PETA? Superficial? Surely you jest.

and yes, get the chicken at Publican.

I was pretty proud of the people at one off for articulating something that is often so hard for me to do the same.

rehorn wrote:Was curious if anyone's been here lately -- any recent must-haves? Thanks.

i can offer a recent must-NOT-have: the scorpionfish. I had such a disappointing experience with this ill-considered entree, that it will be a long time before I go back to Publican for a full multi-course meal. Broke my heart.

On a brighter note, they finally got their waffle iron fixed, so waffles are back on the menu!

Scorpionfish was not on the menu when we went on Tuesday. The tableside fish prep was a dover sole iirc.

Just got back from a great dinner at The Publican. Great as always. We all agreed on tonight's favorites: little gem salad, the frites with aioli, and the sticky bun bread pudding with butter pecan ice cream (this dish was a 'wow'). We also loved the hucklberry buttermilk sorbet that our kids ordered (the sorbet was a component in another dessert but we ordered a couple scoops for the kids); the buttermilk may have made it a tad too sour for them, but to us, it was most refreshing -- a palate cleanser even after the richer bread pudding. We also tried their signature chicken with frites and summer sausage and thought it was very good, though maybe a tad too heavy on the spice rub, but the sausages were truly excellent. Also had sablefish with cream cheese or fromage blanc (?) and other adornments on a thick slab of delicious country bread; this was a great dish, too. Didn't love the lamb leg that was on tonight's menu -- but we're glad we tried it as that's part of the fun. Nonetheless, it was an all-around wonderful meal with attentive service and the usual fun of waiting for the next dish to arrive at the table.

Publican was hitting on all cylanders last night. We started with an off-menu sour from California that was really terrific and continued on a tour de force through what is still one of the better restaurant beer lists in town, and really enjoyed the clams with cuddle ink pasta, little gem salad, and the sirloin and pork belly. Also had a mushroom side that was tremendous, and, as always, each of the oysters provided on a sampler were pristine examples from a well-cultivated list. Because I had been practically fasting all day in anticipation of the meal, we added an order of fries/runny egg and a cheese selection, which we chased with a nice Madeira. Fantastic meal.

Small rant, however, regarding the kitchen running out of items relatively early in the night. When we arrived for our 7:30 our server helpfully announced that they were only out of one item - the hamachi appetizer (a variation of which I've had in the past and enjoyed), which didn't phase us at all, as it wasn't on the short list of things to order. She also described the available sizes of 65 day dry aged ribeye, which we had planned to order. A couple of minutes later, however, as we were ordering the ribeye, we were informed that the kitchen no longer had it, nor did it have the octopus (which we also tried to order) or one other item which now escapes me. We were disappointed, and a little surprised when she added that the kitchen purchases certain items (in the case of the ribeye, from PQM/itself) with an eye toward running out each evening. Given the time of night, this bit of editorializing made us wonder out loud about the logistics behnid this tactic, and what else might run out while we sat there thinking of things to order. She then told us that only one guinea hen remained . . . Anyway, upon reflection, I do remember having similar experiences at Publican with multiple 86'd menu items, although in fairness those were later reservations. In any event, I guess what I would have preferred, especially in the case of the ribeye, is for our server to tell us when she was describing it that it was/is an allocated item on the endangered dishes list, and that if we wanted it we better call dibs or something. Perhaps this would be cumbersame, or impracticable, but man we really wanted that steak. So, rant over (and we ended up with the sirloin, aged a paltry 15 days but still effin awesome), but if you find yourself in a similar position at Publican (i.e., assuming that with a normal time reservation you'll have access to the entire menu), you may want to ask not only what is out, but what is about to be out.

Despite my crying, Publican is still a terrific option (and it was crowded well into our meal, which lasted past 10) and of course its around a lot of other good stuff, so we popped into Lone Wolf and Au Cheval for nightcaps - first time visit to Lone Wolf and I liked it and appreciated all of the Three Floyd pours, among other things. Au Cheval was wide open at 11ish for those that like to eat late and avoid waits.

Ahmad Shareef wrote:We started with an off-menu sour from California that was really terrific...

I'm assuming it was not named on purpose. You must have experienced some temptation to tell us.

Made my maiden (!) voyage to The Publican last night with a friend from out of town. I got there around 5:15 and had to wait for my friend before we were seated. Not a problem as it wasn't crowded. The hostess nicely accommodated my request to sit at the bar rather than stand at one of the high-tops. A glass of Domaine Montrose rosé satisfied as waited for my friend. We were able to get a table outside where my only complaint was that the two-tops were so tightly packed, it was difficult to get in and out of the chairs.

We split an order of 6 oysters, cobia, country rib, patty-pan squash and peach tart. Across the board excellent. Our server, Justin, was also quite good. My friend enjoyed the different beers he tried. I stuck with the rosé, but finished with an elderflower/gin cocktail to go with the tart.

Hopefully my next visit will be sooner than my first!

One of my favorite places in the city.

Any chance that sour referenced above was from The Bruery?

I tried this place out recently. I'm still thinking about the pate. Does anyone know if they sell it by the tub?

razbry wrote:I tried this place out recently. I'm still thinking about the pate. Does anyone know if they sell it by the tub?

Tub, doubtful, but in case you weren't aware, the pate's and many other meats and products served at The Publican are sold at Publican Quality Meats just east of the restaurant.

Smassey wrote:

razbry wrote:I tried this place out recently. I'm still thinking about the pate. Does anyone know if they sell it by the tub?

Tub, doubtful, but in case you weren't aware, the pate's and many other meats and products served at The Publican are sold at Publican Quality Meats just east of the restaurant.

And some Avec classics too, like the chorizo stuffed bacon wrapped dates. And big star salsas, etc. Really genius little marketing effort if you ask me!

O'Hare getting its own Publican restaurant

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... restaurant

Hadn't been in a while and have to say that Publican needs to be in rotation more as the whole meal was delicious.

Started with chef's choice of 6 oysters. All were different and that pristine delicious that I know Publican delivers.

Vegetables:
- Brussel Sprout Salad
- Cauliflower
- Little gem lettuce

Fish:
- Trout
- Opah

Meat:
- Pork Belly
- Chicken

Overall no misses and a lot of huge hits.

That cauliflower came late in the meal and was a frontrunner for favorite dish. It's fried in a tempura-style with a really nice sauce that has great basil notes. Really really good.

Pork belly killed it. I sometimes don't like to order pork belly because I think I just got burned out on it the last couple of years but this version brought me back to where it all started. It's a nice slab that wasn't too fatty (still enough) served in a bowl with some mussels. The flavor of the actual broth was really nice but the lemon aioli topping on the pork belly was what made it hard to resist this dish. It had a nice amount of acid to cut the pork. Really really good.

The trout was a tad lighter on the flavor profiles than a lot of the other dishes so we felt it didn't flow with the meal but still nice.

Chicken was its usual hit. Maybe not converting atheists to Catholics but still a solid workhorse worth revisiting with large groups. Even though it was the last thing we got and we were stuffed the whole thing got finished. The past 2-3 times I have been here and brought out-of-towners, at least one person has said that they don't understand how you get chicken that moist. The fries were awesome too.

Brussel sprout salad rocked.

Little Gem was good. I felt like the individual components really sung to me but the whole bite was not transcendental. I think if they served those pig ears bits on their own I would make those a regular happy hour item.

Finall, the Opah had a nice write up in the bottom of the menu about its rarity and how this specific fish had been caught. In the past when Publican has a strong story on a special we have read the signals and usually had good success. I cannot recall having Opah previously but found it to have a really nice and interesting flavor. It was served with a nice sauce and pile of toppings that really made for a great whole bite.

We lucked into a 4 top at 7:45 by checking Opentable around 7:25.

Anyway, Publican is still rocking.

jpeac2 wrote:We lucked into a 4 top at 7:45 by checking Opentable around 7:25.

Getting a reservation for four people on Opentable doesn't guarantee you a four-top. Even with a reservation, it's possible they might seat all of you at one of the communal tables, if that's all that's available. Just note your preference (for your own table or for the communal tables) when making your reservation, and they will try to honor your preference, if they can.

nsxtasy wrote:

jpeac2 wrote:We lucked into a 4 top at 7:45 by checking Opentable around 7:25.

Getting a reservation for four people on Opentable doesn't guarantee you a four-top.

It does, however, guarantee you 4 seats together.

=R=

The Publican to open a bar in Wicker Park

http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct ... story.html

I have a question that I'm hoping someone can answer about gift cards for the Publican. In an effort to get a very belated wedding gift for a couple of great Chicago carnivores, I thought of getting a gift certificate to the Publican. Does anyone know if the a Publican gift card can be used at PQM or the new Publican or is it just for the restaurant itself? Does anyone have experience with this?

Edit: In reaching out to the restaurant, the gift card only works at the Publican restaurant (the others have separate gift card options).

It sounds like you've already answered your own question, but just as a data point: My dad accidentally got me a gift card to PQM instead of to the Publican. We called and explained the mistake, and they said it would be fine if we used the PQM card at the Publican. We haven't cashed in yet, but hopefully that will not be an issue.

Love,
John

Had some pretty uneven seafood dishes at our most recent trip to the Publican. Overcooked scallops and greasy hake. Beef tongue on toast was solid, however. Overall, a slightly disappointing return.

Publican chef Cosmo Goss fired over 'inappropriate' photo incident

chicagotribune.com wrote:Cosmo Goss, executive chef of five Publican-branded businesses, has been fired by parent company One Off Hospitality, months after an incident “that violated a staff member’s privacy and respect,” according to a statement from the Chicago-based restaurant group.

Another employee, Anthony Molina, general manager of Publican Anker in Wicker Park, also had his employment terminated by One Off in relation to the incident.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Publican chef Cosmo Goss fired over 'inappropriate' photo incident

chicagotribune.com wrote:Cosmo Goss, executive chef of five Publican-branded businesses, has been fired by parent company One Off Hospitality, months after an incident “that violated a staff member’s privacy and respect,” according to a statement from the Chicago-based restaurant group.

Another employee, Anthony Molina, general manager of Publican Anker in Wicker Park, also had his employment terminated by One Off in relation to the incident.

=R=

i've always had a lot of respect for paul kahan: this event confirms that. firing such an important member of OOH will, i hope, lead to more changes in the hospitality industry which has always been hostile to women in the back of the house. john besh, a famous new orleans chef, was also recently fired by the company he created.
https://www.eater.com/2017/10/23/165242 ... harassment

justjoan wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Publican chef Cosmo Goss fired over 'inappropriate' photo incident

chicagotribune.com wrote:Cosmo Goss, executive chef of five Publican-branded businesses, has been fired by parent company One Off Hospitality, months after an incident “that violated a staff member’s privacy and respect,” according to a statement from the Chicago-based restaurant group.

Another employee, Anthony Molina, general manager of Publican Anker in Wicker Park, also had his employment terminated by One Off in relation to the incident.

=R=

i've always had a lot of respect for paul kahan: this event confirms that. firing such an important member of OOH will, i hope, lead to more changes in the hospitality industry which has always been hostile to women in the back of the house. john besh, a famous new orleans chef, was also recently fired by the company he created.
https://www.eater.com/2017/10/23/165242 ... harassment

Fired Publican Chef Cosmo Goss Leaves His Own Restaurant Before it Opens.
Goss was to be a partner in the forthcoming Pacific Standard Time in River North

https://chicago.eater.com/2018/1/4/1685 ... iver-north

The Publican starts serving lunch for the first time on Monday

https://chicago.eater.com/2019/4/24/185 ... chef-intel