tallulah

i hadn't really heard much about tallulah but walked past it several times while on my way to old town school or to lincoln square. one time, while on my way to the daily grill, my boyfriend and i stopped to peruse the menu because let's face it, i'm a foodie junkie and i'm always looking for my next "tasting." i thought the menu was a bit edgy and daring while michael said, there is nothing on that menu that interests me (if you knew him, you'd know the emphasis on nothing was pretty emphatic, the man has no pretensions and prefers to make his intent clear to all).

our dinner party was made up of four: kai, damien, michael and me. kai, damien and myself were excited to embark on our adventure while michael, in his usual fashion, was more reticent.

the decor was nice and clean, white, airy and comfy. i felt like instead of being in a restaurant, i was in someone's apartment. the place resembles the typical chicago style flat, rectangular with a long hallway connecting the front of the apartment with the back. it felt homey and cozy with lamps on side tables and potted plants, high backed leather chairs and leather like table cloths. ok, so it was more modern comfy, cozy. the leather made it "modern."

since we had saturday night reservations for 9.15, the place was packed. so we started at the bar where we had the tallulah martini. it contains champagne, which is always a good thing in my book; anything with sparkle makes me happy. while waiting for our table, i watched the service window as dishes were sent out and i felt like we'd made the right choice in choosing tallulah.

we were seated pretty quickly. our server wasn't the warmest person in waiter history, she was more officious and a bit frazzled. most likely because it was saturday night but as the rush died down, it didn't change her level of attention. i think the poor girl just wanted to be home.

the menu is fairly simple and pared down, which is a good thing in some ways and a bad thing in other ways. good because it allows one to understand the chef's taste and inspiration; bad because sometimes the options aren't necessarily "speaking" to you.

so let's start with our appetizers:
what really stood out was the lobster bisque with a rosemary-vanilla flan. wow. rosemary-vanilla flan?! how edgy and creative! the flan paired perfectly with the bisque and the presentation was FLAW.LESS. in a squared cone bowl with high walls. beautiful.

next was the bulgogi pork belly with kimchee, which to my great surprise, packed great flavour and texture. and pleasantly, the kimchee was good-not too vinegary but more like a tamed down version from what koreans prefer. pork belly can be overkill if fat weirds you out but the sauce was perfection: salty, savory, black beanish with a nice spice finish to it.

we also tried the spicy maine lobster deviled eggs, which we felt we had to try "just because." the bisque and pork belly had the eggs faded by miles. i think the eggs are more novelty than creativity.

we ordered a bottle of margaux because a) we wanted to splurge and b) i like smokey tannic reds with red meat. it paired well with the beef and lamb we ate.

the boys both opted for the east meets west steak frites. very tasty with good fries but not stellar. i'm not saying don't go for that but considering there are interesting items like seared scallops with a curried english pea risotto or duck breast, why just have the steak frites?

kai chose the seared lamb with grilled endive and a seared lamb and ricotta ravioli. her dish came late because the chef didn't like the look of the first loin he made, which is nice that he's so attentive about what he sends out. but, poor kai had to settle for a salad while we sat with our dishes. we tried to eat slowly but by the time she received the loin, we were close to done. the dish was redeemed by the loveliness of the lamb and the gorgeous grilled endive. i wish endives were used for more than salad so a shout out to the chef for being daring enough to grill it.

i had the braised short rib with, get this, brie and bacon mashed potatoes. sounds LURVELY doesn't it? it was everything i expected and more. my short rib fell apart nicely with a nice fatty consistency but the glaze was a bit overkill with the saltiness from the mash. i still wish i'd chosen the scallops and risotto.

dessert was FAR more fun. we ordered the chai creme brulee-it came with a beautiful crust perfect for cracking with your spoon. we also tried the ancho chile and chocolate mousse with roasted banana bisque-it was more bitter than i expected. and the piece de resistance was the chocolate peanut butter pots de creme with a piece of peanut brittle. OH.MY.GOD. that was pure brilliant pleasure to eat!

while we enjoyed the food, the service left a bit to be desired. since we had pretty salty food, we were drinking a lot of water. we had to ask 4 times for water. the waitress was pretty hands off but i would have liked her to be a bit more attentive. not over-bearing but you know, checking in on us to make sure we had what we needed. like water.

so overall verdict? it's good, it's inventive and creative, the food is fantastically fresh and i would recommend it to someone who likes a more adventurous dining experience. however, i MUST return because the brunch menu looks to be ridiculously off the hook. i mean, braised rabbit skillet with farm eggs?!! and the tallulah benedict? lobster and prosciutto topped with pesto hollandaise with poached eggs!!! i HAVE to try.

and soon!

411:
tallulah
539 n. lincoln ave
chicago, il 60625
http://www.tallulahchicago.com