Finerepast visits Blackbird in Chicago

Plato once said that ‘music gives charm to sadness’.

This salad was completely charming…and leaving it behind was prolific in its sadness…traumatic, even. 24 hours had passed before I realized that I hadn’t eaten anything since then because nothing appealed to me. (Fortunately, our friends invited us to a delicious steak dinner accompanied by a Muga 2003 Rioja, and we got back to the business of eating).

‘Salad of endives with crispy potatoes, basil, dijon, pancetta and poached egg’. There is a rather intricate and artful ritual of dismantling the salad, and our server, Kyle, new to the business, succeeded reasonably well in his first attempt (which was proudly my salad):

Celebrating a coup in Chicago, my friends and I ordered a Gruet Blanc de Noir at the moment Blackbird opened (5 pm- on a tight schedule to catch a flight). We hadn’t planned on imbibing, but saw another table order it up, and decided that the color of the champagne was decidedly alluring. This light bubbly was from New Mexico, effervescent and pure in its taste. Though Blackbird typically uses this champagne in its cocktails, we found it completely suitable as an aperitif (“je te sers un aperitif, mon ami?”) and the cost was minimal for the quality at 39.00 a bottle.

The different breads were accompanied by a butter that was infused with celery salt and chopped rosemary. One of my companions ordered the Taleggio cheese salad with smoked morels, white asparagus, lavender cake, pickled shallots and baby spinach, but we understood intrinsically that she was suffering from ultimate salad envy.

Because we had just come from a reception at Orchestra Hall ballroom, we weren’t really interested in pursuing the entrées. However, one that struck me as potentially interesting was the “butternut squash polenta with pistachios, celery, pickeled honshimeji mushrooms and crispy black garlic”. But for me, as it was with Sushi Samba, it is always the appetizer, looking back, that remains most memorable – perhaps because the tastebuds are just awakening and the promise of what is to come adds a dimension of intrigue and excitement to the first course.

This might just be my own personal inclination or quirk, rather than the shortcoming of the restaurant business, but I still think that this salad is worth the trip and that it remains unparalleled with regard to its genre. And believe me, I have had a lot of salads in my day!

615 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 715-0708