1826
Warm Focaccia with cultured butter and dill yogurt spread
Prosciutto Croquettes – potato, chives
Hudson Valley Foie Gras – Amaretti cookie, huckleberries, currants, brioche
Zucchini Blossoms – whipped ricotta, tomato, basil, mint
Beet Salad – lime, pistachio, wild huckleberries
Lobster Stracciatella Risotto – leeks, parsley, tomato confit
Perigord and Burgundy Truffle Risotto – Madeira, fines herbs, cremont
Duck Duo – Roasted and Confit, Tokyo turnips, black trumpets, honey, almond
Mille Feuille – puff pastry, diplomat cream
Warm Valhrona Chocolate Fondant – fleur de sel, caramel, bourbon ice cream
Citrus Mosaic – basil, lemongrass, key lime pavlova
Sweet Gorgonzola Gelato – Medjool dates, celery granite, Villa Manodori balsamico
Having missed Danny Grant’s tenure at Michelin 2* Ria in Chicago it was with high hopes that I booked a table at trendy 1826 and although the restless chef had again moved on by the time dinner arrived it was still his final menu to which we were treated, an eleven plate experience during which not a single plate fell short of exemplary.
Every bit the South Beach hotspot, with 4 inch heels and a tight skirt never more than a few feet away, it was just after 7:30 that our party of three entered the second story space and deferring on a dreadful first table offered by the buxom hostess it was with a window-side view that we soon sat, a plate of buttery warm focaccia landing along with the menus as EDM pulsed overhead.
Trending a touch ’Vegas’ in terms of style and demeanor, but decidedly upgraded in service by a team well versed in the menu and its nuances, it was after mere moments of indecision that selections were made from the menu’s 3×2 format and although an opening volley of delicate croquettes were decidedly pricy at $3 per marble the explosive potato center teaming with butter, pork, and chives was a wakeup call to the palate and a good sign of things to come.
Onward to appetizers suffice it to say that both the beets and the blossoms traced the flavors of late-autumn in bold lines with light touches of acid helping to brighten each plate while a nearly three ounce slice of creamy foie gras took an entirely different route in resting atop a slice of buttered brioche, the substantial heft just barely reined in by a duo of fresh fruits while grated cookie lended just a bit of texture up top, a sort of torchless brûlée, if you will.
Largely focused on heavier proteins and pastas as entrees it was after a short respite as the dining room filled that two bowls of risotto plus a “duo of duck” arrived and while both the snappy crustacean amidst buttery cheese as well as the mushroom crusted fowl served alongside crackling confit were delicious neither were in the same league as the simple combination of rice, cream, wine, and fresh truffles – the tableside unveiling perfuming the immediate area and each bite as good as the last until the diner is running their finger through remaining sauce lamenting the focaccia long gone.
Moving into dessert it was with minimal debate that a “one of each” approach was taken to a menu from which all options appeared divine and although molten chocolate cake and a composition of bright fruits atop ethereal key lime curd were both quite pleasant the reference standard made-to-order mille-feuille and complex “frozen cheese plate” were undeniable must-haves, the former a shattering juxtaposition of butter pastry and thick cream while the later melded brine, bitter, acid, and sweet into an amalgam that should make folks in Miami very excited for whatever Chef Grant and his new team at 50 Eggs plan to hatch next.
http://www.1826collins.com/
