dinner with Judy

So we hadn't seen our friend Judy this summer until the recent dinner at Emilio's and since we weren't seated anywhere near each other we didn't get much time to catch up.  To make up for that we scheduled a dinner at Restaurant Michael in Winnetka.  This is a place we really like the food and we generally like the service but there is always a drama with them about the wine. It used to be you could go on any night and pay corkage (no problem) and then on Tuesdays it was "corkage free" like Oceanique has on Mondays.  Then with NO NOTICE whatsoever they changed it to Sundays only for the "corkage free" day and took away completely the corkage on other nights - just plain no BYO no matter what you are willing to pay. So we are pretty aggravated about the no notice thing and the Sunday only thing but here is their latest undisclosed rule- only one bottle of wine per couple.  It isn't that we are going to DRINK more than one bottle but for a high end meal like they serve there you may actually want both white and red wine with certain courses and this makes it impossible with only two people.... so each time they spring some NEW twist on you and that is just plain not cool. The food here is good but there are plenty of places between our home in the city and this place on the north shore in Winnetka... so maybe the north shore folks don't have as many choices as we do here but I can't imagine that wine collectors up there are any happier with this unpredictable policy changes than we are....

but on to the evening- we had a great meal and a great time and were so caught up in our conversation that we spent four hours there...LOL...

the white burg showed well -

we put this one back in the bag since Judy brought a red (also shown below) and we could only open ONE BOTTLE A COUPLE!!!!!

Judy's wine was an interesting blend called Machete- and apparently there are many different labels in a case of their wines- in the rather subdued light we thought it was a tiger on the car - perhaps an homage to the tiger in your tank commercials of yesteryear--- but no- upon closer view that is not exactly what it was LOL

hmmm well on to the food- Phil started with the wagyu carpaccio, Judy the mushroom terrine and I with the tuna tatare

quail - that Phil and Judy both ordered and Halibut for me-

Phil's chocolate dacquoise and Judy and I had the peach souffles

a leisurely dinner followed by a lengthy post dinner conversation at the table until there was only one other table remaining occupied... and we headed into the night - looking forward to reports on Judy's China trip and various dinners and plays we all had planned to attend.  I may have neglected to mention that we met Judy originally in the Chicago Gourmets group years ago and that she is a long time Chaine de Rotissuers member as well. However over time we found mutual interests in not just food and wine but in travel and tonight in antique silver as well LOL-  a prior hobby for Phil (and his ex)...

tomorrow a new restaurant to try with friends John & Barb before they leave for their Florida winter... so we will report back- meanwhile you know the drill- "stay tuned" LOL

tried and true

to some it may seem like we never eat at home- and this is understandable given many of the recent posts to semifreelife. however this is mostly due to our wanting to catch up with folks that we won't see over the winter before we leave town for warmer climes.

So tonight we had our farewell dinner for the fall of 2014 with long time partner and friend Neil.  We headed to Restaurant Michael in Winnetka - somewhat of a hike out of the city, but worth it for excellent food and no corkage on Tuesdays!

everything was first rate and here is the menu for this evening- we started off with a Dom Perignon champagne - and had two bottles of excellent red burgundy for starters I had the tuna and salmon tartare and Phil had the foie gras and Neil had the sweetbreads and escargot combo... then I had a salade Lyonnaise before the mains came-

the mains - I had the salmon, Phil the venison and Neil the guinea fowl-

Phil ordered a chocolate souffle for dessert and then the wait staff brought a couple more desserts the chocolate bombe and the creme brulee- which I tried and which Phil and Neil finished off before waxing off the chocolate truffles to end the meal.  Good food, good wine and good friends - make for an excellent evening out...

tomorrow night our final big dining out event for the 2014 Chicago season- goosefoot... then we have arts events for Thursday (Chicago Humanities Festival and a concert for Phil Friday at City Winery) - rounding out our year of social events here in Chicago until our return in the late spring... meanwhile, at home we are eating weird combinations of things from the freezer and frig in order to get that cleaned out before we go- so it is very much form the sublime to the ridiculous on the eating here- hotdogs and potstickers anyone? No? well we can offer you leftover gumbo or a plain omelet...LOL

I promise I will actually get us back to Venice at some point - so keep on coming back....

feeding Phil's addiction

We had been home less than one week when Phil called me and asked me if we could go to Restaurant Michael for a lobster dinner... he was missing having lobster every other day... I mentioned that if we went that would make six of seven nights coming up when we would be eating out for dinner...  his response was "I miss lobster".... so last night we had the

5-Course Lobster with Wine Pairings Menu

Cognac-Lobster Bisque en Croute

Chilled Lobster & Apple Remoulade with Sweet & Lightly Spiced Curry Cream

Paired with; CHARLES BAUR, BRUT, CREMANT D' ALSACE NV

Lobster Risotto, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Fava Beans, Fresh Corn

Maine Lobster Tail, Galantine of Scallop, Shrimp & Lobster, Honey-Brown Butter Fennel, Lobster Beurre Rouge

Paired with; 2011 COTES DU RHONE, ANDRE BRUNEL

Your Choice from our Dessert Menu

And here is the newsletter that snagged him: 

as long as lobsters stay consistent and priced as they have been, I will continue to deliver great value-driven menus like the one we are running tomorrow, Friday, September 12! I challenge everyone to find a better deal in Chicago this weekend! (at $49 per person including two glasses of wine- how could you go wrong?) 

for dessert I chose the Baked Alaska and Phil chose the hazelnut souffle... we were both happy with the choices-

so yes- Phil is missing lobster.... that is an issue when you have spent two weeks eating lobster on the eastern coast of Canada... they turn you into an addict - LOL - not to mention the scallops.... another story altogether!

here are a few photos of Phil's lobster tour of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (not exhaustive because I know I missed (at the very least) his lobster sandwich at Herring Choker in Baddeck - and likely more (Lincoln Street Food- no photos at all- where was I?) 

I should have bought him one of these lobsters so he never felt he was without lobster- LOL

so on we go... tonight dinner with friends at Cyrano's Farm Table (same Chef Didier as Cyrano's on the River from last Sunday night but at his full service restaurant near north) will get back to you about that one- and tomorrow theater season begins in earnest with three plays in the next week at various venues- so stay tuned....

Julia Child Tribute

a quick review of a lovely meal from Friday night to celebrate both Julia Child's birth date (would have been 102) and Phil's retirement as of the same day!

Here is the menu and the food - very nice evening -

The Salade Lyonnaise with warm poached egg or goat cheese- I chose the egg-

Truffle to end!

a very nice night and low key celebration on the last day of work for Phil (who can no longer be jealous of my retired status now! LOL)

still getting there- LOL

I promise- I will get us to the Adirondacks soon... very soon, but first I want to make sure that kudos go out for two places we had superb meals in the last two days-

on Monday night we returned to Oceanique and had a wonderful dinner of fish and seafood and on Tuesday we met with three friends for some incredible wines and an excellent meal at Restaurant Michael in Winnetka IL. 

Photos - of course...

Oceanique- starting with the amuse....

a fabulous foie as an appetizer

A lovely lobster salad -

one of two excellent wines - from 2002 vintage- showed really well!

 

 my skate wing course- wonderfully prepared

Phil's bouillabaisse which he loved!

and incredibly light chocolate mousse cake called night and day cake-

Phil's un-potted pot de crème (LOL)

and the champagne we were drinking early and to end the meal- a 1995 Cuvee Gabriel- from Gosset-Brabant

 

Really a perfect meal and warm welcoming service- first rate evening - highly highly recommended!

Then on Tuesday night we met friends Art and Michael along with Neil to go to Restaurant Michael in Winnetka... although kind of a hike for us city dwellers it is worth the extra half hour to get a chance to eat their fab food.  Neil generously brought a 1988 Krug and a 1988 Pol Roger Winston Churchill along with an amazing 1985 burgundy (shown below) and Michael brought a tremendous 1982 Bordeaux (also shown below) -

The dinners are prixe fix 3 or 4 or 5 courses or a chef's tasting of 8 or so---
we each had the 3 and it was PLENTY of food.  Phil and I started with the foie gras duo of crème brulee and a foie club sandwich.  this was a winner! and since we had brought the Y'Quem we had Sauternes to go with it as well for the dessert course.

so my photo of the starter is not fabulous but the course certainly was- trust me!

then I had the rabbit and Phil the chicken- Neil had Halibut but I don't recall Michael and Art's choices... I do remember Art said he wanted to lick the plate - which might be a clue that he liked it- LOL

we had amazing desserts that didn't make it into photographs (they were too appealing (LOL) and so here is what was left of Phil's plate when I remembered to take a picture- LOL- sorry!

so while the photos from Michael do not begin to do it justice- it was also a highly recommended venue -

PS - Oceanique has no corkage fees on Mondays (usually 50 per) and Michael has no corkage on Tuesday (usually 30 per) both restaurants have extensive wine lists of their own so you will easily find choices for all budgets if you come on a night other than the ones I mentioned....