Chicago: Wellfleet

What used to be an occasional restaurant opened once a week has become a permanent fixture at the Fish Guy Market early this year.  When Queen G invited VK and me to check out Wellfleet, I didn't know quite what to expect.  Located somewhat in the middle of nowhere, Fish Guy's storefront sure does stick out:

After its renovations, Fish Guy is now half seafood market, half restaurant:

The restaurant is really small, with four tables for two and a kitchen bar that seats six.  The three of us elected to sit at the bar because we wanted to catch all the exciting stuff going on in the open kitchen.

Since VK was friends with Chef Cody, who basically runs a one-man show in the kitchen, we were able to get some recommendations from him.  The menu was small to begin with, but I think we managed to order almost half of it thanks to VK's avid curiosity.

We started with the lobster roll, which came with chips and a slaw.  Chef Cody was considerate enough to cut it into thirds for us:

The bun was buttery and toasted to perfection, which the lobster itself was surprisingly light and fresh.  A squeeze of lemon would've made it absolutely heaven.

The chef recommended we try the nicoise of albacore tuna:

Definitely not your traditional nicoise, but so very delicious.

We noticed someone down the bar enjoying his monkfish with Jerusalem artichoke and couldn't resist:

I'd never heard of a Jerusalem artichoke before and was thoroughly fascinated by its ginger-like appearance, its natural sweetness, and its crisp yet potato-y texture.  Awesome discovery of the day!

As if all that wasn't enough, we later added the conch chili:

I think the chili had to be my absolute favorite of the meal.  The conch was chewy and fun, but the soup base itself was what floored me.  Slightly spicy, slightly sweet...so damn good.

I felt like I was bursting at the seams, but apparently VK didn't feel the same way.  She somehow talked us into trying the clam chowder too:

They certainly don't skimp on the clams at Wellfleet.  Later we found out that Chef Cody had thrown in the chowder on the house.  Woot!

We contemplated dessert, but the decision was taken out of our hands when Chef Cody presented us with the tortuga rum cake:

Ah, the perks of dining with friends in the food industry...  Besides being wonderfully free, the cake was rather wonderful period.  I was afraid that the rum would be overpowering, but was pleasantly surprised to find it to be quite the opposite.

If you're a fan of seafood, thoughtful preparation, and open kitchens, Wellfleet is the place for you.  It's only open for lunch though, so make sure to get there between 11:30 and 4:30.  Otherwise the market itself is open from 10:00am to 6:00pm and that's worth checking out too.


Wellfleet
Fish Guy Market
4423 N Elston Ave
Chicago, IL 60630
(773) 283-7400
http://fishguy.com/index.html