The Silver Palm

I had the pleasure of eating at the storied Silver Palm recently. My concert BFF and former roomie Julie and I stopped in for some drinks after a show (Lil Wayne!) at the United Center. I had been wanting to go here forever. The Silver Palm is named after the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which is now operated by Amtrak and runs between D.C. and Miami. The coolest part? The dining room is, in fact, a 1947 Budd dining car that sits exactly as it was during its operating days!

Julie was hungry, so we got some food menus. And being that I'm me, I couldn't resist taking a peek. Once I saw the "3 Little Pigs" sandwich, I couldn't resist trying it... even though I wasn't hungry. The consummate food critic and ultimate love of my life, Anthony Bourdain, once declared this meat-tastic concoction at The Silver Palm the greatest sandwich in America. Probably not the healthiest choice at midnight, but... oh well. It was worth it.

Here's what you're getting with the 3 Little Pigs: some smoked ham (all right), some fried pork tenderloin (mmhmm), 2 slices of bacon (I'm listening), 2 fried eggs (!!!) aaaaaaand a whole hell of a lot of gruyere. On a Brioche bun. I mean, that's a whole lot of my favorite things on the same plate. And when you smash them all together and call them a sandwich, I am one happy camper.

If you ate the 3 Little Pigs three days in a row, there's a pretty safe bet that you'd keel over and die from some sort of congestive heart failure directly related to overconsumption of all things Miss Piggy. But there's also a pretty strong chance you'd die happy.

I don't have any pictures because it was 1 AM and once the 3 Little Pigs arrived, there was very little chance I was going to delay sinking my teeth into something Anthony Bourdain loves this much with something crazy like Droid photography. So I will try to do it justice with a written description.

The ham is perfection, adding just the right amount of sweetness to counter all things savory in this dish. The bacon adds a very necessary element of crunch, while the overeasy egg yoke that breaks over the sandwich provides an unprecedentedly silky richness. All. Over. Everything. And then it happens again with egg number two. If that weren't enough, there's the gruyere. My favorite kind of cheese. Just hanging out, upping the decadence ante by about 4,000. The Brioche is fresh and soft and a little on the sweet side, miraculously staying together long enough to serve simultaneously as an impeccable complement to the fillings and their ideal vehicle from table to gullet.

In a word: unbelievable. And that's really all there is to it. Except that it also comes with fries.

But if you're still hungry for more, you can take Bourdain's word for it: watch him take on the 3 Little Pigs with No Reservations. (That makes two of us.)

And if you love pork too much to simply spectate when it comes to this sandwich, step up to the plate at The Silver Palm, located at 768 N. Milwaukee Avenue,right here in Sweet Home Chicago.

GT Fish and Oyster

I love seafood. A lot. And while Chicago has some pretty tasty seafood, nothing had really knocked my socks off -- in comparison to some places on the east and west coasts. Until now. GT Fish & Oyster swung its doors open in River North on Thursday and changed everything.

Brought to Chicago by the BOKA restaurant group (including such notables as Kevin Boehm) and Top Chef/Girl & The Goat's Stephanie Izard, their newest venture had a lot to live up to -- BOKA, Perennial, Girl & The Goat -- but GT Fish & Oyster does not disappoint.

I was fortunate enough to go with two of my favorite adventuresome foodie friends, Laura and Liz, and we took the seafood-heavy menu by storm. GT Fish & Oyster's menu is dominated by small plates, which are divided into two groups: hot and cold. This does not, however, include the oysters, which are separated into a category all their own. (Check out the current menu and the chef's blog here.)

I arrived a little early and sat down at the bar to enjoy a glass of cava while waiting for two of my favorite redheads to arrive. The service, from the hostesses to the bartender, was friendly and solicitous. I was having a great time already -- all by myself. Soon Laura joined me and we did some great people-watching; there's a lot to see in a new restaurant!

Once Liz arrived and we were seated, we set about the business of trying some of their signature cocktails. Laura and I were both drawn to the Waitlist, a delectable concoction of Grey Goose, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, grapefruit, lime and Peychaud's Bitters. It was perfect. Liz ordered the Clean Break, but ended up with the Highland Daisy. While not what she ordered, the Highland Daisy was breathtakingly beautiful and pretty darn tasty. It's a bright reddish-purple cocktail served with a mint leaf and its ingredients include Oleca Altos Tequila, Mathilda Pear, blackberry syrup and the aforementioned mint. Delightful.

Our server recommended 2-3 small plates per person. We ordered a total of 10. Because, well, why wouldn't we?

On the docket from the "cold" menu: Sunfish Ceviche, Baja Shrimp Bruschetta, BBQ Eel, Lobster Roll.

From the "hot" menu: Stuffed Squid, Clam Chowder, Grilled Mahi Tacos, Fish and Chips, Lobster Macaroni and Cheese and the Alaskan Halibut.

We didn't try anything from the "Oysters" and the "Not Fish" sections because there was too much we were dying to try from just the "Hot" and "Cold"! Next time...

First up was the Sunfish Ceviche, a mix of sunfish, avocado, chimichurri, radish and jicama, served with crispy tostadas on the side. The dish was clearly influenced by the flavors of Mexico -- and I loved it instantly. Great blend of flavors (the sea, chimichurri, spicy radish) and textures (sunfish, creamy avocado and crunchy radish, jicama and tostada). Well-balanced on all counts and truly a joy to eat.

Next was the Baja Shrimp Bruschetta. This bruschetta is beautiful, truly a work of art. (Not that you can tell from my shoddy phone photography below.) What's more is that it tastes as good as it looks. A flavorful combination of shrimp, avocado, grapefruit, toasted pistachio and a sprinkling of cilantro.

And then came the BBQ eel. I'd never had eel that wasn't unagi in the form of a sushi roll or sashimi -- and I have to say that I was equally impressed by the cooked version. GT Fish and Oyster does my favorite form of sushi justice by serving it up BBQ-style atop a delightful potato and octopus salad. Sound strange? It is, a little. But it's a glorious combination of textures and flavors -- the sweet and slightly tangy BBQ is perfectly offset by heat from a hint of wasabi.

Next the waitress brought us the stuffed squid, a dish all three of us had been dying to try. But all three of us were disappointed. After the first three dishes were so incredible -- particularly the somewhat unexpectedly amazing BBQ eel -- we decidedly underwhelmed by the stuffed squid. It lacked the flavor and textural complexity that had been the hallmark of our experience thus far. It could have been great, being that it was fresh squid stuffed with shrimp and chorizo, all sitting on top of a little pile of saffron rice. But unfortunately, the chorizo wasn't spicy enough to provide a foil to the creamy saffron rice and the textures overall were too similar to really pack a punch. Oh well.

Following the stuffed squid, we had the clam chowder. It comes piping hot and sealed in a mason jar. And I will say that without a doubt, this is the best clam chowder I have ever had in my life. It is real CLAM chowder, chock full of clams with more than a delicious hint of smokey bacon on the tail end of each creamy bite. It was fabulous. If you go to GT Fish & Oyster, you MUST try the clam chowder. (They offer it in both 4- and 8-oz portions so people can give it a try no matter how many other dishes they're planning to sample.)

And then came the lobster roll, also known as heaven on a bun. Yes, I ate a lobster roll. ONLY because it wasn't drenched in mayonnaise. Instead, it was an obscene amount of shockingly fresh lobster VERY lightly dressed in a sauce that I'm going to pretend didn't contain any mayonnaise. But the beauty of this sandwich was that it was so fabulous with its perfectly toasted, deliciously buttery bread and impeccable, crispy fried Vidalia onions atop the lobster salad, that I was actually able to forget that there was any mayonnaise involved at all. This never happens. And that means that this is an amazing sandwich. Get it.

Ahh, yes. Just when we were pretty positive things couldn't possibly continue at the amazing pace that they were going, the Alaskan halibut arrived. Halibut is one of my very favorite fish: mild, yet substantial and texturally perfect when it's prepared well. At GT Fish & Oyster, it's served on a little throne of yuzu whipped potatoes and with apples. It's an interesting combination of flavors (the citrus from the yuzu with the sweetness of the apples) and textures (the contrast of the apples with the impeccably prepared halibut). Simply put, it works.

But the best was yet to come: and a big part of that best was their absolutely unparalleled fish and chips. Sweet mother of Jesus, I do not know what's in the batter here, but it is out of this world. And the fish itself refuses to be outdone: it's juicy, piping hot, not fishy, just fresh. Coated in a batter that is buttery and crisp without being overly greasy -- the perfect complement to the fish inside. And it's served with thick fried potato wedges that rival the very best of steak fries. This was one of my two favorite dishes that night, which is quite the achievement because I absolutely ADORED the majority of my meal at GT.

My other favorite dish has to be the lobster mac n cheese. Perhaps you've noticed the increasingly frequent appearance of this dish on menus around the city lately. I know I have. And because there are few things I love more than a) lobster and b) macaroni and cheese, I regularly feel compelled to give this ridiculously decadent side a whirl. GT Fish & Oyster's version blows them ALL out of the water. It's luxe comfort food, brilliantly executed. The lobster and the cream and the cheese take you to a place of richness that borders on insanity -- and then the unassuming sweetness of the English peas cuts through the crazy decadence and grounds the dish. In brilliance. I could not stop eating this. And I was already so full I legitimately feared the possibility of implosion or spontaneous combustion.

Unfortunately, the night ended on the grilled mahi tacos, which were just okay. It's hard to accurately assess them after the previous two dishes. But if I had to choose ordering them again or trying something else, I'd probably go with trying something different. Not the strongest dish on the menu.

Was everything about the meal earth-shattering? No. Was a lot of it pretty damn amazing? Absolutely. And this place is fun! I will be back. In the meantime, I highly recommend trying this place. If you love fish -- or even if you only kind of like it -- you need to try GT Fish & Oyster. It is EXACTLY what the Chicago dining scene needed. Big thanks to Stephanie Izard and the BOKA group for recognizing this and making GT happen -- and perhaps a bigger thanks to Chef Giuseppe Tentori for the awesome execution.