DonRocks Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 I know I'm behind in my reviews, but I've now dined at every restaurant that has been requested, and now it's just a matter of writing everything up. I'll be in Chicago for one Saturday night, and will be happy to review a restaurant - high-end is fine, but I won't get a reservation on short notice, so it will either need a bar, or to not be mega-popular (may want to look at last year's Beard long-list). Go ahead and nominate any restaurant in the city, and we'll vote on them starting next Wednesday. In the meantime, I plan on writing several reviews in the next two weeks and completely catching up. I'll also be in Bloomington, IN for a couple of nights, and then may head up to St. Louis, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Madison, and/or Milwaukee, so maybe begin to think about those areas as well - I may also spend one more day in the Chicago area. I don't think I'll make it to Indianapolis, Louisville (just went to 610 Magnolia, which is overrated) or Cincinnatti this trip. I can already tell people that Restaurant Talent in Bloomington is worth a visit (or at least was, before David Talent signed a contract with Indiana University to work with their food service program) - this time around, I may try FARMbloomington, where I've never dined before. I have some time to do another DC review, but I'm not going to do any more polls until I get caught up - it isn't fair to people. Please try and stay focused on the Beard Awards nominees (note: Some of LauraB's nominations are in other categories, so that's fine too). Best Chef: Great Lakes Jake Bickelhaupt, 42 Grams, Chicago Zack Bruell, Parallax, Cleveland Jonathan Brooks, Milktooth, Indianapolis Abraham Conlon, Fat Rice, Chicago Curtis Duffy, Grace, Chicago Paul Fehribach, Big Jones, Chicago Phillip Foss, EL Ideas, Chicago Greg Hardesty, Recess, Indianapolis Eric Heath, Cleveland-Heath, Edwardsville, IL Andy Hollyday, Selden Standard, Detroit Nick Janutol, Forest, Birmingham, MI Anne Kearney, Rue Dumaine, Dayton, OH Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark, Parachute, Chicago Ryan McCaskey, Acadia, Chicago Abbi Merriss, Bluebeard, Indianapolis Iliana Regan, Elizabeth, Chicago Jose Salazar, Mita’s, Cincinnati Lee Wolen, Boka, Chicago Erling Wu-Bower, Nico Osteria, Chicago Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia, Chicago Best Chef: Midwest Paul Berglund, The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis Thomas Boemer, Corner Table, Minneapolis Mike Brown, Bob Gerken, and James Winberg, Travail Kitchen & Amusements, Robbinsdale, MN Justin Carlisle, Ardent, Milwaukee Jim Christiansen, Heyday, Minneapolis Dan Fox, Heritage Tavern, Madison, WI Jorge Guzman, Surly Brewing Co., Minneapolis Thomas Hauck, c. 1880, Milwaukee Jonathan Hunter, Forequarter, Madison, WI Jonathan Justus, Justus Drugstore, Smithville, MO Russell Klein, Meritage, St. Paul, MN Francesco Mangano, Osteria Papavero, Madison, WI Kevin Nashan, Sidney Street Café, St. Louis Ben Poremba, Elaia, St. Louis Mike Randolph, Público, University City, MO Lenny Russo, Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market, St. Paul, MN Patrick Ryan, Port Fonda, Kansas City, MO David Swanson, Braise, Milwaukee Joe Tripp, Alba, Des Moines, IA Kevin Willmann, Farmhaus, St. Louis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraB Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Topolobampo Frontera Grill Spiaggia 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 If I had to dine in Chicago I'd go back to The Publican (but I feel like its has been covered well on DR). Oddly the one item I remember most from that meal was the potatoes, thrice cooked and finished in lard until extra crispy...so good. I'll put in an early vote for Paul Berglund, The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis, if/when you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 8, 2017 Author Share Posted February 8, 2017 1 hour ago, Tweaked said: If I had to dine in Chicago I'd go back to The Publican (but I feel like its has been covered well on DR). Oddly the one item I remember most from that meal was the potatoes, thrice cooked and finished in lard until extra crispy...so good. I'll put in an early vote for Paul Berglund, The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis, if/when you go. I'll be happy to put the Publican in the poll. Note that The Bachelor Farmer is trending with the "Toasts" courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 16, 2017 Author Share Posted February 16, 2017 The 2017 James Beard Semifinalists are out - please concentrate on Chicago, and places to the west and southwest of it. Keep the nominations coming - we may not even need to have a poll. Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH) Jake Bickelhaupt, 42 Grams, Chicago Jonathan Brooks, Milktooth, Indianapolis Aaron Butts, The Golden, Ft. Wayne, IN Abraham Conlon, Fat Rice, Chicago Paul Fehribach, Big Jones, Chicago Phillip Foss, EL Ideas, Chicago Sarah Grueneberg, Monteverde, Chicago Andy Hollyday, Selden Standard, Detroit Nick Janutol, Forest, Birmingham, MI Gene Kato, Sumi Robata Bar, Chicago Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark, Parachute, Chicago Edward Kim, Ruxbin, Chicago Ryan McCaskey, Acadia, Chicago Abbi Merriss, Bluebeard, Indianapolis Iliana Regan, Elizabeth, Chicago James Rigato, Mabel Gray, Hazel Park, MI Jose Salazar, Mita’s, Cincinnati Noah Sandoval, Oriole, Chicago Lee Wolen, Boka, Chicago Erling Wu-Bower, Nico Osteria, Chicago Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI) Karen Bell, Bavette La Boucherie, Milwaukee Thomas Boemer, Corner Table, Minneapolis Mike Brown, Bob Gerken, James Winberg, Travail Kitchen & Amusements, Robbinsdale, MN Steven Brown, Tilia, Minneapolis Justin Carlisle, Ardent, Milwaukee Lisa Carlson, Chef Shack, Bay City, WI Jim Christiansen, Heyday, Minneapolis Dan Fox, Heritage Tavern, Madison, WI Jorge Guzman, Brewer’s Table at Surly Brewing Co., Minneapolis Erick Harcey, Upton 43, Minneapolis Thomas Hauck, c.1880, Milwaukee Jonny Hunter, Forequarter, Madison, WI Ann Kim, Young Joni, Minneapolis Jesse Mendica, Olive + Oak, Webster Groves, MO Kevin Nashan, Sidney Street Cafe, St. Louis Mike Randolph, Público, University City, MO Patrick Ryan, Port Fonda, Kansas City, MO Joe Tripp, Alba, Des Moines, IA Kevin Willmann, Farmhaus, St. Louis Luke Zahm, Driftless Café, Viroqua, WI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxdrop Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Piggybacking on this: @Tweaked or @DonRocks if you already went, would you characterize The Publican as (well-behaved) kid-friendly? I know its pretty casual, but does the communal setup make it awkward? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 On 4/20/2017 at 10:28 AM, saxdrop said: Piggybacking on this: @Tweaked or @DonRocks if you already went, would you characterize The Publican as (well-behaved) kid-friendly? I know its pretty casual, but does the communal setup make it awkward? It's not 100% communal - it's a very vast space with high ceilings that allow for lots of noise to be absorbed upward. I can't guarantee it's "kid-friendly," but it's not "kid-mean," that's for sure. As for the communal space, this does about as well as a restaurant with communal space could do. How many kids and what ages? I would get there *right* at opening time so your children don't have to wait. This is a boisterous restaurant, but not overbearing like Avec (by the same Restaurant Group), which is the single loudest restaurant I've ever been to in my life other than a college-type bar playing loud music. Imagine the acoustics when this gets full (which it does, very quickly) - I was sitting across from my dining partner at one of the tables on the right (there's a bench against the wall), and we were literally screaming at each other just trying to have a normal conversation. Beautiful, yes, but according to this table, I'll bet it surpassed 80 decibels *just* from people's conversations bouncing off the wood: One problem is that I wasn't really on the lookout for high chairs, etc., since I didn't know anyone was interested. I think a comparable in space might be something like Zaytinya. I have some pictures, but this Google image search might answer some of your questions also. Note that one wall is lined with private booths which might be perfect if you can get them. My impression - and it's an educated guess - is that you'll be fine taking children to The Publican. Do note that it's a very meat-centric menu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimCo Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 On 4/20/2017 at 10:28 AM, saxdrop said: Piggybacking on this: @Tweaked or @DonRocks if you already went, would you characterize The Publican as (well-behaved) kid-friendly? I know its pretty casual, but does the communal setup make it awkward? We took our 6- and 8-year old boys to the Publican last summer and had a good experience. We did go on the early side, around 5 or 5:30pm, and were seated almost immediately. It was early in the week. We were able to get one of the booths which were great because they have doors that close. The downside (or upside depending on your point of view) is that the booths are tall enough that the kids can't see over them, which led to our boys always trying to sneak a peek around the room. I remember they had French fries with fried eggs on top, which the kids loved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxdrop Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Ah perfect! The kids in my group are coincidentally also 6 and 8, and I made a rez way in advance so I feel pretty confident with the choice and I'll be sure to request a booth. Thanks for the feedback gang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxdrop Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 UPDATE: Well I got my friends' kids' ages wrong (theyre actually 9, 9, and 10) but we all felt I made the right call on venue. The kids were conspicuously the only minors in the place when we went, but once we were seated they fit right in. Props to Publican staff who went WAY out of their way with little extras for the kiddos. There was a booth available, but it was too tight for our group. WE ended up at one of the communal tables, and bc it was roughly 615 when we started, had open seats on either side for most of the meal. In addition to all the amazing things we tried, we ordered the selection of hams + bread, cajun sausage, and the chicken + fries as things the kids might dig (we hit on two out of three). Not by design, but incidentally I also ended up with after-dinner drinks at Avec and pre-concert catering the next day from Big Star - so I did my modest part to keep One Off Hospitality Group in business. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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