back in the saddle

So as you know I have been on hiatus since last October - when I hit the eighth anniversary of blogging and more then 150,000 hits on my blog... I wondered what I would miss and not miss about the ongoing recordation of all things travel and food and theater etc...

here is what I missed-

being able to immediately access the info I am putting into these posts - while many things made it to Facebook they are not as easily accessed

being able to put up as many photos as I wanted for my subject matter as well as additional things such as wikipedia information etc...

what I did not miss - the sense that I needed to get things posted while fresh... so things may not be quite as immediate as they have been in the past as I lean into posting again after six months away...

at any rate- I am back posting and I can think of no more deserving topic for my first post after my return to Chicago and the posting than our dinner last night at JEONG the newly opened destination dining experience from Dave Park and Jennifer Tran!

I will post photos and follow with commentary -
my two favorites -  beef from the a la carte and then salmon from the tasting menu-

the stunning and serene interior is a perfect place for food of such elegance - the deceptively simple listing of ingredients for each dish completely belies the complexity of flavors and textures in each creation.

shown in order as listed above-

in addition to the tasting menu we ordered some extras - things we wanted to taste and simply could not wait until a return trip -

a stellar performance by the entire crew- we couldn't be more thrilled for Dave & Jennifer whose Hanbun was a spectacular success despite its exurban location- the food there was equally as beautiful and tasty so we knew we were in store for a treat!

Here is a trip down memory lane - Hanbun-

so happy for these two - we wish them incredible success with the new venture!!!!!

Hanbun Heaven

LOL - so the reason I called this post Hanbun Heaven is because Kevin kept saying he had transcended with every course - LOL so here we go...

In the center of this mostly Chinese row of food stalls sits an outlier, Hanbun, a Korean stand run by 26-year-old chef David Park and his fiancee, Jennifer Tran, both graduates of the Culinary Institute of America, the country's preeminent culinary school. What Park is doing in this cramped suburban stand is so different from what any Korean restaurant in the region does that it's worth a pilgrimage or two (or more) from wherever you are on the map.

Park offers two menus at Hanbun, each informed by his Korean heritage (he was born in Anyang, south of Seoul) and his formal Western culinary training, which included stages at Le Bernardin, Tru, and L2O, and longer stints at the Aviary and Wicker Park's late Storefront Company, where he rose to sous chef. The lunchtime menu, offered from 11 AM to 3 PM Tuesday through Sunday, features about a dozen familiar, homey Korean dishes plus a special or two, executed with the thoughtfulness and precision that only a chef forged in the crucible of the fine-dining kitchen can pull off. (from The Reader)

hanbun defines Dave's vision as an homage to Korean food through thoughtfully prepared Korean inspired dishes that push Korean cuisine forward. The menu showcases simplistic dishes while utilizing nontraditional techniques. We wish to share the culinary sentiments that Dave enjoyed as a child growing up in Korea with subtle modern western approaches. Join Dave down memory lane and fall in love with hanbun!

What is juhnyuk?  Juhnyuk means dinner in Korean.

Will all the food be Korean? No, the food is very global but often with Korean influences. (from their website)

photos in exact menu order- I loved every course- had a slight preference for the savory courses but since I am not a sweet lover I especially liked the first dessert course as well... great textures and sweet-ish but not cloying... this was fabulous food and nothing was even close to "ordinary".... really great dinner!

a bottle of Gimmonet Champagne missed out on being in the photo-

This meal was excellent- it is a trek to Westmont for north side city dwellers but the place is definitely worth a journey.  We understand from Kevin and Shari that the lunch is also terrific- so this one gets a big thumbs up from all who attended tonight!

Tomorrow we are off for LA and the Desert Trip music festival - you won't hear form us until later Monday- so keep looking - I am sure we have a lot to say about this massive event....

stay tuned----