The Peasantry

The Peasantry has been open now for a bit so the wife and I decided to check it out for dinner last night.

I think they're still in sort of a soft opening mode but we came away impressed. To start we shared the Pigs in a Blanket. The "pigs" were 3 house made chorizos wrapped in pastry and they were served over white beans and pancetta. The "pigs" were good but the real star of this dish were the white beans with bits of pancetta mixed in. The beans were cooked absolutely perfectly and the pancetta was just a little bit crispy. Perfect combination of flavors and textures.

For mains I had the duck burger and the wife had a lamb merguez sausage (in the style of something you'd get at Franks N Dawgs). My burger was really good, and avoided the dryness that I usually experience with non-beef based burgers. We split an order of triple truffle fries to go with everything.

They also have a small wine and beer list. I didn't look closely at the wines but everything looks like be small batch/craft on both sides of the menu. I'm not beer expert, but the list looked pretty interesting (and certainly way more interesting than anything you'd find in the immediate neighborhood). I had a Mike's Cafe (a sour beer out of Philly) which I thought was really good and went well with everything we ate.

I'm excited to see how The Peasantry develops and I really hope the neighborhood embraces it.

The Peasantry
2723 N. Clark
(773) 868-4888

Found the menu here and it looks quite good. Will have to check it out.

jesteinf wrote:I had a Mike's Cafe (a sour beer out of Philly) which I thought was really good and went well with everything we ate.

Did you perhaps mis-hear/read Monk's Cafe? It's a Flemish Sour, originally brewed FOR a place in Philly of the same name.

Funny this thread pops up right when I got the email about it from Urban Daddy...

They included a menu link which has the beer/win list on page 2 of the linked pdf. It does say Monk's Cafe.

http://www.urbandaddy.com/uploads/asset ... M1MjYwOAS2

kl1191 wrote:

jesteinf wrote:I had a Mike's Cafe (a sour beer out of Philly) which I thought was really good and went well with everything we ate.

Did you perhaps mis-hear/read Monk's Cafe? It's a Flemish Sour, originally brewed FOR a place in Philly of the same name.

Yes, oops.

Like I said, I'm no beer expert.

My wife & I got a night off this past weekend thanks to some visiting family offering their free babysitting services, and tried The Peasantry for dinner.

The place was pretty packed when we got there (at 8pm on a Saturday), so we were invited to grab a couple seats at the bar while waiting for our table...owner Alex Brunacci was working behind the bar, and happily recommended a couple of beers to us based on our moods & tastes. Within 5 minutes, his lovely wife Ellen, who was working as hostess and floor manager, took us to our table.

Our server was very friendly, helpful, and well-meaning, but she admitted that it was her first time working as a waitress, and it showed...she wasn't quite sure how to answer questions about menu items, or how to properly present & pour wine, etc. Still, she couldn't have been nicer, and was clearly trying hard and learning as she went...my wife told me a couple times that she thought she was sweet and was rooting for her

We decided to start with Pigs in a Blanket and Mussel Bake. Our impression of Pigs in a Blanket was pretty similar to the OP's: the little puff pastry-wrapped chunks of house-made chorizo and accompanying poblano crema were great, but the buttered white beans with pancetta were stellar. The Mussel Bake was a solid rendition of a classic mussel dish: over a dozen big, meaty mussels, nice corn-on-the-cob segments, and a generous number of spicy (andouille?) sausage chunks, in a tasty, garlicky, lemony, slightly-spicy broth, served with three pieces of some nice grilled bread.

For mains, we split the Beef and Bone Marrow Burger and the Shrimp and Lobster Roll. The burger's patty was a mix of ground hangar steak and beef bone marrow, served on a simple bun and topped with shallot marmalade, arugula, manchego, and pickled cauliflower. The patty was perfectly cooked to a kitchen-recommended medium, and was juicy & delicious. I wish it had more than a few tiny bits of pickled cauliflower (I love sour, and was looking forward to this more than the rest of the toppings), but it was still an excellent burger. The Shrimp and Lobster Roll was piled high with big chunks of shrimp and lobster claw meat and served on the signature Franks 'n Dawgs split-top roll. The seafood was lightly dressed, nicely cooked, very fresh-tasting, and was complemented nicely with chunks of thick-cut bacon.

While we really enjoyed the food at The Peasantry, we especially liked the comfortable vibe and the friendly staff. The Brunaccis were so warm and welcoming that they, more than anything else, guaranteed that we'll head back there soon. In fact, they encouraged us to bring our girls with us next time, as they're open for lunch and have high chairs. I look forward to adding The Peasantry into our neighborhood rotation.

We stopped in late one night to sit at the bar and have a glass of wine. We spent our time there chatting with Alex. He could not have been friendlier or more passionate about wanting The Peasantry to succeed. I'm really rooting hard for this place.

I dined at Peasantry tonight and had an outstanding dinner. Very friendly staff, nice space, excellent menu, affordable prices, excellent beers on tap and extremely tasty food.

Here is a shot of the Rabbit Pasta:


Hanger Steak & Bone Marrow Burger with Shallot Marmalade, Arugula, Manchego & Pickled Cauliflower:


Baby Octopus Gyro:


Duck Wings:


Also tried the Pigs in the Blanket, Triple Truffle Fries and Deconstructed Candy Bar. The dessert was the only area that needs improvement. They were packed on a Thursday night, so they are already extremely popular. I would like to see them take reservations in the future, but will definitely be back! The food and ambiance reminded me of The Bristol and Publican; am very happy to have a venue like this in walking distance of where I live. Peasantry is definitely worth checking out for anybody with an adventurous palate.

Khaopaat wrote:While we really enjoyed the food at The Peasantry, we especially liked the comfortable vibe and the friendly staff. The Brunaccis were so warm and welcoming that they, more than anything else, guaranteed that we'll head back there soon. In fact, they encouraged us to bring our girls with us next time, as they're open for lunch .

good to know regarding kids being welcome. Peasantry is our plan "b" for tomorrow.

light, simple brunch, thoroughy enjoyed(somehow worth the 3 hour round trip):

pork belly breakfast sandwich(frickin' fantastic):





short rib pastami hash(top notch):




canneleni bean and asparagus salad(ok):



truffle fries(ok):



I will be back for brunch or to try those frog legs, duck wings, and mussels from the regular menu.

We went on Sunday, got there a little before 6:30. It didn't seem like there was much of a wait most of the time we were there, with ample seating at the bar.

The waitstaff, host, bar (owner) were all very nice and helpful, but it was incredibly noisy in there. We really liked the cannelini bean salad pictured above, and the fried chicken gyro. I had the burger, and it was tasty, but really not juicy at all, and mostly was overwhelmed by the bread. Each of the dishes that came with bread seemed to have a lot more of it than needed for the amount of filling (lobster roll, gyro, burger).

Despite living close by, I hadn't made it to The Peasantry until tonight. My wife and I had popped by a couple months ago, but the A/C was so cold walking in the door she refused to go any further until the heat comes on in the fall. So tonight a buddy and I checked it out...

We split the truffle fries, pigs in a blanket, duck wings, bone marrow burger and octopus gyros. The fries were good, but nothing unusual since I've has similar at a number of other places. The pigs in a blanket were chorizo with a small ribbon of puff pastry wrapped around it, on a bed of white beans. I love chorizo and the poblano sauce worked well with it. Our duck wings came out burnt black to a crisp. I'm not sure if this is how they were supposed to be or not... I see a photo above and ours were much darker than those. We probably should have questioned and sent them back because they were mostly just char. The cherry mustard and buttermilk sauce were good. The burger also came out overcooked. Our waitress suggested medium rare, but I feared that would come out more rare and cold so we went with medium. I'd have classified it well done. The best dish of the night was the octopus gyros, which included perfectly grilled sea creature and potatoes. Maybe could've used more of the grape sauce perhaps.

The Peasantry also had a very nice beer list with a number of interesting local and not so local craft brews. After the waitress went through a lengthy description of the draught offerings, I quite enjoyed the Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager I tried for the first time. The service in general was very friendly and helpful, with thorough descriptions and answers to questions.

I could offer small complaints about some of the food I tasted at the Peasantry the other night. And I will. But I would also say that you can't ignore what the Peasantry is offering in an area where most "pubs" are offering well done 90% lean chuck burgers and frozen fries.

But before I get to the food, let me say that the one thing that I immediately loved about Peasantry was the staff - small group of really nice people, more than happy to help, and very knowledgeable about the menu. This was one of the more welcoming groups I've encountered in some time.

As for the food, I loved the pickled lamb tongue flatbread. Most importantly, it featured terrific lamb flavor, which I find is so often missing in the lamb I order today. The "pickled" flavor really played well here too with the feta and the arugula. My only complaint is that I would have gone with roasted artichokes and not sous vide cooked (didn't love the texture), but the dish was still terrific, and I liked the charred bread on which this was served.

Poutine was okay but less successful. It was supposed to feature duck confit, onion gravy and blue cheese. But there was very little gravy, the blue cheese wasn't really melted, and the duck confit was a little dry. The fries were well done, but this dish could use some work. Still, some very nice flavors.

I only had a small bite of the buttermilk lamb gyro, and while I enjoyed the flavors, the sausage itself was slightly dry. I also had a few of the truffle oil waffle chips I've come to enjoy at Franks 'N Dawgs and they were as good as usual. There were a number of very interesting dishes on the menu, and since I enjoyed the vibe of the Peasantry so much, I'd like to return and explore more of the menu. In particular, the kimchi pork belly skewer, skewered quail and goat curry sounded appealing. On top of that, some nice cocktails and a good beer list.

I hope Peasantry finds a pretty good following, and judging by the crowd the other night, it looks like they might be succeeding. Add in the opening of Bar Pastoral and the soon-to-be-open Dry Hop Brewers and it looks like dining in this area is getting far more interesting, and quickly.

Looks like it has been a while since anyone posted on Peasantry, but I'm sorry to say my visit on Saturday night was underwhelming.

The good news is that the service was quite friendly and two of us were able to walk right in at 8:30 on a Saturday night and be seated immediately. We were shocked, in fact, at how quiet the place was.

We split the following:

Chalkboard Special GLT: house made guanciale, heirloom tomatoes, basil aioli & frisee
Brussels Sprout Salad: shaved brussels sprouts, blood orange oil, lemon zest, pistachios & parmesan cheese
Triple Truffle Fries: yukon gold waffle fries, truffle butter, truffle salt, truffle oil & chopped parsley
Wild Boar Burger: cajun spiced wild boar patty, brie cheese, blackberry compote, arugula & cajun spiced aioli
Buttermilk Lamb Gyro: buttermilk lamb sausage, chickpea walnut buttermilk puree, arugula, red onion & shaved egg - served on roti prata

We had desperately wanted the goat curry but they were out; apparently a new goat preparation is coming soon.

The bread for the GLT was saturated in butter/oil to the point where it was mightily unpleasant to eat with your fingers, and really to eat at all. The insides of the sandwich complemented each other well but I was disappointed that I had to resort to pulling out the components and eating them with a fork/knife.

Brussels Sprout Salad was nice enough; we were glad to have a lighter complement to balance the meats. Could have used more acidity and brightness though.

The fries were relatively pedestrian as truffle fries go. I would have prefered them slightly more crisp and hotter; they were room temperature. I was pleased that the truffle flavor wasn't overwhelming as some places do.

Ultimately, the meat in both the lamb gyro and the boar burger were woefully underseasoned. To the point where we left sausage on the plate. The lamb gyro overall was dry and bland, awkward temperature (not hot, not cold), underseasoned. The roti prata was delicious.

The boar burger was saved by the compote and the brie, and the fact that the meat was properly cooked. But again, underseasoned. For a dish that says the meat is cajun-spiced and the aioli is cajun-spiced, there was remarkably little kick to the dish.

While the staff was friendly and the price for 5 dishes, with tax and tip, was $75, I'm not certain I'd return at all - certainly not any time soon. Frankly I've had more enjoyable food at The Edge across the street.

After five years in Lincoln Park, chef/owner Alex Brunacci has closed The Peasantry. The restaurant served its final guests last week. It marks the second closure for Brunacci this year, as he shuttered Franks ‘N’ Dawgs in June.

http://chicago.eater.com/2016/10/24/133 ... ncoln-park