A few weeks ago, my friend Allan (friends of the blog know Allan, as he often accompanies me on these culinary adventures), wanted to take me and my friend to a great “deal meal” – ½ price lunch at Frontera Grill. Unfortunately, it was a Saturday and we could not get in. (Could be all of those students of what Barack is eating that came to Frontera that day, OR those that simply love the idea of getting such a great discount on wonderful food).

Anyway, he ended up taking us to Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s C-House. Swedish born Chef Samuelsson is well known for his landmark restaurant in New York – Aquavit, and for his many culinary awards and appearances on the likes of Iron Chef and Good Morning America. C-House opened in 2007 to much fanfare.

On Saturday’s and Sundays they now feature a “Bossa Nova” Brunch. Yes, there is nothing better than a little champs, hearing “The Girl from Ipanema“” on the surround sound and feasting on some eclectic brunch fare.

The interior of C-House definitely has a Swedish flair – sleek, curved wood and a minimalist look. I think it’s one of the most inviting interiors I have seen in a long time.

If you want to start your brunch with the perfect “type” of cocktail for the cuisine, you’ll be happy with a Red Snapper (tequila, tomato juice and pickled veggies,) or a white pineapple sangria. There’s also a nice pineapple orange mimosa to sip on. Bring on the little umbrella’s and the scent of coconut oil!

There was a professional photographer there during our meal, taking pictures of the perfectly prepared and displayed food. It was all I could do to contain myself from asking what was to happen to that food after the camera had its way with it.

We received more attention than usual that afternoon, as we were at the tail end of brunch service and there was no one else to serve; I became engaged in a great conversation with our server.

By nature, I am much more of a lunch fan than a breakfast aficionado. Consequently, I ended up ordering their “Bossa Burger” with angus prime. My friend Karin ordered the C-house burger with white fish and tartar sauce. Neither of these was so amazing. Knowing that the chef does great magic with salmon, I would have had much higher expectations for that. However, there was a pastrami smoked salmon with rye and cream cheese – I should have opted for that! The chef has created a really unique spice for the fries that was difficult to deconstruct (did he do that on purpose?), but really got me going on eating the fries. To me, a fry is a fry is a fry unless there is some unique cooking technique or a great seasoning. They served it with their own version of ketchup – which was too sweet for my liking.

Allan tried the Feijoada – poached egg, pork hash and rice & beans. Our server touted the pork hash, but I must say, what I tasted needed to be seasoned.

If you are interested in more “brunch” type fare, the chef offers breakfast tacos, Churrasco (grilled skirt steak) and eggs, eggs benedict (with choices of spicy pulled pork, Canadian bacon, salmon or lobster) and a unique house frittata served with heart of palm, parmesan, mushroom, and green beans.

My very favorite item on the menu (now on my top ten favorite dishes) was a side:of chorizo mac and cheese that included cheddar for a sharpness kick and goat cheese for the creaminess. Integrated with that was “just perfect” chorizo – well, I barely shared it with my friends it was so good.

Prices are moderate to high (depending on your viewpoint) – $5 to $21. The next trip to C-House will include dinner (a seafood feast), and certainly some salmon tasting. I should moderate my expectations here down – the last salmon I devoured was in Alaska and it was spectacular.

Bob Chinn’s – a longstanding favorite restaurant in Wheeling, has been assessing areas to open a second location.

The focus had been on expanding to a site in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Due to the economy and the credit crunch, Kenosha has now been eliminated as a possibility. The new search has focused on upscale suburbs of Milwaukee.

Having grown up in the Northwest suburbs, I have been to Bob Chinn’s many times. I have often marveled at their process of getting hundreds of people from the bar back to the parking lot with a “people moving system” that turns a table faster than your average restaurant. It is truly a “destination” restaurant, and could create a nice buzz in Milwaukee.

In my opinion, there are so many restaurants to choose from in the Chicago area and suburbs, it may be a smart idea to expand into a sister state. Of course, any move to open a restaurant in the near future has to be evaluated carefully.

Bob Chinn’s Crabhouse

393 S. Milwaukee

Wheeling, IL

847-520-3633

www.bobchinns.com

This year I am going to scale back on postings about Top Chef.  I will still be diligently watching every week (it’s an addiction similar to Food Network).  However, since it is held in New York, it feels a little more distant than watching all of the great fabric of Chicago and our great restaurants and chefs being deftly displayed each week during it’s run last year.

This year, I haven’t even settled on the cheftestants.  However, I do feel compeled to write a little something about this past week’s episode as it featured Chicago’s Grant Achatz (Alinea) as the guest chef.

My long held stereotype of chefs (derived from observation) is that they are wild, frenetic. type A, driven, obsessed etc.  Most certainly Grant Achatz is driven and focused on his craft.  However, serving in the role of guest judge he appeared almost Zen.  quiet, studied, thoughtful, and soft spoken.

Every person brings their own complexity to the table (as I call it “peels of the onion”) and this was a most interesting side to be shown.

Check out the episode if you wish, it will certainly be shown many more times on Bravo.

In the meantime, the people at www.gothamist.com were lucky enough to score an interview with the chef after the Top Chef episode aired.  Here’s a snippet from that interview:

Photo courtesy of http://paxarcana.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/achatz.jpg)

“What kind of experience was it to be on the show? The show is surprisingly unscripted. Of course there were a few scripted elements, but I was shocked by how honest and thorough the judging process really was. There was some serious deliberation about who should be kicked off and who should win. It was intense, and I didn’t expect that.

What’s your insight on the contestants? You know, they’re a really diverse group— a wide range of cooks with a wide range of personalities, and I’m pretty sure that’s why this show works. Jeff, for instance, is probably the closest to the type I would hire for the Alinea kitchen. He takes it seriously, he’s a good cook, and he’s also pretty cerebral about food. You have contestants like Ariane, or like Stefan, who are more part of the private chef/catering side. Then you have guys like Gene, who’s like a cook’s cook. His food was some of the most impressive on this episode, and frankly some of the most creative. You can put that guy in any two star kitchen—I don’t care if it’s New York, San Francisco, or Chicago—that guy’s going to roll up his sleeves, burn his forearms, and bang it out.”

We have been posting episode updates from the successful show “Spain…on the road again.”  Today, before Thanksgiving, we are grateful that the media people from the show shared Mario’s favorite dessert recipe! LH

Batali Family Blackberry Pie
Serves 8

For the Crust
*2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
*3 tablespoons sugar
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*3 tablespoons sugar 1 cup vegetable shortening, chilled
*About 5 tablespoons ice water

For the Filling
*4 cups fresh blackberries (“the berries on the Camino de Santiago were small and sweet/tart, and I loved them” –Mario)
*1/2 cup sugar
*3 tablespoons all–purpose flour
*1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
*1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the crust, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the ice water over the flour mixture, tossing with a fork to moisten it evenly, then add more water about 1 teaspoon at a time until the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Cut the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one half (keep the remaining dough chilled) to a 12 1/2–inch round, and fit it into a 9–inch pie plate. Put the blackerries in a bowl and toss gently with the sugar and flour. Drizzle with the lemon juice and toss gently again. Transfer the berries to the pie shell and dot with the butter. Roll out the second piece of dough to an 11–inch round. Cover the filling with the dough, trim the excess dough, and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Cut a few steam vents in the center of the crust. Bake in a 350°F oven for 1 hour, or until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Let cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes, and devour. (Recipe featured in the book Spain… A Culinary Road Trip)

Photos courtesy of www.eatmedaily.com

Perhaps this is a frivolous topic, but I need to weigh in on the new garb being worn by the Iron Chef’s. The new jackets debuted on the Thanksgiving Showdown episode that aired a week or two ago. Designer Mark Ecko (former guest judge on Iron Chef) was the architect of the new look.

As we all know, each of these masters has an individual style, attitude, and gift. So, why shouldn’t they have chef wear designed to that style?

My personal favorite is Morimoto’s – the color, cut and fabric were perfect. Jeff Simon, after he first became one of the Iron Chef’s, just about took a sissors to the arms of his jacket. He apparently would prefer to cook with no arm fabric whatsoever. Thus, his jacket has shorter sleves.

There are Iron Chef insignia’s (I call them the royal patche bling) on the side arms. They are pretty darn ornate. But, heck – if I was an Iron Chef, I might find an excuse to wear something a bit more flashy than my normal style.

So, let’s have the look for the chef’s match their individul style, yet reflect the elite team!

According to Wikipedia, here’s where the Iron Chef’s stand:

Iron Chef	Specialty	Win	Loss	Draw	Total	Win %1
Mario Batali	Italian	19	4	0	23	82.6%
Cat Cora	Greek & Mediterranean	13	7	0	20	68.4%
Bobby Flay	Southwestern	21	11	2	34	66.6%
Masaharu Morimoto2	Japanese	9	8	1	18	53.1%
Michael Symon3	Mediterranean	3	1	1	5	70.0%

Note 1: Based on weighted average (.5 victory for a draw). The win/loss data is based on the performance of the Iron Chef in Iron Chef America: The Series and the Battle of the Masters.
Note 2: Morimoto’s record includes his battle as a competitor in the Battle of the Masters.
Note 3: Symon’s record does not include his loss to Morimoto in Battle Asparagus, or his victory over John Besh in the finale of The Next Iron Chef as Symon did not hold the title Iron Chef during either battle.