Sink | Swim, seafood-centric small plates from Scofflaw crew

My partner and I ate here a couple weeks ago and I thought I'd post since it doesn't seem to have been covered.

We loved our food and cocktails. Chewy beets were utterly unique, satisfyingly meaty. Bartender said they were cooked, dehydrated, and rehydrated or something. Gin-cured salmon was very nice and fresh. Shrimp toast had no visible shrimp, but a lot of flavor and a cute presentation. Monkfish liver was like the foie gras of the sea, incredibly rich and paired with contrasting flavors. Spaghetti with clams was a nice entree to share to cap off the meal. Service is very thorough and very quick. Cocktails were interesting and strong. Recommended. Four small plates, one entree, two drinks came out to $90-something.

Sink | Swim
3213 W Armitage Ave
Chicago, IL — 60647
773.486.7465
http://www.sinkswimchicago.com

Thanks for sharing your visit. This lukewarm review (http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/sink-swim-scofflaw-review-logan-square/Content?oid=17653404) actually made me more, not less, interested in checking it out.

I had drinks and appetizers here a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. The only dish I remember is the pickled mussels, which were very good (and too small!)

Yeah. I kept waiting for a description of what wasn't good among the seafood and all I saw was an observation that bottarga is stinky (and a tacit suggestion the reviewer hadn't eaten it before) and the sole was mild (possibly, ditto). Minus those, the other descriptions would fool you into thinking it was a rave. The throw away general pan of Scofflaw's drinks completes the picture. I'm in. And I'm from Florida too, so whatever I report back is valid.

JeffB wrote:And I'm from Florida too, so whatever I report back is valid.

I don't know why a report by a Floridian would be any more (or less) valid than one by someone from anywhere else.

nsxtasy wrote:

JeffB wrote:And I'm from Florida too, so whatever I report back is valid.

I don't know why a report by a Floridian would be any more (or less) valid than one by someone from anywhere else.

Agreed, count me as skeptical. Between the time spent parking on the front lawn, moving the sofa out to the porch and dodging gators, well I'm not sure a man can fit in a proper gastronomical experience.

nsxtasy wrote:

JeffB wrote:And I'm from Florida too, so whatever I report back is valid.

I don't know why a report by a Floridian would be any more (or less) valid than one by someone from anywhere else.

Try reading the Reader review.

A buddy and I came here yesterday for drinks and a late night snack.

They have dollar oysters between 10PM - 12PM Sunday through Thursday, but the real star was the sable collar. Two decent sized grilled collars marinated in an Asian style bbq sauce served with a side of watercress salad and house made kimchi was fantastic.

Drinks on the menu are good, but don't be afraid to ask the bartenders to make you something off menu if you provide them a spirit to start with and style of drink you're looking for.

I absolutely love monkfish liver, and always order it when it appears on a sushi menu. SS's version is by far the best prep I've ever had. Pickled grapes, salmon roe, and brioche- just wow. Danko, if you're reading this, please don't change a thing about that dish; it's perfect. $1 oysters, bottarga crackers, fish and chips, and the sole were also great. I'll be back again and again.

Brought a large-ish (8 people) group here for a small birthday gathering two weeks ago.

The gin cured salmon was fantastic, though light on the gin flavor. The shrimp toast was interesting and fairly tasty, though nothing particularly memorable. I had a warm smoked trout entree (that doesn't appear on the menu now) that was good, but suffered from a bit too much of a creamy bagna cauda sauce on top - it would have been better just with a few dots of the sauce instead of completely covering the quite flavorful smoked fish.

Surprisingly, the dish that our group best enjoyed was the fish and chips - we found it to be a very good version, with the fish moist, flaky, and really meaty, and the vinegar-mustard aioli that came with the fish to be delicious.

We enjoyed a number of the cocktails on the menu -- the Splash Ghost (with gin) was tasty, but the Pellet Gun was a bit too sweet. I was perhaps not as impressed as I usually am when enjoying the cocktails at Scofflaw.

A friend and I had a great meal at Sink Swim recently. We started with the beef and oyster tartar and the gin cured salmon. Then had the monk liver torchon, smoked parnsips with squid ink puree, and BBQ halibut collar. Ended with fish and chips. There wasn't a bad dish in the group - everything was excellent. Surprisingly, the dish I think about most often is the parsnips, which were perfectly cooked with the right amount of smoke. The squid ink was an excellent complement. The halibut collar was also outstanding.

We finished our evening with a few cocktails at Scofflaw; a nice one-two punch.