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"It's easy to say that Chardonnay goes with salmon," says David Flom, "but it's fun to find some- thing that isn't as obvious." To wit, the co-owner of Windy City institution Chicago Cut Steakhouse (300 N. LaSalle St., 312-329-1800; chicagocut steakhouse.com) prefers pairing higher-acid wines with seafood dishes. "Saint Clair can start soft, beautiful, and smooth, and finish bright with some acid and creaminess, even though they don't use wood," he says of his favorite reserve Sauvignon Blanc. With the restaurant's new lobster escargot, Flom suggests Kistler, an American Chardonnay from the Sonoma coast that complements the richness of the buttery dish, while he recommends heavier- tannin wines like Bond Matriarch to balance the marbling of the restaurant's mainstay rib-eye steaks. "It starts with a soft, smooth, very ripe fruit, crescendos into a little bit of spice, and finishes strong," he says of the Napa Valley red from Bill Harlan. Mediterranean hot spot Fig & Olive (104 E. Oak St., 312-445-0060; figandolive.com) boasts multiple outposts in New York and California, but its buzzing new Gold Coast location is the only one whose wine list offers Ridge's Three Valleys, which includes Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Cabernet, and Merlot. "It's a really lovely blend," says beverage director Mitchell Malnati. While yellowfin tuna à la Provençale pairs well with lighter-bodied reds, Malnati prefers seafood with fuller-bodied whites. "For the raw bar, Vouvrays have a touch of residual sugar," says Malnati of the wine from the Loire Valley. With Chilean sea bass, he recommends Rock & Vine, a rich, oaky North Coast Chardonnay that comple- ments the dish's charmoula mascarpone. Malnati's favorite pairing, however, is the paella del mar (black tiger shrimp, sea scallops, calamari, mussels, saffron arborio rice, and chicken) with No. 18, an 18-month aged white he discovered in Valencia. "Anytime I taste that with paella, I remember the breeze from the Mediterranean and that beautiful ambience. It transports me." MA Delicious Duets Two ChiCago wine experTs raise a glass To The season's freshesT pairings for seafood and sTeak. by meg mathis Chicago Cut Steakhouse eschews predictable pairings for unique wines that complement their dishes. A seafood craze has hit Chicago, and several local chefs are riding the wave with accessible new pescatarian spots. Chef Guillermo Tellez has quietly transformed Little Market American Brasserie into Mercadito Fish (10 E. Delaware Pl., 312-640-8141; mercaditofish.com). "You go in a big circle in life: Sometimes we're going to be craving meat, sometimes we're going to be doing fish." Tellez savors the clean f lavor of New England traditions like crispy soft-shell crab and pan-roasted halibut, but his favorite dish befits his Mexican heritage: Ensenada-style fish tacos with Baja spices, jalapeños, tomatoes, and onions. Close to Millennium Park, Donna Lee has debuted Brown Bag Seafood Co. (340 E. Randolph St., 312-496-3999; brownbagseafood .com), an airy space adjacent to AON Center and Prudential Plaza that beckons a mixed audience of suits and Lakeshore East families: "Three- year-olds have learned to love salmon, older people are having whitefish with quinoa, and young people are trying crispy fish bites," Lee says of the menu, which also features dishes like Mediterranean tuna salad, crab zucchini cakes, and shrimp subs and salads. Inspired by a trip he took to Spain before the polar vortex, Scott Worsham opened MFK (432 W. Diversey Pkwy., 773-857-5240; mfk restaurant.com), a 28-seat Mediterranean oasis in Lakeview East. "The food is what I call 'Rosé-drinking food,'" Worsham says of the menu, which boasts everything from octopus with gazpacho and whole razor clams to oft-overlooked seafood fare. "I call the crunchy prawn heads 'God's pop- corn,' and I love the sardines and anchovies," says Worsham. "My business card says 'Chief Sardine Eater,' if that tells you anything." MA Total Catch The CiTy's hoTTesT new resTauranTs geT Their sea legs. by meg mathis clockwise from top left: Fresh oysters from Mercadito Fish; crab zucchini cakes from Brown Bag Seafood Co.; octopus with gazpacho from MFK. TasTe Cuiscene 90 michiganavemag.com