Rural Society - River East Argentinian by Jose Garces

For our 32nd wedding anniversary, we visited Rural Society. I'm not normally a steakhouse guy, but (a) the menu is a lot more than just a grilled steak, and (b) it's Jose Garces -- we've very fond of Mercat a la Planxa.

We splurged on the 'Especial' version of the tasting menu ($95, there's also a $75 version which has fewer dishes per course). It's four courses, and similar to Mercat, each course is multiple plates. There doesn't seem to be anything off-menu on the tasting menu, but it's all good.

Bread service is quite good: a pao de queijo-like cheesy/eggy puff, a focaccia, and a sesame-seed roll. This was accompanied with a malbec butter, chimmichurri, and a salsa "criollo"(sp)

First course was three dishes:
CARPACCIO DE PULPO Braised Octopus, Tomato Escabeche, Malbec Chips
Extremely tender paper-thin sheets of octopus, seasoned perfectly. Gorgeous presentation.

MORRONES Roasted Red Peppers, Whipped Eggplant, Anchovies
Again, salt is perfectly on point, nice mix of little dots of creamy with the tart peppers

MORCILLA Blood Sausage, Pine Nuts, Raisins
Very different from what I've had in Spain, which had a dense, starchy texture like Jewish kishke, this was lighter, like a veal bratwurst, and was spiced somewhat that too. Delicious. Probably the weakest plating, though -- just a sausage and a single grilled green onion (how do they serve this for one? A smaller sausage?)

Second course was two dishes:
SAFFRON TAGLIERINI Seafood Pasta, Cockles, Rock Shrimp, Grilled Lemon, Bottarga
Perfectly al dente pasta, and again just right on the seasoning. Shrimp and cockles were perfectly cooked, and this dish is truly beautiful. I wasn't going to take pictures, but this needed a snapshot (below).



REMOLACHAS Ember Roasted Beets, Orange Coriander Vinaigrette
Another pretty dish, but really a lot more beets than we wanted. The orange sauce was the best part, it needed more of it. Toasted coriander is a nice touch.

Third course was three dishes and two sides:
CHULETAS DE CORDERO (DOUBLE CUT LAMB CHOPS) Pioneer Ranch, Colorado
When Sue heard that the lamb chops were one of the differences between the $75 and $95 tasting menu, this sold her. And these definitely contributed to the value of the upcharge. Good-sized rib chops, could have been a touch rarer but wonderful.

PICANHA (RUMP) Snake River Wagyu, Domestic
For wagyu, I found this less than tender, but very flavorful. We took more than half of this home, along with parts of the sides below

LANGOSTA Maine Lobster
A half grilled lobster tail, with the claw apparently poached and placed in the cavity (again, curious how they serve this for one). Garnished with a more emulsified chimmichurri. Probably the best lobster I've had in a long time, moist and kissed with smoke.

SETAS Grilled Wild Mushrooms, Parsley, Truffle
The server said "truffle oil" on these, but it didn't have that chemical truffle oil flavor. Lots of woodsmoke, with shiitake caps, oysters and others.

NURY Crispy Roasted Potatoes, Black Truffle Hollandaise
Hasselback fingerlings, perfectly crispy. This had shavings of truffle atop the sauce, which really gilded these lilies.

Fourth course was dessert
A ring-shaped chocolate cremeaux, sweet potato gelato, sous vide squash bits and poached dates. Nicely not sweet, good mix of flavors

They comped us a glass of cava each, SueF ordered a glass of their wine blend which was rich, fruity but still dry. Coffee and Tea followed.

A nice special occasion place -- more than I usually spend on a dinner, but not stupid expensive. Service was very friendly, very attentive (helped no doubt by the early pre-theater hour).
Highly recommended.

455 NORTH PARK DRIVE
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 840-6605
(in the Loews hotel)
http://chicago.ruralsocietyrestaurant.com/

Jose Garces’ Rural Society Shutters Inside Streeterville’s Loews Hotel

http://chicago.eater.com/2017/3/22/1502 ... hicago-eta