A Q&A with Chef/Partner of The Duck Inn Kevin Hickey

Hello everyone! This week we visited The Duck Inn in Bridgeport, Found Kitchen and Social House in Evanston and Café Orchid in Wrigleyville. Chicago is filled with so many culturally rich, vibrant neighborhoods, yet we often find ourselves staying close to home, wherever that may be, instead of exploring everything our beautiful city has to offer. Nearly every neighborhood has a great place to eat, and so with the burst of spring weather we have this weekend, let’s get out of our neighborhoods and try something different. After all, this is what Check, Please! is all about!

As a pioneering West Looper (I’ve lived there for over 15 years), I love frequenting all of the old school staples nearby (hello, Tufano’s) as well as newcomers. But of course I venture all around the city and suburbs to taste and explore what’s out there. And this episode takes us all the way from the North Shore to the South side. For this week’s Q & A, I spoke to Kevin Hickey, executive chef of The Duck Inn, and here’s what he had to say:

Q: The Duck Inn is named after a restaurant your great-grandmother owned, but this is certainly not “your grandma’s” cooking. Describe the style of food you are serving at Duck Inn.

Chef Kevin Hickey: Some of the dishes were inspired by the menu items that can be seen on the wall in the only known photo of the original Duck Inn. The hamburger sandwich is a great example of this. We shape our burger in a square and serve it on Rye bread rather than a bun. The menu runs the gamut from what you’d like to eat at the bar on a weeknight to offerings far more refined and defined by the season. I think the cuisine reflects my life experiences up to this point with strong influences from living in California for 8 years, Europe for 3, and the South for 3. I always say my style is American as defined by someone who grew up in a Polish, Italian, Irish neighborhood bordered by Chinatown and Pilsen

Q: With so much variety on the menu – everything from lumpia to carbonara – how do you suggest diners approach the menu? What are a few can’t-miss dishes?

Chef Kevin Hickey: I guess I didn’t think about it that much until you point out the wildly different styles. I think it all comes down to having spent years working within a corporate structure, having at least 4 people give their opinions on what items should go on the menu –how they should taste and what will the customer think, etc. When I opened The Duck Inn, I had the attitude: “I’m going to put on the menu whatever the hell I want to put on it.” If it’s good, if it inspires me for some reason, then I’ll put it on. The lumpia is there because one of my sous chefs is Filipina and she makes the best lumpia I’ve had. Everybody loved it so it went on the menu. The carbonara is there because I went to Rome for my business partner’s wedding in September and ate it every day. It’s not that common to see carbonara prepared properly in the States so we tried it, people loved it, and now it’s on the menu. I think our location and not having a clearly defined concept help to make people "up for anything" when they come. In 30 years in the restaurant business, I have never had guests respond so warmly and enthusiastically. Although it’s funny you mention the variety of dishes as I’ve had people say: “oh, I haven’t been because I don’t like duck,” as though that’s the only thing you’re allowed to have. I have actually imposed a no more duck on the menu or in the décor rule for the time being. That being said, I don’t think you want to miss the Rotisserie duck.

Duck egg pasta carbonara at The Duck Inn

Q: Okay, let’s talk duck. Describe the famous rotisserie duck dish you serve at Duck Inn.

Chef Kevin Hickey: The Duck Inn is not named after duck. I was going to name it The Duck Inn regardless of what I served. But I’ve always loved duck. I had it for the first time as a child with my parents at Polish and German restaurants in Chicago and when I started cooking professionally I loved to work with duck as it is ubiquitous in French cuisine. The dish first started to come together when I saw rotisserie duck at Momofuku Ssam bar and started to formulate how I would do mine. After a lot of trial and error I realized how much I missed the juicy medium rare breast. And since I had, over the years, done many a multi-course duck tasting, I decided to remove the breasts before putting the whole duck on the rotisserie.

So this is the process: We buy head on, feet on, Pekin breed ducks. We remove the head and feet for the sauce. We remove the breast and the breast cage and use that for the sauce as well. We also remove the wings for an appetizer of Japanese BBQ Duck Wings. A brine is injected into the meat of the legs and thighs and the remaining body is trussed tightly and left to dry for at least a day. We place that in the rotisserie for 2.5 hours at 275 degrees, with potatoes under them to cook in the fat and drippings. After everything rests for at least 20 minutes, the legs and thighs are removed, all meat is picked off the bones, and the skin is removed. To serve, we sear the breasts and heat them with the legs, thighs, skin, and potatoes. We then toss the hot potatoes, hot duck fat, and a gooseberry vinaigrette with baby kale, blood oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines and arrange the meat on top of the salad garnishing with the crispy skin and serve with the duck sauce. The only thing we change throughout the year are the salad ingredients.

Ducks in a row at The Duck Inn

Q: That alone sounds worth the visit! Your family goes back six generations in Bridgeport. What does it mean to you to be back in your neighborhood?

Chef Kevin Hickey: I have actually been back living in the neighborhood for about 8 years and to open a business there is really surreal, as my family had businesses with every generation and I never thought I would. I have strong feelings about the neighborhood and try to be as involved as I can in helping build it back up as a vibrant community. 

Q: I remember chatting with you about the Duck Inn years ago when it was in its incubator stage and not much more than a concept you were working on. How does it feel to finally have your passion project not only become a reality, but rack up non-stop accolades for it?

Chef Kevin Hickey: I really did not expect so much attention. It is, at times, hard to believe. I have seen other restaurants over the years achieve a lot of attention and accolades and of course, like anyone, I wished to someday achieve that kind of success. But I have realized that when you do achieve some of that, you don’t really think about it. You’re so wrapped up in what you’re doing and keeping it going and trying to be financially sound that when it happens, it’s like: “Cool, thanks. Okay…how many reservations do we have on Tuesday and is the furnace working and did that new cook show up, etc.”

Ah, the life of a chef! Don’t miss this episode to see this beautiful duck for yourself and stay tuned for more great restaurants and some more inside dish right here!

Cheers,
Catherine