Yum.

Today's brunch menu.

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I visited Nightwood last night with a few friends. The general consensus was that we enjoyed our evening, especially the service and atmosphere at Nightwood, but we thought the food was only average. Our dinner last night would have been my least favorite meal at Lula. Let me first glow about the service. Our waitress, and the whole staff, was really excellent. Service was the best part of the meal.

As for the food, it started off on a strong note. Loved the buttery biscuits with sweet butter, and we also decided to share a plate of fries and those were really great . . . one of the better plates of skin-on fries you can order. I think I detected a dose of pepper in the seasoning and dug that.

Appetizers - Mutton tortellini was just ok. The filling and sauce were really nice, but the pasta dough seemed tough and overworked. Split pea soup with ham hock was ok, but just not that flavorful. Much better was the spinach salad with roasted turnips, but the best starter was the creamy polenta with greens - this dish was fantastic.

Mains - Unfortunately, the spit roasted chicken was a little dry and under-seasoned. Otherwise, it featured a nice wood roasted flavor. I'm one of those who thinks the fat on the pork chop was just too much (other posts here obviously enjoyed it more than I did). However, this might be because although the meat on the chop was a perfect medium to medium rare, there was very little char and so the fat was not the least bit crisp and was even lukewarm. I found it really unappealing, although the meat itself was great and the black beans served with the dish were outstanding. Since I like pork fat in some respects, I suspect I might have enjoyed this more with a char and some crispness. The tagliatelle with pork meatballs featured really nice al dente pasta, but a seasoning in the dish (one I couldn't place) was overdone and took away from the enjoyment of the dish. The whitefish (I can't remember the accompaniments) was outstanding however and was my favorite of the entrees.

We found the desserts to be pretty lackluster. The butterscotch pudding tart with pear featured a wonderful pastry crust, but the butterscotch pudding filling was lacking in flavor. The blueberry turnover featured a great filling, but a really soggy mess of a dough. Chocolate-orange gelato was ok, but the orange addition was a bit too bitter and the apple sorbet was pretty good, but could have had a slightly more assertive apple flavor.

BR wrote:Mains - Unfortunately, the spit roasted chicken was a little dry and under-seasoned. Otherwise, it featured a nice wood roasted flavor.

Looks like there's some serious variability at play here. I was there last night as well and really enjoyed our meal, with the chicken being the standout dish. Mine was perfectly cooked and exceptionally seasoned. One of the best chicken dishes I've had in a restaurant in a long time. Looks like the kitchen has some kinks to work out if yours was dry.

I'd agree on the pork chop. One of the diners at our table had it and the cut away fat littering his plate was pretty gratuitous. I liked the tagliatelle and thought the meatballs were outstanding, although I can relate to that overwhelming spice profile, which did carry an odd hue. The smoked trout and beet appetizer was terrific as well.

I'll be back.

After dining here on Friday with a large group of friends, I can safely say that Nightwood is my new favorite restaurant in the city. The service, decor, food....everything was absolutely top notch.

We called last minute for a table of 16(!), and they were more than happy to accomodate us in their wine room in the basement, which consisted of two large wooden tables that sat 8 people each.

When we were seated, we were asked a few very considerate questions, including how the temperature was in the room. With so much hype behind this restaurant, it was nice to see that they were still humble and considerate enough to make sure that everything was just right for our group, even though it was pretty obvious we were going to be ordering more $2 PBRs than $90 bottles of wine.

For appetizers, we ordered the lobster and mozzarella ravioli, which was refreshingly al-dente, and loaded with rich, subtle flavors. Just looking at the pasta it was incredibly obvious that it was hand made at the restaurant, and every bit as good as the pastas I've had at Terragusto.

For entrees, I split the duck and chicken with my friend. The chicken was very, very good, but the duck was absolutely outstanding. Perfectly cooked, and juicy as all hell, it was one the best, simple preparations of duck I've ever had.

We ended up ordering just about every desert on the menu, and all were equally outstanding excluding the sorbets, which were just plain boring compared to everything else. I would highly recommend the butterscotch tart and warm house made cookies if they are available.

At no point over the course of our 3+ hour meal did we feel rushed to leave, even as the entire restaurant started to clear out around 11.

I came away from Nightwood thinking to myself "Why can't more restaurants do this?"

Yes, there was a lot of emphasis on the ingredients and where they came from, but they actually knew how use them to their advantage. I wish I could say the same of other restaurants that get by solely on their reputation for local and sustainable ingredients (*cough*, Mado).

Whether you're going out with a large group of friends, eating by yourself at the counter, going on a date, or going out with the rents....I really can't think of a place in Chicago that can do it all better than Nightwood.

We had a terrific meal at Nightwood last night. We had a 6:30 reservation but we showed up a little early b/c we were hanging out in Pilsen during the afternoon. They were happy to seat us right away. Service was very attentive, if a little understated. The biscuits were terrific (we asked for them to make sure we got them and our server replied 'of course' as if we would have gotten them regardless). I actually liked the butter at least as much as the biscuits. We shared three appetizers, a main and two desserts. I had a very nice Austrian Riesling and an Australian grenache/shiraz--both of which I really enjoyed. We started with the burrata with roasted red peppers, preserved lemons and sardines. This dish was solid but the other appetizers were really stellar so I think it suffered in comparison. The veal ragu ravioli were rich and complex and perfectly dressed with some type of reduction (?red wine--can't remember). The gnocchi with bacon were as good as any I have had. Not gummy, not too fluffy--just a perfect texture and pan fried at the end giving them a nice crusty exterior. The bacon was really porky and smokey--just delightful. I would have been happy with a giant bowl of these and a big spoon and nothing else.
Our main was the spit roasted pork loin with cilantro and black beans

BryanZ wrote:All of these dishes were solid, tasty, satisfying, but the only one that I was really obsessed with was the pork. I'm willing to concede that the trout was perhaps the better dish--very nicely seasoned, great hint of acid, unassuming but delicious braised green cabbage--but the pork resonated with me. The cut served is what, on a cow, would be called the standing rib roast. The deckle/cap was fully intact and I totally dug this. For the vast majority of the dining public this cap would be much, much too fatty. We're not talking marbling here, more large pockets of fat. I ate it up. Literally. I love pork fat, this was delicious.

O.k., so I really like the occasional piece of pork belly. But this was a little too much fat for me--to eat. However, I really appreciated this cut of meat. I think this is an example of a dish where a really outstanding quality piece of pork makes the dish. I was glad they cooked the pork with all the fat intact because it really added flavor to the meat. That being said, while we ate a fair amount of fat, we also left some big chunks of fat on the plate. That's not a negative--it was a Flintstonian piece. I would order this again in a heartbeat. This was a close second to the gnocchi for me.
We weren't that wowed by desserts--the cookies (date walnut, butterscotch biscotti--the best one, peach, chocolate chip) and the ice cream (pistachio, vanilla bean) which were a tad icy. We were really sad that they didn't have some variation of the donuts described by jesteinf (especially since last fall's pumpkin donuts from Lula cafe were one of my all-time favorite desserts).

Finally dragged my once- southside a$$ down Halsted to Nightwood. Overall a great evening. Wonderful room from the modern (and comfy) furniture to the panoramic windows looking out onto a hopping Halsted to the awesome exposed kitchen, and even the 80's Victoriana chic of the men's room. Top notch service as expressed above. Cocktails very good- one of the better Manhattans in town. However, in step with my years of sometimes frustrating dining at Lula, the food was hit or miss. The grilled sardine and mizuna appetizer was heavy on the mizuna (which was not picked through and cleaned well enough- probably my biggest strike against the entire meal) and light on the good quality, but in my estimation, canned sardines. It was dressed sparingly and I was reaching for the salt shaker. We ate a grilled seafood salad at Publican a few weeks ago that was absolutely transcendent, that sucker had four whole grilled sardines in addition to divine mussels and octopus. Last night's salad was nowhere near that previous high water mark. The canneloni with rabbit and gorgonzola was pretty good- a contemporary take on an old school dish I haven't ate probably since my grandma was still around. The rabbit was somewhat overtaken by the cheese, but overall a flavorful and satisfying dish. The real standout of the apps. was the olive-oil poached duck egg with polenta and bread. I could eat that for breakfast everyday- that was a "meta-egg" if I've ever had one. Breakfast was on mind somewhat when I ordered my main- the best dish I'd ever eaten at Lula ways back was a brunch dish of grits, tasso gravy, and grilled trout. Last night's trout entree was a tweaked version of the same dish with hominy and thick cut bacon standing in. The hominy was cooked al dente, which I quite liked, since it is so often kind of goobery. However, it was suspended in a thick buttery gravy that was way too heavily salted, especially bites with the intensely salty bacon. In ways it didn't matter, since before me was a perfect whole fish, which once butterflied open, occupied the entire plate, hiding the salty mess below. Cooked barely done, one of the finest pieces of fish I've ever had. The salsa verde adding nice bright herbal notes. I ate the tail, the skin, and even the creamy eyes! Dining companion's pasta with sausage and swiss chard was pretty good. Eggy and al dente pasta was nice. The sauce was one dimensional- crumbled sausage leached of flavor cooked into sauce, tomatoes weirdly not rich and reduced. Always love the presence of greens though. Desert was pretty awesome- caramel bread pudding, uncharacteristically light and moist with complimenting crunch of toffee-like caramel bark. Like I said, our experience was more than a sum of its parts, but like Lula, this cuisine features really high quality ingredients, which can be prepared in a welcomed unfussy way, yet the seasoning is wildly unpredictable from bland to unacceptably salty.

Nightwood sends out their Sunday brunch menu every Saturday, and I must say I am saddened any time the duck confit poutine is not included. My namesake dish is popping up all over Chicago, but NIghtwood's rendition is truly excellent, probably the finest I've had outside of Canada. Its probably a good thing for me that it isn't available regularly, especially in my neighborhood, or I would find it tough to resist having 2 or 3 a week, like I used to back in Montreal...

Dinner tonight at the bar, easy squeezy.

I frickin' forgot to take a pic of the whipped Prairie Fruit Farm goat cheese appetizer, served with strawberry rhubarb preserves and toasted baguette. (I saw their tweet of this special, which drew me in like a moth to a flame)

Regardless, it was delicious. Light and yummy, fresh and bright.


Main course: pan-roasted duck breast with black beans, creme fraiche, pickled shallots, house-cured bacon and cilantro. Awesome.


My "light" dessert, a scoop of summer plum sorbet (made from canned plums from last summer) and rum raisin gelato.

oh yumminess.

LTH,

Nightwood is currently offering a fresh smelt appetizer, perfectly fried, crisp, served with ramekins of creme fraiche, which went surprisingly well, and Crystal hot sauce beurre blanc, a fancy way of saying Buffalo wing sauce.

Chewy texturally pleasing ramp and duck egg cavatelli with stinging nettles, tomato and ricotta. Duck egg lent richness, ramp a slight vegetal note and lovely moss green tint. Enjoyable, but its the smelt this Wisconsin born boy is still thinking about.

Brief, but well thought out beer list, Metropolitian Dyanmo Copper Lager with the smelt, Three Floyds gumball head wheat ale with the cavatelli.

I was told Nightwood may have Walleye from Red Lake Nation Reservation in northern Minnesota in the next few days. I'm a walleye fan and have heard the Red Lake Nation walleye is extraordinary.

Enjoy,
Gary

I had the smelt last night, as well as the sautéed chicken livers and a burger, and they were quite delicious. Plump and flavorful, light cornmeal crust, and the sauces were a great match. Burger was as excellent as always, Slagel Farm beef needs minimal accompaniment at medium-rare.

Mr. X and I went to Nightwood after a chilly outing to the Mole de Mayo event in Pilsen. We weren't terribly hungry so we split the smelts, a half order of the cavatelli with stinging nettles and the pork loin with bacon and hominy. The weak link in our meal was the hominy. It was tougher than we expected. I think my favorite dish was the cavatelli. The dish worked for me -- toothsome pasta, rich, flavorful sauce. Giving into our sweet tooth (teeth?), we also managed to eat a rhubarb crisp and the brownies with olive oil sabayon and pistachio brittle. I need to learn how to make pistachio brittle. We wanted more than the four little pieces on the plate!

In the three times I've been to Nightwood, I have been impressed with their cocktails. I had the Pilsen Cup, made with Pimm's No. 1, Ransom Gin, rhubarb syrup, lemon and mint. It had the right balance for a pre-dinner and dinner accompaniment. Mr. X seemed quite pleased with his Manhattan.

Sitting at the kitchen counter with good food and drinks, couldn't think of a better way to wind up our day in Pilsen.

We finally made it to Nightwood last night since I've been meaning to all year. I have to say I was extremely impressed with the restaurant, the service and the food was fabulous. We started with the sardines with braised cabbage and fried egg. The sardines were super fresh and somehow well suited with the braised cabbage. I had the wood grilled trout with roasted potatoes, snap peas and bacon which was perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious. My bf had the bolognese and that too was delicious. For dessert we had the pumpkin tart and concord grapes. Lesson learned, we had no idea concord grapes were chewey in texture.. Who knew?!

I think this place is awesome. It's up there with Anteprima, Socca and The Publican for me!

jeanpoutine wrote:Nightwood sends out their Sunday brunch menu every Saturday, and I must say I am saddened any time the duck confit poutine is not included.

Seconded, wholeheartedly. It's right up there with the Publican's scrapple for super-rich wonderful brunch meals.

Visited tonight for the first time and had a lovely meal. The biscuits were a little overdone but everything we ordered was fantastic. My friend, who swears by the place, said the biscuits are usually much better.

I loved the arugula salad I started with, a nice bed of arugula sprinkled with lemon juice and grated parmesan. This was accompanied with goat cheese and raisin-nut bread, which was significantly better than the biscuits, and a pleasantly surprising salad accompaniment.

The whole-roasted White Lakes bass bagna càuda was good, with nice crispy skin and tender flesh. The asparagus accompaniment was perfectly cooked, and didn't even need the garlicky bagna càuda dip. The wood-grilled sturgeon was equally tasty.

We finished with a goat's cheese cheesecake, served with honey-glazed black mission figs and pistachio praline. I immediately gravitated toward it because it's so hard to find a cheesecake in Chicago that's not made with cream cheese. This really hit the spot. My only minor quibble was that the figs weren't totally ripe yet and not that sweet, although the honey glaze almost covered that up. I definitely plan on returning soon.

To my mouth, a nearly sure-thing spot on par (in that regard) with Publican, one of the places I'm pretty confident recommending to anyone (save maybe vegetarians). Also, the best, or at least one of the best, Manhattans in the city.

I made my first trip to Nightwood last week and came away extremely impressed. I'd been wanting to try it since it opened but I just kept misfiring in my attempts. Last Friday, on the spur of the moment, we decided to head over there from River North at about 7 pm. A quick, advance phone call could not turn up a reservation for our party of 2 but we were told that while they were booked, there were about 10 seats available for walk-ins. 20 minutes later we arrived to find seats available both on the outdoor patio and at the counter that wraps around the open kitchen. We choose the kitchen view, which was a great vantage point. We started out with a round of cocktails . . .


French Wife (iirc)
This was a riff on a pisco sour but my companion ordered it, so I don't know the details. It was tasty, though. For this first round I ordered a High West Rendevous Rye, neat. The cocktail menu at Nightwood is pretty darned nice. Not only are the creations interesting but drinks are well-made and the overall spirits list is well-chosen, too.



Corn Biscuits
We were started out with these gratis corn biscuits and they were very skillfully executed; tender with that tell-tale, pull-apart texture that indicates the dough had been handled with a light touch.



Copper River Salmon Crudo | spring vegetables, crab sauce
This dish really blew me away. The lightly-cured salmon was just as sensational as you'd expect from Copper River salmon in May and the 'salad' that accompanied it was distinctive and delicious. I loved the tiny carrot sprouts (left side and top of frame), which were no bigger than a matchstick. The entire stem tasted like carrot. I forgot to ask about their provenance but they reminded me of the kind of produce being grown by farmer Lee Jones at Chef's Garden in Ohio. The other components -- asparagus, radishes, light dressing, to name a few -- made this dish entirely compelling.



Pan-seared Connecticut Shad Roe | ramps, bacon
Wow! This shad roe was utterly fantastic. It was really briney, extremely fresh-tasting and super intensely flavored. The simple accompaniments highlighted the roe without obscuring it. This was one of several instances at this meal where quality ingredients, untethered imagination and finely-tuned cooking skills all came together.



Warm Burrata | veal belly raviolo, spinach puree
This burrata was insane -- so rich and creamy with an intoxicating and long-lingering aftertaste. It was great watching the kitchen turn these out, as they actually dropped them in a saute pan briefly before plating them. The spinach puree was magnificent. The raviolo was tasty but honestly, it was practically overkill on this plate.



Wood-grilled Soft Shell Crab | garlic butter, Illinois sweet corn
I loved the execution here and it was clear that the crabs were live in the kitchen but our crab had a bitter iodine taste to it. Not sure what went wrong here but it may have been nothing more than Mother Nature's indifference to the culinary world.



On the line
A cook diligently focuses on working the pasta station.



Chef de Cuisine Jason Vincent
Chef de Cuisine Jason Vincent works the grill and rotisserie station. I was a little surprised that he wasn't expediting but wft do I know?



Colonial Sling | apple brandy, cherry bounce, house-made walnut liqueur, lemon
I got out of my comfort zone with this cocktail but really enjoyed it. The lure of the house-made walnut liqueur was just too much to resist. Its richness paired with the fruit elements in the drink very harmoniously and the lemon mitigated the sweetness.



Strozzapreti | pistachio, ricotta butter
The noodles here could not have been cooked more perfectly. They were toothsome yet tender with an immensely satisfying mouthfeel. I loved the way the tart butter (fresh lemon?) and rich ricotta matched up to create an amazingly balanced and satisfying sauce.



At the pass
As many kitchens as I've visited, watching the ballet of Nightwood's kitchen really stood out for me. More on this later.



Sweet Corn Custard | spinach, warm artichokes, parmesan polenta croutons, green garlic vinaigrette
Another very well thought-out and perfectly prepared combination. The flavors and textures here were phenomenal together. I loved the richness of the custard, which was foiled so well by the judiciously applied vinaigrette. The delicious croutons (barely visible in the picture) provided a 'right on time' crunchy element.



Wood-grilled Cheeseburger | fries, pickle, egg
After seeing these going out all night, we had to have one. The burger was exceptionally tasty -- bursting with beefy flavor -- and perfectly cooked to medium rare. The fries were crispy and light with an amazing, pillowy tenderness within. The carefully toasted and condimented bun was so delicious it would have been a joy to eat on its own. Hell, even the pickle was terrific. The one misstep here was our egg. It was cooked a bit over and as the picture somewhat shows, the yolk was not runny at all. By this point in the meal, this little gaffe was almost shocking. It almost made me feel good to see this well-oiled team do something less than perfectly. The overcooked egg didn't detract from the joy the burger delivered other than to make me wonder how even more phenomenal it would have been with yolk running all over it.



Pickups
Busy, busy, busy.



Rhubarb Shortcake | poached rhubarb, lemon cream, yellow cake ice cream
I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of rhubarb but being the seasonally-focused restaurant that Nightwood is, 2 of the desserts on the menu featured it and I decided to go with the flow. I think I could have dealt with the tartness of the rhubarb but the lemon cream was also very tart and the biscuit wasn't sweet at all, so I found this plate a bit out of balance for my palate.



Malted Chocolate Ice Cream | sugar cookie
I absolutely loved this ice cream. The chocolate deftly straddled the line between sweet and bitter. The malted note was so wonderful. It reminded me of a superior quality malted milk ball...and the sugar cookie was crispy, tender and wonderful.

As much as I loved the food at this meal, the kitchen-view vantage point was nearly as enjoyable. In fact, the 2 elements combined for me into one virtually inseparable experience. The professionalism in chef Vincent's kitchen was truly a sight to see. And it seemed clear to me, especially since he wasn't even working the pass on this night, that he leads by example and has earned tremendous respect from the cooks in his kitchen. There was such an efficiency of movement and communication. It was like watching a complex and magnificent machine or some sort of multi-hour dance ritual. There was clear and constant communication yet it was so economical, so quiet, you might miss it if you weren't watching for it. I believe, after seeing how this team worked together, that after putting in their time at Nightwood, these cooks would be ready to cook in any kitchen. I say this because the aesthetic here, while quite distinctive, reminded me in many ways of some of the top kitchens I've visited. And let's face it, how many of us could do our jobs with an audience watching us? I don't think I could last 8 hours with my customers witnessing my typical workplace behavior. I think it says a tremendous amount about the culture at Nightwood, -- the leadership, the training -- the way these cooks comported themselves during the heat of service...and they do it every night, which is astonishing and admirable.

But at the end of the day, restaurants are about serving customers food and beverage. Considering the route Nightwood takes to get there, it's not the least bit surprising to me that their fare is so successful. In many ways, these plates (and glasses) appear so simple but sitting there watching them being prepared, it's clear that their appearance belies the tremendous amount of hard work and soul that goes into them. I can't wait to get back to Nightwood and frankly, I cannot imagine ever sitting anywhere but at the counter. which provides an immensely satisfying synaesthesia.

=R=

Ron's awesome dinning reviews is now my top reason for visiting the THForum.

Hi Ron--

My wife and I have often sat at the kitchen counter at Nightwood, at first because they were the only seats available when we made a spontaneous decision to drive up from Hyde Park* but later because we really enjoyed watching the kitchen in action and getting a sneak preview of the dishes while we perused the menu. We have also been struck by the quiet, the focus, the professionalism on display. I'm pretty sure that every time we have been there, Jason Vincent has been expediting at the pickup station, but perhaps some nights he fills in at other stations. It does seem that the kitchen staff seems to rotate among the stations based on our 3 or 4 visits.

*By the way, Nightwood is pretty much the most convenient fine dining restaurant to Hyde Park. You can get there via Lake Shore Drive, I-55, and then taking the I-94 exit toward the traffic hell that is the Circle interchange. But before you get sucked into the traffic, you drop down off the ramp using the left side Canalport-Cermak exit, which drops you two blocks from Nightwood. Even at rush hour on a Friday we have made it to Nightwood in 10 minutes from HP.

Patrick

We have some business in the Pilsen area on Saturday morning and Nightwood was my first thought. Sadly, they only do Sunday brunch, not Saturday. That Copper River Salmon Crudo looks phenomenal.

Maple Leaf wrote:*By the way, Nightwood is pretty much the most convenient fine dining restaurant to Hyde Park. You can get there via Lake Shore Drive, I-55, and then taking the I-94 exit toward the traffic hell that is the Circle interchange. But before you get sucked into the traffic, you drop down off the ramp using the left side Canalport-Cermak exit, which drops you two blocks from Nightwood. Even at rush hour on a Friday we have made it to Nightwood in 10 minutes from HP.

Unfortunately, CTA from Hyde Park to Nightwood requires at least two connections. However, in case anyone cares, it's very easy by bike to get onto the lakefront path near MSI and get off at 18th. I've been working at the new Helmut Jahn library at U of C and use this route when I need a Pilsen or Chinatown snack on the way home.

Had a delicious dinner at Nightwood recently and was happy to see the flaky biscuits that Ron mentioned above. The appetizer foie gras with black current (if I remember correctly) preserves (?) was lovely. The corn custard was topped with morels, to my delight, and the whole striped bass was perfectly cooked with peas and ramps. I had never tasted lavender ice cream, so had to try the rhubarb crumble, and now crave lavender ice cream. The service was solicitous without being suffocating, and I'm already looking forward to my next visit.

I love that the Nightwood website is up-to-date with their menu changes, even if I can't check which fruity thing they served with the foie gras the night I was there.

Rather a late report, but I'll add to the chorus of approval for Nightwood. We walked in on a damp Saturday at 5 pm without a reservation a few weeks ago & were offered the choice of seats at the kitchen counter or on the covered patio. We took the kitchen counter seats & were very pleased with the experience.

We split an order of the sweet corn custard, followed by splitting a cheese burger. Burger was wonderful, as I'd expect from the folks behind Lula, & enjoyed the corn custard, though the highlights of the dish for me were the croutons & artichokes. Followed with a pot of the drip coffee for two (I forget the details of the beans) & the assorted cookies.

Staff couldn't have been more friendly or accommodating as we were splitting dishes & then relaxing over over our coffee & cookies. We spotted some lovely looking pastas & fish dishes being served to our neighbors at the counter & I'm anxious to head back & try some of these dishes & others on offer, particularly as I really liked the lack of fussiness in both the food & service.

I've had a couple more excellent meals at Nightwood since the one I posted about upthread and wanted to document the most recent one, which was particularly memorable . . .


Nightwood Manhattan | Buffalo Trace, Carpano Antica vermouth, brandied cherries, Nightwood bitters



Big and Easy | Broker's Gin, Luxardo Maraschino, Peychaud's Bitters, lemon



Corn Biscuits | whipped butter
As documented upthread, delicious and savory with a judicious hint of sweetness.



Pamela's Raisin-Nut Bread | whipped butter, radish pods
Chef Vincent sent this one over for us and explained that the pods -- grown in the adjacent garden -- are very spicy but that they'd been mellowed by a soak in some lemon juice. I really enjoyed them and figured the soak must have worked, because they were entirely palatable.



Roasted Carrots | basil, capers, aioli, breadcrumbs
Wow! I'm not normally a carrot lover but these purple hazes were sensational. The basil and garlicky aioli mitigated the carrots' sweetness, which was great, IMO. The texture of the carrots was perfect, too -- not mushy at all but not crunchy, either...gloriously in between.



Chilled Summer Squash | feta, purslane, balsamic, blueberries, griddled toasts
I really liked the way the flavors of the feta and blueberries worked together to accentuate the squash. The hearty purslane was a nice touch.



Pan-Roasted Peaches | foie gras, foie fat, padron peppers
Chef Vincent came up with this one on the fly and served it to us as an extra treat. The peaches had been repeatedly basted with the fat rendered off from a piece of foie gras until just tender. The combination was sensational. The padrons packed some heat, which was a nice foil for the peaches. I also loved the crispy strip of fully rendered foie gras (back of plate) that was served almost like a cracker with the dish. Yowza!



Chef Jason Vincent on the left and Ben in the ballcap



Pasta alla Chitarra | lamb Bolognese, English peas
Perfectly-cooked pasta (seems to be a theme at Nightwood) and a seductive lamb bolognese that blew us away. The fresh, taut peas were a perfect accent.



Wood-Grilled Hanger Steak | green beans, romesco, onion rings
Beefy and tender, this juicy steak really tasted like the aromatic wood over which it had been deftly cooked. The green beans and romesco were a great accompaniment, as were the onion rings, which actually contained a blend of 20 or so herbs that is used in many dishes at Nightwood.



Indiana Duck Leg | black beans, creme fraiche, chili, fennel, onion
Crispy skin, tender, luscious meat, this duck leg was one of the better ones I can remember ever having in town and rivaled several I had in Paris last fall. The beans, which I believe were sourced from 3 Sisters Garden, were nothing short of spectacular in both flavor and texture. This dish just blew me away.



Ice Cream | vanilla cone
I don't remember exactly what types of chiles and spices went into this innocent-looking ice cream but it packed a wallop of flavor and heat, and tasted exactly like an ice cream version of the vintage candy Atomic Fireballs (just as chef Vincent said it did). The kitchen sent this one out for us and I'm really glad they did because it was quite an experience.



Baked Alaska | raspberry cheesecake ice cream, sandwich cookies, tapioca
Gorgeous and delicious.



Baked Alaska
Extremely well-executed and tasty from beginning to end. I thought I was being nice by sharing a sandwich cookie with my wife. She ate the half I gave her and then informed me that there were actually 2 on the plate and that she'd already eaten the other one!

I am continually more impressed with each visit to Nightwood and love the passion and creative expression that are flowing out of the kitchen there. It's quickly become a top-tier favorite for me and a compelling dining destination.

=R=

After seeing the pictures and reading about Ronnies recent visits, I was finally able to get here this past weekend. There were only two of us, so not much ordering power, but I'll be back very soon. We started with the roasted carrots and summer squash.The carrots may have nudged the ones from Mado out as the best I've had in a restaurant. The cavatelli and chitarra pasta were both cooked perfectly and very tasty. Per the Mrs. request we ordered the hanger steak which is usually not my favorite cut, but was very good also. All in all a really good meal.

Nightwood is one of those places that part way through the meal I was already looking forward to a return visit. Thanks for the write ups!

Some friends and I tried Nightwood for the first time on Friday night. I found it to be uneven. First of all, I love that they give you sparkling water. And we needed a lot of it because it was really uncomfortably hot in there. I mentioned this to our server, who agreed with me, but then told me it was as cool as they could make it, and basically "it's a hot day". To me, if I'm paying $35 for an entree, I expect a comfortable temperature.

As for the food. The carrots were indeed delicious. The foie gras with cherries was fine, but not exceptional. My husband ordered the roast duck, and that was a generous portion of leg and breast. Very nicely charred skin. The leg was the best thing I tasted all night, but the breast was quite overcooked. I had the cavatelli with chanterelles and corn. The server did not mention that it was a European style portion, and although I'm never looking for a giant plate of food, this dish was ridiculously small. It was rich, but really, a few more noodles wouldn't have been hard to throw in there. I didn't think the corn added to the dish either. Our friend had the roast chicken, which our server sang the praises of over and over, but we all thought it was just OK. It was also undercooked almost to the point of being raw in some parts.

For dessert, one friend had the blueberry buckle - a pleasant cobbler. The reast of us got ice cream because it was so hot in there. Like most of the food, I found it to be enjoyable, but not exciting.

All in all, I wouldn't go back. For Nightwood's prices, I think I would try someplace else. I appreciated the freshness and local ingredients, but they didn't deliver superb food.

jpo we were there on Friday night also. The A/C was definitely broken; it was hot to the point of being uncomfortable, no doubt.

That being said, we ordered many of the same things you did and a few others: biscuits, raisin bread, carrots, cavatelli w/ chanterelles, Cape Cod fluke, burger, blueberry bonnet, coffee, etc. I found everything to be in the very good, if not exceptional range.

Funny you should mention the pasta being so small. My guest was between ordering the fish or the pasta as her main, but our server came right out and told us that the pasta dishes were smaller—appetizer sized—and meant to be shared or paired with something else. We appreciated this and ordered it as a supplementary app and split it. Good call because as you said, they are definitely app-sized.

It is pricey. We hit $120 for two with only one drink a piece. But we really got around the menu nicely, too.

Overall, I thought everything was phenomenal and can't wait to return for a special occasion. I'm hoping for an A/C'd Nightwood on my return.

jpo wrote: To me, if I'm paying $35 for an entree, I expect a comfortable temperature.

$35 seems high for Nightwood. What was the entree?

From Menupages:

City Farm Spinach warm artichokes, farm eggs, ramps, ricotta, polenta croutons 18.00

Spit-Roasted Half Chicken From Slagel Farm butterball potatoes, michigan ramps, lemon, garlic, mint 26.00

Wood-Grilled Whole Wisconsin Trout farro, applewood bacon, snap peas 24.00

Rhode Island Fluke green sauce, aioli, pea tendrils 21.00

Spit-Roasted Indiana Duck fresh tortillas, pickled vegetables. 35.00 (on their website says $39 for a different preparation)

grilled foie gras 15.00

Grilled And Braised Pork Shank green olive, anchoiade 26.00

Wood-Grilled Cheese Burger with fries and a pickle 13.00

Website sample menu had a hanger steak for $29 and whole roasted Branzino for $30.

I haven't made it to Nightwood yet so no comments on anything other than it seems pretty lame to fault a place on having an air conditioning breakdown on one of the hottest days of the year--I'm guessing it's not something they wanted to happen! If I walked into a place and it felt too warm for me to be comfortable, I'd just go someplace else...

The $35 entree was the roast duck.

The air conditioning system wasn't broken, it was just inadequate. We were dining with friends who had picked Nightwood for their birthday dinner, so I didn't feel it was appropriate to leave. I retain my position that for those prices, they should have an adequate cooling system. I don't need it to be cold - often restaurants go overboard with ac, but comfortable would have been nice. It's not unusual to have weather in the 90's in the summer in Chicago. And I found the "it's a hot day" to be a pretty crappy response - there was no apology implied.