Rook

A few weeks ago, Tim and I decided to go to Rook for dinner with some friends.  They serve mostly just sandwiches (banh mi) for lunch, but I'd seen pictures on Facebook of some of their street food inspired dinner dishes, and was anxious to try it.

When we arrived, we were a bit nervous because it was empty except for one other couple.  This was around 6:30 on a Friday night, mind you.  And it didn't get much busier while we were there.  This joint needs more word-of-mouth, apparently.

We were also off to a so-so start because ordering is slightly confusing.  They keep the order-at-the-counter thing going from lunchtime, so you step up and take a look at the chalkboard to see what's on offer.  After negotiating with Tim about which items we'd be splitting, we then ordered from the cashier/waitress.  None of that is terribly out of the ordinary, I know.  But the confusion came when we paid.  There was a line on the receipt for a tip, but it hadn't really been explained to us yet how the whole thing would work.  So, neither my friend nor I filled in the tip line.  We felt awful when we then learned that the cashier would also be bringing us all of our food and drinks when it was ready.  This was easily remedied by leaving her a cash tip on the table, but that didn't make me feel like much less of a heel for not just tipping her up front.  And what if I hadn't had cash?  So confusing! 

Luckily, the food made up for the rocky start (and now I'll know what to do when I return).  We started with the Thai Sour Sausage Dumplings ($6).  They came four to an order and were spectacular!  The sausage inside was very pink--we even suspect borderline raw--but it tasted so freaking good that we both decided we didn't care what diseases we may be getting.  The sausage itself gave a rich, meaty flavor to the whole thing, and the sourness was perfect and made them so addictive.  The spicy mustard they were served with complimented them perfectly.  I could eat several orders of these easily. We also got one Pork Belly Steamed Bun ($3.50 for one).  The pork belly was so tender and full-flavored, and I loved the finely chopped peanuts on top.  Again, I could eat these in bulk.  Omnomnom.

We decided to get two "mains" and split them.  The first was the Karaage (Japanese fried chicken, $8), which was thighs that were lightly breaded and served over rice with a great sweet chili sauce.  This was also crazy good.  The thinly sliced peppers gave it a nice kick, and it had just the right amount of heat.  We also got a Raven Banh Mi ($8), which contains Korean-style marinated bulgogi beef along with the usual veg and cilantro.  It was served on a great roll.  I found the beef to be a bit tough, enough that I wasn't loving the sandwich despite its great flavor.  Luckily, Tim really loved this sandwich, so I ended up finishing off the chicken while he ate most of my half of the sandwich.

Our friends felt this was a pretty light meal, considering the total price (with beer, tax, and tip we were in the high $30's), but upon reflection it was a reasonable amount of food for Tim and I, at least (our friends ordered a bit less).  Still, it was really yummy and a nice Vietnamese inspired alternative, and Tim and I plan to return.  I'd love to go at lunch to try a Thai Sour Sausage banh mi...

Website:  Rook

Black Market: Holiday Beer Brunch

Last weekend, Tim and I had the pleasure of attending Black Market's Holiday Beer Brunch.  This was the 3rd year for the event, and the first year we've been able to make it.  We had a great experience!

The morning started with a "Reception Beer," to be drunk while we waited for our first course.  Three Floyds Alpha Klaus was the  choice.  It was pretty good, a solid porter.  It was relatively hoppy for a porter, but it finished clean so I didn't mind that (normally I do not care for hops much).  During this time, we got to know some of our neighbors at the large communal table where we were assigned to sit.  The entire place was packed, from the communal tables to the few four-tops around the room.

About a half hour into the event, our first course finally arrived.  It was a twist on biscuits and gravy--a light, buttery, flaky biscuit tinged with citrusy orange, which we then covered in ham and mussel gravy from a family-style communal bowl.  Really wasn't sure about this combo when I read it on the menu, but it all made sense on the plate.  The gravy was creamy and rich, just as you'd expect, but instead of making it with sausage they made it with meaty chunks of ham.  Then they tossed it all with mussels, which also went well with the gravy.  The whole thing was really, really tasty, and went well with the Dark Horse 4 Elf that it was paired with.  The beer is a "winter warmer" style and had a ton of spice.  I really liked this one, and I know Tim did, too.

The next course was goose.  Yes, goose.  I'd never had goose before, but it was pretty good!  They confit-ed the legs, then roasted and sliced the breast.  They were served with a cranberry relish as well as some whole cranberries that were super sweet and tart, plus a "savory bread pudding" that was essentially traditional dressing, and some cracklings made from the goose skin.  Oh, and it was all on top of some greens (we think kale).  The confit leg meat was amazing, and tasted a lot like duck confit that I've had in the past.  The breast was extremely meaty--it looked more like beef than poultry, really.  It was fairly gamey but not overpoweringly so.  The cranberry cut through some of the richness, and the cracklings added nice texture.  All in all, an interesting and satisfying plate of food.  It was paired with Anchor Christmas Ale (link is to the 2012 version--it changes a bit every year).  The Ale was dark and had a lot of "Christmas" spices that complimented the holiday spirit of the dish.

The third course was the cheese course--Stilton, whipped with cream to make it not-quite-so-pungent, was served over poached pears with spiced walnuts, what seemed to be candied dates, and bit of granola.  It was really interesting--the cheese, even with the cream mixed in, was pretty strong, but the sweetness of the fruits and nuts and the oaty-ness of the oats came together with the cheese very well.  It was served with Gouden Carolus Noel, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale.  This beer was a 10%, and as such was pretty strong and a bit alcohol-y tasting, but it was spicy and fruity and went really well with this course.  It had a raisin/prune flavor going on.  Very interesting.

Finally, we reached dessert.  The course was described as "Chocolate Ganache with Holiday Sweets," and indeed, that's what it was!  In addition to a dollop of the smoothest, shiniest chocolate ganache I've ever had the pleasure of eating, we received a little tower of spice cake, some English toffee shards, and a peppermint shortbread cookie.  All delicious, and all even better when dipped in the ganache.  The beer for this course was the reason that many people attend this brunch--it was the 2012 Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus.  The octane on this one went up even higher--14%--so we received a small portion.  Whoa howdy, was this a sipper!  It was sweet and almost syrupy with some raisin (again) and caramel notes.  I enjoyed it, but the small portion was plenty.  As you can imagine, it went very well with dessert.

At the end of the brunch, Chef Micah came out and announced that someone had a sticker on the bottom of their plate, and that that person was going to win a special prize.  Low and behold, that lucky person was yours truly!!  Santa came out to deliver my prize--a magnum of Anchor Christmas Ale and a bottle of Ninkasi Brewing Co Sleigh'r.  Tim and I were pretty psyched!  We'll be saving those for Christmas or New Year's, I think.

Overall, this was a great experience.  I tried some new things, I enjoyed the pairings, the atmosphere was jolly, and it was just a lovely time.  We hope to do this again next year!

Website:  Black Market

Delicia

Last Friday, Tim and I were out running errands and knew we wanted to try someplace new for dinner, but couldn't decide where.  Finally, Tim came up with Delicia since it's across from Luna (the music store) and that was one of our stops.  Mexican sounded perfect, so I gave it the thumbs-up.

We entered to find the host and hostess both very dressed up--the host was wearing a tie.  Because we hadn't planned very well, Tim and I were both dressed very casually, so we felt a little out of place.  Then, they seated us in the front window, up on a little platform, directly behind the host stand (separated from them by a glass wall, no less), so we felt a bit on display.  But it turned out to be just fine--our waitress was open and friendly, not at all pretentious (I could see this place tending towards the snooty), and she was there when we needed her.

We ordered the house margaritas ($8) and were pretty impressed by them.  Lots of lime, which I love, but fairly well-balanced.  The tequila flavor was very mellow, but wow, was it a strong drink.  They did not skimp.  Our waitress also brought us a sort of amuse bouche as we were looking over the menu.  It was a tiny cup of soup that was incredible.  It tasted of blended root veggies, but with great Latin flavors--no idea what all was in it, since it was completely smooth.  I could have eaten a whole bowl of just that and been happy.

We started with the Queso Fundido con Chorizo ($10).  This came in a cast iron skillet and was baked chihuahua and panela cheeses, chorizo, and tomatillo-poblano sauce.  They served it with a bowl full of tortilla chips.  This was so, so good, and I could easily have had it as my entree because it was pretty filling.  We wondered if there were pureed black beans in it because the sauce was so dark and a bit thick, but upon looking at the ingredient list we realized we were very wrong.  The tomatillo provided some tang, and the poblano some smokiness.  The chorizo was a bit spicy and the cheeses ooey-gooey--in short, it was pretty perfect. 

I liked my entree slightly less, although it was still pretty good.  I chose the Short Ribs with Ancho Salsa ($18) which was boneless braised short ribs in an ancho salsa (i.e. sauce), over smashed sweet potatoes and surrounded by roasted onions, sweet potatoes, and purple potatoes.  The ribs were super tender, but I just wasn't a massive fan of the ancho salsa.  It was lacking something--acidity and/or salt.  Not sure.  The flavor of the ribs just wasn't as rounded out as I would have wished.  But the veggies were great, roasted in various spices and well seasoned.  I quite enjoyed them, and a bit of everything together was *nearly* perfect (dang sauce).

Tim's entree, on the other hand, was outstanding.  We were both smitten, and I made him give me several bites.  He opted for the Enchiladas de Pato ($16), i.e. duck enchiladas.  They were served in a tomato-habanero sauce with cilantro-lime crema and chihuahua queso, and on the side was herb green rice and stewed black beans.  The duck itself was nice, but it was the sauce--that tomato-habanero sauce mixed with the creme and the cheese--that really took this to another level.  So addictive and rich and crazy good.  The beans were also wonderful, clearly cooked with smokey pork of some type.  Since I hate cilantro, I did think the rice was gross, but Tim enjoyed it.

I think we were prepared to dislike Delicia, based on some of the reviews we'd read after it opened and the general fancy-britches vibe it gives off, but oh, were we wrong.  We will absolutely be going back--although, yes, we'll likely wear something slightly nicer than T-shirts next time.

 Website:  Delicia