Chicago 9.26.09

Saturday consisted of mostly just eating!
Anthony Bourdain has raved about a place called Hot Doug's. It's in the middle of an industrial neighborhood so we decided to take the train & bus. Here is what we happened upon:

You see that line? Yep, we waited in it for an hour and a half!

Once inside, our eyes were wide as we took everything in. We love their motto:

Today's Specials:

As no surprise, Mikey got the Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris. I even had a bite! This was a first for the both us for Foie Gras. I was indifferent about it, but Mikey LOVED it! It was the highlight of the trip for him.

You should note that Hot Doug's only accepts cash. We realized this as we were steps away from ordering. So, with only $20 in our pocket, I opted for a classic beer brat with the WORKS! Delish!


Oh, and who could forget the Saturday specialty... Duck Fat fries!! They only serve these on Fridays & Saturdays.

A trip to Hot Doug's wouldn't be complete without venturing in to the bathroom.
His:

Hers:

Hot Doug's was certainly worth the wait. I highly recommend it. A couple things I would do differently: 1) Bring more cash 2) Drive because it's really easy to get to 3) Order take out to avoid the lines

We got back to the city and it was bustling. With limited time, we opted to take a ride up to the 94th floor of the John Hancock building. Here it is from ground level:

Views from the Observatory:


We were able to listen to an audio tape about some of the buildings & learn the history of Chicago. This was actually the highlight of the trip for me. It was fascinating.
Too cute:


After the observatory, we headed back out but noticed a bunch of people standing in line for something. Low and behold, there is a lounge on the 96th floor. Count us in!
Here we are enjoying a martini (Manda) and Vodka Tonic (Mikey) with a great view of the city:

And finally, the big event of the weekend... Birthday Dinner at Blackbird Restaurant.
Here's what the scene looks like inside:

We figured we'd probably only eat here once, so we ordered the tasting menu (sorry the photos are a bit grim... the lighting was low but a flash would have blasted everyone around us):


We enjoyed a bottle of Zinfandel with our meal. It's quite the effort to make a bottle of wine last 2 1/2 hours!
1st Course: Sturgeon belly with trout roe, chioggia beets and marcona almonds


2nd Course: Pistachio gazpacho with ahi, watermelon confit, sea beans and cocoa


3rd Course: Crispy Maryland soft shell crab with hazelnut tofu, haricot verts, lily bulbs and jalapeno

4th Course: Hudson Valley foie gras torchon with peaches, Nichols Farm sweet corn, fried okra and shiso (Foie Gras twice in one day!)


5th Course: Seared Maine diver scallops with fresh hearts of palm, sugar snap peas and lovage


6th Course: Turbot with heirloom tomato, tomatillo, honeyed garlic scapes and bitter chocolate


7th Course: Braised Iberico pork collar with fresh black beans, cipollini onions, honeydew melon, poblano pepper and brioche



8th Course: Grilled wagyu flatiron steak with smoked quinoa, baby swiss chard, goat's milk caramel and lemon balm


9th Course: Yogurt sherbet with wild rice and ground cherries (my fave... clearly I barely remembered to take a pic. The ground cherries [not pictured because they were already consumed] were candied):


10th Course: Warm spice bread with candied carrots, pickled golden raisins and saffron ice cream


11th Course: Manjari chocolate pave with black mission figs, chioggia beets and lime salt
I think I was worn out by this point. I neglected to get a picture.

The waitress also treated us to a glass of cranberry sparkling wine for our final dessert to toast Mikey's birthday. Here we are after it was all said and done:


My overall review of Blackbird is that is was very tasty but as you can see from the pic above, the tables are totally crammed! Everyone heard everybody's conversations. I kinda feel like if you are going to charge premium prices for food, you should have a pleasurable dining atmosphere. Thankfully, our reservation was for 9:30 and so both tables on either side of us left by 11pm but it was still awkward for that first hour and a half. The service was great, food was great and we'd definitely eat there again.

At Midnight, we hailed a cab and arrived "home." Our hotel is the building with the gold roof.

This was truly a trip to remember and something that we hope to do more of in the future. We're done with giving each other material gifts. Instead, we want to make memories. Cheers!