Stuff to eat. Mostly around St. Louis.
The Loyalist
Chicago
i’d heard from a few people—chefs, cooks, my dingus brother—that I would love the loyalist.
Here’s what I knew about it before I went: it’s the sister restaurant to culinary mecca Smyth (literally underneath it), John Shields is the executive chef/owner, and they have a burger that has its own Instagram account and cult following.
I landed in Chicago, dropped my bags off at my brother’s apartment, then we marched straight through the West Loop to the restaurant.
Like so many subterranean Chicago hot spots, it feels like a moderately fancy speakeasy. For the St. Louisans reading, think Elmwood and Taste combined. We were seated in a black leather booth at the back of the restaurant, which gave us a great view of hopeful diners jostling for position to grab the next empty bar seat.
I decided to let my brother do the ordering because 1) I am magnanimous 2) Chef Shields started his career in St. Louis, which means he can do no wrong, which means my brother couldn’t order anything bad.
Food started hitting the table fast and furiously. Chef de Cuisine Julio Morales (who I met after the meal, thanks to another St. Louis connection) and his team came out swinging. The foie gras eclair, topped with fried corn and drizzled with lavender honey, hit the table first—delicate and decadent, as only the French can do. The subtle, smoky, somehow creamy ‘biscuit’ wafer with shallot purée and aged cheddar followed it immediately. To quote my girlfriend, “holy fuck.”
I knew right then that all the people who told me I was going to love it were right. French as shit techniques mashed into American bar fare.
I can’t even keep track of all the food we ate next. An incredible beet salad with apple, tarragon and Banyuls. A gigantic ‘pop-over’ spritzed with beef garum, resting above a pool of beef jus for dipping. Escargot toast topped with Benton’s country ham. Gigantic pillowy ricotta gnocchi. Then, out of nowhere, an absolutely perfect camembert omelette with a koji beurre blanc and caviar. Julia Child would have had an orgasm.
As incredible as all those dishes were, I just didn’t see how the signature Loyalist Cheeseburger, nor their special burger, could compete at all. How can you follow all that refined amazingness with a burger and fries?
Well, it turns out it’s pretty fucking easy when you’re making what has to be one of the best burgers in the country.
Here’s the deal: the chuck and short rib patties are cooked on the flattop (while being brushed with bacon fat), topped with American cheese, and finished with onions 300 ways. If you’re a dork who doesn’t like onions or, even worse, pretends to be allergic to them, you don’t deserve this. Seriously: charred/sautéed onions, onion oil, mayo made with onion oil, and probably some other onion stuff too. That’s all thrown on a bun, along with pickles and their secret sauce, and boom. A burger that will make you rethink all other burgers. Forget waiting at Au Cheval down the street.
Plus, the burger comes with their incredible fries served with the most garlicky aioli in the history of garlic aiolis and a cup of pickle juice.
So…how good was the meal? To quote food writer/historian Lolis Elie, “The real question is not so much whether I enjoyed myself that night, it’s whether or not the next day I’m saying, ‘when am I going to be able to go back?’”
We went back three days later. Twice in one week. We did it all over again. We straight up repeated most of the dishes, though we also tried a few new ones, like the Little Gem salad with a smoked whitefish caesar dressing (which gives the Loafers little gem a run for its money).
And, of course, we got the burger again. No regrets.
Foie Gras eclair
lavender honey
Deviled eggs
smoked trout, roe
biscuit
shallot purée, aged cheddar
broiled oyster
bacon, sea lettuce, hollandaise
little gem
sourdough, smoked whitefish casear
Escargot tartine
Benton’s country ham
pork belly
ramps, green strawberries
Ricotta gnocchi
toasted yeast, oyster mushrooms
pop-over
beef garum
omelette
camembert, koji beurre blanc, caviar
The sign outside the loyalist
So you know you’re in the right place.
Honorable Mentions: Chicago, Summer 2018
My brother moved to the west loop, which means goodbye D.C. posts, hello Chicago.
Walking around Chicago, namely the West Loop, is like seeing my Instagram feed come to life. I can’t believe the number of amazing restaurants packed into such a relatively small area; I’ve gone twice this summer and have barely left the neighborhood at all. And why should I? Roister, Bonci, The Loyalist, Au Cheval, Little Goat Diner, etc. are right there.
A few of the places I’ve eaten at in Chicago deserve full posts (Duck Duck Goat, Roister), but here’s a run down of some of the quicker bites I’ve had that are worth your time—they’re not all in the West Loop, but none are too far off.
The Bakery at Fat Rice
I could spend all day at the Fat Rice restaurants (all located inside the same building at Sacramento and Diversey). You have the main restaurant, Fat Rice, with a strong Macanese influence—that’s Macau, if you didn’t know—that combines Chinese and Portuguese food. I’ve eaten there, I loved it, but I was camera-less. If cocktails and small bites are more what you’re looking for, you’ll want a reservation at The Ladies Room. For breakfast or lunch, you’ll want The Bakery at Fat Rice.
The Bakery is a nod to the bakeries you see all over Asia these days (miss u Breadtalk), where you can grab sweet treats, like egg tarts and ube milk bars, or savory bakes, like their char siu pork pineapple bun. I thought the highly touted Chicago-style hot dog bun was totally overpowered by the spicy mustard, but maybe that was just that particular batch.
Baked goods
Ube Milk Bar
purple yam, shortbread, condensed milk jam, coconut streusel
Pineapple Bun
chinese BBQ pork, scallion
Chicago-style hot dog bun
vienna beef, Chicago-style classic fixins’
at The Bakery at Fat Rice
Green Street Meats & Sawada Coffee
If you’re from a city with good BBQ (like, uh, St. Louis) and you’re visiting Chicago, don’t bother going to Green Street Meats—unless you’re in the market for some great pastries and coffee, sold out of Sawada Coffee in the back of the restaurant. Try the Military Latte (matcha tea, vanilla syrup, cocoa powder, and a shot of espresso) or the Black Camo Latte (roasted green tea called hojicha, along with milk and espresso).
Pork belly
Elote corn
JP GRAZIANO
JP Graziano’s is a Chicago institution—they’ve been around since 1937—that gives the classic Italian sandwich shop a little umph. They’re about more than just great, primarily local ingredients: they take the classics and elevate them. Their signature sandwich, the Mr. G, is a perfect example of this. Sure, it looks like every other Italian sammy out there, but with the perfect amount of truffle mustard, spicy oil, marinated artichokes, and fresh basil, it’s not your typical deli sandwich.
Mr. G
sharp imported provolone, hot sopresatta, prosciutto di parma, volpi genoa salami, truffle mustard, balsamic vinaigrette, hot oil, marinated roman style artichokes, fresh basil, lettuce with red wine vinegar and oregano
at JP Graziano
Bombobar
Sometimes you want to just stand outside and shovel filled donuts into your face. Bombobar basically offers four things: bomboloni, gelato, Italian ice, and coffee. No further explanation is needed.
Bomboloni
salted caramel, s’mores
at Bombobar
The goddess and grocer
The Goddess and Grocer is just a solid spot to grab a bite to eat, with lots of premade options, plus a full sandwich menu with daily specials. And lots of pastries. It’s certainly not the most exciting place to eat in town, but if you’re nearby, it works.
Chicken Samosa
at The Goddess and Grocer
Cubano
at The Goddess and Grocer
3 Arts Club cafe
I didn’t know I was the kind of fancy boy that would go to 3 Arts Club Cafe, the very posh restaurant inside the middle of the biggest Restoration Hardware on earth, but apparently I am. While the prices were ridiculously high, I have to give them props: their French Dip was as delicious as it was massive.
French Dip
Parachute
While my meal at Parachute didn’t live up to the meals friends of mine have had there, I’d go back again—that’s the risk you take when you go somewhere that changes its menu on a whim. Two dishes were big winners, though: the smoked yuba (tofu skin) and the baked potato bing bread. Honestly, I’d recommend you just go early and grab a cocktail and the bread. You’ll leave happy.
smoked yuba
at Parachute
baked potato bing bread
at Parachute
Pacific Standard Time
I loved Pacific Standard Time so much. If I lived in Chicago, or if it was in St. Louis, it would absolutely be in my rotation—in an ideal world, weekly. Picking what we were going to get was nearly impossible, thanks not only to their menu descriptions, but by the smells and sights of the restaurant. Our table faced their massive wood-fired ovens, and it was just a barrage of pizzas, pita bread, and vegetables. We ultimately went with a crudo, pita with beef tartare (amazing), crispy fish sauce chicken wings, a mushroom pizza, suckling pig with stone fruit, and a sweet corn dessert. I’d eat every one of those dishes again.
Pita
at Pacific Standard Time
Fish sauce wings
at Pacific Standard Time
Frontera Grill
While I really wanted to try Rick Bayless’ Topolobampo tasting menu, I figured it was best to start off at the OG, Frontera Grill. I was a little surprised to see how small the restaurant itself was (and how badly it needed a design update), but all of the food was solid. The clear winner was the duck breast below. Get it.
Duck breast
Oaxacan mole chichilo (mulato chiles, almonds, raisins, spices), pickled chile de agua
Avec/Pastaria Collaboration
Pastaria doing a collaboration dinner with chef Perry Hendrix of famed Chicago restaurant Avec was bound to be a success. If you combine two great things, you're bound to create something extraordinary. Everyone knows that so well, in fact, that by 5:15 on a Wednesday, Pastaria already had a 30+ minute wait. I had expected that, so I was there early and ready to eat. I take no risks when it comes to pizza. The avec menu was available in addition to Pastaria's standard menu. I noticed a number of people around me eating only the regular items, which was surprising; you can have that any day! Get the specials!
After I finished yelling at them in my head, I checked out the avec options. The menu was 3 courses for $30, including an appetizer, pizza, and gelato.
The first of our starters was the Charred Sugar Snap Pea Tabbouleh, which was a lot like the grains you make yourself at home, except with flavor. The freekah was cooked perfectly, and the combination of the peas, radishes, olives, and oranges gave it a fresh flavor. I loved the tahini drizzled over it, adding a tang and almost bitter note. I will definitely be copying this in the future.
Menu at Pastaria-Avec Collaboration
Farro at Pastaria-Avec Collaboration Dinner
Baked Squid at Pastaria-Avec Collaboration Dinner
This was a wild dish: Wood oven baked squid. I actually thought we were given the wrong dish when it was set down on our table, but what they did is mix thinly sliced pieces of squid and small fideo noodles with a tomato sauce, making it hard to discern noodle from squid. That was topped with aioli and morcilla - blood - sausage and all baked together. The bottom and edges of the pasta and squid mix got nice and crunchy. I'd love it if this showed up on the Pastaria menu from time to time.
Honestly, I just came for the pizzas. If I hadn't been required to do the 3-course ordering, I would have just gotten all three pizzas. The pizza that didn't make the cut was the Deluxe, topped with taleggio cheese (wonderfully stinky), ricotta, truffle, and fresh herbs. Instead, I went for the Salt Cod Brandade pizza. I've seen a lot of unique pizzas around the world, but I have never seen a salt cod pizza.
It was so out there that I knew it was going to be good. God, the flavor of this thing. I don't know exactly what they did, but it seems like they mixed salt cod, roasted garlic, olive oil, and cheese together and spread it onto the dough. After it was baked, artichoke hearts, red onion, and arugula were put on top. This knocked my socks off. The texture of the toppings was perfect - very similar to your standard white pizza - and the flavor was a subtle mix of fish and garlic. It reminded me of something I'd see Anthony Bourdain eating in Spain and enviously lust after.
Brandade Pizza at Pastaria-Avec Collaboration Dinner
Salt Cod Brandade pizza at Pastaria-Avec Collaboration Dinner
As good as the brandade was (and, in case you already forgot, it was really, really good), this Chorizo-stuffed Medjool Date Pizza was better. If this was a full time menu item, I think it might even knock the Salume Beddu Nduja pizza out of the top position. Let's talk about the dates first. You can look at the pictures and see it's really hard to tell where the chorizo ends and the date begins. It's like avec has some been able to grow dates filled with chorizo (Monsanto can probably get that done for us here, Gerard!). When you bit into them, you got the sweetness of the date then the spice of the chorizo all at once. I'd marry that pizza.
If you still don't believe me, you should also know that it had bacon and a sweet & smokey piquillo pepper-tomato sauce. So many amazing layers of flavor.
Date Chorizo Pizza at Pastaria-Avec Collaboration Dinner
Date and Chorizo Pizza at Pastaria-Avec Collaboration Dinner
The next time you see there's a Pastaria collaboration dinner, you need to be there. I will.