Fun Playing With Food in Chicago Part 2: The Gage

A funny thing happened on the way to the courthouse on Monday morning - the case stopped with a jerk and we fell off! Well, not exactly. But by 11am, Bob and I were excused from the proceedings for the day. We next considered lunch. Our food forward friend (and frequent Chicago visitor) Edsel had recommended The Gage, less than 3 blocks from The Silversmith. It turned out to be our favorite meal of the trip (or in a close tie with the Little Goat Diner) and it hadn't even been on our radar; but for the bad weather, we had many choices on the list ahead of it. Don't make that mistake if you visit this part of Chicago.

We were now a tad under-dressed for this beautifully restored, historic eatery, recently named as one of the top five Power Lunch spots in all Chicago. The restaurant has several dining rooms on 2 levels (with an elevator to make it all accessible), and we were made to feel warm and welcome. The Gage exemplified the marvelous service we experienced almost every place we dined in Chicago. When the more spacious deuce next to ours emptied before we'd placed our food order, our server was happy to relocate us and our beverages, on request. That move was shortly followed by a fabulous Michael Ruhlman moment, as one diner of the deuce that replaced us (two business ladies) ordered a Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken - how could you, when House Poutine with Braised Elk Ragoût, Stewed Vegetables, Curd Cheese, and Chips is on the menu for a mere $8???

House Poutine Braised Elk Ragoût, Stewed Vegetables, Curd Cheese, Chips

Best dish of trip. Period. The elk melted in the mouth and was not at all gamey, and the remaining ingredients harmonized perfectly with crunch, creaminess, and umami. Four diners could share this portion as an appetizer, but Bob and I bravely cleaned the dish without further assistance.

Bread Service

House-baked multigrain bread is accompanied by locally sourced cultured butter, with a drizzle of pink salt. Yes, we used it to clean the Poutine dish, and no, we were not ashamed.

Locally Crafted Sausages (House Made Rabbit, Garlic, Thyme Sausage, Smoked Polish from Bobak's), Crisp Potato, Brie

Bob's lunch was divine. Simple, but beautiful ingredients, perfectly prepared and smartly served. The Gage certainly knows it's way around game, as the rabbit sausage turned out by it's kitchen had a distinctive, but not gamey flavor. Ironically, Bobak's website informs us that the smoked polish was invented on, and named for, Maxwell Street. Whether the old Maxwell Street Market was involved, I do not know.

Lunch Special Sandwich: Duck Confit with Brandy BBQ Sauce, Onion, Arugula, Sauerkraut on Ciabatta

I hit the motherload with my choice of the "special" sandwich - special indeed! Silky duck shreds bathed in the rich but surprisingly light and tangy sauce, balanced out with the acidic sauerkraut, accompanied by gently dressed, crispy greens (the server offered potatoes as an alternate to the salad, but the first course had settled that consideration). Bob pronounced the half sour pickle delicious also. When we asked the server to wrap our leftover bread and butter (for a better breakfast tomorrow than the one we'd bought today), he instead insisted on sending us out with a fresh loaf and container of butter together with our entree leftovers. Well played.

I'd snagged an elusive reservation for Stephanie Izard's The Girl and The Goat for Monday's dinner - would we have the room to enjoy it? More Fun Playing With Chicago Food to come . . . .

More Fun Playing with Dim and Den Sum

I have been fortunate enough to catch the Dim and Den Sum truck a few more times since my last post about Cleveland's first food truck. The food just keeps getting better and better, despite flat tires, short bread supplies, empty propane tanks, and any other number of things that just seem to happen when you are trying to feed a lot of people honest, freshly made food from a converted box truck. Dim and Den Sum rocks!

My second visit with Dim and Den Sum was again at the parking lot of 24865 Emery Road. This time, I took advantage of the picnic tables.

Tater Tots with Spicy Sauce and Truffle Pepper

I don't know how they get these basic tater tots to have such perfect crunch and taste, but they do! Perhaps it's the special sauce?

Chicken Nachos with Asparagus Slaw

Loved this lunch selection. I would have liked a little more of the exquisitely fresh  and celery-free chicken salad, but I did not leave hungry.

The asparagus slaw captured the essence of spring, in a way I'd have never expected. Fresh, crunchy, yet also a creamy texture when eaten with the beans. Worked for me.

By my next visit with DDS, the venue had moved to the main street outside of the Progressive Insurance campus, between the corporate office buildings and the lovely park (300 N. Commons Blvd Mayfield OH - hopefully to be the "regular" Thursday lunch spot). And the menu had improved from a xeroxed sheet taped to the truck to this cool "chalkboard paint." The only thing missing was a place to sit, but hey, this is street food after all!

Cheesesteak Steam Bun: Shaved beef, pickled red onions, cheese, & "horsey sauce", BBQ

This wasn't exactly the format I was expecting - I expected a char sui type item, fully encased in pastry. This version, an almost pancake-like fresh bread circle topped with savory beef, incredibly tasty pickled onion, horseradishy sauce and cheese whiz, was a little messy to eat, but fabulous in tastes and textures. 

Pulled Pork Taco

This creation featured succulent pulled pork, fiji apple creme fraiche, kimchi slaw, and hot sauce. Yum!

Jjang Dawg: Local dog, pulled pork, kimchi slaw, smashed tots, Bourbon soy bbq sauce

Wow. This may be the best thing I've had from DDS (though that Cheesesteak Bun is a darn close second) - an amazing locally-sourced hotdog, perfectly grilled, which went "snap" when I bit in and which  further rewarded me with juiciness in every bite. This dog was served on the "home-made" bun the DDS boys are sourcing from a pal at Fire Restaurant, topped with tender pulled pork, crunchy kimchi slaw, smashed tots, and Bourbon BBQ sauce - I almost wished I'd hadn't eaten anything else, so I  would have room to enjoy a second  one of these, it was that good. Almost wished, because the other items were truly delicious also. But this dog left me feeling happy for the rest of the day!

 

A lone tater tot that got away. How sad!

The next week at the same locale - here was the menu:

Both Chefs, Jeremy Esterly and Chris Hodgson, were "in the house," so to speak, this gorgeously sunny day.

Sarah's Jalapeno Tots

As described on the menu, except no bacon. The bacon was not missed at all - the flavors and textures were delicious, though a little messy for finger food.

Meatloaf Melt: Beef and Veal Meatloaf, Duck Confit, Sweet Soy Ketchup, Green Onion Cheese

 

Thought this sandwich "suffered" from not having the wonderful homemade bread (the supply had gotten stale, and the Chefs decided that packaged bread was the better choice) - the fillings more than made up for it! The duck confit tasted wonderfully ducky, and the meatloaf was moist and flavorful. The cheese was an interesting and different product - it all worked together beautifully.

I haven't mentioned the beverages because I've mostly stuck to water, but Dim and Den Sum offers a small variety of unusual libations to accompany the eats - so far, I've seen an Apple Soda from China, an Apple Soda from Mexico (all cane sugar and no high fructose corn syrup), and a Coconut Soda.

And so, another three Dim and Den Sum lunches delivered a pause from the workday that truly refreshed. Please check out their website, twitter (I understand that they are about to launch an IPhone app that makes them easier to find) and Facebook page, so that you can have some fun playing with Dim and Den Sum's made-from-scratch, tasty food. It is definitely worth the the sticky fingers!