Tomatopalooza in Chicago

When tomatoes roll into season, chefs roll out the red carpet. Tomato time merits gustatory celebration, and restaurants put the luscious fruit front and center for the duration of their seasonal stint. Sure you could get a tasty tomato dish on menus most anywhere around town, but a couple places are going the extra mile by hosting all-out tomato celebrations this month. Three Aces enters its third annual Tomatofest, as Ceres’ Table and 2Sparrows both prepare to serve tomato dinners.

Now through September 4, Three Aces celebrates the tomato in all its juicy glory via Tomatofest. During this two-week period, chef Matt Troost features a menu filled with tomatoes from locals farms such as Spence Farm, Green Acres Farm, Genesis Growers, and Seedling Orchard. Diners can enjoy tomatoes every which way at Three Aces, as Troost pickles, purees, roasts, slices, and dices tomatoes into a plethora of plump creations. The menu revives a few crowd favorites from year’s past, along with a bevy of new additions, including Sun Gold tomato risotto with octopus, pickled peppers, and feta; lobster agnolotti with opal basil pesto, poppy crème fraîche, and tomato-biscuit pangrattato; pork belly pizzeta with sun-dried tomatoes, Calabrian chiles, and pickled knob onions; and Burrata with tomato jam, garlic-ciabatta croutons, toasted pistachios, tarragon, and saba.

Tomatoes shimmy into the spotlight at Ceres’ Table for a special degustation on August 29 as part of the restaurant’s Last Thursdays dinner series. The five-course affair features heirloom tomatoes from Leaning Shed Farm, starting with chilled tomato-ricotta soup, followed by a salad of heirloom tomatoes, watermelon, pickled asparagus, fennel, and feta. The pasta course is goat cheese ravioli with tomato water, and the final savory course is pan-fried Rushing Waters trout with tomatoes confited in pork fat, Spanish chorizo, roasted cucumbers, and herbed tomato-mussel broth. There’s even a tomato dessert, showcasing the versatility of this dexterous fruit through individual tomato crostatas. The menu is available as a degustation on August 29, and à la carte through the rest of the following weekend. Guests can augment their tomato-centric meals with wine pairings or a tomato cocktail dubbed Donna Summer.

Brunch haven 2Sparrows opens its doors for dinner in honor of tomatoes on August 23. Leaning Shed Farm is the purveyor of choice for this event as well, prepared in four different courses by chef Gregory Ellis. Tomato gazpacho with cucumber, crab, and basil kicks things off, followed by seared duck breast with black trumpet mushrooms and tomatoes three ways, then grilled pork chops with tomato and apricot mole, black-eyed peas, and cauliflower. For dessert, tomato pots au creme.

Three Aces
1321 W Taylor Street, Chicago
(312) 243-1577
Website

Ceres’ Table
4882 N Clark Street, Chicago
(773) 878-4882
Website

2Sparrows
553 W Diversey Parkway, Chicago
(773) 234-2320
Website