More culinary adventures in Chicago

Saturday night I had some delicious NZ hapuka at Spring in the Wicker Park/Bucktown neighborhood in Chicago. What a treat! Pan-Asian inspired cuisine tabled by James Beard-awarded 2006 Best Chef Midwest, Shawn McClain.

Sunday brunch was probably the highlight of the weekend though in terms of culinary exploration. Veronica's friends took us to a local cafe called Orange...Orange in name, orange in nature - both in wall colour and the predominance of the juice counter as you enter the restaurant. In fact there is no espresso machine (or website for those trying to find a link) which would normally be at the hub of such as popular brunch location - much to my consternation when I later found out ("What, drip coffee...?!!@^£$").

Maria and V consoling each other over coffee woes at Orange - no espresso for Maria and she'd given up caffeine for Lent!

The place was a tad tired and probably the cheapest restaurant fit out I have ever seen (don't know how the mugs from Ikea withstand the commercial use) and the veneer wall paneling on the temporary looking walls in front of the entrance to the toilets weren't the classiest - but the menu was fun and innovative and worthy of some pictures.

First up - Frushi. Their version of fruit sushi (a la Jill Dupleix 1990). Apparently it's quite a sensation in the neighborhood...
My personal highlight - and I didn't even order it - the Pan Seared Oatmeal. On the menu it was described as being "nothing like oatmeal - for a start it's served on a plate not a bowl". It was terrific. Steel cut oatmeal (not rolled oats) cooked in apple juice, sugar, cinnamon and milk, packed into a brownie pan, chilled, then cut into wedges and pan fried in butter just before serving. Crunchy on the outside but soft and light in the middle, it was served with a lovely dried fruit compote.
I came home that night and immediately trawled the web trying to find the recipe and finally managed to - and it's the original from the chef, reprinted in Cooking Light magazine. I'm definitely going to try it. For those in NZ try to find the steel cut oats (rolled oats won't work as they'll be too starchy) - I'm not sure I ever saw them but they're bound to be available from health food stores...they're commonly referred in the US as Irish oats. They are like a finely chopped grain - not at all floury.

Next up was the Pancake Flight - another thing the restaurant is famous for. "Flights" are big in the US and you see them every where - from wine, to vodka, and now to pancakes. It basically means a tasting of a range of varieties or flavours - wine flights especially are big in bars and restaurants - a great idea and New Zealand restaurants should do more of them. This months' pancake flight was based on Cookies - there was (clockwise from top left) chocolate chip, ginger snap, oatmeal, and I can't remember the fourth. Didn't try but looked fun.
My choice was the Chai Tea French Toast - ricotta stuffed toast with chai flavoured sauce topped with seared apple...perfectly delicious (but I really wanted to finish the rest of someone else's pan seared oatmeal!).
Another contender was the Gingersnap pancake pile - looked more like chocolate pancakes but didn't taste anything like chocolate, tasted like ginger (funnily enough!). Ok but a little on the heavy side for my tastes..
The omelettes looked great too...

Overall recommendation - try the juices, the oatmeal and be sure to pick up a take out espresso on the way. And don't expect the decor to be too salubrious. And be there early as the queues start on weekends from 9am...and it can be a little too cold to stand around outside - especially in the Windy City in Winter.