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I sat down with Mercat chef Garces to get his backstory via podcast interview since he's new to the Chicago crowd. I think you'll like his take on the Italian Beef vs Philly Cheesesteak debate. Turns out the Chicago native spent some time working at a beef stand one summer.

[url=http://www.hungrymag.com/2008/03/19/gabbin-with-garces/]Garces Interview
[/url]

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MJN "AKA" Michael Nagrant
www.hungrymag.com - All Things Tasty

I've been told by several native Spanish speakers and Americans that spoke fluent Spanish that the term 'a la' can pretty much mean anything and there really isn't an exact definition. It can be used as 'of the' 'on the' 'in the' 'at the,' etc. If you listen when people are speaking Spanish to each other you will hear 'a la' frequently.

What does this mean? I don't know I could be completely wrong. My Spanish is limited to several curse words, all of which begin with 'a la.'

I went to Mercat last night for the third time. On each occasion, I have ordered the suckling pig. Last night they knocked it out of the park. On my two previous occasions, we were served a 35 pound pig for a party of four or six as it was the smallest available. Last night, four of us split a 15 to 20 pound pig. It was perfect. The side dishes were the same as in my previous post upthread. I know it takes a bit of advance planning, but this is one of the better ways to spend $32 a person on food in Chicago. The room may be a bit too loud (and apparently the bathrooms are an issue although I haven't had a problem finding the toilet) but I find it hard to believe that on such a porkcentric place that more people aren't enjoying the pleasures of a perfectly prepared suckling pig. Just my two cents.

I'm set up to go with a group on Sunday, but have been quoted a price of $45/person. What gives? Does the cost change based on day of the week, or has the price just gone up?

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Lacking fins or tail
The Gefilte fish
swims with great difficulty.

Jewish haiku.

Just spoke to the manager who confirms the price at $45/per, and who tells me this has been the cost "from day one". What's up here I wonder?

_________________
Lacking fins or tail
The Gefilte fish
swims with great difficulty.

Jewish haiku.

Kuhdo,

The first time I had the pig I paid for dinner and the price was $32. The second time I had the pig I paid for cocktails at The Violet Hour before dinner and did not see the bill. However, when I called to make my reservation, the person who took my reservation told me that I was "smart" to be eating the pig that night "before the price increase". The third time I had the pig I was again a guest at dinner and did not see the bill, but I now suspect that the bill was $45 per person.

The first time I ordered a pig for 6 and we got a 35 pound pig. The second time I ordered the pig for four and we got a 35 pound pig. Six of us actually showed up for dinner and while I had only ordered pig for four, we were charged for 6. No one objected to the "extra" charge. Last time I was there I ordered a pig for 4 and it was about 15-20 pounds. I would suspect that they were having a problem getting smaller suckling pigs. Since the minimum number of diners is 4, I would imagine that profits were a bit slim serving four people a 35 pounder for $128 including the potatoes, spinach, onions and beans.

As an aside, the dining room is very loud. There is a curious room overlooking the dining room that might be very quiet. If you are noise averse, you may wish to inquire as to the availability of the table overlooking the dining room.

I guess the bad news is that the next time I go, it won't seem quite as inexpensive at $45 per person as it did at $32. That won't keep me from pigging out again.

For a post-birthday celebration - we went to Mercat last night - and I can say that we really enjoyed the food.

We had a fairly early reservation - mainly due to me procrastinating on where we should go (and too much work). But it worked out fine, and we probably spent two hours over dinner, which was really nicely paced.

The room is really stunning, and the view out the windows to Grant Park was just beautiful, especially as it was so nice outside on Saturday anyway. I had seen comments that the room was loud, but we had no problem having a conversation there, and we were pretty much in the center. It was also consistently full the entire time we were there.

So - on to the food. In total - we had 16 dishes between 4 people. 12 we ordered, 1 was a Chef's special that they brought out, and 3 desserts. And before I get into the details - I just have to call out the desserts. It was lovely to go to a restaurant where the desserts were as good as the rest. It felt like a complete meal without getting disappointed in the end.

We had:
Olives - probably the most disappointing, which I was suprised at. Very different that what I was expecting, more vineger and spice that I am used to. Perhaps it is just me
Goat's Milk Cheese with Garlic Dulce de Leche - This garlic caramel sauce I wanted to take home... It was good with the cheese, the apples, the bread, and I think would be pretty much good on everything.
Bacon-Wrapped Dates - little morsels of goodness. perfect.
Spicy Potatoes - this was a small dish, could have had more - but very tasty.

2 Mixed Green Salads - Nice break and palate cleanser
Anchovy/Bacon flatbread - I'm not a huge fan of anchovies - but this was really delectable
Crab Rice Dish (this was not ordered - but provided by the chef) - This was so good. Since we didn't order this - at first we were surprised, and I must admit - we were glad we got to taste this - I'd order it again
Pork Belly - This was my sister's first time at trying this.... lovely to see her face.

Catalan Spinach - Really tasty, and worked well with the last dishes we had
Diver Scallops a la Planxa - Really nicely grilled, perfectly cooked.
Rack of Lamb - Most expensive dish we ordered - really yummy.
Morel Rice - Tasty - nice, slightly salty in a good way, which fit perfectly with the meats and spinach.

This is a tapas joint - and so the servings as small. Everything, except the olives, I could have had more of. But - it allowed us to try many things... which was the point. You wouldn't want to split the dishes any smaller than between 4 people I think.
We weren't hungry when we left, but it wasn't a feast that left you stuffed, despite all those dishes. Most of them there was really just a couple of mouthfuls of each.

On to the desserts:
We had a Goat cheese cheesecake with a little honey drizzle that was great - not too sweet. The balance between light and heavy, and the sweetness level was right on.
A citrus crema catalana - that was creamy - but still had a bright citrus note that was a pleasent surprise
4-way chocolate - also excelent. Probably my least favorite of the desserts, but more because the other two were outstanding.

I will say - that the comments about the bathrooms are spot on - very dark! Hard even to figure out how to flush, it is so dark.

Last comment - we didn't order expensive items - and didn't have a lot to drink - and the bill for the four of us came to just over $200. Not too bad, but as I mentioned - this was not a feast of gargantuan proportions either.

I had a very tasty dinner at Mercat last night with three friends. As mentioned above, the room is beautiful and clearly meant to impress. I used the hotel valet for parking which was $14. After settling in, we decided we wanted to order our tapas in a few rounds and pair them with some bottles of wine. We found the wine list to be fairly reasonably priced (of course allowing for the typical gargantuan markup in any restaurant) with some interesting Spanish bottles.

First Round: We started with a bottle of Xarmant "Txakolina Di Arabako" Chacoli. This white wine was sharp, a bit mineraly with a lemon finish. Very refreshing and a great way to start the evening. We were served tomato bread for the table which was good, but could have used a bit more salt. Our first round of tapas consisted of:

Olives-These were marinated in olive oil, lemon and various spices.

Fried Peppers-These were served with salbitxada and sea salt. The fried peppers hit the right tasting notes of salty, sweet and hot and were a hit with the table.

Serrano Ham and Fig Salad-This salad was presented with the salad of baby spinach, figs, spiced almonds and goat cheese wrapped in the serrano ham so it looked almost like a loaf. It was a beautiful presentation. The salad was dressed with a sherry vinagrette which provided a nice acidity to cut through richness of the serrano ham and the sweetness of the figs.

Artichoke Flatbread- The flatbread dough was slightly sweet with a good chewiness to the crust. The artichokes were paired with mushrooms, black truffles and manchengo. Everyone agreed this was the favorite dish.

Shrimp in Garlic Sauce-The shrimp were cooked perfectly and were plump and slightly sweet. The garlic sauce had just the right amount of garlic with some heat from the peppers and a lemon finish. This dish was a big hit and we sopped up the sauce with some bread.

Spanish Omelette-This dish was a miss for me. Although the omelette was somewhat lighter than usual, the saffron was overdone and gave a metallic taste to the dish.


Second Round: We then ordered a bottle of Burgans "Cuatro Pasos" Mencia. This wine was very soft with cherry flavors. For tapas we had:

Short-Rib Flatbread-Again, the texture of the flatbread was great and the braised short-rib with horseradish, parmesan and bacon was rich, flavorful. One criticism is that it could have used a touch more horseradish.

Spicy Potatoes-These were served as individual potato rounds with the spicy paprika aioli dotted on top and underneath the potato round. Again, the presentation was beautiful and also helped preserve the texture of the potato. This dish was another hit.

Tocino-slow cooked pork belly with a sherry glaze and a truffle and green apple slaw (with a bit of parsnip puree on the plate for fun). The pork belly was tender and juicy. The slaw looked great and was gone before I got the plate.


Final Round: Our last bottle of the night was a Joan D'Anguera "La Planella" blend (carignane, syrah, cabernet, garnacha). This was fuller-bodied than the Mencia with some great raisin flavors. Our final round of tapas included:

Rice with Morels-this rice dish also had green asparagus and lemon oil. This dish was a miss for me. The flavor of the morels just didn't come through.

Chorizo from the "planxa"-grilled to perfection. Juicy, sweet, hot everything good!

Wild Mushrooms-with confit of potato, shallots and parsely. The mushroom flavor was really showcased in this dish.

Duck ham-The cured meats are imported from Spain. This duck ham was served with bread, pickles, piquillo peppers and grainy mustard. The duck ham was good but not great. Next time I will try something else.


Phew! At this point we were stuffed and didn't order any dessert (although I could have eaten another couple pieces of that artichoke flatbread )

Service was generally good. Our server was a bit clueless because I don't think he understood that we were going to keep ordering more food and wine. I had to get his attention a couple of times. The wine service was a little slow, but also generally good.

I will be back for more tapas and the whole roasted suckling pig.

Edited to add cost information: The entire dinner came to about $250 for three bottles of wine and a 13 tapas.

Just made a party of 8 RSVP for Friday, and was told that it was going to be a single pig, which considering the 4 person minimum, I was hoping for two suckling pigs (reservationist had to put me on hold to find out from kitchen? how many pigs were going to be served). I ended up bumping from 8 to 7 due to a last min dropout, hopefully that means more piggy for rest of us. We'll find out in a few days.

Thanks for the input everyone. We went tonight and based on past recommendations really hit the menu spot on:

Jamon mixto - selection of three hams
Croquetas de Jamon
Bacon-wrapped figs stuffed with almonds
Crispy crab cake with lump crab rice
Morel Mushroom rice
Artichoke and Wild Mushroom flatbread
Braised Rabbit Pasta (Agnolotti)
Spicy Potatoes
Grilled Calamari
Grilled Lamb
Slow Cooked Pork Belly

for dessert

Cuatro Chocolate
Sheeps Milk Crema
Walnut and Lemon-Ricotta Ice Cream
Some Citrus desssert over warm moist cake

Of all the above, I might skip the Rabbit Agnolotti and Pork Belly next time, but both were good and every other dish outstanding.

I'll also mention that the dishes were all beautifully constructed, several with unique serving vessels. Its quite an experience and one that I hope to relive soon.

We had an excellent meal here last Friday before a concert at Symphony Center. Given that it's just four blocks to the south, this is now one of the top pre-concert options. The Gage is a bit closer, and I think has similar quality food, but the problem with the Gage is that you run the risk of the sitting in the front dining area, by the bar, which is simply too noisy. (The back room is fine.) When quality of food, price and the room are factored in, I think this is the now one of the best dining options within easy walking distance of Symphony Center.

Jonah

We ate there recently and were generally impressed with the location and the menu.

A few notes:
1. If you're overly sensitive to strong smells, avoid sitting near the kitchen. I loved the garlic aroma that was wafting our way at the start of the night, but toward the end it was a bit overbearing.

2. The portions are small (which makes the ~$50 pp pig sound like an even better deal). We loved the arroz con morels, but for $12 expected to receive more than ~1/2 cup of it.

3. I have a good allergy, and made sure to mention to our waiter when we placed our order. Off the top of his head, he said that he didn't think I'd have problems with any of the dishes we selected, but he'd check with the kitchen. The busboy brought our first dish and announced, "This has [ingredient I'm allergic to] in it." The waiter quickly reappeared and said that the ingredient was in the sauce, and he'd asked the kitchen to put the sauce on the side. He disappeared with the offending dish, then reappeared to say, "Oh, it's actually mixed into the ingredients, so they can't make it without." Um...shouldn't you have told us that before serving the dish so we could decide whether we still wanted to order it, or if we wanted to order something in its place? (My dining companion was very hungry, so we kept the dish and I just had to do without!)

4. Valet parking is on the south side of the building, and shared with the Blackstone Hotel. The parking guys were helpful and outgoing. (They each wanted to know if we'd seen the roast pig!)

Yeah, those valet parking guys are cool and are deserving of mention . . . when we were there, one of them escorted us to the elevator, rode it with us and then escorted us right up to the host. I thought that was nice.

From your flickr pics, it looks like you were served a head and half a pig (bisected). Was that the case w/ each of your dinings on roast suckling pig, or was there another half not imaged? Just curious considering the $45pp pricepoint.

Not sure why, but it looks like my previous post was deleted/lost for some reason along with Deesher's response to my question in my original post. Here it is again,

Well, we came, and we ate, and immensely enjoyed our Guest of Honor,


See the full gallery here,
http://flickr.com/photos/83069851@N00/s ... 58/detail/

Check out the meat carving video too,
http://www.vimeo.com/890873

In addition to the said meal, we ordered the
Cured meat mixto,
"Fideuà Negra baby squid in it's own ink, angel hair pasta & saffron aioli" and
"Flat Bread - Costillas De Ternera beef shortribs, horseradish, parmesan & bacon"
I could eat the baby squid pasta all night if it wasn't for our piggy friend. Flat bread was a great deal at $10 for its quality and quantity when compare its value to other flat bread IMO.

As good as the three apps we ordered and very much enjoyed, I thought the food that came w/ the Cochinillo Asado was way more than enough to feed all of us (we had 5 doggy bags to take home afterward w/ all the leftover). So my advise for anyone who will be doing this as a group is not to order any additional items unless you really want the variety of dishes and don't mind taking a lot of food home. I asked and was told this was a 22 pounder even though it sure felt a lot bigger, and I inquired about pig's feet and head which I would've gladly taken home, but was told the feet was kept by the butcher (understandably which typically sell those a la carte) and the head was simply "not served per American way" *shrug*. The service all night was impeccable, constant attention from waiter, bus boy, and various hosts/managers, and even Chef Garces came by and said hello. I could see most of the staff that were serving us were proud of what were being served up and even seemed envious of what we were having (or maybe that's just what my wishful and selfish thoughts that I need to keep to myself, heh).

Answer to my piggy head question from Deesher was that he was able to ask and receive the head to take home last two times he went and apparently makes great stock. I'm curious how did they concoct the carrying case? Did they chop it up and let you take it home whole?

The whole pig was served. They just carve them tableside one-half at a time.

Last time I brought home three heads wrapped in foil in a shopping bag. They saved a few for me. Just tell them you want ti bring it home and it will be wrapped and ready to go. Make sure you eat the gelatinous cheeks before you go. Cheers.

I snuck into Mercat tonight--snuck being a misnomer of sorts, seeing as how it was pretty dead for 7PM on Tuesday. No matter.

While I can understand why ToC's David Tamarkin felt the place was corporate--it reminds me of Jaleo, Jose Andres' D.C. tapas mini-franchise--I thought the food more than overcame any overly-contrived atmosphere. I'll second Nagrant's euphoria over the rabbit agnolotti--very rich with just the right balance of savory and sweet; not at all heavy, either, because you only get five of 'em. The two small turbot fillets were a nice contrast to follow: simply roasted and drizzled with olive oil. I ordered a side of the espinaca as well--warm spinach with pine nuts, raisins, and apples--and enjoyed the textural mix of crunchy & chewy and the flavor mix of salty and sweet.

Strangely, I thought the best part of the meal was my dessert, a sheep's milk mousse with a grape/walnut mash thingy--there's a name for it, but I forget--a drizzle of olive oil, and an almond cookie. Really fantastic stuff. I'd say skip the sorbets/helados--my waitress brought me out a sampler (walnut milk ice cream and granny smith apple sorbet) and they weren't memorable. But the petit fours, particularly a champagne something-or-other (anyone remember?), were delectable.

I left sated, not stuffed, for a little under $60--it's no bargain. I came in with the intention of getting the $55 chef's selection, which would have offered me at least 1-2 additional courses, but I was miffed by the idea that the chef was randomly selecting menu items rather than putting together a distinct series of dishes. It's probably a great bet if you're indecisive, but it felt like a crapshoot to me, as I had my eye on a few things.

I also had the opportunity to eat at Mercat al la Planxa last night with a group big enough to order a whole pig. Overall, I'd say that Mercat really delivered and was better than I expected.

I would describe the room itself as a converted warehouse more than something you would expect to see in a newly renovated historic building. I didn’t find it particularly pleasant, with somewhat uncomfortable seating and cramped quarters.

Mercat al la Planxa Interior


While having a pre-dinner drink at the downstairs lounge, I took the opportunity to visit the much maligned bathroom. I found it to be spacious enough and nicely wood paneled, with a separate enclosed stall for the one urinal and another enclosed area for the “full service” toilet. The lighting was a little dim, but not dark by any means. Had I the time and inclination to linger, the lighting would have set a nice mood. The only negative thought I had about the bathroom at all was the use of stainless steel fixtures, which put me in mind of a Spanish prison…but I digress.

Our meal started off with complimentary pan con tomate, which was very good, considering that tomatoes are out of season. A requested second round of this dish was not as good, arriving somewhat waterlogged.

Pan con Tomate


Next up was a couple orders of dates wrapped with bacon and stuffed with almonds. These were as good as they sound.

Dates Wrapped in Bacon


After attempting to order the Anchovy/Bacon flatbread that RomanticCynic posted about and being told that it is no longer on the menu, we settled for a bacon and pine nut version that was served with a little dollop of some sweet ricotta or mascarpone that just didn’t work in this dish. The flatbread was the only disappointment of the night.

Mercat al la Planxa Flatbread


We also ordered some sort of small, round sausage that came a bit too thinly sliced for my taste, but looked great on the plate. Kind of like sausage fish scales.

Mercat al la Planxa Sausage


Next up was a forgettable fruit and cheese plate, which one of my dining companions compared to Muenster cheese as well as an excellent dish of Fideuá Negra, which is baby squid in its own ink and angel hair pasta topped with a saffron aioli. This was really a standout dish and will be part of any future meal I may have at Mercat al la Planxa

Fideuá Negra


But enough about all that. On to the star of the show.

Cochinillo Asado


This beautiful pig was brought out and presented to our table. Actually, this was only ½ of the pig, with the other half being held warm in the kitchen. The pig was expertly carved tableside and served up to our hungry party.

Carving of the Cochinillo


This was one delicious pig! It did not come off as the other white meat; this pig had been marinated and spiced to perfection. The meat did not taste like chicken...it tasted like pig, pure and simple. Once the pig hit the table, I stopped taking pictures, so I have nothing to show of the very good beans, fingerling potatoes and green onions that accompanied the main event. I will say that the green onions we were served looked much more like real calçots than the ones pictured by deesher.

The piece de résistance was the plate of crispy skin that was served along with the meat. Can you say porcine heaven? I knew you could.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

Mercat exceeded my expectations, particularly in light of the fact it has only been operational for a month. Actually, Mercat exceeded my expectations for restaurants of it's type, name brand chef, downtown tourist location, sure, there was sizzle, but steak or, in this case, crispy pig skin, as well.

A wonderful, magical animal
Homer Simpson




Cheek and jowl meat get a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of sea salt.

Cheek, Jowl


Sensing our interest sous chef Michael Fiorello, who did an exquisite job of carving, offered to harvest the brain and send it to the kitchen for a spin on the grill. A resounding Yes echoed from the table.

Pig brain


Grilled pig brain w/sherry vinegar reduction



The sherry vinegar reduction was delicious, tangy sweet with the consistency of honey. Brain was tasty, in that brain custardy fashion, but crisp pig skin skimmed in the sherry vinegar reduction was pure heaven.

Squid in its own ink was the best non pig dish, murky depths of flavor seemingly as bottomless as the ocean.

Fideua Negra (Baby squid in its own ink)


An enjoyable meal in a well run restaurant, I'm looking forward to a return visit.

Enjoy,
Gary

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

We went for the pig last night, and it was just as porklalicious as the previous posts described with one problem. Our piggy came with no head. I was so looking forward to the cheeks. When we inquired about the head we were told that you must request the head when reserving the piggy. Anyone one had similar experiences? I find it quite odd, you order a whole pig...you should get the whole pig.

Also, the Baby Squid in their own ink is just as fantastic as the other posters described.

Paul Virant of Vie said that he gets regular requests to take the heads off trout before plates go to the table. A lot of people don't like head...probably because it reminds people they're eating a once living thing. Hypocrisy? Self-delusion? Dishonesty? Perhaps.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

I'd want to see the head. Without it looks too much like any other random 4-legged animal around that same size.

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Leek
SAVING ONE DOG MAY NOT CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT IT CHANGES THE WORLD FOR THAT ONE DOG.
American Brittany Rescue always needs foster homes. Please think about helping that one dog.
http://www.americanbrittanyrescue.org

We also went last night (me and the GF with 3 other friends). 1st time for all of us, and even though we didn't do the piggy, we enjoyed everything we tried.

Charcuterie of jamon serrano, butifarra and chorizo de pamplona, the pulpo y patatas, olives, tomato/garlic bread, flatbread with gambas y garbanzos, croquetas de jamon, fideua negra, habas a la catalana, and then the "a la planxa" dishes of prawns, lamb chops and more of the pulpo y patatas. Great dishes and some yummy Spanish wines to accompany. Table favorites were the squid ink pasta, butifarra, and the pulpo. The lamb chops were grilled rare which suited us just fine!

Our server was fun and enthusiastic, and Jude (the sommelier) was also very pleasant and helpful.

No dessert, since we opted to continue our evening with more wine and chocolates at Eno up Michigan Ave in the Inter-Continental hotel.

_________________
- Mark

Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon? Ham? Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

The Wife and I found ourselves in the Loop last night after work and decided to check this place out for dinner. I called at 8pm to see if they could take us as a walk-in. They said they could take us at 8:30, so I gave them my name and we walked over. We got there at about 8:15 and they were able to seat us right away.

Overall I really liked it, but the dishes we had definitely ranged from "just ok" to "very good".

I thought the most successful dishes we had were:

Croquetas - They fulfilled the requirements of being crispy and full of ham
Dates wrapped in bacon - hard to screw this one up. There was some sort of light cheese sauce applied at the table that elevated this fairly standard dish
Prawns a la planxa - 3 nice sized prawns served head-on. Very tasty.
Rabbit agnolotti - As good as everyone has been saying. This might have been my favorite dish of the night
Pork belly - I liked the subtle truffle flavor, even if the apple provided a bit too much sweetness for my tastes.

Among the not so great (but not bad by any means):

Olives - Nothing really interesting or different.
Chef's selection of cured meats - We got chorizo and two other meats. It didn't really matter what they were since they were sliced so thin you'd never be able to tell anyway
Some sort of rice dish with a crispy crab cake, lump crab meat, peas and a fried quail egg - The crab cake had such a strong flavor that it completely overwhelmed anything that the quail egg was going to bring to this dish. I don't know, the whole thing just seemed a bit incongruous to me.

So, overall a pretty good dinner. I also loved the room. I think prices are fair, especially given the location. Total bill for all of the above food plus 2 glasses of red sangria was $99 after tax but before tip. I would definitely go back.

_________________
-Josh

An amuse bouche at breakfast is called a Bloody Mary - Scott Manlin

You went to the ladies' room? I don't remember there being a urinal in there, but it was so dark I could have missed it.

I would be unsurprised to find that after several weeks they've turned up the lights, since I can't imagine that other women didn't make the same complaint that I did (and which the hostess told me the female staff had as well).

_________________
LAZ
Dining Chicago
Index to LTHForum Recipes, 2004-2008

Went to Mercat last night accompanied by the wife and another couple. We were very impressed. We tried all week to get a reservation and had no luck--finally we were told to come in and just put down our names--so we gambled and lost when it came to actually getting a table, but since we were able to have drinks and a variety of tapas at the bar we actually won before heading down to chinatown for our actual meal at LSC.

For those inclined to chance it by just showing up and waiting for a table on a saturday night, i would not recommend this approach for a while. This restaurant is HOT. They were packed to the gils in both the downstairs lounge and upstairs in the dining room. we corralled 4 seats at the tiny bar in the restaurant where we were served by a Zidane look-a-like (to the great pleasure of the ladies in our party) who was thrilled to allow us to sample some of his favorite wines, and who knocked our socks off with his first pour when he noticed too much sediment in the wine glass and tossed a $12 glass of wine that most restaurants would have had no trouble serving. We each chose a dish and shared amongst ourselves in the hopes we would be seated within the hour..we shared the charcuteria mixto, octopus and potatoes, spanish omelet and a flatbread with mushrooms and sausage.

Each and every one of these dishes was better then the next, the wine selection was excellent and the vibe in the place was terrific--i cant wait to visit for dinner when i have a proper reservation and can actually tour the menu a little more. after an hour or so enjoying ourselves the hostess informed us that it would be another hour and half before we were actually granted a table--so we shuffled down to chinatown, with a stop at Sams on the way, to continue our evening. Our small taste of this place really has us excited to returm. One thing to note, this place is a lot of things and cheap is not one of them. Our snack and two rounds of drinks cost $150. We were happy to pay as we enjoyed the place but some might not be thrilled after they get the check.

If you can indulge me in hearing about another outing with the pig, I'd be very grateful:


Pig, pre-carved

[Please forgive the flashless, camera-phone picture.]

Our little guy was about 35 lbs. We had a group of six, and honestly, we could have used at least one more stomach there as everyone had quite a bit leftover to take home. (Picture a whole 'nother serving plate of pork that went untouched.)

It was a fantastic time - due in no small part to the company - we had a group of very enthusiastic foodies, some of whom are in the biz, so there was a lot of knowledgeable ordering (and consumption) of wine. I really like the wine list here.

A word to the wise: our piggie wasn't ready when we sat down, so they encouraged us to order a few tapas to start. Knowing how much food we were going to get later on (the pig comes with fingerling potatoes, grilled green onions, beans and sauteed spinach), I was a little annoyed by this -- but having a variety of plates to taste is always fun, so it didn't really annoy me that much. We started with the serrano ham salad (really excellent, by the way), the bacon-wrapped dates and the short rib coca (flatbread). All were really good. The only downside -- and this was the theme for the night -- was that our server suffered either from portion distortion or was trying to upsell his customers because he continually encouraged us to order two of everything. Luckily, all of us in the group (save two) had been there before, so we had a better grasp of the amount of food we needed than he did.

When the little guy finally arrived, the chef began by removing the crackly, charred skin, which he cut into generous pieces, plated and passed around. This was perhaps the highlight of the meal. It was nicely sea salted and crispy. The chef loved to chat while doing his carving duties, and volunteered a lot of very positive information about the restaurant, not the least of which was about how he loved roasting these pigs. (It's always nice to be served food from a chef who loves his job.) Then, the remainder of the pig was carved , deboned and minced into smaller pieces, at which point it was drizzled with olive oil and seasoned further. The whole carving process took quite a long time. I enjoyed every bite of the moist, flavorfully marinated pork.

The sides are not afterthoughts. The fingerlings had a sweet sherry taste and were so tender they had the soft texture of plaintains. The spinach was garlicky and sauteed with pine nuts. The beans were very porky and had a nice firm texture. The grilled onions added a smoky counterpoint to the meal.

If I had the opportunity, I would go back for the pig again in a heartbeat.

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Local Beet

Thanks, Wendy, and everyone else for the excellent, detailed reports. Mercat is currently #1 on my 'want to go there' list. I just need to assemble a party . . .

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

LTH,

I don't think it's been mentioned, but Mercat a la Planxa, in addition to stupendous roast baby pig, has four, if I remember correctly, types of Absinthe available. A number of interesting cocktails as well, for example the Shoco. Peach vodka, fresh sour, orange juice, muddled sage leaves and cucumber. Herbal, sour, sweet, aromatic combination, not something that I'd necessarily want more than one of, though I had two, but the overall effect is substantially more pleasing than it reads.



Enjoy,
Gary

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow