Goosefoot (2)

It's been a year since I've been to Goosefoot and I loved the meal so much that I have to go back to visit. Located in the charming Lincoln Square neighborhood, this restaurant is definitely a diamond there.

Amuse - Poached Beet with Goat Cheese

This perfect little amuse is the standard of Goosefoot. A small bite of beautiful beet and goat cheese make up for this sweet little bite.

Scallop/ Maitake/ Crab/ Lemongrass

A nicely seared scallop topped with a crunchy crab and Maitake mushroom "skin". The combination of soft and crunchy really appeal to me, and the combination of this create a savory and umami sensation. The lemongrass on the side acts as perfect close to this dish as it neutralize the heaviness.

Shrimp/ Preserved Garlic/ Rosemary/ Parmesan 

This is one of my favorite dishes of the night. The warm custard of garlic and rosemary topped with shrimp flakes. The custard is nicely flavored, smooth and totally warms you up. 

Chestnut Soup/ Alba Mushroom/ Potato/ White Truffle Essence

I had this dish last time and I remember how beautiful it is. The soup warms you up and gives you that homey feeling. It's savory and creamy, but feels very light. Add in the light, yet crunchy, vegetable into the soup makes this a dish to remember, especially in cold Chicago days.



Toothfish/ Espelette/ Crawfish/ Corlander
Toothfish is what we know as Chilean Seabass. The fish was nicely cooked and the espelette pepper gives it a nice mildly kick. The crawfish buttery sauce brings the dish together and the whole dish reminds me of cajun fish, but much more refined with a not too overpowering buttery sauce.



Duck Breast/ Cardamom/ Hubbard Squash/ Tapioca/ Acorn
This is my other favorite dish of the night. The juicy duck was perfectly cooked and topped with a little bit of cardamom and cumin, giving it a little "curry" spice. I've actually never had this combination before and I definitely like that little spike of spice in my duck breast. I like the little pickle on the side as it offsets the heaviness of the dish



Angus Beef/ Spice Beluga Lentils/ Cumin/ Compressed Apple
The nicely tenderloin is combined with the lentils sauce, creating a nice savoriness with it. The compressed apple definitely does its trick here as it's sweet, yet, the refreshing feelings from it makes this dish feels a lot lighter than what it actually is.




RoqueFort Cheese/ Goji Berry/ Hazelnut/ Pear/ Port
I usually cringe when the cheese course comes since I am not a fan of strong cheese. But this Roquefort cheese is mild, it does reminds me of blue cheese though. Paired with a nicely poached bear gives off a nice mild sweet flavor. It turns out the pear and cheese combination is pretty good as I gobbled down both my course with ease.



Yuzu /Pomegranate / Thyme
This refreshment is definitely an awesome juice. Light, cirtrusy and refreshing. I wish I can bottle this.  

Cinderella Pumpkin/ Turkish Coffee/ Persimmons/ Cassla
A nice mildly sweet, yet smooth, pumpkin moose encased with white chocolate shell. You just can't say no to it. You can really taste the pumpkin, yet, not too overwhelmed by it.



Chocolate/ Passion Fruit/ Coconut/ Ice wine
Also another repeat course (but a good repeat). This chocolate moose is mild, not too sweet, and retains its chocolate flavor. It's topped with a little mochi which adds a nice little chew to the dish. Along with the coconut cream, making this dish one of my favorite way to end my night.



Goosefoot Chocolate - toasted hazelnut
A little special treat with Chris Nugent's chocolate. They actually hand brushed everyone of these little guys. The chocolate is light but full of toasted hazelnut flavor. It looks and tastes good!

I am pretty satisfied with my revisit here and it's still one of my favorite restaurants in the city. The food is definitely refined and Chef Nugent has definitely kept his standards at Goosefoot. At times, I do wished there's a little more changes to the menu, nevertheless, I did greatly enjoy my dinner and will always look forwards to another visit.

42 Grams

The first major opening of 2014 in Chicago has to be 42 Grams, helm by Chef Jake Bickelhaupt. Chef Bickelhaupt has worked in several kitchen in Chicago, including Alinea, Charlie Trotter and Schwa, and was doing underground dining club, Sous Rising, prior to starting 42 Grams. 42 Grams has the flare of both underground dining and big fancy restaurant, including a chef's counter and also communal table. It definitely offers the homey feeling when you eat here.

Now, let's move onto the food.

Crispy Snacks - Onion Glass, Flax Crisp & Kale dust, Fish-n-Chips

Our first course comes as a 3 bites of crispy treats. The Onion Crisp is packed with exceptional flavor in the form of grilled onion. The Flax Crisp is my favorite one out of these three as the seed provides a nice nutty flavor. The fish-n-chips is exactly what you think it is, a fish N chip, it's nicely infused with a smokey fish flavor.

Juniper Jump - Hendricks Gin, Cucumber, Lime, Rosewater, Hibiscus, Orchid

This is one of my favorite dishes of the evening. The transparent jelly is actually Hendricks Gin, which by itself, is mildly sweet with a dash of rose flavor while the cucumber lime sphere adds in the citrus. Along with the Rosewater snow and Hibiscus, this combination turns this dish into a light, floral, refreshing and delicious bite.

Soup - Tsar Nicoulai Caviar, Potato, Tomato, Chips, Green Pea, Milk, Pollen

This dish is inspired by Jake's childhood. A creamy potato soup is topped with potato and tomato chips, adding the crunchiness. Along with the pea, other vegetable and a small amount of brine from the caviar, makes this a nice creamy soup with a crunch!

Salad - Beetroot, Shallot, Quail Yolk, Fromage Blanc, Lettuce & Herbs
The nicely dressed salad has a bit of roasted flavor, which goes well with the Fromage cheese puree. The highlight here is the beet, as it's taken in the forms of macaroon shell. One of the diner actually calls this a beet macaroon salad.



Coconut - Tom Yum, Finger Lime
Another one of my favorite of the night. This simple dish is a deconstructed Tom Yum soup, coconut noodle and lime caviar. The noodle has a creamy coconut flavor that carries a little chew with it. When eaten, the lime caviar constantly pops in your mouth, adding a little bit of citrus one at a time as you eat this dish. It's a lot of fun and very delicious.



Flavors of the Sea - Faroe Island Salmon, Trout Roe, Veta La Plama Phytoplankton, Dashi
This dish is a tribute course to Charlie Trotter, as Jake worked in his restaurant before. The Salmon is probably one of the best salmon I've had in Chicago. It's sweet with the right amount of fat in the fish. In addition, we had a salmon bone consommé to go along with this, which was a wonderfully flavored fish soup. I do, however, has to mention that the sushi rice here is just a bit too big for my personal taste.



Catalina Island Uni - Yuzu, Bluegrass aged soy, Maple Syrup, Brioche, Sea bean
A nice buttery and sweet Uni goes together with a crumbly brioche. The star here is actually the yuzu foam. It's made with maple syrup, which forms a harmony of sweet and citrus.



Veal Sweetbreads - Crème Fraîche, Horseradish, Pomegranate, Begonia, Apple
This excellent sweetbread is juicy and flavorful, along with a crunchy skin. Combined with the mildly sweet pomegranate jam, it becomes a very nice savory bite and it doesn't feel heavy.



Taffy - Tamarind, Eucalyptus
A little tamarind taffy to help cleanse our pallet. The chewy tamarind reminds me of a dry plum texture. An interesting bite.



Hudson Valley Duck - Umeboshi, Long Bean, Ash-baked Eggplant, Red Shiso, Plum
This dish has a really great duck flavor as it's covered with duck bacon dust, airy eggplant, a nicely seasoned long bean and a fried duck tongue, which makes this a very ducky dish. My duck breast was very well seasoned, however, it's slightly undercooked for my liking. But this dish still has really great flavor and it definitely was a crowd-pleaser.




Hudson Valley Foie Gras - Seckel Pear, Red Onion, Daikon, Mustard
A nicely seared foie combined with a sweet pear makes this a great sweet and salty combination. Along with the diakon and grilled onion, this turns out to be a very nice bite.



Sweet - Dark Chocolate, Banana, Blood Orange, Bourbon Maple, Pretzel, Yogurt, Bubble Gum Hyssop
A very complex, yet delicious chocolate dessert. A mildly sweet chocolate is combined with maple ice cream and a blood orange "glass". I also like the pretzel crumbs that goes along with the chocolate as it adds texture. This dish reminds me of a orange chocolate ganache.



Salty - Pecorino 3 ways
I think this is the first time I've had cheese after sweet. But it's an interesting concept. The Pecorino cheese is done 3 ways: Crisp, Fondue and Foam. When eaten together, this becomes a very nice cheetos, just with a pungent cheese flavor and it's pretty tasty.



Caffeine - Chicory, Cardamom
To end the night, we were served with a Chicory coffee moose. It's light and has a nice coffee flavor, although not very strong but it still tastes really good.


I've heard good things about Sous Rising and I am really impressed with the level of food at 42 Grams.They are creativity, playful and tastes good. The balance of all the fore-mentioned is definitely key and I think that's what makes this meal at 42 Grams great. As the restaurant continue to refine their menu, it will definitely be a great addition to the Chicago dining scene. I definitely look forward to my return meal in the future.

El Ideas - Michelin Award Night

I haven't been back to El Ideas since my New Years Eve Dinner. Hence, I've been itching to go back. It so happened that the night I visited is when they were awarded their first Michelin Star!! I seriously didn't plan this as I've booked my reservation months in advance, so yeah...I guess I got lucky?

If you didn't know already, El Ideas is located in the southwest of the loop, it's definitely not the safest area to go to at night. But it ties in with their no stuffy tie, no pretentiousness attitude towards food.

Fries and Frosty - Potato/ Leek/ Vanilla

This is one of the most famous El Ideas dish that I've yet to try (my previous time was not a complete version). The dish is a child's play of french fries and ice cream. The creamy potato soup is served together with a crispy potato skin filled with vanilla ice cream, which provides a nice sweet and salty, hot and cold and milky and crunchy combo.  

Geoduck - Yuzu/ Radish/ Tamarind

The yuzu jelly gives a nice citrus flavoring along with the crunchy geoduck, making this a refreshing and appetite-jolting dish for our dinner. 

Monk Fish - Fennel/ Tomato/ Saffron Pearls/ Sundried potato chip

This is one of my favorite dish of the night. The dish comes in by itself and we are instructed to pour the soup into the fish. This is actually my first time having a cooked monk fish. It's a bit squishy, but very juicy and flavorful. The broth is actually a fish consomme finished off with absinthe, which gives off a nice brine aroma. Surprisingly, the fish and broth combo tastes very clean and light. 

Sunchoke - Grayson/ Pear/ Honey

This is a creative "crunchy" dish with sunflower seeds, dehydrated sunchoke, pear and honey. Imagine a nice mixed nuts bag but you throw in crispy sweet pear and honey. That's exactly what's played out here, but this is way more fun and better tasting. 

Nantucket Bay - Salsify/ Concord/ Almond

A nicely seared scallop with a nice salsify puree, which is creamy, sweet and a bit of savory. The salsify fettuccine has a nice chew to it while the grapes provides the citrus sweetness to this dish. Quite a nice bite.

Jidori - Corn/ Spaghetti Squash/ Tarragon

The chicken is nicely sous vide and it is tender and juicy. The squash juice adds to the complexity of this dish as it provides that mild sweetness to it. I can say this is one of the better "clean" version of chicken that I've eaten.

Lamb - Pigeon Peas/ Hops/ Kombucha foam/ Arugula

The Lamb is superbly cooked, juicy and meaty. Eating by itself is a bit gamy, however, when you eat the lamb with the kombucha foam, the gaminess washes away. I love this lamb and kombucha combo as it lets me tastes the best part of the lamb, which is its flavor and meatiness while not worrying about the gaminess. The peas are there to provide a nice textural difference but can be an after thought.

Shiitake - Kombu/ Black Garlic/ Foie Gras

The shiitake mushroom is one of my favorite preparation. It was earthly, juicy and nicely seasoned. Combined with the nicely seared foie, makes this dish a nice little bitee.

Venison - Rutabaga/ Turnip/ Shallot

The venison is perfectly cooked, nicely flavored and juicy. It's nicely complimented by a goat cheese ravioli, which was surprisingly tasty as I am not a huge goat cheese fan.

Quince - Ricotta/ Whey

A nicely cooked quince is complimented by a mildly sweet sorbet. A true nice and easy palette cleanser.

Milk and Cookies 

This is one of my favorite dessert from El Ideas. It's simple, chocolate cookie dough and milk ice cream. The dough has a little chocolate piece that provides a nice crunchy bite, combined with the vanilla crisp, make this a very memorable dish.

Sweet Potato - Huckleberry/ Spices/ Coffee

Ginger bread cake with sweet potato ice cream. This combo makes it the perfect ending to the night. The bread has a nice kick to it, which is smoothed out by the ice cream and huckleberry. 

After, finally , having a full course dinner here, I would say El Idea's level of cooking definitely deserve their Star. The food is fun, innovative and tasty. This time around, I feel that the food has become more complex, while being simple at the same time. Restrain is at times the best way to create some of the best food around. Once again, congrats to El Ideas' team for scoring their first star and I am looking forward to see their progress in the future.

Next Restaurant - Bocuse D'Or

Wrapping up the 2013's Next is the Bocuse D'Or meal. I've been waiting for this meal the entire year as I've wondered how Next will fare when they recreate the meal.

Unlike the prior times, I have the luck to dine at the chef's table this time, which wrapped up my 2013's experience in Next that much more awesome.

Terrine of veal with frisee salad and cipollini marmalade

To start off the evening, we're served with a veal terrine. I like the savoriness of the terrine, as it's meaty, yet very light when combined with the salad.

Osteria Caviar with whipped beurre blanc and pine nut

One of my favorite dish of the night. The caviar provides a nice brininess which is highlighted by the little crispy waffles along with the creamy butter.

Mousse of darden ham, and madeira aspic - Taken from Paul Bocuse's recipe

The mousse actually tastes a bit like peanut butter: savory and salty, along with a light green salad. 

Souffle of Prawns

Another one of my favorite of the night. The souffle encase a small prawn in the center, giving it a lively flavor. The prawn itself actually reminds me of heavily flavored shrimp ramen, but of course, the prawn carries its natural sweetness. 

Just to give the same experience as the Bocuse competition, the Next team tour around the entire restaurant with our up coming entree prior to serving us the dishes.

Custard of Cauliflower with verjus rouge, rose, and foie gras

A rich custard of foie. This is definitely one of the best preparation I've had so far. The foie is light, combined with the creaminess of the custard, made every bite as foie-centric as possible, yet, not too overwhelming. 

Charred lettuce, bottarga, bonito and peanut

A nice charred lettuce providing a refreshing, crunchy refreshment for our palate.

Ivory Char with coddled eggs, celeriac and green blueberries

Quinault river salmon with beets, browned butter, and parsley

The salmon is nicely sous vide cooked. along with the charred parsley and other vegetable, making this dish a very nice bite as it combines the simple salmon along the smokiness of the vegetable.

Consomme of roasted mushrooms - Paul Bocuse's recipe

A very classic soup preparation. I like the crusty skin on top. The consomme is a nice, hearty concentrated mushroom soup.

Phesant smoked in hay with grilled baby leek, caramelized onion, and sauce blanquette

This is actually one of my first time having a phesant. I would describe it as a very juicy, flavorful bird. And it's complimented with the baby leek, figs, pickled apples and some mustard seeds

Ribeye of beef with doudin vert, roasted carrot, sauce bearnaise, and potato marrow

My ribeye is unfortunately a little dry. However, the golden nugget of this dish is actually the potato marrow, which is nicely flavored, creamy and smooth as it can get. 

Tete de moine with cashews, pear, and milk skin

I am usually not a strong smelling cheese guy. However, this cheese smells stronger than it tastes, I actually like the combination of cashew and pear with cheese, as it adds sweetness, crunchiness to the pungent cheese. 

Ice cream bombe in the style of apple pie

A deconstructed apple pie. It's actually fun to eat, especially since the ice cream tastes like an apple pie!

A cube of squash with huckleberry, butter pecan ice cream, and pecan oatmeal cookie

To wrap up our evening, we've got a combination of crunchy nuts, pecan ice cream and huckleberry. A perfect and light way to end our evening.

Mignardises - Lime Macaroon, truffle of chocolate and hazelnut, bitter chocolate taffy

All in all, I'm very impressed with the Bocuse D'Or dinner. As I rub my belly to try to digest all these food, I still have a hard time coming up with a good description of this meal. It's definitely a fine meal, with alot of creativity, fun and familiarity from the normal food we eat but making them taste that much better. Next has truly captured the essence of BOcuse D'Or and I just can't wait for the 2014's lineup. I'll be waiting, eagerly and hungrily.