with Chuck at Cafe Spiaggia

Last of the San Pellegrino dinners, and it was back to Cafe Spiaggia, this time with Chuck.

Yesterday was almost cold out. Certainly brisk. A bit of rain late on as well. Jackets and sweaters were not unwelcome, and during the drier parts of the day, the skies were dreary. The views from Conrad's office attest to that.


We met Chuck at six at the restaurant. Conrad and I got there a half hour earlier, in fact, having walked up Michigan Avenue and settled in at the bar for a drink (a Prosecco and pomegranate cocktail for me - not too sweet, deep pink and bubbly just to ensure that my reputation is intact). Chuck opted for the San Pellegrino menu, and I was tempted to have the gnochhi with wild boar ragu again. However, Conrad and I opted for ordering off the regular menu. A little more expense, but really super food.

So, starters: Chuck had the arugula salad with shaved trumpet mushrooms, Conrad had the tuna tartare (now THAT'S a surprise! not really.), and I went for the grilled green beans. They proved as delicious - slightly charred, smoky - as I had wanted.

Main courses, and Chuck - happily for him - opted for the gnocchi. Conrad and I both had trout. It's funny, I usually let Conrad order first so I can be one of those irritating people who will then order differently. I was in the mood for fish, though, and the waiter was recommending it highly. I like trout, though Conrad isn't an especial fan of it. Good choice, though. The skin was delightfully salted and crisp, the flesh was tender, and the potatoes, beans, and artichokes made it good and hearty.

We had dessert of course, and the fun is in selecting gelati and sorbetti. I decided to go with all sorbetti this time: basil, pear, and banana. In the end, I think I should have had something tart as a counterpoint as all three flavours were on the sweet side and thus came across as flat all together. Still, mixing the basil and the pear together was a decent combo. Alas, the photo of my sorbets did not turn out well, so Chuck and his gelati must take their place:

A cab home, and it was some reading before bed. Conrad, poor soul, was wiped out from his hectic week spent mostly in Virginia. He fell asleep next to me as I read, and at 9:55 I managed to sneak out of the bed to go read in another room for another hour or so.

Pork! Yes!

We're not long home from dinner out. Opentable.com points whores that we are, we went for a 1000 point offer to diner early (6:00) at Cafe Spiaggia. Good choice Conrad and Peter!

I've been having a less than perfect week. I have a monkey on my back at work that I can't shake. No, let's use a more apt metaphor for this posting: I have a task that I keep playing with like a child pushing undesirable food to different parts of an otherwise empty plate. I'm getting used to eating most of the time in a manner that supports Conrad's dietary needs, and that's not easy for someone with a sweet tooth like mine. I also am not in the water or getting any other really good working out in. I will look forward to the surgeon telling me next week to go ahead and get back in the pool. I really hope it will be so. And those darn cookies from the other night just pick at my compulsive nature - I really hate that they didn't turn out at all well.

Conrad, of course, has been magnificent toward me. I am constantly glad to be able to talk with him, really talk with him. And I'm glad we can have moments like tonight where we dine oh-so-very well.

So, Cafe Spiaggia it was. I've not eaten there, or at its fancier sister, Spiaggia, before tonight. I will be glad to go back. The cafe was certainly a lovely space; better still, we were led to a table right in the window, looking south down Michigan Avenue. Lucky us. When there were natural pauses in the conversation, we had the traffic of all sorts and the rainy early evening to look out on.

One good thing about a modest diet most of the week is that the special dinners are that much more special. There were a number of menu choices tempting us, I should add, and the waiter convinced us to at least share a second course of pasta. Smart man. I hope we tipped him adequately. Conrad enjoyed three glasses of a red wine whose name escapes us while I quaffed San Pelegrino all night.

First up: Tartar di tonno con fagioli nani (Tuna tartar with olives, capers, tomatoes, and marinated rice beans) for Conrad and Insalatina di fagioli verde (Grilled green beans, roasted tomatoes, grilled red onions, basil and shaved pecorino romano in a lemon vinaigrette) for me. Photos follow:



We then shared the special ravioli - they handmake the pastas there, and apparently it was the first night for this one. I wish I'd got the full name, but the ravioli were filled with a light ricotta mixture, while the light sauce had small cubes of beet and poppyseeds. One of the hostesses came by to see how we liked it; it's a winner, we told her.

Dinner. Conrad was very happy with his Halibut in acqua pazza (Oven poached fillet of halibut in a spicy broth with thyme and sautéed spinach). I would have had the same, but they had pork on the menu. It's so bloody hard to get a good pork dish at a restaurant these days. Apparently it's not a meat that sells, but I tell you, pork done right is very hard to beat. Oh sure, barbecue is easier to come by - ribs especially - and I think that all such dishes are very tasty when done well. But I wanted a good chop or a nice bit of roast pork. Thank you Cafe Spiaggia! My dinner, then, was the Maiale al forno (Double cut brined pork chop with creamy buckwheat polenta and grilled apricots). Ahhhhhh, so fine! I would have picked up the bones to gnaw the little meat I couldn't get with knife and fork but for the tables around us.



So yes, a good big dinner, and we would have called it a night there, very happy. But - and I will blame Conrad for this - we decided to linger, Conrad with a third glass of wine, me with some dessert. Bob had recommended the sorbets, and they would be no-fat. But, in for a penny.... I gladly went with the creamy milk custard with figs and honey. And I'd do it again!!

So we're full. And utterly satisfied. We made it home in moderate rain - Chicago is totally socked in tonight. I unloaded my Sur La Table purchases (Brenda, I'm almost done getting a small parcel together!), and now we putter about.

I'm already wondering, though, when we might get back to Cafe Spiaggia....