My Perfect Meal
For me, any perfect meal needs to start with a great cocktail. I'm a whiskey lover, and I tend to judge a restaurant by how well they make a “classic” cocktail like the Manhattan.
Lots of restaurants know how to make them well, but Sable in River North takes the cake. All I asked for was a Jim Beam Rye Manhattan, and what I got in return was the smoothest, most enjoyable whiskey cocktail I've ever had. (The meal that followed was pretty killer, too).
My ultimate appetizer is something that's not even on the menu. Dine at Art Smith's Table 52, and before anything you ordered arrives; you're served warm goat cheese biscuits that are truly out of this world. These truly put the standard ‘bread and butter' to shame, and I would pay a sizable portion of the bill just to dine on these all night.
Jumping to the entrée, the Japanese Ribs at Japonais feature the perfect combination of rib-sticking goodness and delicious Asian barbeque flavor. For anyone who's never had barbeque outside of the traditional American style, I can't think of a better place to start.
While many main dishes feature great sides, those sides alone can sometimes be the star of the meal. Take Bien Truchain Geneva for example. While the tacos were a marvel in their own right, the suggested combination of Esquites (grilled corn with butter, lemon, and chiles) and Arroz Poblano (rice with poblanos, Chihuahua cheese, and sour cream) was pure culinary magic.
Finally dessert, we're back to Table 52 and Art's Hummingbird Cake. While “banana” and “pineapple” aren't the first words to typically get me excited about a dessert, I was told this cake had to be tried to be believed. I'm really not a dessert person and tend to fill up on savory foods, but I will always, always, make room for this cake. Fresh banana, pineapple, cream cheese frosting, and moist cake come together to make sweet goodness like I've never tried before.
Sable
505 North State St.
Chicago, IL. 60654
(312) 755-9704
www.sablechicago.com
Table Fifty-Two
52 West Elm St.
Chicago, IL. 60610
(312) 573-4000
www.tablefifty-two.com
Japonais
600 West Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL. 60610
(312) 822-9600
japonaischicago.com
Bien Trucha
410 West State St.
Geneva, IL. 60134
bientrucha.com
