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Well, I'm typically fond of aiolis and indifferent to fine with malt vinegar, so I'd be inclined to say that this may have been "off". But, having no frame of reference it's difficult to be sure. It was just a slimy, semi-translucent white goo with a vague but unpleasant flavor that didn't enhance the fry-eating experience. I didn't delve too deeply into its intricacies.

I stopped in for a late dinner Saturday evening and all in all, very nice. I had the burger, medium rare, with a fried egg. The prep is really nice - chuck, brisket and short rib mix is great, and I appreciated how lightly packed the meat was. The burger was also perfectly cooked . . . the only issue was that the egg was a bit overcooked so not dripping as I would have liked, but I still liked the burger quite a bit. I'm not as huge a fan of grass fed burgers as others, but this was certainly one of the best I've tasted.

I also thought the fries were excellent - one of the best versions of double fried potatoes I've had in Chicago, crisp on the outside, soft in the middle. And I loved the malt vinegar aioli. I had asked for malt vinegar for the fries before I realized that the aioli incorporated vinegar. Once I learned, it was all aioli for me and I never looked back.

One of my friends had cassoulet (a special that night?). Now this was a chicken cassoulet (and chicken sausage IIRC). I was amazed how good a version of cassoulet this was . . . chicken, really? You would never have known from the richness of the dish.

Service was a little slow, but to their credit and without us ever commenting, they were very nice to treat us to a complementary order of the chicken wings which I thought were quite tart and tasty.

I'm glad I finally made it to O&E . . . now I look forward to returning to try a little more of the menu.

Headed over to Owen & Engine for the first time today -- we had plans to see a movie at City North and I was in the mood to celebrate my loss of 15 lbs. So..how do you celebrate such a thing? By eating the best damn hamburger in the world. I swear to God, that burger is a miracle of beefy goodness. It was done perfectly medium on the side of rare, which is my kind of doneness and the caramelized onions and a tiny bit of mustard added by me -- made it the most luscious piece of meat I've had in over 2 months. We had a large party and everyone got the burger. We were all sitting there making yummy sounds of disbelief -- the burger is that good. Three of our friends came late and they all got bites and their faces literally changed when they did. It's a burger that makes you stop chewing just to savor the meat in your mouth.

Loved the rest of what we ate too -- we shared the fruit plate and had one of their pull part yeast buns -- with cheddar and herb. Very delicious and I"m not just saying that because I haven't had any buttery bread in weeks. The fries that came with the burger were really outstanding -- I had to stop myself at about 1/3rd of them for dietary integrity. The malt aioli was great addition and unusual in this town of ketchup eaters.

Everyone had a nice cocktail -- either one of the many delicious brews they have on tap or a brunchy cocktail. I had a take on the bellini with cava, lime and strawberry liqueur. It was really nicely balanced and not too sweet. A friend had their version of the Pimm's Cup and it was outstanding. The bloody mary is made a bit heftier by using a beef reduction with the tomato juice and my friend really enjoyed it. Coffee service was awesome -- plunger pots and beautiful delft cups and sauces and a tiny little piece of shortbread on the side. Delicious coffee too.

Loved the atmosphere -- the service was great and friendly and nice in a lazy Sunday morning kind of way. They went out of their way to find a way to accommodate our larger party with very little time to do so.

As the nominating thread for O&E suggested, if this place was in my neighborhood -- i'd be living there. I wish it was closer but it's definitely worth a trip over to that part of town. I'm a big fan.

Wanted to update that I tried the aioli again on a subsequent visit and the flavor was not at all disagreeable. So, I'd guess my initial reaction was to an "off" batch.

I stopped in here about 10 days ago because I had a hankering for the burger (they're back to Slagel beef now) and it was as great as ever. While we were waiting for our party to aggregate, the kitchen sent out a couple other items for us to try. One dish, mussels in an Indian-style butter sauce (think tika masala), was really terrific. Unlike the relatively neutral butter sauces served just about everywhere, this sauce had some real bite and spice to it. The plump mussels went very well with it.

The other item that was sent out for us to try was a charcuterie plate, featuring several items exclusively made in house. We enjoyed all of these notably well-made items but the lamb bacon, lamb liver mousse and seasonal head cheese were my favorites. The head chese included some small pieces of seasonal vegetables that provided some great flavor and texture into the rich, unctuous head cheese. There are some real charcuterie chops in this kitchen, which I did not know before trying this plate out.

I sometimes get a bit myopic when it comes to O&E, mainly heading over there once or twice a month when I'm in the mood for their awesome burger, and rarely ordering anything else. I was really glad they sent these plates out for us because I don't know that I ever would have tried these dishes if they hadn't. Now that I've tried them, I can definitely see ordering them on a regular basis. As great as the burgers, fries, fish & chips and wings are at O&E, there's some additional depth to the menu, too, which is very exciting.

=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

Spit out the gum, sister!

Twitter: ronniesuburban

I too have a hard time not ordering the burger every time I am in there, but have been forcing myself to eat other things there, and my wife as one who doesn't eat red meat tries a lot of different things. During Craft Beer Week they had a menu of dishes to be paired with 10oz beers, including a pork tenderloin saltimbocca terrine (they really are great at charcuterie) that was outstanding, my wife had a duck confit leg l'orange she loved, and another item we ordered was curry eggplant "fries" with a tzatziki sauce, also excellent. I enjoy the pickles as a snack when we're in there just for beers, and I also have had really good Cornish pasties there -- the pastry exterior is just right, flavorful filling (was lamb last time I had it along with the usual carrot and rutabaga typical to a pasty filling) that isn't always the case with pasties, and the piccalilli on the side had a really good curry bite. A few months ago they had a seafood stew my wife really liked.

All in all, I really have found it hard to go wrong. But I still order the burger a lot, it's hard to resist.

I need "Hat Hammond" to give this rant the proper irritated heft, but I'm going to try to go it alone.

I've been to Owen & Engine 3 or 4 times now. It's near one of my work sites, I love food, I love beer, you think I'd practically be LIVING there. They have a wonderful burger, and some of the best french fries I've ever eaten. So WHY do they serve those wonderful french fries wrapped in paper AND THEN STUFFED INTO A GLASS SO THAT THEY CAN IMMEDIATELY STEAM AND GET LIMP. I truly do not understand this service. I question it every time I eat there and get puzzled looks from the servers. They say they'll 'mention it to the kitchen'. I visit the place again a year or more later and the food is served the same way.

Seriously, do not get it.

Also don't get why you'd make wonderful fish & chips, carefully enrobing the fish in a light, crunchy batter, and then placing the fish on top of a puddle of pea puree which immediately makes the light, crunchy batter a soggy mess.

The way these dishes get served makes me crazy.

There. I feel better.

Giovanna

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"Enjoy every sandwich."

-Warren Zevon

Seems like this restaurant, at least for these dishes, is putting more weight on presentation of food than on actual enjoyment of food.

I will have to visit O&E again and torque myself into a fuming rage on this very matter.

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

The first thing I do when the burger and fries is set down in front of me is dump the fries out of the glass and on to the plate, salvaging any remaining crispness. That said, the burger is so good that I can overlook the form-over-function fry presentation...

-Dan

It's the way they serve fish and chips in England. See at 0:23
http://youtu.be/sfrGaTV217g

I also immediately dump them onto the plate . . . and with one simple act avoid the need for any ranting.

In England I thought one of the traditional "to-go" methods of packing an order at a chip shop was wrapping it all up in paper - which I would think would also "steam" the chips (and the fish, obviously). Maybe not?

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Objects in mirror appear to be losing.

In newspaper, to be specific - usually the Sun or the Mirror, although whether for the greater absorbency of the paper they were printed on or simply for their wide availability I don't know. Crispness was not particularly sought after, and in the case of the chips at least wouldn't have survived the ritual bath in malt vinegar anyway.

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fine words butter no parsnips

Nope, chips are not supposed to be crispy. They are also a lot chunkier than what is offered at O&E, which are probably better described as fries.

Given the passing similarities between chips and fries, I'd imagine it's quite difficult to 'tune' chips for a US audience. Between this thread and one elsewhere populated by Brits, I've heard both sides complain about O&E's rendition (from opposite directions!)


P.S. Chips