor poster child that day, crispy and tart.  As for Jaliciense, that's a nice little stand on a triangle of land near Grand and California that also can turn out a heck of a nice steak taco.  

6. Edzo's. Oh yeah, baby:


5. Black-eyed pea cassoulet at Chaise Lounge. Cary Taylor and this glitzy-rowdy Wicker Park spot were in my sustainable fish video, and seafood is the focus there, but I have to say, as terrific as some other things were— lobster pot pie, scallops in beet schmear, an unexpectedly good almond cake at dessert— it was this amazing blend of Franco-Southern comfort food that I could just curl up with right now. If there's a relatively undiscovered front-rank chef in town, Cary has quickly become it.

4. Hoosier Mama. Too many contenders for the best thing I had from there— could it be the savory pork, apple and sage pie, the best bang for your pork buck in town at $4 a slice? The Southern-sweet simplicity of discoveries like Hoosier Sugar Cream pie or oatmeal pie? Apple quince, cranberry chess (okay, not as wild about that one, but it looks nice below), maple pecan? Luckily, one doesn't have to choose— even if Hoosier Mama is pricier than supermarket pie, it's still luxury on a budget compared to ordering dessert out, and a much surer bet.



3. Mado. What do I look back and think of first from several meals at Mado?  Rabbit agnolotti, I guess— because they've completely turned me around on their spare approach to pasta (partly, I hasten to add, because they're better at it now).  But austerity has rarely had so much flavor as when Mado tosses housemade pasta with the bare minimum of stuff.  Unless, of course, it's when Mado simply dresses a few vegetables, or simply roasts a fish in their woodburning oven, or simply does any number of things so perfectly.

2. My country ham, tied with green label organic prosciutto and speck from La Quercia. Read all about the former here; as for the latter, I've never even gotten to try the creme de la ham at La Quercia, the acorn-fed Berkshire, but noshing on a variety of hams at the Eckhouse's home during the shoot for Sky Full of Bacon #10, the green label organic clearly seemed a level or two above their already excellent product, and as good as anything I ate in Spain (not that it's the same style, exactly, but close enough). Meanwhile, the hint of smoke applied to the speck, light as it is, lifts this German style into its own special dimension.



1. Vie. As I wrote then: "As much as I admire what’s happening at the very high end, my soul likes a little funk in the mix, and I find the precious arrangement of things into little cubes to get sterile sometimes, however exquisite it may be. For me, then, in my experience there’s no Chicago restaurant at work right now better than the meal I had last Saturday night, for its dedication to getting the best, richest, most purely satisfying flavor out of the best ingredients. And if you can think of other things a restaurant should be doing first, well, we just have different priorities, I guess."

Most memorial dishes of 2009:

1. Truffle explosion - Alinea
2. Foie gras duck hot dog - Hot Dougs
3. Chicken boti - Khan BBQ
4. Dipping dogs dipped in curry ketchup - Wiener and Still Champion
5. Chorizo stuffed dates - Avec
6. 75 day aged ribeye - David Burke
7. Bacon ice cream - Sweet and Savories
8. Ginger and scallion stir fried lobster - Silver Seafood
9. Blackberry blisscakes - M.Henry
10. Cuban cigar - Moto

birrieria at Zaragoza (first meal out in 2009 and still the standard-bearer)
study in pea soup at Avenues
prosciutto, grapefruit, onion, and gin at Avec
spring pea sformato at Publican
raw beef salad at Tank
yook Hwe at Hae Woon Dae
mariscos nayarit at El Veneno
baba equivalent at Taxim
fried smelt at Hoanh Long

Oh, dessert: candied sweetbreads at Schwa.

1. Papaya salad with salted crab at TAC.
2. Masgouf at George's Kebab.
3. Chicken Biryani at Bismillah.
4. Foie dog at Doug's.
5. Burger at Vie.
6. Quail egg torteloni at Schwa.
7. Noodle soup with duck at Sun Wah.
8. Nehari at Sabri.
9. Fried snapper with onion salad and shitto, side of kenke, Palace
Gate.
10. Honey 1. Tip and Link.

Not sure if I could put these in order, but...

Birria from Zaragoza
Lamb and Ebi Tartare from L2O
Blood sausage, egg, and corn bread from Mado
Beijing duck from Sun Wah
Steak tartare from Graham Elliot
Duck sausage with foie gras from Hot Doug's
Sausage and egg pizza from Vito & Nick's
The "Thai" dish from Alinea
Hamachi and bacon from The Wandering Goat
Chicharron and carne asada tacos from La Rosita

Thanks Kenny for starting this list.

These are 10 places, but more than 10 items:

Corn Soup- Perennial
Sweet Potato Bisque- Sweets & Savories
Meyer Lemon cake w/ lemon thyme ice cream- Lula
Hash brown ball, blueberry scone, white peach gelato- Nightwood
Apple fritter- Old Fashioned Donuts
House Chili Soy Gluten- Yummy Yummy
Mushroom Tofu Ramen- Takashi Noodles at Macy's
Croissant Sandwich Platter- Tweet Let's Eat
Pickled beets- Mado
Mushroom Pizza- Marie's

Some of the best things I had were home made, out of Chicagoland, or not from a restaurant.

Chicagoland non-restaurants & these aren't in order either:

Watermelon- Baylor's Melon stand
Oil-cured olives- J.P. Graziano's
Chocolate chip w/ pignoli & chili cookies- David Hammond & Carolyn from 2009 LTH forum's Picnic
Saturn/Donut peaches- Seedling at Green City Market
Sungold Tomatoes- Tomato Mountain at Green City Market

big winners seem to be publican and the duck sausage at hot doug's

considering all the buzz, i thought a couple people would pick great lake

I picked it last year.

None of us could get in this year.

Great lists, guys, and great idea to start a thread, Kenny.....Mine are the following

1. Tamales with either green sauce or red sauce (or both!) - La Cebollita
2. Sand dab and sweetbreads with artichokes and corn (The Publican/New Holland Sunday beer dinner)
3. Thai congee with "secret menu items" pickled radish with omelette, and chinese sausage in fish sauce with dry chilis - Mee Dee Cafe
4. Taco al Pastor and Pork Belly Taco - Big Star
5. Chicken-fried foie gras - graham elliot
6. Little gem salad with crispy pork ears - The Publican
7. "Boat noodles" with beef brisket, beef balls, pork skin, and vegetables - TAC Quik
8. Bone marrow beignets - Sepia
9. Pork belly and fried egg sandwich with mornay sauce - The Bristol (brunch)
10. Duck cassoulet side dish - Balsan

10. Marc Burger, fries, and vanilla custard shake -- Marc Burger
9. Wood-grilled salmon with roasted vegetables, Mixteco Grill
8. Shrimp dumpling and noodle soup -- Wonton Gourmet
7. Bari -- nuff said
6. Salt and pepper smelt -- Ken Kee
5. Ahodaga and hot chocolate -- Xoco
4. Seared scallop with white truffle -- Spiaggia
3. Charcoal grilled hamachi collar -- Renga Tei
2. Roast duck with panfried noodles and peapod shoots -- Sun Wah
1. Grilled lamb chops, sauteed spinach, and roasted potatoes -- Hole in the Wall

In no particular order with only one dish per restaurant represented :

1.) Waffle with Pickled Rhubarb from the Publican
2.) Pork Apple Sage Pie from Hoosier Mama Pie Co.
3.) Old Fries from Edzo's
4.) Atun de Mole Negro from Topolobompo
5.) Beef Salad from Pho 777
6.) Deitzler Beef Duo from Vie
7.) Bistecca Fiorentina from Mado
8.) Birria from Birrieria Zaragosa
9.) Kimchi, Pork Belly Rice Cake Ramen at Urban Belly
10.) Confit Chicken Thigh from Kith and Kin

Perhaps I will get to compose my top ten list (birria at Zaragoza seems the collective favorite: the LTH dish of the year - bravo!)

For now, I want to add dish: Liquid Cauliflower Ravioli with Squid Ink Pasta at Quince (Chef Andy Motto), a dish that has all of the lush and decadent pleasure of Thomas Keller's (French Laundry, Per Se) Oysters and Pearls and Michael Carlson's (schwa) Quail Egg Ravioli). Liquid Cauliflower Ravioli is an amazing dish. (A photo is on the Quince website: http://www.quincerestaurant.net

Runner-up is L20 (Chef Laurent Gras) Foie Gras Cotton Candy: an amazing mix of texture and taste. I'm not a fan of every dish at the restaurant, but I should sure like Gras to open a stand at Six Flags! This is eye candy and tongue candy.

I had a difficult time coming up with my top 10 . . . top 20 would be easier, but here it goes in no particular order:

1. Wood roasted, salt encrusted whole branzino at Piccolo Sogno - as perfect as fish gets

2. Salmon belly w/ caper berry and apple milk at Avenues

3. Peas, cantaloupe and lavender at Avenues

4. Foie gras with cotton candy at L20

5. Peanut mole at Frontera Grill

6. Foie gras on brioche with truffle and celery root - NoMi (at Food & Wine event)

7. Pork Sausage w/ truffle-buttermilk foam - Tru (Green City Market event)

8. Cornmeal cake w/ goat cheese, apricot jam and candied almonds at Mado

9. Roast chicken w/ Israeli couscous at Chaise Lounge

10. Beets w/ ras el hanout creme fraiche and pistachios at Mado

As an additional note, here are some of the top items I tasted outside of Chicago this past year:

* Crawfish pie at Cochon in New Orleans

* Shrimp and grits in redeye andouille gravy at Dante's Kitchen in New Orleans - my new standard for shrimp and grits

* Croissant from Il Sogno on El Paseo Drive in Palm Desert, California - the perfect croissant, one I still seek to find in Chicago.

* Creole bread pudding from Commander's Palace in New Orleans

* Macarons from Sucre in New Orleans - the ideal French Macaron

BR wrote:3. Peas, cantaloupe and lavender at Avenues

Glad to see that someone else loved this dish: I thought it was the most genius thing I ate all year.

I had a few very good dishes in Chicago this year but to be honest nothing really got me in a state of shock, awe, or extreme gustatory orgasm.
Nevertheless here are 10 of them that I may remember because they were really tasty:

Duck pappardelle with duck ragu and Parmigiano at SEPIA

Ten hours braised BBq'd lamb at PROVINCE

Potato Puree finished with olive oil at PERENNIAL

Leek gnocchi at ONE SIXTY BLUE

Rabbit tagliatelle at AIGRE DOUX (alas closed now)

Lamb sausage pizza at UNION in Evanston

Braised short ribs at CIBO MATTO (their Italian cheese selection is also really good)

Roasted halibut with avocado and lobster in a lavender and honey jus at LOCKWOOD (the foie gras is also impressive)

Quails and crab cakes (not together) at CUSTOM HOUSE

Roasted smoked pork loin sandwich with avocado, Gruyere, and spicy mayonnaise at KIKI's BISTRO

"Bonne année gastronomique" to all of you...

In no particular order . . . (apologies for not keeping the list to 10)


Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella, Mona Cheese & Fresh Herb Pizza
Great Lake
The best pizza I've ever eaten in Chicago. Period.



Breakfast Braciole
The Bristol (via BaconFest)
If I ate this for breakfast everyday, which I could easily do, I'd have been dead 3 years ago.



'The Mat' dessert
Alinea
A delicious, interactive dessert, which delighted my tastebuds and also connected with my other 4 senses almost as much.



Omakase
Katsu
I can't break this meal into individual dishes but as an overall experience, it resonates strongly.



White Truffle Risotto
Prairie Grass Cafe
Quite possibly the best white truffle dish I've ever eaten and easily the best one in 2009.



Old Fashioned
Bar DeVille
The cocktail that changed my life in so many ways. I love them so much, I made 125+ of them at the LTH picnic in September, which is where the picture was taken.



Fiori di Zucca al Drago
Gaetano's
This stuffed zucchini blossom made me feel like I'd never even had one before.



Pan-Fried Blood Pudding, Duck Eggs & Toasted Cornbread
Mado
Perfectly conceived and executed decadance on a plate.



Lan Dac Biet Banh Mi
Nhu Lan Bakery
So much more than the sum of its parts, referring to this sandwich as merely a sandwich is practically insulting.



75-Day-Aged Bone-In Ribeye
David Burke's Primehouse
The best steak I've ever eaten in a restaurant.



Pheasant Scotch Egg
Vie Restaurant
Part of Vie's menu on Iron Chef America and a truly inspired one, at that.



Marrow with Crostini and Himalayan salt
Vie Restaurant
Simple, decadant and essentially unsurpassable.



Nathan's Charcuterie Plate - July 28
Vie Restaurant
Nathan Sears' Mortadella, Country Pate and Coppa with house-made accoutrements of local baby mustard green salad, pickled local beets, fermented plum jam, red wine vinaigrette and house-baked bread. In a word . . . Yowza!



Birria
Birrieria Zaragoza
A life-changing dish in which nearly every single component took me to new territory.



Frites with George's Organic Eggs
The Publican
I had this dish in May and it blew me away but I could have easily chosen any one of a half-dozen other dishes from The Publican, as well.



Fried Zucchini with Skordalia
Avli Estiatorio
Extraordinarily crunchy zucchini chips flanked by skordalia that was as good as any I'd ever had.



Rabbit Loin with 'Charcoal,' Morels & Nasturtium
Avenues
An inspired combination of ultra-juicy rabbit and explosively tasty morels.



Sugar Cream Pie
Hoosier Mama Pie Company
So perfect, it's hard to describe in words.

=R=