Had a nice time in Chicago with Leah over the weekend. Short. Crappy weather. But she got some shopping done, and we had a pretty amazing meal Saturday night at Restaurant Naha. Here’s what I had:
The chef treated us to a sample of the Rich Winter Cauliflower Soup, caramelized cauliflower, Tuscan Kale, Wild Boar Bacon and Cracked Hazelnuts to kick things off. Then I had the Tartare of Hawaiian “Yellowfin” Tuna, Cured Arctic Char and Hard-Cooked Quail Egg with a Mosaic of Nicoise Garnishes, Aigrelette Sauce and Toasted Brioche (Leah got the other starter I wanted, and she was nice enough to share some: Salad of Organic Beets, Heritage Prairie Farm “Hoop House” Winter Greens, Shaved Spanish Montelerraina Cheese with “Beauty Heart” Radishes, “Northern Spy” Apples and Kohlrabi, Apple Cider Syrup and Honey Vinaigrette). For the main event, I went with the Whole Roasted Squab and Foie Gras, Medjool Dates, Sweet Cherries, Fennel and Crisp Potato Cake scented with Armenian Rose Petal Marmalade, Licorice Root, Bergamot and Pink Peppercorns. Jealous much? It was fantastic. Thanks to our server and friend Jude for the great evening. Also, the weekend wouldn’t have been possible at all without G.G. and Poom Poom, who paid for our room and watched Ava while we were gone. And last but certainly not least, to A.J. and Amy, our generous dinner companions, who footed the bill for what turned out to be the most expensive four-person meal I’ve ever been a party to.
Speaking of Ava, she got a new American Girl Bitty Baby out of the deal (she named her Peaches, Peachy for short), so don’t weep for her. There aren’t enough bytes on my server to hold my impressions of the American Girl store in Chicago. In summary: Whoa.