Pumpkins Roll onto Menus, Plates, and Glasses

As evidenced by the surfeit of pumpkin spice everything nowadays, ’tis the season for orange gourds. Far far far beyond lattes, this seasonal sensation is handily applied to dishes both savory and sweet, as well as a myriad of drinks. Here’s where to feast on pumpkin this season in Chicago.

Thanks to the one-two punch of savory and sweet pumpkin dishes at Stella Barra Pizzeria, you can basically have yourself a mini pumpkin tasting menu for dinner. Start with the pumpkin pizza bedecked with candied bacon, Taleggio, Fresno chili, oregano, parsley, and Parmesan. Then follow it with the pumpkin budino flecked with spiced caramel and sea salt.

One of the simpler, more straightforward preps of savory pumpkin can be found at RPM Steak, where executive chef Doug Psaltis roasts pumpkin and adorns it with brown butter and Szechuan peppercorn.

Step aside, generic coffee shop chains, Bad Wolf Coffee has you beat in the pastry game. And coffee game, but that’s another matter. The coffee shop with a serious penchant for pastries has been baking exemplary versions of pumpkin muffins and pumpkin Danishes, proving that simplicity can be buttery and delicious when the right ingredients and techniques are employed.

Every fall, Bread & Wine’s chef Michael Dean Reynolds likes to do what he calls “drunken punken soup,” a dish that is as tasty as it is to say. A hearty soup like no other, this one is infused with whiskey and maple syrup, garnished with Granny Smith apples to up the autumnal ante even further.

At South Water Kitchen, guests can both eat and sip their pumpkins. The pumpkin pie cider mocktail by Brent Poole contains a heady mix of pumpkin-brown sugar syrup, Half & Half, and spiced apple cider, while the dessert menu contains pumpkin flan with pumpkin seed brittle.

Bottlefork’s new seasonal desserts showcase the incredible luster of pumpkins in their saccharine prime. There’s a roasted pumpkin sundae made with vanilla soft-serve, roasted pumpkin chunks, bourbon candied pecans, and whipped cream, as well as a pumpkin beer float with O’Fallon pumpkin beer, vanilla soft-serve, and nutmeg salt.

When it comes to that classic and all-important portion of pumpkin pie, you have a few options in Chicago, some of which skew classic while others go mod. Magnolia Bakery does a bit of both for its new fall lineup, including a classic single-crust pumpkin pie made with spices and maple, alongside a new pumpkin praline pie with a healthy portion of brown sugar pecan praline added to the mix. Shaw’s Crab House also features an impressive pumpkin pie, made with fresh pumpkin, while Sable Kitchen & Bar eschews the norm for pumpkin mousse tarts with gingersnap crust.

Pumpkin takes the pasta plate at Piccolo Sogno Due, where Tony Priolo is featuring cappellacci di zucca, an autumnal ravioli preparation stuffed with locally sourced pumpkin and crushed amaretto cookies. It’s all served with toasted walnuts, sage, and brown butter.

Lastly, don’t miss TWO this season for their veritable smorgasbord of pumpkin preparations. For savory, there’s a roasted wild mushroom risotto with leeks, house-smoked ricotta, and candied pumpkin seeds. For dessert, there’ are pumpkin doughnuts with cinnamon ice cream and salted bourbon caramel sauce. And to drink, there’s an aptly dubbed Smashing Pumpkin cocktail featuring Alabama whiskey, housemade pumpkin reduction, and celery shrub.

Stella Barra Pizzeria
1954 N. Halsted Street, Chicago
(773) 634-4101
Website

RPM Steak
66 W. Kinzie Street, Chicago
(312) 284-4990
Website

Bad Wolf Coffee
3422 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago
(773) 969-2346
Website

Bread & Wine
3734 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago
(773) 866-5266
Website

South Water Kitchen
225 N. Wabash Avenue, Chicago
(312) 236-9300
Website

Bottlefork
441 N. Clark Street, Chicago
(312) 955-1900
Website

Magnolia Bakery
108 N. State Street, Chicago
(312) 346-7777
Website

Shaw’s Crab House
21 E. Hubbard Street, Chicago
(312) 527-2722
Website

Sable Kitchen & Bar
505 N. State Street, Chicago
(312) 755-9704
Website

Piccolo Sogno Due
340 N. Clark Street, Chicago
(312) 822-0077
Website

TWO
1132 W. Grand Avenue, Chicago
(312) 624-8363
Website