Chicago: Blackbird Has The Best Lunch Deal

Before I got to Chicago, I had researched a number of restaurants and Blackbird was recommended for lunch. They do three courses for $22 which is a steal.

After a bit of a bender the evening before, I decided to start with a Temperance cocktail. This light and refreshing mocktail was berries based.

 

My friend decided she was going to order off the  menu instead of going for the lunch deal. She started with the Bibb lettuce salad. It looked very fresh and it was nice to get something green in right away.

 

I decided to get the celery root soup with smoked sturgeon belly. Amazing! I love celery root and the smoked sturgeon added the right amount of savoryness. Plus, it’s fun to watch the back server pour the soup into the bowl. I don’t know why that’s so magical but it is.

 

Usually I’m the one order a big ass bowl of seafood but that wasn’t one of the options for the prix fixe. Luckily for me, my friend ordered the bouillabisse. It was a lovely bowl with plump and fresh seafoody bits.

 

I probably wouldn’t have ordered the sturgeon since I had gotten a soup with sturgeon but I wasn’t in the mood for duck after encountering a bit of tough duck breast the evening before. And the duck was my only other option. I liked the wood-grilled sturgeon with shitake mushrooms and onion noodles. There were also persimmons gently laid on top of the fish. After my soup and this small entree, you would have thought I was still hungry– especially since I kept seeing the massive sandwiches coming out but that’s why I love my friends, they share food.

I thought the most intriguing part of this dish were the onion noodles. The noodle to me implied a soft noodle, possibly infused with onion but it was actual strips of onion. It was probably good then to contrast the crunchy onion with the tender mushrooms and fish.

 

For dessert, my friend got a cocktail Kentucky Pie (Four Roses bourbon, sweet potato, maple syrup, chai, brown sugar creme). It sounded too sweet to me but thankfully it wasn’t. It was rather the ideal after-meal cocktail.

 

Part of my prix fixe included dessert. I didn’t have any clear preferences so I let my friend choose. I thought my friend would want the dessert that was fruitier but she surprised me by suggesting the torta della nonna. She made a great choice since I fell in love with this cheesecake like dessert. With goat milk sherbert, candied pine nuts and rosemary honey, it has now ruined me for other torta della nonna desserts.

We had a great time and I’d love to come back to try dinner.

Blackbird

619 W Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60606  —  (312) 715-0708

© The Minty  2013