Lunch in Chicago

I had lunch in Chicago. Just lunch, it was too cold to do anything else. I arrived in mid morning and left at the end of the afternoon. There were good reasons to do the trip but that is not what this little diatribe is about. Let us just stick to the important stuff.

Chicago, what a pathetic town. It starts with their "Blue Line Slow Elimination Project." Some silly ongoing effort to end those meaningless slowdowns on the train to and from O'Hare Airport and it continues with an artless cityscape. Honestly, have you ever seen such an ugly city? Smack in the center of town there are open, above-ground parking lots! Nasty. You'd think with that big fire they had a chance, but no. And now, every other corner is a construction project. I think it will take 30 years or more before it improves - 15 years to build on all those nasty parking lots and another 15 to rebuild on all those pathetic one story buildings. It will be ready for your grandchildren!

Naha is where I dined for lunch. I wanted to eat at Charlie Trotter's, I have wanted to eat there for years. This summer on vacation there just wasn't time and this trip, no luck. They never, never serve lunch. A very kind reservationist recommended Naha; apparently it is one of Charlie's "favorites." It's not bad. The 'view' was sad, as was the decor. When did minimal become triste? No flowers, no candles, no shades, no drapes. Just a view on a construction site... for $200 I want more.

With some effort on my part during the ordering process they became more attentive, but it does not seem to be the norm. That much was obvious. Not that they were rude, it is just that there is a lack of polish and attention to detail, and not just at Naha but in Chicago as a whole. I noticed it this summer in restaurants, at the W Hotel, and other places. Maybe it is a Midwestern thing, or maybe I am just spoiled. Anyway, I sat down and ordered a nice Domaine William Fèvre Chablis to warm up (Chicago is cooooold). Naha had a decent wine list including quite a few good whites and reds by the glass. Strangely, there was not much listed about the wine. For example, I don't know if I drank a Chablis, a Chablis 1er Cru or a Chablis Grand Cru. Okay, I lie, for the price - $14 per glass 2004 - I was not drinking a Grand Cru. But for that price, in that type of restaurant, they should have brought the bottle to the table to pour the glass of wine.

For my first course I had an organic risotto with chorizo and tomato sauce. It was very nice. The grains of rice were not over cooked and the tomato sauce coated everything lightly; the chorizo perfumed without overwhelming. I had asked the waiter for advice on the wines by the glass, using my usual comment, "I live half time in Paris and would like to try something different." He asked the managing partner, apparently, who suggested for this course a Quinta dos Roques Encruzado, 2004, a white from Portugal. It was full bodied and appropriate for the risotto. At first taste, I would have guessed that it was a white Graves of a certain age.

My next course was a roasted beet salad with red and golden beets, 'deconstructed' and sprinkled with a delicious American blue cheese (not Maytag) and balsamic vinegar with a side of very lightly dressed arugula. The wine to accompany this course was a Domaine Sigales Assyrtiko, 2006, white wine from Greece. The owners, two cousins - one chefing, one managing - are Armenian Greeks. This wine was a revelation for me. Complex, beautifully colored (with a tint of green), lots of structure. No hint of Retsina!!

My main course was 'Rillettes' of duck confit with caramalized quince and grilled fennel and walnuts. The duck confit had been pulled off the bone and placed in a ramekin with a bit of jus. It was served with toast on which to eat the 'rillettes.' Certainly no fat to create 'rillettes,' more like deconstructed confit, perhaps?? It was favorful but presented in that form without reason. To drink, I was served a glass of the restaurant's private label Shiraz. I can see more and more why people pay for French wine. This wine was far less than stellar - tanic, sharp and unpleasant - why would you put your name on it? That comment, made to the waiter, but with a smile, created a small stir.

So the director of private parties, as she had introduced herself earlier, comes to the table with multiple glasses and 2 new wines - another private label (Pinot Noir from CA) and a Côtes du Ventoux. Now, frankly, the Côtes had more flavor but that wine is basically swill, or as the French would call it, "vin de table." I think the Prince Consort would call for annulment if I put a Côtes du Ventoux on the table with company, so I took the private label. It was not the nicest Californa Pinot I've had but not the worst either. In the glass, it opened a bit, but I don't think it could have gone the other direction.

For dessert I had a fruit strudel with a tiny panne cotta of the same blue cheese that I had enjoyed in my beet salad. Thank god for the tannins in that private label Pinot. They were able to cut through that gelatinous cheese-cotta. I needed chocolate (like hole in the head) so I followed with a chocolate 'brick' (my emphasis not theirs) topped with a quenelle of espresso ice cream and a frangelico foam. I ordered it for the foam - oops, not much there; plenty of foam, just no much flavor. This I accompanied with a Hungarian Tokay. It was intriguing to find two different Tokay from Hungary on their list. One was a '99 and one an '03 (I believe). My choice was perfect with the chocolate - sweet, dessert, good - but $20 good? I don't think so.

The meal was $200 with tax and tip - excessive in my book for the whole picture. I believe in the theatre of dining and this was too minimal for me without the lux that is needed to balance. Silverware was okay - a strange farmhouse sort that was pitted like pewter, the dishes were 'been-there-done-that,' glassware serviceable, white tablecloths a little too thin. A return to my "Chicago is ugly and they pay no attention to detail" mantra.

Then the train back to the airport. The track runs down the middle of some 6+ lane interstate with boring scenery filled with too many churches. It could be New Jersey - ugly - and the people riding are sad.

I am spoiled living in Paris and NYC, but that is why I do....

Later!