We Took Chicago by Storm!
My mom and I were invited to Chicago to participate in a panel discussion about family business, succession planning, and passing values and traditions between generations. It was part of the Loyola Family Business Program, which we learned is one of largest and most prestigious family business centers in the world. We have to admit though, we're still a bit partial to Oregon State's Family Business Program. Gotta support the locals!
Chicago is an amazing food and wine town, and we got the opportunity to visit some wonderful places. The first night we ate at a hip Asian-inspired restaurant called Japonais, feasting on some melt-in-your mouth sashimi. I had the most amazing appetizer as well - they brought out a hot rock (the waiter claimed it was 350 degrees!) and steak sashimi-style. Using chop sticks, I seared each side of the steak on the hot rock for about 5 seconds and then plopped it in my mouth. Wow - it was amazing! I have never seen that before and it was a real treat.
The next day we had a beautiful 3-course lunch at Allen's. Prosciutto wrapped shrimp with Evolution for appetizers, wild mushroom ragout and seared ahi tuna paired with Meditrina, followed by seared duck breast with Estate and Dundee Hills Pinot Noir, and the finale was crème Brule with Dessert wine. We rolled out of there with full and happy bellies!
That night, we dined at another hip restaurant that had an amazing vibe and incredible decor, Carnivale. We shared some sashimi starters - complete with 3 different kinds of sea salt - and then mom had a delicious quinoa with roasted vegetable entree while I enjoyed my Australian barramundi. That was my first time trying barramundi and it did not disappoint.
On our final day, we had a relaxing lunch at Park Grill with the wine & food editor of Time Out Chicago. At night, we had a quiet dinner at Le Colonial. Since we had been drinking a lot of our own wines with every meal, we were delighted to see a dry Muscat made by Heidi Schrock, my mom's Austrian pen-pal. It paired perfectly with our salad rolls and spicy noodle dishes.