The Definitive Guide to Blood Orange Eating in Chicago
Restaurants are out for blood. Blood oranges, that is. Every winter, these lustrous citrons enliven menus all over, providing a welcome splash of color and flavor in the midst of wintry monotony. Sweet or savory, blood oranges are also one of the most versatile ingredients in the winter pantry. From salads and vinaigrettes to panna cottas and doughnuts, here’s your definitive guide to blood orange-eating in Chicago this winter.
Appetizers and Share Plates
At Henri, blood orange makes for a rosy consommé with juniper-spiced salmon. Next door, sister spot The Gage adds blood orange to salt-roasted beets with goat milk feta, toasted almonds, and Meyer lemon vinaigrette. Tuna carpaccio gets the blood orange treatment at Azzurra Enotavola, dressed with olive vinaigrette and emboldened with arugula. Fresh blood oranges are in stock at Eataly, so you can pick some up right after you’ve stuffed your face with La Carne’s roasted beet salad with blood orange vinaigrette. Blood oranges add a bit of sweetness to some particularly outre grilled calamari at Girl & the Goat, served with red onion-shrimp butter, Chinese broccoli, and sweet garlic. Smoked trout and blood oranges mingle with frisée, radicchio, Marcona almonds, herbs, and Champagne-citrus vinaigrette for a masterful winter salad at tesori. Ahi tuna crudo comes alive at The Boarding House with the aid of blood orange segments, pomegranate, and pickled fennel. Blood orange vinaigrette adds a bit of winter vitality to a dish of thinly sliced beets, baby greens, hazelnuts, and ricotta salata at 312 Chicago. Catering outlet Paramount Events is currently going citrusy with winter salads comprised of blood orange, grapefruit, pomegranate, hearts of palm, radish, cashews, and lemon vinaigrette.
Entrees
Newly opened Bottlefork, the drinking-focused eatery from Rockit Ranch Productions, jumps right on the blood orange bandwagon with citrus-accented grilled organic salmon. Steamed mussels are quintessential winter nourishment, especially when punched up with blood oranges, cured tomatoes, and finocchiona as at The Florentine. Indiana farm-raised shrimp take center stage on a citrus dish at Found, where Nicole Pederson adorns whole-roasted shrimp with blood orange butter, baby bok choy, and a winter citrus salad. White chocolate, cauliflower, blood oranges, and spoon bread may sound like a haphazard hodgepodge, but in the hands of Acadia’s Ryan McCaskey, they work in perfect harmony. One of his latest creations is scallops with white chocolate-cauliflower puree, cocoa nibs, spoon bread, watercress, and blood oranges. As part of Sixteen’s current Chicago history-themed tasting menu, chef Thomas Lents uses blood oranges to help recall the Great Chicago Fire in food form. Titled “The Great Fire’s Rebirth,” the dish features ash-roasted venison with salsify, nasturtium, and blood orange sauce. At Filini Bar & Restaurant, blood oranges do double-duty as part of a sea scallops dish, featured as a salad and as a gastrique along with arugula and walnuts. Then there’s the pan-seared Florida red grouper being served at Shaw’s Crab House, with blood oranges, shaved fennel, and blood orange vinaigrette.
Desserts
Blood orange miguelitos are on deck at Bad Wolf Coffee, the coffee shop with a proclivity for exemplary pastries. These Spanish treats are puff pastry sandwiches traditionally filled with custard, but for winter, the shop studs them with blood orange curd and Moro orange segments. Panna cotta, it would seem, is the go-to template for blood orange desserts, as several spots are featuring blood orange panna cotta creations in one way or another. Cafe Spiaggia has a blonde and white chocolate panna cotta with sesame and blood orange, Graham Elliot Bistro has a “dreamsicle” version with toasted meringue and candied orange zest, and The Refinery uses crème fraîche panna cotta as the base for a Mandarin orange “creamsicle” with blood orange sherbet and poppy seed crunch. Blood orange and sesame make for an uncommonly delicious duo at Katherine Anne Confections, in the form of blood orange caramels dipped in bittersweet chocolate and flecked with toasted sesame seeds and fleur de sel. Drink your blood orange dessert at Gingersnap Sweets & Such. The adorable sweets shop makes blood orange marshmallows as the perfect accent to their extensive hot chocolate menu, and they’re particularly well-suited for ginger hot chocolate or caramel milk chocolate. At Nico Osteria, a chocolate Nutella tart features the illustrious additions of blood oranges and marigold. In other One Off Hospitality dessert news, avec is serving ricotta cheesecake on a rosemary-pine nut crust with blood oranges both candied and fresh, and The Publican tops rice pudding brûlée with blood orange, caramelized puffed wild rice, and grapefruit sorbet. For a seasonal riff on granita, La Madia tops blood orange shaved ice with Prosecco. Firecakes Donuts routinely rotates seasonal jellies for its yeast-raised filled doughnuts, with the current iteration being a housemade blood orange and raspberry jelly. Chocolate and blood orange pair up for dessert at Prasino in Wicker Park, in the form of a Tanzania chocolate torte with blood orange sauce, blood orange supremes, and blood orange reduction.
Henri
18 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago
(312) 578-0763
Website
The Gage
24 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago
(312) 372-4243
Website
Azzurra Enotavola
1467 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago
(773) 278-5959
Website
Eataly
43 E. Ohio Street, Chicago
(312) 521-8700
Website
Girl & the Goat
809 W. Randolph Street, Chicago
(312) 492-6262
Website
tesori
65 E. Adams Street, Chicago
(312) 786-9911
Website
The Boarding House
720 N. Wells Street, Chicago
(312) 280-0720
Website
312 Chicago
136 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago
(312) 696-2420
Website
Paramount Events
1932 W. Lake Street, Chicago
(773) 880-8044
Website
Bottlefork
441 N. Clark Street, Chicago
(312) 955-1900
Website
The Florentine
151 W. Adams Street, Chicago
(312) 660-8866
Website
Found
1631 Chicago Avenue, Evanston
(847) 868-8945
Website
Acadia
1639 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago
(312) 360-9500
Website
Sixteen
401 N. Wabash Avenue, Chicago
(312) 588-8030
Website
Filini Bar & Restaurant
221 N. Columbus Drive, Chicago
(312) 477-0234
Website
Shaw’s Crab House
21 E. Hubbard Street, Chicago
(312) 527-2722
Website
Bad Wolf Coffee
3422 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago
(773) 969-2346
Website
Cafe Spiaggia
980 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago
(312) 280-2750
Website
Graham Elliot Bistro
841 W. Randolph Street, Chicago
(312) 888-2258
Website
The Refinery
1209 N. Wells Street, Chicago
(312) 854-2970
Website
Katherine Anne Confections
2745 W. Armitage Avenue, Chicago
(773) 245-1630
Website
Gingersnap Sweets & Such
1416 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago
(773) 697-8529
Website
Nico Osteria
1015 N. Rush Street, Chicago
(312) 994-7100
Website
avec
615 W. Randolph Street, Chicago
(312) 377-2002
Website
The Publican
837 W. Fulton Market, Chicago
(312) 733-9555
Website
La Madia
59 W. Grand Avenue, Chicago
(312) 329-0400
Website
Firecakes Donuts
68 W. Hubbard Street, Chicago
(312) 329-6500
Website
Prasino
1846 W. Division Street, Chicago
(312) 878-1212
Website
