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| You've never had pork rinds like this.. |
Welcome to another delightful Chopbiscuit inspection of some of the USA's most frequented saloons, dining halls, dive bars, food trucks and high end bistro's. At least one of your humble contributors is on the road virtually every week and luckily have the opportunity to dine at some of the finest institutions and loathsome watering holes known to man. Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, some deity would permit us to be pirates and savage our nutriment.
I like eating. It fascinates me. I sit and look at the food for hours. I often eat while laying down in my hotel room with a bib in my lap and my outlook calendar open. Eating is my tweeting, except it's much cooler. Food is often made into the celebrity of carnage, which makes us appear to be pompous and scarce in regards to the act of eating itself. You eat because you fuel. I eat because I'm hungry. I eat because it's my job. I go out to these establishments to consume their lineups.
I then judge it.
The Publican
837 W Fulton Market
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-9555
I can officially chop this off my restaurant bucket list. The Publican is a beer-focused restaurant in Chicago that has had both food and draught lovers drooling since it's opening. Executive Chef Paul Kahan and Chef de Cuisine Brian Huston crafted an eclectic menu inspired by simple farmhouse fare in a European beer hall style dining room. The space was designed by James Beard Award-Winner Thomas Schlesser. The Publican features eclectic, crafted pictures of swine on the wall with a communal sense of hall dining. A partnership between Executive Chef Paul Kahan, Donnie Madia, Terry Alexander and Eduard Seitan, The Publican anchors the hip-chic Fulton Market District.
The menu features pork and fish/seafood preparations and according to the restaurants website, the menu is best described as “pristine product, simply prepared,” an approach to food Kahan has brought to all of his kitchens. The Publican heightens the awareness of simple dishes, each dish stripped of the pompous elements most high end dining theatre brings and keeps it simple with only essential ingredients. The menu is presented in easy navigating sections: Fish, Meat and Vegetables, each laid out from lightest to heaviest fare.
What I ingested:
Well, I obviously started out with a nice draught. I ordered the a Alpha King Pale Ale from Three Floyd's brewing company in Indiana. I figured I was going to go hearty that evening with food, so why not match up the beer. It was a decent, hoppy start to the evening. For starters, we dove into the renown pork rinds and a medley of fish, ham and vegetable plates that were simple with big, bold flavors. I was especially impressed with tuscan kale with preserved lemon and rice and beans. For my entree I ordered the steak tatare with grilled flatbread and poached eggs. It had a tender, smooth flavor that went great with the charred flatbread.
For dessert we split three amazing dishes. Lavender ice cream with dark chocolate and candied walnuts, blueberry elafoutis with Chantilly and lemon and a waffle with honey butter and rhubarb confit.
It was a great way to start the National Restaurant Association weekend in Chicago and an amazing experience for any beer or food lover. Definitely some of the most simple and creative food I've had in quite some time.
