Union Square Events | iwillmakeualist

I first went to Green River two days prior only to see Julia Momose and have a few of her sure to be fantastic cocktails. I hadn’t given any thought to actually eating here but we made a somewhat last minute decision to return for lunch prior to heading out of town. I love having absolutely no expectations and being completely pleasantly surprised. Outstanding job Chef Lirette. And thank you Julia for the great cocktail pairings and for taking such great care of us. I can’t wait to return! If you haven’t been, get past the seemingly odd location, and go.

Farro Salad – Grape, Buratta, Almond
Cheese Plate
Beef Tartare – Yolk, Horseradish, Caper
Smoked Whitefish Tartine – Egg, Radish, Celery
Pork Terrine – Mustard, Fine Herbs
Bouillabase – Fennel Broth, Mussels, Clams, Cod
Parisian Gnocchi – Trumpet Mushroom, Squash
Roasted Chicken – Cauliflower, Coarse Grits, Jus
Cheeseburger – Cheddar, Pickles, House Sauce

Nico Osteria
I’m pretty sure I swore I’d stop blogging about my trips to Nico because there have been way too many. But I just can’t help it. Still my favorite brunch in Chicago with consistently fantastic crudo, pasta and cocktails. And it is always lovely to see familiar faces.

Rock fish crudo
Rigatoni with a northern ragu
Gem lettuce, caper berries, fig-balsamic vinaigrette, parmesan
Salumi & Cheese – La Quercia ham, mortadella, milano salami, goat cheese

Green River
This was only a brief stop for pre-dinner cocktails which of course were fabulous. More comments on our lunch two days later in a future post.

Alinea
I’m fairly certain that I’ve been to Alinea more times than any other restaurant. First world problems my brother would say. I suppose I am fortunate but also need to stay home long enough to become a regular anywhere in NYC. Still my favorite restaurant in the US and I can’t imagine that anything will knock off black truffle explosion as the best bite of all time. On every visit I’m completely blown away by something and wonder how they will top it the next time, but they always do. This meal Chef Davies’ trout dish was my favorite hands down. I can’t wait to see what Alinea 2.0 has in store.

Peach – basil, murray river salt
Bocadillo – bread, jamon iberico, manchego
Gilda – guindilla de ibarra, anchovy, olive
Jamon iberico – cantaloupe, salt, espelette
Tortilla – potato, onion, egg
Patatas Bravas – paprika, chile, garlic
Strawberry – tomato, pumpernickel, burratta
Char Roe – english pea, olive oil, chamomile
Brook Trout – uchiki kuri squash, thai banana, blis
Graffiti – matsutake, maitake, parsley

Unagi – pickled plum, white sesame

Corn – uni, nori, togarashi

Totoro Kombu – hamachi, ice fish cracker

Percebes – smoke, seawater, ash

Chicken – shishito, lily, kombu
Hot Potato – cold potato, black truffle, butter
Wagyu – matsutake, ginger, black garlic

Black Truffle – explosion, romaine, parmesan

Olive Cake – extra virgin olive oil, black pepper

Lamb – caper leaf, grapes, olives

Bacon – butterscotch, thyme, black pepper
Parsnip – honey truffle, vanilla, orange
Balloon – helium, green apple (missing a photo)
Tropical Fruit – rum, vanilla, kaffir lime