Chicago: The Publican
We got in! I was a little worried because when I tried to make reservations online the night before, OpenTable said that there were no openings left until Sunday. We decided to try our luck and showed up at The Publican anyway. And what do you know? Instant seating:
This was my second time at The Publican and I just love this place. The ambiance, the wait staff, the decor, and even the cutlery all come together to create one of the best dining experiences you'll ever have. Well, and the food of course. The food is phenomenal here.
The Publican is all about the pork, hence the pig paintings. It's also communal style, meaning that you'll more than likely be sharing a table with another party. However, there are some individual tables along the wall and these are designed so that diners are "penned in", much like...well, pigs. Another fun detail is that the servers all wear meatpacking coats:
I would recommend going to The Publican with a large group of people (and making a reservation of course) because the menu is created in a way to optimize sharing. Since it was just my friend and I this time, we got some help from our super friendly waitress.
We started with the hamachi crudo with pistachio and Mandarin-quat:
I'm not entirely sure what a Mandarin-quat is, but I'm assuming it's something like a kumquat. Regardless, the citrus provided a fresh tang to the lightness of the hamachi and the pistachio added a nice, salty crunch.
The server recommended her favorite dish on the menu, which happened to be exactly what we had been eying all along, the pork belly:
The sweetness of the pork along with the added flavors of the rhubarb and onion blew me away. I'm a big fan of fat and this dish had just the right amount of it. (Okay, maybe I would've liked a bit more.) The grits weren't so memorable compared to the pork itself, but I'm not complaining. Just looking at the picture and typing about it is making me salivate...
We decided to splurge a little and get some dessert as well. By unanimous vote, we went with the chocolate chunk blondie with banana-malt ice cream, butterscotch, and cashew toffee:
The perfect finish to a perfect dinner. I don't usually like bananas, but I'll make an exception for this.
Not the cheapest meal, but the food was well worth the cost. Paul Kahan, hats off to you. I'll be back again and again and again. And I'll be bringing friends, lots and lots of friends.
Oh, I almost forgot. The Publican gives out these postcards along with the bill and I just wanted to share the message written on it. I found it quite fitting:
Here's to the Swine
That Animal Divine
who through Mud and Slime
Grit and Grime
Gorges over Time
Into Meats Sublime
The Publican
837 W Fulton St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-9555
http://thepublicanrestaurant.com/
This was my second time at The Publican and I just love this place. The ambiance, the wait staff, the decor, and even the cutlery all come together to create one of the best dining experiences you'll ever have. Well, and the food of course. The food is phenomenal here.
The Publican is all about the pork, hence the pig paintings. It's also communal style, meaning that you'll more than likely be sharing a table with another party. However, there are some individual tables along the wall and these are designed so that diners are "penned in", much like...well, pigs. Another fun detail is that the servers all wear meatpacking coats:
I would recommend going to The Publican with a large group of people (and making a reservation of course) because the menu is created in a way to optimize sharing. Since it was just my friend and I this time, we got some help from our super friendly waitress.
We started with the hamachi crudo with pistachio and Mandarin-quat:
I'm not entirely sure what a Mandarin-quat is, but I'm assuming it's something like a kumquat. Regardless, the citrus provided a fresh tang to the lightness of the hamachi and the pistachio added a nice, salty crunch.
The server recommended her favorite dish on the menu, which happened to be exactly what we had been eying all along, the pork belly:
The sweetness of the pork along with the added flavors of the rhubarb and onion blew me away. I'm a big fan of fat and this dish had just the right amount of it. (Okay, maybe I would've liked a bit more.) The grits weren't so memorable compared to the pork itself, but I'm not complaining. Just looking at the picture and typing about it is making me salivate...
We decided to splurge a little and get some dessert as well. By unanimous vote, we went with the chocolate chunk blondie with banana-malt ice cream, butterscotch, and cashew toffee:
The perfect finish to a perfect dinner. I don't usually like bananas, but I'll make an exception for this.
Not the cheapest meal, but the food was well worth the cost. Paul Kahan, hats off to you. I'll be back again and again and again. And I'll be bringing friends, lots and lots of friends.
Oh, I almost forgot. The Publican gives out these postcards along with the bill and I just wanted to share the message written on it. I found it quite fitting:
Here's to the Swine
That Animal Divine
who through Mud and Slime
Grit and Grime
Gorges over Time
Into Meats Sublime
The Publican
837 W Fulton St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-9555
http://thepublicanrestaurant.com/
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