After all the rampant barbecuing and pizza consumption that took place over the holiday weekend, my husband and I were in the mood for something a little more upscale last night.
So we wandered over to Branch 27, a newish West Town establishment with a creative, reasonably priced menu and nightly specials. Last night—much to George's delight—we stumbled upon "Mussel Monday."
For $12, you get your choice of four different preparations of mussels with garlic toast and a draft beer. George went for the mussels in chorizo-fennel cream sauce with garlic. I think his t-shirt says it all.
At the end of his feast, we had to wave the waiter over to take George's mussel bowl away as he didn't think he had the self control to stop himself from drinking the leftover sauce. According to the waiter, he wouldn't have been the first person to do this.
One of my favorite things about Branch 27 is their use of seasonal ingredients. When we were there this past spring, the menu had ramps (a wild onion) in almost every dish. Last night, morel mushrooms were heavily featured.
And since I can't say no to a morel, my decision was easy. The homemade tagliatelle pasta with morels and green onions was sublime. It was rich and fresh all at once and they gave me the perfect portion. I may be in the minority here, but I hate portions that are the size of my head. I do not like leftovers and I hate walking away from half the food I just paid for. Ok, rant over.
The dessert menu is small, but every item is a must-taste. On our last visit, we had the pot de caramel, which was perfect in texture and taste. This time, we went for the seasonal cherry cobbler.
Amazing. Chewy, soft, vanilla-flavored crust topped with tart cherries. All this deliciousness was served warm from the oven with a melting scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
George and I always split a dessert. I regret this decision last night. For the first time, we actually pondered ordering the same dessert right after we finished the first one.
Fortunately, our memories of the weekend's gluttony prevailed and we refrained.
We also love the atmosphere at Branch. Dimly lit with giant globe lights, the bar area features comfortable, oversized booths and the dining room has exposed brick walls and a warm, contemporary vibe.
The menu isn't huge, but has a good variety of dishes, including a cheese board, a couple flat breads, some salads and a great burger. They're also known for their bread pudding, which will be next on my list of desserts to check off ...
One of the major gripes suburbanites have about living in the city is the lack of a yard. Ok, I get it—no place to let a dog or kids run loose and do their thing, nowhere to grow flowers, no place to enjoy nature. I see their point.
Although we have no plot of grass to call our own here in Wicker Park, we have something better: a rooftop deck. And it’s not just any old rooftop deck. It’s got a killer view, plenty of places to plant flowers (in pots, of course) and the best spot in the city for viewing fireworks.
Yes, it’s only good for three months of the year (if we’re lucky), but on the bright side, we don’t have to shovel snow off it.
This weekend, we held our annual July 4 party, complete with booze, bratwursts and this year—babies (they’re starting to infiltrate at a fast pace). Surprisingly, the babies were unfazed by the chaos of party goers and fireworks being set off just a block away.
In addition to the bratwursts, we grilled burgers and hot dogs—the usual cookout fare. I always like to do a homemade side of some sort and this year opted for pasta salad. It got rave reviews, so here is the recipe (sort of—I just kind of threw it together).
Pesto Pasta Salad
Homemade Pesto: Put all ingredients below together in food processor. Pulse until smooth. Add more or less olive oil depending on how smooth/runny you want it.
• Basil leaves (4 cups or so)
• Parsley (3/4 cup)
• 1 cup of Parmesan
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 5 or 6 cloves garlic
• Salt
• 1 cup of olive oil (more or less)
• 3 oz toasted pine nuts
Coat 2 lbs. cooked pasta (I used rotini) with pesto. Add three roasted red peppers (I chopped these in the food processor, too), 1 jar chopped kalamata olives and 2 cups crumbled feta. Serve at room temperature.
Cherry Mini Cupcakes
Of course, I never pass up an opportunity to bake—especially if there’s a theme. I saw this mini cupcake flag in a magazine and had to go for it. I made one of my favorite variations on white cake: cherry. Here’s how I did it:
Cherry Cake (note: this is adapted from the Cake Mix Doctor book)
• white cake mix
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 3 large eggs
• ¼ cup maraschino cherry juice
• 1 jar chopped maraschino cherries
Once batter is mixed, I put it in a gallon size Ziploc bag and cut one of the corners off. I then squirt the batter into each mini cupcake (use paper liners). The recipe makes about 72 mini cupcakes.
Frosting
• stick of room temperature butter
• ½ cup Crisco
• 1 ½ lbs. powdered sugar
• ¾ cup milk (more or less—add slowly for perfect consistency)
• 2 tsp. almond extract
Squash for the Skeptic
As for the squash, well, I can’t take credit for that. My brother’s girlfriend, Chelsea, has recently returned to her vegetarian roots, and I have to hand it to her—she’s really good at being a vegetarian.
If I were a vegetarian, I’d probably just eat a tortilla with melted cheese in it for lunch, pasta every night and call it a day. Chelsea really embraces her vegetables though. Last night, she showed up with squash blossoms. What’s a squash blossom? I’m still not really sure, but she says you can get them at farmer’s markets.
What I do know is this: she stuffed those squash blossoms with goat cheese, quinoa and chickpeas and threw them on the grill for a few minutes, and they were deeeeeeeelicious.
Seriously, I could have had a plate of those and been perfectly happy. Well, maybe not totally happy. I’d need a half dozen mini cupcakes, too ...
