Food4Talk

Atwood Café
www.atwoodcafe.com
1 W. Washington Street
Chicago, Illinois 60602
312.368.1900

Note: This picture is from the Atwood Café  website (www.atwoodcafe.com)

The Background: DG, MM, and I dined at Atwood Café on Sunday, September 20, 2009. A week prior, DG, a Facebook friend and co-chair of Friends of Muntu volunteer group, sent out a FB email asking people if they wanted to go see Stoop Stories at the Goodman Theatre.  So, four of us planned to attend and eat at Atwood Café.  Although, CND  had planned to meet us for dinner, she could not meet us at Atwood  due to traffic and wether issues. However, we hooked up with her at the Goodman.

The Food:Initially we were going to pop in the Atwood Café for a light fare but I was really hungry and ordered from the Chef’s Menu, that is, a three course prix fixe menu.  For my first course, I ordered the mixed baby lettuces with tangerine-basil vinaigrette and teardrop tomatoes. I found the salad refreshing and  for some reason, the tomatoes triggered bittersweet thoughts about the ending of summer.  The tomatoes also added the right amount of color to the greens.  My main dish was grilled organic chicken breast with bacon-scallion mashed potatoes, french green beans, port wine reduction.   I ate half because I wanted to save room for dessert which was a dark chocolate soufflé cake with rum zabaione, chocolate sauce.  Heavenly.

The Wine: I ordered one glass of a 2007 Adlesheim Pinot Gris from the Wilamette Valley, Oregon (http://www.adelsheim.com/).  I feel the need to add that I am not a wine expert.  I order what I like.  If I do not gag when I take the first sip,  then I think it is pretty good. My standards are a bit higher than that but I order what stikes my fancy at the time of dining.  I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about pairings.  And, and, more often than not, I will ask the waiter to make a suggestion (Note to self, It might be a good time to do another wine tasting class with Bin36.).

The Ambience: I love the decor. On the  www.atwood.com website, they descibe the dining room as vibrant and I agree.  I am usually winding down on Sunday evenings, so the food, the company, and the ambience gave me a boost for the show.

The Service: The service from the waiter was below average but not terrible.  There are waiters and waitresses that look at a table and decide how much of a tip they might get.  If they think the tip is not going to be “large” then they will not spend a lot of time with the diners, especially inexperienced wait staff.  That is what I felt about the waiter we had.  Once he saw that only one 3-course meal was going to be ordered (the other ladies ordered a drink and one course), then he did not feel obligated to spend a lot of time with us.   He showed up, took the orders, and came by at his leisure.  Even when we told him we had to be at the theater, he did not seem too concerned. The bus staff made him look better than he was.  In this instance, it was the waiter.  I have been to the Atwood Café on a number of occasions and never had an issue with service.

A few more details: I have been to the Atwood Café  for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is one of my favorite “contemporary comfort food” restaurants.  It reminds me of home.  It was a perfect night to dine there as the weather was rainy and  almost fall-like night.  On such nights, I want to be in familiar surroundings where I know the food is consistently good. That’s the way I feel about Atwood Cafe.  The evening could have easily come undone because the first 20 minutes of the meal DG was on a business call and could not get off.  I did not know MM but we clicked and were able to find things to discuss while DG completed the call.

The  Atwood Café is in  the heart of the loop.  It is situated on the  southwest corner of State and Washington Streets and diagonally across from Macy (formerly Marshall Fields).  It is within walking distance of the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Theater, Millinium Park, the Art Institute, the Architecture Foundation,  Symphony Center, and the Chicago Cultural Center.

Finally, The Atwood Café is apart of the Burhnam Hotel, an architectual landmark.   Atwood Café is named for Charles B. Atwood who was an artictect in Daniel Burnham’s firm.  As many of you know, Daniel Burnham was a city planner and architect and much of what you see in Chicago is his vision, especially the lakefront and the Emerald Necklace which connect the city’s major parks (or did).  There are many books about Burham but the most fascinating one is not about his at all.  The book “Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson gives a good account about who he is and his role in shaping the architecture of Chicago.

Note: This picture of the citrus salad is from the Province website.

Province
www.provincerestaurant.com
161 N. Jefferson St.
(norhteast corner of Jefference and Randolph)
Chicago, IL 60661
312.669.9900

The Background: Reva, Charlie, and I were at Province on Friday, September 11, 2009 for dinner.  Reva and I were a little early and Charlie was a little late (which nevers happens).  Prior to Charlie’s arrival, we (I, Reva doesn’t drink) ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, Grove Mill, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2007.  I began my first glass, as Reva and I caught up on books and movies.  However, when we started to worry, Charlie appeared.

The Food: Overall, the presentation of the food and the food itself were very good.  I appreciated how the menu was arranged: bites, raw, soup/salads, small, big, bigger, and vegetables.  Prior to ordering we were brought on a small piece of toast a tasty morsel of chopped jicama, corn, garlic and cilantro(?). I ordered the House Cold Smoked Salmon “Cone”.  It was literaly a bite packed full of flavor.  It could be conceivably two bites if you were on a date trying to impress someone. Then, I ordered the Green Acres Farms Beets & Radish Salad with goat cheese &olive oil. Now that was good. For my entree, the Gunthorp Farms Rabbit Confit in a marcona almond emulsion was tasty but slightly saltier than I would have liked.

Reva ordered the Softshell Crab Bisque with sherry and peppers for her first course.  She loves her soup extremely, extremely hot and on that score Province delivered.  We have eaten out many, many times and I cannot tell you how many times Reva will make the request for EXTREMELY hot soup only to get back warm soup.  It boggles the mind but I digress.  For her entree, the House Ground Cheddar Burger (with out brioche roll), potato frites, and house made ketchup.

Charlies first taste was the House Smoked Sable Ceviche with hawaiian papaya.  I said it looked delicous and he agreed it was.  His entre was the Lavender-Honey Glazed Rotisserie Natural Chicken with cress salad and salsa verde.

We all like the food because there was that two to three minute period when everyone begins eating and nothing is said; just savor the meal.

The Wine: 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Grove Mill, Marlborough, New Zealand.  I really liked it and thought it blended well with my meal.

The Service: We found our waitress to be, let’s say, distracted most of the time we were there.  When a large crowd came in we lost her completely.  We were all annoyed by the disappearing waitress.  Reva and Charlie rarely get visibly annoyed (I’m the emotional one), but when the waitress disappeared for the umpteenth time (okay, to be fair, the fourth or fith time), they were annoyed to the point of not leaving a 20% tip. It may have even been less than 15%.  They always leave a 20% or more tip even for adequate service.  I can not remember what I left but I suspect I would have supported them.   The bus staff and another wait person were excellent and were instrumental in having visible annoyance not turn into anger and possibly a horrible review.

The Ambience: When I walked in I noticed that the space was open and airy.  I found it appealing.  The noise level for most of our meal was manageable because the restaurant was not populated.  As it became more so, the noise level rose but not to the point of unbearable.

A few more details: We talked about their latest trip to Lake Tahoe, work, books, movies and generational differences in the workplace.  As always with Reva and Charlie, it was a nice evening. Defnitely one of our more quiet ones.  But with good friends, sometimes very few words are needed.

Bin 36
www.bin36.com
339 N. Dearborn St.
(at Marina City)
Chicago, IL 60610
312.755.WINE (9463)

The Background: Bin 36 was made for Fridays after work.  Okay, the reality is that Bin 36 was made for everyday after work.  The wine and food pairings are a delight to my palate.  CYT and I were at Bin 36 on Friday, August 21, 2009 for dinner. It had been awhile since both of us has been there on separate occasions. CYT’s previous experience was not so great.  My previous experiences (dining and wine tastng class) were good.

The Food: The food was excellent. I had the Applewood Smoked Bacon Sausage with the fried green tomato, sunnyside up quail egg, arugula pesto as an appetizer.  I felt guilty about ordering such a fat-laden dish but that lasted all of zero seconds once I tasted it.  I cannot remember what Cathy has as an appetizer but,  for our entrée, we had the  Seared Striped Bass with fingerling potato & green bean salad, “broken” red pepper vinaigrette.

Brian Duncan, the Wne Director, stopped by our table to say “hello.”  When we ordered a dessert of a Cappucino Crème Brulée, we were positively delighted when Brian recommended the PX Grand Reserva Sherry.  The two together were a flavor explosion with sweetness, cappucino, blackberries, and I am not sure what else because I my sensory palates were preoccupied with goodness.

Kudos to Chef Caputo!

The Wine: I started with and continued through dinner with the 2007 Viognier, Casa Silva, Colchagua Valley, Chile.  It’s described on the menu as “[a] great sipping wine, it‘s all fabulous with minerals, white peach and juicy melon.”  Okay.    All I know is that I liked it while I sat at the bar waiting for CYT and it seemed to go well with dinner.

The Service: Our service was also excellent.  Our waiter’s name was Chris and he was delightful; he was conversational but not chatty and attentive without being obtrusive.

The Ambience:  I am very sensitive to light, so I thought it was well lighted.  I generally like to dine around 6:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. so it was not crowded, which always adds to my dining experience.

A few more details:  I was very early and decided to do valet instead of look for street parking.  When I got
out the car something was not quite right but I could not put my finger on it.  Well, I soon discovered it was because I had on mismatched shoes; one black sandal and one white sandal (While driving to Bin36, I started to change shoes).  I tried running after the valet guy but to no avail.  I was headed into the restaurant thinking this could be an interesting story to tell when I saw the valet guy and got the right sandal.  I was a half-hour which almost never happens so I took a seat at the bar.  So, I ordered a glass of wine and perused the menu.  Of course, I was trying to stay distracted because I am want to become apart of conversation.  It must be the wine.

By the time I started on glass number two, CYT still had not arrived  and I thought  I saw the part owner and sommelier engaged in conversation with his buddies.  Either it was him or a clean shaven and cooler version of Darius Brook, and former member of Hootie and the Blowfish.  Either way, I decided against any please notice me moments, and started wrting in my journal at the bar.  I know, it was kind of a nerdy move.  A nerd sexy (@danaglesson coined the term) move, I hope.

Mid way through my second glass of wine, CYT arrived.   I paid the tab.  The first bartender was not so attentive, the second bartender pretty attentive and kept things moving at thebar.  The first was way too chatty with his buddies but if one of them was part owner.  Well, I could kind of understand.  Kind of.

Cathy soon arrived, the bartenders, the shows, and “Darius Brooks” were soon forgotten.   Whenever I dine at Bin36, I am never disappointed by the food, the people, nor the other diners.  I hope I have convinced CYT that her not-so-good experience serveral years ago was probably a fluke.