Tweet Food Porn
Tweet is just outside the vietnamese district in Chicago. A small hidden gem amongst the good vietnamese foods and rows of Peking Duck (why in viet town?). The decor was nice, what I'd call "retro-modern" with a mix of vintage silverware, ikea-esque lamps and 1950s seat cusions. The lighting was low and the restaurant like many in chicago was long and narrow, seating only about 60 people max.
The waiter brought out the menu and told us the specials one of which was the Prix Fixe dinner, 3 courses for $20 which were a mixed field green salad with aged balsamic vinagrette; veal with polenta and veggies; chocolate hazelnut torte. The other special was Skate wing with mashed parsnips in a rhbarb-grenadine sauce with mixed winter vegetables. Dave chose the prixe fixe, I chose the Skate wing and the Lyonnaise salad (from the trib review The mix of frisee and lardons surrounds a centerpiece of flan laced with Johnny Walker scotch and a splash of Drambuie. The eggy flan (subbing for the traditional poached egg) is rich with cask-aged flavors, which work nicely with a smoked-mushroom vinaigrette dressing the greens.
The salads came out on sweet square plates that were simple. The salad was tasty and the dressing was not too overbearing. The flan on my salad reminded me of a very mild cheese and the mushroom vinegarette accented the scotch flavor nicely which of course went very well with the peppery and bitter greens. Next out was the entree. My skate was done perfectly. Skate has a flavor similar to crab, it's very light and slightly sweet and the mixture of that plus the rhubarb/ grenadine sauce was a perfect sweet flavor! It was topped with bitter greens and small grapefruit slices, which countered the sweetness well. The puree of parsnip was simple and non-overbearing, extending the flavor of the skate rather than making a seperate entitiy of itself. The vegetables were nice and grilled, asparagus, spinach and artichoke. Dave's veal was so amazing and tender. It fell right off the bone. The reduction in was swimming in was perfect and the polenta soaked up all the flavor of it. The tenderness was the best part -- it really was perfect. It was a dish that reminded me of leather chairs and cigars -- smokey and nice. We followed that up with Dave's dessert and a 10 piece cheese course. The cheese was heavenly. It came on tray like a paint pallete. There were 3 blue cheeses, one that was swiss-like, one that was fontina-like, a smoked white cheddar, a brie, and some others that I cannot remember right now. It was served with nut crackers, macadamia nuts, fresh olives, grapes, a fruit tart (made inhhouse!). It was to die for....every flavor was there and waiting for my mouth. Dave's Chocolate hazelnut torte was rich and delicious. The hazelnuts were a perfect crunch and nutty flavor to accent the dark chocolate torte and the fresh whipped creme and fruit.
The entire meal was amazing. The bread is brought in from a local organic bakery and was amazing. I only ate 2 pieces (one pumpernickle and one sourdough). We brough our own wine (de bois merlot).
As we left, the owner gave us freshly made chocolate chip macaroon cookies. We ate them just now - they were amazing. Crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside with a flavor that was just amazing, like amaretto throughout. The chocolate chips were dark and delicious.
It was a fantastic meal. Dave said he's never had anything so amazing.
The waiter brought out the menu and told us the specials one of which was the Prix Fixe dinner, 3 courses for $20 which were a mixed field green salad with aged balsamic vinagrette; veal with polenta and veggies; chocolate hazelnut torte. The other special was Skate wing with mashed parsnips in a rhbarb-grenadine sauce with mixed winter vegetables. Dave chose the prixe fixe, I chose the Skate wing and the Lyonnaise salad (from the trib review The mix of frisee and lardons surrounds a centerpiece of flan laced with Johnny Walker scotch and a splash of Drambuie. The eggy flan (subbing for the traditional poached egg) is rich with cask-aged flavors, which work nicely with a smoked-mushroom vinaigrette dressing the greens.
The salads came out on sweet square plates that were simple. The salad was tasty and the dressing was not too overbearing. The flan on my salad reminded me of a very mild cheese and the mushroom vinegarette accented the scotch flavor nicely which of course went very well with the peppery and bitter greens. Next out was the entree. My skate was done perfectly. Skate has a flavor similar to crab, it's very light and slightly sweet and the mixture of that plus the rhubarb/ grenadine sauce was a perfect sweet flavor! It was topped with bitter greens and small grapefruit slices, which countered the sweetness well. The puree of parsnip was simple and non-overbearing, extending the flavor of the skate rather than making a seperate entitiy of itself. The vegetables were nice and grilled, asparagus, spinach and artichoke. Dave's veal was so amazing and tender. It fell right off the bone. The reduction in was swimming in was perfect and the polenta soaked up all the flavor of it. The tenderness was the best part -- it really was perfect. It was a dish that reminded me of leather chairs and cigars -- smokey and nice. We followed that up with Dave's dessert and a 10 piece cheese course. The cheese was heavenly. It came on tray like a paint pallete. There were 3 blue cheeses, one that was swiss-like, one that was fontina-like, a smoked white cheddar, a brie, and some others that I cannot remember right now. It was served with nut crackers, macadamia nuts, fresh olives, grapes, a fruit tart (made inhhouse!). It was to die for....every flavor was there and waiting for my mouth. Dave's Chocolate hazelnut torte was rich and delicious. The hazelnuts were a perfect crunch and nutty flavor to accent the dark chocolate torte and the fresh whipped creme and fruit.
The entire meal was amazing. The bread is brought in from a local organic bakery and was amazing. I only ate 2 pieces (one pumpernickle and one sourdough). We brough our own wine (de bois merlot).
As we left, the owner gave us freshly made chocolate chip macaroon cookies. We ate them just now - they were amazing. Crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside with a flavor that was just amazing, like amaretto throughout. The chocolate chips were dark and delicious.
It was a fantastic meal. Dave said he's never had anything so amazing.