Chicago Here we Come (Again!)

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Up and at 'em for the last leg of our trip! Our hosts, the Kellys have coffee and hot tea ready and waiting for us followed by an amazing breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy. Miss Wendy is giving Asshole a run for his money with her pulled pork, bruschetta and now this gravy - all so good!

We have some logistics to take care of which include shipping home a box of souvenirs. We head to a UPS store in Indian Head Park and guess what, we're back on Route 66! Too cool - we make plans to try and get to the start in Chicago while we're in town.

It's cold and windy and cloudy and we can't figure out what to do. All AHole wants is Chinese food... Fortunately, Sweetie strikes again with her superb memory skills and pulls up Urban Belly, a dumpling and noodle shop she had seen on television. Even better, it's only a couple of miles from our final destination, Longman & Eagle. We park and run across the street and into "happiness" we walk... AHole orders Duck and Pho Spices Dumplings (still a little skeptical) with Sweetness ordering Pork and Cilantro Dumplings. Both are superb but methinks the Duck and Pho Spices is the better choice. Sweetie really wants noodles and decides on a rice noodle soup. We split this amazing rice noodle Pho broth with hominy, pork belly, cabbage and this wonderful thing they said was rice cake, which is very hard to describe - it looks like a water chesnut but isn't crunchy. Someone slurped up all the last bits and bites of this wonderful dish. Man, it was good!!!

It's time to check in to the Longman & Eagle Inn. We have Room 76, which is on the side corner above the restaurant. It's a quaint, little, hip room with exposed brick and old boards. The bathroom is different than any I've ever seen in a hotel room (it's all glass). Our friend Robert McAdams did all the construction and is part owner of the Longman & Eagle Restaurant and Inn. For those of you who don't know, he is the son of Pat Spackman (Pat and Philip Spackman). The man has done well with his woodworking skills and has made quiet a name for himself in the Chicago area. We decide to chill and wait for Robert to call and see what he might be up to tonight.

Robert calls and we agree to meet him at the downstairs at 7pm. He had reserved a nice table and we start off with some cocktails (what a surprise, huh?). We had eaten here before and Chef Jared Wentworth is very well known (earned a Michelin Star in the first year) but we didn't have a clue what we were in for. I decide to let Robert and Sweetie do the ordering (the restaurant is dimly lit and menu type is very small), but they deliver first with small plates and bar snacks. Meatballs with creamy polenta, pesto and fonduta (OH MY!) and house marinated olives. Next, we are provided with lamb tartare with quail eggs, black truffle, crispy potatoes, celery root remoulade and black olive anchovy oil...very tasty. Next came Pigtail with Chanterelle Mushrooms, apple, sweet potato and chickpea porridge. With this arrives Braised Veal Hearts with Cavatelli Pasta, roasted Porcini, cipollini onions, huckleberry vinegar and grana padana. After a brief break, we get the trio of Hudson Valley Foie Gras (seared), hot chocolate, whoopie pie torchon with various accoutrements. Also on deck is pan roasted Sepia (a type of fish) with oxtail ragout, olive, orange, fresh chickpeas, almonds, romesco....Wow! All of this food tastes great and the presentaion is something out of Food Style.

Remember, we are sharing between three (3) and these are small portions, but it just seems to keep coming and coming and coming. The last one is off the Large Plates menu and is my favorite yet. It is apan roasted Walleye fish with Maine Lobster, Potato Gnocchi, radish, carrot, salt roasted beets, foraged mushrooms and a warm porcini vinaigrette. My, oh my, what a beautiful sight. This dish could be one of the best things I've ever tasted. It was so good with a variety of flavors in each bite. It is usually served as Pan Roasted Red Grouper but they recieved Walleye today and it is my first dance with this fish and it is cooked perfectly with skin on (blistered). Chef Jared stops by and tells us that we should enjoy it because due to do Hurricane Sandy their seafood delivery will be hit or miss the next couple of weeks. So we thanked the fish gods and Chef Jared. Next time you are in Chicago, you owe it to yourself to make this a destination dining experience. I'm feeling long-winded so I won't go into the drink and wine lists which are much longer than the food menus. But we were fortunate enough to try the Le Nez 2009 Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon and L & E has their own single barrel bourbon from Evan Williams - it would be rude not to try that 😊 With a catchphrase of "Eat, Sleep, Whiskey", it's silly not to do all 3!

DIET...is on the menu when we get home!!!

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Photos

Bathroom 76
The inn guide suggests that if you are a guest, you should be on fairly intimate terms with your roommate - someone will be seen naked!