I'm on travel for a week to Chicago and New York and rather than putting DC This Week on hold I thought I would share some of my daily dining experiences with you all. I'm in for a culinary tour of some of the best restaurants in the country. Saturday night we dined at Takashi in Wicker Park. I had the opportunity to meet Chef Takashi after our impressive meal.
He was born in Japan and began his career at age sixteen and continued to work in restaurants while he earned his Interior Design degree from the Tokyo Design School. After a stint helping out with the opening of a Japanese restaurant in Chicago, the young chef embarked on a serious culinary education. He cooked for Yoshi Katsumura at the highly touted French-Japanese Yoshi's Café and Gabino Sotelino's Amria where he worked his way up the line to chef de cuisine and eventually partner.
Takashi made its debut in 2007 and has earned acclaim for its contemporary French-American fare with Japanese influences. Our wine for the night was Castillo de Monseran Grenache 2006 which paired perfectly with the Soy-Ginger Carmel Pork Belly with Pickled Daikon Salad, Steamed Buns. The pork belly literally melted in our mouths. Our second course were delicious Sauteed Main Scallops and Soba Gnocchi with Trumpet Royale, Celery Root-Parmesan Foam. The foam looked like it had been plucked from the sea and scooped on top of our plate. My main course was a Chicken in Clay Pot with Amish Chicken, Shimeji Mushrooms, Eggplant, Haricot Vert, Yuzu Juice.The entire meal was ingenious and Chef Takashi is a master.
Stay tuned for a recap of Blackbird, Spiaggia and the Purple Pig. I'm in culinary heaven and off to New York mid-week and will venture to '21' Club and Craft. There will be a lot to report from those outings. Cheers! Jade
No comments:
Post a Comment