2023: Chicago - Bazaar Meat

Bazaar Meat by José Andres
Finding a good restaurant open on a Monday night can be challenging, but after searching around Joe got us a seat at famed José Andres’ Bazaar Meat. I was so happy to go. I’ve known of Andres for years, and I repeatedly follow his gazpacho recipe on UA-cam. Also, of late he’s really distinguished himself with his humanitarian work: Haitian earthquake support; pandemic relief; feeding Ukrainians devastated by Russia; disparaging Trumpkin - he’s an extraordinary force for good.
I was happy to try his cuisine, and to add him the list of Top chefs I’ve enjoyed - Crenn, Keller, Dufresne, Achatz, Sandoval, Shields, Solomon, Aprile, Susur, Batali, Bayless, Samuelsson, Burke, Meyer, Boulud, and of course McEwan and McCowan.
I enjoyed everything, but in particular the Candy Floss Foie Gras, Rossejat Negra (which reminded me of a seafood Char Bee Hoon), and the lemon air on the Brussels sprouts was inspired and delicious. Andres worked at El Bulli, so you see molecular elements here and there. The boozy Nitro Caipirinha was dramatically prepared tableside. However the margarita with salted air was a winner!
COTTON CANDY FOIE GRAS
crispy amaranth
“BEEFSTEAK” TOMATO
tomato, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, cucumber, black olive, romaine leaves
“PHILLY CHEESESTEAK”
airbread, cheddar, Kobe beef
BAGELS & LOX CONE
dill cream cheese, salmon roe
‘ROSSEJAT’ NEGRA
fideuà pasta, squid ink, sepia sofrito, sun shrimp
SETAS AL AJILLO
button mushrooms, garlic, nasturtium
BRUSSELS SPROUTS
lemon purée, apricots, grapes, lemon air
BUTIFARRA SENATOR MOYNIHAN
Catalan-style pork sausage, Idiazábal, heirloom beans
PASTRIES
The fun part of the evening was having Kellen as our waiter. Within minutes we were afire. Not wanting a steak, he recommended the Butifarra sausage. I asked him how large was the portion.
“Seven inches big enough for you?”
Hilarious.
Halfway through the meal, he came back and brought a complementary course of the Bagels and Lox cone. “Each night I do this for one table, and I gotta take care of my gays.”
“How did you know,” I asked facetiously.
“Because when I said “inches” earlier, your eyes lit right on up!”
I was read!