Mercat a la planxa

Another great Chicago restaurant find is Mercat a la planxa. The chef, Jose Garces won the second season of The Next Iron Chef competition. Let's just say I envy the eating Jeffrey Steingarten is about to undertake.

First up was the Paella Negra with calamari, octopus and chipirones with black rice and octopus tomato salad. Pesky Pescatarian was quite fond of the grilled octopus, and the waiter recommended a grilled octopus special that she would have considered ordering if it weren't for space constraint concerns. I was obsessed with the black rice. I haven't had sepia pasta or rice often, and I'm starting to believe that this makes my life not so complete.


Arguably the best dish of the night, the Sopa de Pesols, which was fresh English pea soup with Goat's Cheese, Pea Ice Cream and shaved black truffle, this was a wonderful hot-cold soup. Alinea has their famous hot potato, cold potato concoction, but there aren't that many versions of this concept out there. I really loved tasting the freshness of spring, coupled with the hot and cold elements mingling together, all mixed in with the earthy seductiveness of the truffle.

If the soup was the best dish, the Albondigas de Venera was the worst dish of the night. The scallop & shrimp meatballs with marinated grapes and shaved Idizabal were boring. The sauce was almost cloyingly sweet and there was nothing exciting either on a flavor or textural front that saved the meatballs. Only the marinated grapes were fun.

The revuelto de Temporada with roasted seasonal mushrooms with soft scrambled eggs, green pea tendrils and fava bean toast was delicious. Ever since that Bayona omelette experience I keep talking about, I've been seeking perfectly cooked eggs, and these finally fit the bill.

The Gratin de Coliflor came out last, and it was too rich for our taste buds at this point. I really like this dish, but it very heavy on hte cream and cheese flavor, which can overwhelm the flavor of the cauliflower itself. Still, on a cold winter's night this would be a great choice to include.

The Croquetas de Xocolata, which were milk chocolate croquettes with banana marshamallow (that's banana-flavored marshmallow for ya), rosemary caramel, and Arbequina olive oil was fantastic. Amazing. At $10 an order a total steal considering the thought, skill, and execution of the dish. The flavor of every element was perceptible to the Pesky Pescatarian, though I had some difficulty with the rosemary and the olive oil. The marshmallow was lightly bruleed and each little dessert "pod" could be enjoyed in a single bite. Mmm mmm good.

Mercat a la planxa, 638 Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL

Delightful Pastries

Also way back when, I went to Delightful Pastries to learn how to make Paczki. No, those aren't Paczki, that's just a sampling of some of Delightful Pastries' fare.

The staff hard at work.

First we made some angel wings. We cut the dough with this nifty antique-looking contraption. I want it. Not that I plan on ever making angel wings again.

We cut slits into each rectangle so we could fold over the pastry to make the "wings."

I like industrial-sized baking ware.

Okay the angel wings are ready to go into the giant fryer.

Stand back!!!

Once they turn golden brown on one side, it's time to quickly flip them over with some long chopsticks.

Dusted with some powdered sugar, they are ready for your belly!

Now onto the paczki which have been proofing until they are big beautiful airy balls.

And into the fryers these suckers go.

A quick slice.

Oh yes, let's watch them fry. (Is it sad that I'm not really writing, but just noting down some super crap captions? Well, this is what happens when there is picture overload.)

Okay, back to the fried paczki. Let's sweeten them up!

I seriously dig this jelly donut filling machine. The conical thing is filled with jelly.

Jam in the paczki, and the jam shoots in.

Glazed and topped with candied orange.

We each got to take a box home. Except I don't really like sweets. So I kind of didn't know what to do with them as they piled up in the fridge.

Delightful Pastries, 5927 West Lawrence, Chicago, IL

The Purple Pig

I've been dancing around this Purple Pig post for awhile now. Just thinking about the meal makes me tired. Aside from the Alinea fluke, I hadn't done any epic gourmet meals since I dragged my parents to Avec and Publican. Actually, maybe I should just end this train of thought because clearly I'm a lucky bastard.

Okay, deep breath. First up: Shaved Brussel Sprouts with Pecorino Noce & Parmigiano Reggiano. Yes, it as good as they say.

Salt-roasted Beets with Whipped Goat Cheese & Pistachio Vinaigrette. The whipped goat cheese is also smeared into the inside of the ramekin so the beets have a good shot at picking up some of the goat cheese.

Pork Fried Almonds with Rosemary & Garlic. This I got to try at home. So easy! So indulgent! Oh wait, I'm trying to eat healthier. Crap. Crap. I tell you, I seriously need to rent two teenage boys, so they can help me deal with the fallout from my cooking bursts.

Lardo Crostini. One of the things I miss most from the one month I lived in the center of Florence was the ability to walk two blocks to the local corner store and buy pre-sliced lardo and balls of mozzarella (only a euro each!). Oh lardo, how I love thee.

P.S. Confession. After having tried the whipped lardo at Del Posto, dealing with the sliced lardo is significantly more technically complicated.

Calabro Ricotta with Pork Neck Bone Gravy. I had high hopes for this once, but it actually turned out to be less satisfying and exciting than some of our other dishes. The pork neck gravy in the tomato base was good, but it almost seemed like rustic home cooking in comparison to the decadence flavors in the other dishes.

Okay that's it. I officially loved fried pig's ear salad. This Pig’s Ear with Crispy Kale, Marinated Cherry Peppers & Fried Egg was crazy crazy good.

And when you crack open the yolk and let it run over the crispy ears, creating a rich dressing. Lord, I've met some people who don't like runny egg yolks. It's a dying shame I tell you.

Sardines with Lemon Vinaigrette. Did you know the last U.S. sardine cannery just closed down? I suppose I'm plenty to blame as well. I only order the suckers at restaurants, though I'm nearly always happy when I do. The fennel and caper salad is a great complement to the oily fish.

Mussels with Treviso, Serrano Chiles, Winter Citrus & Gaeta Olives. A surprise hit. The mussels were shucked, lightly breaded and fried and then tossed with some citrus and olives that served as great bright foils to the briny pockets.

We planned in a salad to help clear our palates. Mixed Greens with Feta, Watermelon Radishes & Red Wine Mint Vinaigrette.

Octopus with acini di pepe & Swiss Chard. Tender, smokey, meaty. All one wants from grilled octopus.

Charred Scallions with Romesco Sauce. These had me dreaming of ramp season. If you are in the vicinity of any grilled ramps, do yourself a favor and order them. Make that two orders.

Wagyu Sirloin Tip with Bone Marrow Vinaigrette. I was leaning towards not ordering this dish when we were plotting our attack plan, and boy am I glad that I lost that battle. Wagyu. One remembers why it is revered.

Sicilian Iris (Ricotta & Chocolate Chip filled Fried Brioche). Yes. A light fully fried donut ball filled with goodness. I could only handle about one bite of this, it was so rich. Luckily, my dining companions had more fortitude.

Purple Pig, 500 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL

Resort Food

In Costa Rica, we ended up staying at this fancy spot called Paradisus Playa Conchal. We found a good deal at this all-inclusive spot that I took to calling the compound for its absurd 2,400 acres and small fleet of roving golf carts.

It's not exactly the ideal spot for getting a sense of "real" Costa Rica, but I was more looking for sunshine, beaches, pools, and comfort. It suited our needs well enough, which is to just book flight and accomodation and not deal with much else.

There are eight restaurants at the compound, and surprisingly I didn't manage to try all of them. Getting a stomach ache for two days and being exceedingly lazy will do that. I will say this for the compound though, all of the water is cleaned and filtered, so one doesn't need to get her panties in a bunch every time she brushes her teeth.

As you can see, some of the restaurants can get rather fancy, and the first night we dined in a place called the Gabi Club. I think my favorite thing about the air conditioned dining options was that I didn't have to worry about mosquitoes sniping at my ankles. I dined at a buffet for lunch, and as the sun sank, the bugs would partake of their own feast.

This is not to say that the compound was particularly buggy. If that's the sort of thing one likes, I can point you to a certain resort in Curacao that will suit you just fine. I'm just particularly delectable to the bloodsucking little buggers. The romance of Twilight notwithstanding, thank goodness vampires aren't real, or I'd be a goner for sure.

The food at Gabi Club is better than your average resort fare, but it certaintly wasn't up to the models it was trying to emulate. The flavor of this tuna tartar was passable, but the tuna itself was stringy as it had not come from an ideal cut, nor had it been properly sliced.

This chocolate mousse was fine, but who doesn't love chocolate mousse? One of our companions has a true sweet tooth, and it was funny watching her each night as she delighted over the dessert menu. It's enjoyable watching someone else's mood considerably perk up over the prospect of something delicious. I know mine often does!

Paradisus Playa Conchal, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Alinea - Chocolate

Dish 28: Chocolate with coconut, menthol, hyssop

Served with Dashe 'Late Harvest' Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley 2007.

Lord this was a fun dish. The bouncing in the seat definitely resumed for this dish. Plus some clapping of the hands and cackles of pure greedy glee.

Grant Achatz and Chef de Cuisine, Dave Beran came out to serve us, but I didn't realize who they were, so I proceeded to act like a 7 year-old high on happiness.


After the pale green, super smooth silicon sheets were rolled out, the chefs placed the various ingredients on the edge of the table.

They poured chocolate into cylinders.

Everything was done with such precision.

Beran was making these beautiful little curlicues, and not knowing that Achatz was Achatz, I ribbed him and asked why he wasn't being as fancy as his partner.

He genially mumbled something about following Beran's lead and made one line of smaller circles. I liked Beran's more.

It was wonderful watching the two of them work and seeing our dessert take shape.

At this point the chefs took out two loaf pans of chocolate chocolate mousse frozen in liquid nitrogen, which they cracked open to create a craggy landscape.

As the mist from the liquid nitrogen rolled out, our "dessert" really started to look like a landscape from outer space. I could imagine the lunar rover navigating over the bumpy terrain.

The chefs placed the final elements on with tweezers.

Who says men can't be careful and precise?

Then the chefs removed the glass cylinders to reveal little pucks of chocolate that remained warm and liquid when we spooned it away later.

We came for my friend's birthday, but we all felt extremely extremely lucky and blessed.

Then the chefs walked away and we dove in with our spoons, scooping a little bit of this with a little bit of that, trying different flavor combinations. A brilliant dish, a delightful experience.