The lost meals entries consist of meals that occurred at various times throughout 2012 which, for any number of reasons, escaped my documentation – some due to a cross country move and a new job, some due to the Los Angeles Kings run to the Stanley Cup, and some simply as a result of too much travel. Having enjoyed many of these meals with friends or family and with some of them amongst the year’s very best the reality is that with time my memory has deteriorated and as life moves forward I’ve realized there is little hope to ever “catch up” or document these experiences as well as I’d hope, yet in order to preserve them I present these pictures, notes, and thoughts on the experience.
Brandade, Quail Egg, Black Pepper, Asian Pear
Chestnut Agnolotti, Butternut Squash, Miso, Smoked Pickled Grapes
Sweet Potato Cream, Concord Grape Sorbet, Pistachio Cake
Coffee Cake, Chai Tofu Ice Cream, Fried Chocolate, Smoked Meringue
Cider Donut, Delirium Ice Cream, Pumpkin Brittle
Divide & Concord – Gin, concord grape, absinthe, egg white
…not really one to know ‘when enough is enough’ when it comes to a day full of dining I was fortuitous to have friends in town from Ohio on this trip to Chicago and after dinner at Balena with family three of us met up with another trio for drinks…and just a few more bites…at Trenchermen, the recently rebranded former Turkish bath house in Wicker Park helmed by brothers Mike and Pat Sheerin. Known for a good late night vibe, excellent cocktails, and food both classical and experimental due to the duo’s time in kitchens from Everest to wd~50 what we found was everything we expected and more than enough to make a return visit sometime in the future requisite.
Classy and classic with white porcelain brick walls befitting its former inhabitants we started at the bar before moving to a comfy 6-top where our server, Graham, had to speak quite loudly to overcome the echoing acoustics and with beverages ordered – five cocktails and a glass of wine, my first the strong but smooth Divide and Concord – we played catch up until a pair of savories arrived. Having heard that the Sheerin’s food often trends towards the sweet I can certainly confirm this fact but possessing a rather pronounced affinity for such I’ll simply say that for those sharing my palate my limited sampling of the cuisine instantly made me want to order more; both plates beautiful to the eye and complex on the palate – particularly lovely the manner in which the smoked grapes and miso worked with the creamy pasta and the impressive sweet/savory balance of the fried salt cod and Asian pear melded by an aromatic black pepper paste.
With savories sweet and successful it should go without saying that desserts were a must and again playing off discrepant flavors and textures all three were quite good, the sweet potato cream especially lovely in its restraint while the coffee cake was so rich with espresso that the chocolate and meringue were necessary to go bite for bite – the end result a sort of s’mores flavor, but less saccharine. Moving last to the donuts – a bit more traditional but crispy like a fritter rather than doughy like a donut while the hops-laden ice cream actually worked quite nicely with the sweet apple curd on the plate, even for a non-beer drinker like myself, and when taken in context with the rest of the food enough that by meal’s end the only question was whether I want to return for dinner or brunch in the future.