Mon's "pig out"

OK so the best restaurant you can never get into is where we had dinner last night... a celebration of pork! or it could be subtitled "pork ten ways" and OMG was it a spectacular meal! I am going to go right for it because it is self-evident from the photos.

A disclaimer up front - I missed a photo of the pork spring rolls because 1. I was too busy eating them and 2. in the very first bite I got sauce on the shoulder of my shirt so I forgot to take a photo - I know that is lame but there it is... oh and I see now, I also forgot to photo the amazing gazpacho which would be one of my two favorite courses! - boo hoo!... oh well I was living in the moment! LOL

OK I wanted to start off with those three beautiful presentations to wow you -but what we saw as we came in was - our menu being held by a small chef and his blackboard said Celebrate Pork!

here is the menu he was holding- don't worry about reading it because I will have dissected it completely by the end of the post...

(deleted for privacy)

here it is close up-

 
first off-

and now you can match up the words and pictures-

we started with some sparkling wine and champagne-

and a white to go with the salad-  compressed watermelon and tomatoes from the garden along with greens cut and or picked right as we sat on the deck under the grape arbor...

then we moved inside (getting buggy) and opened a nearly perfect 83 burg still well balanced and showing extremely well for its vintage-

and a lovely Pomerol -

just a few of the chef's porcine friends - I love the fat white one with the sweet smile!

So it is hard to pick a favorite  course from such an outstanding menu but along with the gazpacho I would say my other two favorites were the Chinese Bao and the watermelon and heirloom tomato salad! And here are the pork belly two ways dishes -

this one was my fave! and if forced to pick a single winning course I would go with it.

the two competitors on the same plate- awaiting the judges decision! LOL

by now we were all already completely sated however the chef had a couple more courses- LOL

and a few more wines-

 

and by now our meal was nearly five hours into the evening - LOL - it takes a while to eat this many things even when you may (or may not) only have a taste of something...

the drinks from the printed menu were rearranged based upon what the guests brought to add to the pork celebration.... but you saw them all along the way-

So seriously- you can't eat this well in about 90% of the restaurants in Chicago- and I am sorry to tell you that you can't eat here either- LOL- because it's our friends home and he doesn't run a restaurant - he trained as a lawyer not as a chef- but we think he missed his calling--- a real talent!

and so tonight the chef and I are heading to the Korean taco place while his wife does a girl's night out and my husband goes with his girlfriends to a concert of some wailing women... LOL- so my BFF Mick is coming over and the three of us will walk over to the taco place - we will report back later... and tomorrow it is back to the Duck Inn for a Krug and roast pig dinner... so stay tuned!