My sister and I went to Chicago over her birthday, so it was only appropriate that I take her out to a nice dinner to celebrate. About a month or so before our trip I called her up and asked her what kind of food she wanted to go out for, and not surprisingly she wanted French. I am not sure when she became such a French foodie, but it is her current love (we even went for French with our parents when we got back home!). I did some research online and found Brasserie Jo, not only did it have good reviews, but it was only 2 blocks from our hotel. I made us a reservation online and we were all set!
Our reservation was for 7:30, and when we arrived we were given the choice of sitting inside or on the patio. It was a nice breezy evening, and since sitting on the patio in Phoenix right now is not an option, we opted for the patio. While we were scanning the menu, a waiter brought out some bread and butter and some herb marinated carrots for us to munch on. We had never been served carrots quite like this. Basically, they were carrot sticks that were marinated in olive oil, garlic and herbs, they were quite good and a nice fresh start to the meal.
The bread was just your typical baguette and butter, but it was nice and crusty and the butter was soft and easy to spread (I HATE when restaurants serve you hard, cold butter with your bread). We both thought that it was very cute that they served it to you in a bag with their logo, rather than your typical bread basket.
The menu was quite vast, including separate sections for hot and cold appetizers. The one appetizer that caught our eye was the Beer Cheese Beingets. First of all, I think my sisters obsession with French food really stems for her love of beingets. Secondly, I had already inquired, and they did not have beingets on the dessert menu, so I think my sister figured she had to get her beinget fix however she could! They came out golden brown and served over a bed of shredded cabbage, with a remoulade sauce spread on the plate. The presentation was just lovely, and so was the flavor! Neither of us had ever had beer cheese before, but I would describe it as having a bit of bite much like a Swiss cheese. The creamy goodness of the center just melted in our mouths. I especially liked putting some beinget and cabbage on my fork and then dipping it all in the sauce. We both were very happy with our choice of starter, and couldn't wait for the main dishes to come.
For her main dish, my sister ordered the Duck entree. She was very excited because she loves duck and it came with it prepared two different ways; a roasted duck breast and a duck leg confit. My sister had never had duck prepared confit style before, but we have heard about it from our mom because it is one of her all time favorites. She always tells us that if she ever gets diagnosed with a terminal illness, she is going to eat duck confit everyday! The duck was served with fingerling potatoes and braised turnips and a slightly sweet glaze. My sister thought this dish was excellent! She said the sauce had a touch of sweetness that complimented the richness of the duck, but was not overly sweet. She absolutely loved the potatoes, and was pleasantly surprised that she also liked the turnips. She ate the duck breast first, and when it came time for her to try the confit, she was in heaven. The crispy skin of the duck was superb, and she realized what our mom has been talking about all this time! She was nice enough to give me a little bite, and it really was delicious. After she was done eating, all that remained on the plate was the bone from the duck leg...so I am thinking she liked her dish.
When it came time for me to order, I just couldn't quite decide. I wrestled with getting the spinach crepes or the macaroni & cheese, but decided that those just seemed too heavy. I also was considering the lamb with sounded delicious, but ultimately, I decided to order something that I had never had before (I sure am a daredevil, huh?). I ordered the Sauteed Skate Wing. Now I had never had skate, let alone had I ever really seen it on a menu, but for some reason I just wanted to try it. For those of you that are not familiar, skate is a mild, white fish....and it is delicious! I almost couldn't believe that I was actually loving fish this much! While I love fish tacos, tuna and sushi, I am not a huge fish person, I don't eat it very regularly, so this was an odd choice for me. But this dish has turned me into a skate fan! It was sauteed in a caper brown butter, that just made the fish melt in my mouth. It was served over pommes puree (mashed potatoes) and spinach with some crispy potato strips piled on top. This dish was amazing, and the portion was huge, as much as I loved the dish I wasn't able to finish it. My sister tried a bite and declared that she too loved it. We both became fans of skate this night...thank you Brasserie Jo!
Since we were celebrating for my sister's birthday, we had to order dessert too! Knowing that they did not have beingets, we scanned the dessert menu and ultimately decided on the "World Famous Profiteroles." They were described to us as being a pastry shell, filled with vanilla ice cream and then covered in chocolate sauce. The presentation was very nice, they came out without the chocolate sauce, then the waiter poured it over them so we could see the chocolate envelope the pastries. We both took a bite, and well, we just thought that they were okay. The ice cream was really hard, so it was hard to get a bite with all the components. And the pastry shells were pretty flavorless, and kind of dry. I had imagined that they would be more like an eclair or cream puff, but with ice cream, I guess I imagined wrong. We nibbled on these, but ultimately decided they just weren't worth the calories!
The waitress had gotten wind that it was Laura's birthday, so she brought out a small container of chocolate mousse with a candle in it. It was cute, and the table behind us even joined in with signing happy birthday! The mouse was pretty good, we were glad we got to try it, but a whole order of it would have been way too much, it was pretty bitter tasting.
Laura's birthday dinner in Chicago turned out to be a success, the weather was beautiful, the food was wonderful and we had a great time people watching. If we ever make it to Chicago again, I definitely think that it would be on our list of places to return to. And, oddly enough, as we were walking out of the restaurant we ran into one of my co-workers! I knew that he was going to be in Chicago during the same time, but what are the odds in a city that big to run into someone for back home...crazy?!
Brasserie Jo
59 W. Hubbard St.
Chicago, IL 60610
www.brasseriejo.com
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That's too bad about the profiteroles - they look really good! The carrots sound good too. I've never had skate before, but if I see it on a menu, I might give it a try after reading this.
ReplyDeleteHappy Belated Birthday to your sister Jenn. It sounds like a great birthday dinner! I'd love to try how that carrot sticks were prepared :)
ReplyDeleteYum! I was so excited to see this post. I had been anxiously waiting to hear about the trip. I can't wait for more posts!
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