The Meat Up, April 14th

On a recent trip this week to The Windy City, I had the good fortune of dining with my dear friend Scott who’s a world traveler and a Chicago local. At Scott’s suggestion, I just happened to score a completely ungettable reservation at the brand new Chicago hotspot, Bazaar Meat– the latest in a string of José Andrés openings. I couldn’t wait to try it! Scott brought his charming husband Drew and I invited my boss Jerilyn, who on this particular evening was acting as my plus one… until she brought her own plus one, a friend and colleague from back home named Stacey. We entered as a lively party of five.

Our waiter Matt schooled us on the menu, making suggestions and explaining dishes. Because it’s a tapas restaurant, some selections are just one bite wonders, so he recommended we each order between 4-5 choices per diner. Oh, Matt. You had no idea with whom you were dealing! (We are pros, and we went all in.) Our crew started with the Cotton Candy Foie Gras with crispy amaranth. Stacey and I weren’t huge foie fans but decided to be joiners in sampling this Andrés delicacy. All I have to say is holy carnival carnivore, Batman! This was a fun puff of buttery deliciousness with the foie buried inside the fluffy cloud. It was as much fun to eat as it looked, too.

We then moved onto the Bagels & Lox Cone with dill cream cheese and salmon roe. These tiny two-biters arrived popping out of small wooden blocks. We delighted in the impossibly thin crispy cone and savored the tangy, smooth filling of luscious cream cheese balanced by the salty roe on top. Yum!

Next was José’s Taco with jamón ibérico de bellota, Osetra caviar, and gold leaf on nori. Being a Bat Mitzvah’d bacon lover (and no other pork), I opted out of the jamón bit but the gang loved the look and taste of this tiny morsel. And notice the fleck of gold leaf on top with the garnish of caviar? Yep, our table went schmancy.

Three nibbles in and we were all just loving life. Just as we were sharing Michigan stories, our next course arrived. Imagine a perfectly fried chicken wing but on a stick. Ta-da! This game-day miracle is José’s version of a Boneless Buffalo Chicken Wing with just a teensy shard of pungent blue cheese and itty-bitty celery shavings. These were so delicious that we all swore we could have easily taken on a dozen apiece- but alas, it was only one per customer.

Seared Scallops arrived on a bed of chunky romesco sauce with a Marcona almond accent. These fluffy pillows of seared perfection went down in three bites, but man they were divine with just a smidge of the garlicky, tomatoey compote on top! We actually scraped the bottom of the oval serving dishes to ensure we had romesco with every mouthful.

It seemed like a slew of courses at this point, but not a lot of food, however satisfying those tasty tidbits were. Soon two Dragonfruit Ceviches arrived. Under a cloud of hibiscus air sat a tuna and pecan combo that was just gorgeous to view and even better to taste. And a tableside searing of Kobe Eye Of The Rib was prepared before our very peepers on an ishiyaki stone. Just wow!

Finally our “main course” arrived. Most of us had the Manhattan Cut Washugyu Striploin with baby fried onion rings, and an artistic smear of steak sauce. Served beautifully, this dish was indeed filling. But it was impossible not to sample just a dollop of the whipped potato purée with an inviting pool of glistening butter that just screamed our names! Alas, the cavalcade of cookery was finally sinking in.

Claiming to be not just satisfied, but more than stuffed, we were just settling down with big smiles and more friendly chatter. Suddenly a server popped by about to place a funny looking order of football shaped bread pillows on our table. In unison we all did the stop sign hand with a chorus of “Whoa, there must be some mistake? We just finished our main course!”

But indeed he was correct and we were mistaken. We actually had ordered the Philly Cheesesteaks but completely forgot that we never received them. Matt appeared in a flash telling us that he purposely saved the most decadent delicacy for last to keep us dreaming about this special experience. Convinced we could all handle just one more munchable, we dove in. The Bazaar Meat dish was a hollow pocket of crunch they refer to as airbread filled gently with a warm cheddar cheese sauce. The tender slice of Kobe beef with micro chive on top made this a magical combination. Oohs and aahs and eyes of wonder hit our crew hard! It was certainly memorable.

I wish I could say that we all passed on dessert– but if any of you know me, skipping the final sweet delectables is never even an option. So we went absolutely bonkers with a maddeningly insane Cheesecake Tart with drizzled honey and shaved black truffle, a Chocolate Soufflé with a golden dusted top and side of banana ice cream, Vanilla Ice Cream with an encouraging pre-taste sniff of rum, coffee beans, or a stick of vanilla to enhance each spoonful, Honey Cake with grapefruit sorbet, and a crazy Cracked Shell of Coconut Corruption with meringue –my name, not theirs! It was just one specimen of raving deliciousness after another.

I’d have to say that the Philly Cheesesteak pockets and the Cheesecake Tart were two of the most amazing dishes I have ever had in my entire culinary journey– and that covers more than five decades of foodie frolicking. But to be fair, absolutely everything we ordered was truly incredible. Bazaar Meat is a must try if you’re in Chicago (or Vegas, LA, or Miami at their other locations!) and are lucky enough to score a table.