Tag Archives: the Aviary

Chicago – 2/12/16 – Au Cheval, Cold Storage, CAA, Aviary, and Next Alps

Posted in Chicago by

Au Cheval
Where else to start a whirlwind one day tour of some of my favorite places in Chicago than at Au Cheval?   I know I have had burger blinders on for years and have largely ignored the rest of the menu venturing only as far as the raw vegetable salad.  A huge thank you to our server who told us that the beef cheek marmalade could be ordered as a side dish.  How I have lived without this I don’t know.  Next time I may thrown caution to the wind and add it to my burger.

pickles
beef cheek marmalade and toast
 ​cheeseburger with egg and bacon


Cold Storage
Some travel days call for a double lunch, and not only a double lunch but going big with the large seafood tower.  After visiting Swift & Sons a few weeks prior I was looking forward to checking out its more casual inner restaurant.  Fantastic hospitality.  How we ate this all I don’t know.


 ​

Chicago Athletic Association 
For years before the Chicago Athletic Association opened as a hotel, I looked at the amazing facade from across Michigan Avenue on many of the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s walking tours.  I just love everything they have done to maintain the original details and character and can’t help but walk through whenever I pass it.  Unfortunately the cocktails in the grand lobby were far from fantastic, but ambience almost made up for it.

Sidecar and Negroni 

Aviary
As anybody who reads this blog likely knows, Aviary is my favorite place in Chicago.  Not only have I met many people here who have become incredible friends, but I am always blown away by something new on the menu.  I am always nervous bringing somebody new here, afraid that they won’t like it as much as I do or I have talked it up too much.  But when the person gets it and is as excited about the experience as I always am, these are the best visits of all.  Many, many pictures missing somehow.

Loaded to the Gunwalls

Next Alps
This was an absolutely frigid day which made the Next Alps menu the perfect dinner.  A very fun menu separated into six sections – the French farmhouse, the German beer hall, the warming yurt, the top of the Swiss mountain, intro to Italy and Austrian sweets.  While there wasn’t necessarily one stand out dish for me as there has been on previous menus, anytime you can have raclette is special and this is definitely a menu that I would happily repeat.


   stone soup
 ​gratin of Beaufort and trumpet crozets

game pie
 tourton of salsify and apple

 gateau de St. Genix avec du beurre de chevre
 pork belly schnitzel with cherry and black walnut
 ​pretzel, sausages and pickles


 Raclette with potatoes, fermented mustard greens, chestnuts, and black truffles

 Augustiner Brau Edelstoff lager
 chocolate with black truffle and milk crisp
 preserved summer berries with cognac and honey
 smoked arctic char with cauliflower and juniper

 
goulash of beef and Barolo with sour cornbread

 bitter green salad with pomegranate and fennel ice

Salzburger nockerl
 pie spiced ice cream
 apple strudel with clove and cinnamon

And as if this wasn’t enough in one day, missing from the photos are cocktails at Grace as well as post dinner in the Office.

Chicago – 8/1/15 – XOCO, Next Patio, Boeufhaus, and Aviary

Posted in Chicago by

XOCO
Still my favorite lunch in Chicago. Only a few hours prior to this I was in my hotel throwing up from a migraine. Somehow I drug myself out of bed and credit the healing powers of guacamole for getting me through the rest of the day.

Fully dressed guacamole & XOCO salad

Next Patio
Unfortunately it did not work out for me to repeat the Tapas menu but I did manage to return on one of the few beautiful evenings Chicago has had this summer for pintxos on the patio. As I said the last time, the bocadillo is one of the best things in Chicago right now. It would be brilliant if this made it on to the Aviary or Office menu. Pretty please??

cold octopus and celery salad
porkbelly and manchego sandwich

Boeufhaus
I can’t believe that I went to Boeufhaus and didn’t have a steak. But it just seemed too hot, not to mention I had just finished the bocadillo. I’m looking forward to one the next time, however the vegetables and seafood dishes at Boeufhaus are not to be overlooked. I could have easily eaten two plates of the citrus salmon. My only tiny quibble was that the green goddess was just taken out of the fridge and was quite solid when it arrived at our table so by the time it softened enough to use as a dip, the crudite was almost gone.

Crudité – green goddess

Citrus Salmon – ginger oil, pickled honjimeji, fresno chili, crisp skin, herb salad

Salade Du Marche – early spring vegetables, house greens, root vinaigrette
 Scallops (unfortunately a special and I did not write down all of the components)
 Cauliflower gratin – leek, gruyere, bechamel, herbed bread crumb

Aviary
Since the Aviary opened there have been a multitude of very cool ice preparations as one would expect from a ‘bar’ that has an ice room. But this one is my favorite of all. I don’t have an ‘after’ picture but the ice chips are dropped into the glass before the cocktail is added. I can’t wait to see what you do next Micah!

Up the Ice Ante

Loaded to the Gunwalls
Espelette you Finish