rant: fine dining

[Michael]

Michael: have you been to Honey's? I know you're a Sepia fan. Charlie, former sous at Sepia, has opened Honey's at 1111 W Lake. The Mrs. and I went a few weeks back, just after opening. It's quite good. Some highlights:
--Pasta. Two dishes. One is a squid-ink orrecehiette with a pesto, some fresno pep and a bunch of seafood. The other a buckwheat noodle with morels and thyme. Both great.
--Swordfish. In chermoula with a seasonal panzanella. I love panzanella. I wish more restaurants had panzanella.
--Chicken. Tough to beat a well-cooked bird, there's nothing high-wire here it's just sold.
--Arugula salad. It looks like a pile of arugula, then as you dig into it you find raspberries and candied nuts and Paradise blue cheese under the neat pile of greens. An A-grade salad.
--Lamb tartare. Fried sunchoke chips, a fermenty/funky mustard, cherries to balance out the mustard.
All those dishes were winners. Tight but good wine list, and a very sharp interior. The servers wear white blazers, white shirt, black tie, black pants, it's very Paris looking and classy as heck. Also probably a top-five restaurant bathroom with fancy soaps and lotions, real doors on the stalls that go all the way to the floor, dope stuff like that.

Not yet. Thanks for the write-up! I'm totally going to use this!

[heyzeus]

The thing I miss most about Texas.

My firm has a pre thanksgiving party called Tamalfest. It's the best thing ever.

[Smith Corks One]

Though obviously not for fine dining, here's a picture of me and one of my favorite chefs smoking a hog for a fifth infinty division reunion a few weeks ago.

He looks familiar. Was he on Top Chef or something a few years ago?

[Diddy]

He looks familiar. Was he on Top Chef or something a few years ago?

Yes, but he's done a lot since, and is on TV somewhat often now. For someone who's tats and red beard make him extremely recognizable I'm supprised it took that long for anyone to figure that out. They were talking about southern food so just figured if throw that out there.

[33anda3rd]

Ah wow I didn't recognize him. I've heard great things about Gunshow.

[Diddy]

Ah wow I didn't recognize him. I've heard great things about Gunshow.

Its fun, its a completely different way to do things and an attempt to make fine dinning more comfortable and affordable for most budgets. Three years in and demand is just as strong as opening night. Just saw last week where some publication named it the number one resturant in GA, always a good time and atmosphere.

[33anda3rd]

Ah wow I didn't recognize him. I've heard great things about Gunshow.

Its fun, its a completely different way to do things and an attempt to make fine dinning more comfortable and affordable for most budgets.

Yeah, this is a 15+ year trend here. It goes back to the opening of Blackbird and the idea that you could have a great meal without suited waiters, white tablecloths, and a dress code. Come in in sneakers and jeans, we'll feed you and treat you just like you'd be fed and treated in a stuffier joint. With the exception of Grace and Alinea, we haven't had any great successes among super high-end dining in Chicago in a long time, but we've had lots of places open that are come-as-you-are that are putting out food on par with or exceeding the fine dining places of the past.

[Diddy]

By completely different I meant how it's prepared in front of you and how it's served.

There are a certain clential that want to pay more because they view it as a status symbol but your limiting yourself to a small pool of customers. The expectations of those customers raised dinner prices far above food costs. For instance the expectation that upscale dining be located in Buckhead and the associated real estate costs. Haveing Gunshow in Grants Park drastically cut costs. I'm sure you already know all that but it's pretty interesting stuff.

[33anda3rd]

Yeah, quite interesting. It's why we have in Chicago the best restaurant scene in America. Real estate/physical space. There are Michelin-starred restaurants here--42 Grams, El Ideas, Elizabeth, Schwa, Goosefoot, Parachute--that are in nondescript, kind of cruddy locations. All but two of those places are BYOB. But they operate mostly in open kitchens, serving (except Parachute) tasting menu only meals starting somewhere around $135/person--very low food cost especially considering the intricacy of the meals at these places. Those places could never operate in NYC or SF or LA where real estate is so much higher that they'd have to price those meals even higher, and certainly go through the red tape and hassle of having a beverage program to boost the revenue gap caused only by real estate.

This is happening in other cities too, especially the hipper southern cities. Nashville with Rolf & Daughters, Husk, several others. Atlanta with Gunshow and probably a bunch of others I've never heard of. Asheville with Curate, Cucina 24, Rhubarb. They're bridging the kitchen and the dining room in sometimes very unconventional spaces to create a unique experience that people are responding very well to.

[Diddy]

If your in ATL you should check it out. They save a few spots for walk ups, but reservations fill up about 3 weeks out. KG also opened Revival and the attached Bier garden, communion if your in the mood for some good home style southern food.