Month: October 2009

Review of Boka in Chicago

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Executive chef: Giuseppe Tentori Pastry chef: Elizabeth Dahl

Location: 1729 North Halsted, Chicago, IL 60614 (Lincoln Park) (map)

Phone: 312.357.6070

Website: www.bokachicago.com Yelp reviews: click

Resident Foodies say: There’s good reason why Food & Wine named Chef Guiseppe Tentori as one of the best new chefs in 2008. His food is a visual and culinary delight, with stunning displays of colors and surprising mixtures of ingredients. Salad is not an appetizer at Boka, it is true artwork consisting of greens, fruit, and cheeses. The salad is just as, if not more, memorable than the entrees! But the entrees continue the dazzling mixture of subtle ingredients.

We sampled (1) the braised short rib ravioli (with prawn and sweet corn ragout, and goat milk foam), (2) the herb crusted white fish (with wild rice, brussel sprout leaves, pickled cockscomb, and winter squash sauce), (3) the lake trout (with salt cod croquette, fennel sauce, orange segments, and sauteed spinach), and (4) the vegeterian herbed risotto tart (with roasted portobello, baby turnips, ricotta, beet puree). The dishes are sophisticated and complex, yet also very comforting and downright delicious. The portions are generous, some may find too generous. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Pastry Chef Elizabeth Dahl continues Boka’s impressive concoction of interesting ingredients with desserts that are different from anything we’ve encountered, yet so delicious.

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Wall St. Journal review of Momofuku cookbook + f-bombs

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This month, Chef David Chang of Momufuku’s heavily anticipated cookbook–aptly called The Momofuku Cookbook–hits the bookstores. Katy McLaughlin has a great review of the Momofuku cookbook, including video interviewing David Chang.

McLaughlin reveals: “The 303-page book, coming out Oct. 27 and priced at $40, aims to replicate Mr. Chang’s natural voice, which means occasional use of the word “like” to punctuate Mr. Chang’s thoughts, and liberal use of profanity. Readers are instructed not to ‘f— it up’ when handling a pricey piece of foie gras, for instance.”

For those not familiar with Chef David Chang, he’s probably the hottest chef on the planet right now, having ascended to the height of the food world in 5 years. He’s a Korean American who studied both French and Japanese cooking, not to mention his own native Korean. He also is now known for his potty mouth and the profanity (and profusion of F-bombs) that laces his cookbook and conversation. In fact, he said he likes that “Momofuku” kind of sounds like “mother f–er.”

Wow, now that’s bold!