We went to dinner at Takashi in Bucktown. We had heard about it on Check Please and also we know that the chef (Takashi himself) competed on Top Chef Masters (so he is somewhat of a celebrity chef).
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| Pork Belly Appetizer |
Pork Belly - soy ginger caramel pork belly with pickled daikon salad and steamed buns. We were told to eat it like an open face sandwich. This dish was not only fun but tasted great. The soy ginger caramel flavor was unique and it was fun to make the little sandwiches. A must have - this was probably the best dish of the night.
Scallops - sauteed Maine scallops and gnocchi, with trumpet mushrooms and celery root - parmesan foam. The whole dish was super creamy and the scallops and gnocchi worked really well together. The celery root foam was very aromatic and was a delicate way to flavor the scallops.
Main Plates
Seared Veal Loin - with onion gratin, couscous, and bacon wrapped asparagus. This was a wonderful paring. The bacon was crispy and a flavored the asparagus with a hint of salt.
Roasted duck breast with baby turnips and green beans. Nick didn't like eating the fat on the duck; he felt it was a little under done (but that's probably the way duck is supposed to be served).
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| Scallops Appetizer |
Desserts
Sesame Panna Cotta with Genoise cake, pickled cherries, cherry cocoa nib ice cream. A wonderful presentation - it was both sweet and tangy
Egg - milk chocolate creme brulee inside a brown egg, with caramel custard foam, and served with a macaroon (very soft not like hard ones we are used to eating), just a beautiful thing to look at. We marveled at how they cooked this inside the egg. It didn't disapont in the flavor department. It was smooth and creamy with a warm sweet chocloate finish.
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| Roasted Duck Breast |
Final thoughts on Takashi:
Food - very good and interesting flavor combinations. We knew it was going to be a fusion of French and Japanese, but it definitely leaned more French than we had anticipated. Everything tasted great but with a restaurant called Takashi we expected more Japanese flavors. We preferred the appetizers and desserts over the entrees so maybe that is the way to go in the future. We saw others sharring appetizers like tapas.
Service - excellent, attentive to all of our needs
Atmosphere- upscale, small dining area on the first floor. most of the customers were more yuppie types (well it is pricey). As a side note, as we walked in the restaurants we actually bumped into chef and owner Takashi.
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| Seared Veal Loin |
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| Panna Cotta |
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| The Egg Dessert |
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