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Dining In Welcoming Restaurants
I’m in the middle of my road trip to New Orleans. My carefully planned schedule got thrown off a little, so I’ve had to slow my progress. Hopefully, I’ll get there before next weekend.
I made my first stop in Chicago from Wednesday through Friday, to see friends, do some story research and most important, to eat. Chicago always feels like home. My grandparents lived there, my mother lived there, and so did I.
Wherever I look, there are memories — and new ones are being created, too.
On this visit, I re-discovered the sheer pleasure of dining in a welcoming, big city restaurant. While I’ve eaten out regularly in Ann Arbor the past two years, I have limited my meals to places I knew and trusted, and I’ve rarely ventured beyond metro Detroit.
But, having gotten double boosted, and amid Covid precautions, I dipped my toe back in the big city dining scene last week. It felt liberating.
One of the places I ate, Dear Margaret, was brand new to me, as it is pretty much brand new, having opened in 2021.
The other was Galit, where I couldn’t have asked for a warmer welcome or more attention from my hosts. The food was even better than on my previous visits, and if I lived in Chicago again, I would eat there at least monthly.
At both, the tables were full, even for the early seatings. The staff was friendly and professional and the chefs were visible to the diners, which made each evening feel more like a dinner party, than a commercial transaction.
Two things tie these places together. Both are on the small side: Dear Margaret is only a storefront wide, while Galit has slightly more space. These aren’t glitzy spots for the expense account crowd. Both also were honored this month by the Michelin Guide.
Galit, as you know, got a Michelin star, while Dear Margaret was named to the Bib list, which recognizes restaurants deemed to be a good value (think of it as a starter star).
Another commonality is the personal story behind each of them, which comes through beautifully in the food.
French-Canadian inspiration
Dear Margaret’s chef, Ryan Brousseau, has roots in Quebec, as do I. The restaurant is named for his grandmother, and elements of French-Canadian cooking show up across the menu. He changes ingredients according to the season. I arrived as spring flavors were being introduced.
I started with a spring pea soup (above), garnished with escargot (out of the shell). I last had spring pea soup at the much-missed Cafe Boulud in New York City. This was equally delicious and the escargot added texture and a little earthiness.
My entree was sturgeon. You may only know it in the smoked version, and there’s a reason. Being a cold water fish, sturgeon has a thick fat layer. It’s sometimes difficult to render that fat and get to the firm white fish underneath.
Ryan nailed it: my sturgeon had a crispy skin, with an interior temperature that was just right. It was topped with pickled microgreens, whose vinegar cut the inherent richness of the fish.
It was one of those experiences that you want to repeat as soon as possible. Now that Dear Margaret is on diners’ radar, it is getting hard to land Saturday night reservations. My advice is to pick a week night, go early, and go with a friend with whom you can share a variety of dishes.
A home away from home
Walking into Galit after three years away felt like coming home — if your home was a rollicking dinner party, where everyone is eating, chatting and drinking.
When I first dined there, Galit offered two styles of menu: one a la carte, and the other a pre-fixe that allowed diners to select courses from several starters and entrees. Like many restaurants, it was restricted to carryout during the pandemic.
When it came back, it switched to the pre-fixe format, which is a steal at $68. You receive an enormous amount of food, and almost everyone totes some home. You also can count on meeting either chef Zach Engel or his partner, Andres Clavero.
I was surprised, and impressed, to see that they were both working in the kitchen and out on the floor. You’d think that once you got a Michelin star, you could sit back and let someone else pick up the minute-to-minute duties. Not at Galit.
Zach, who still looks a little dazed by winning his star, explained that he likes to work the line. On Thursday night, he was breaking in a new executive chef, and was showing him every element of how dishes should go out to the dining room. Andres, meanwhile, was expediting and dropping off plates to numerous customers.
It’s been a treat to see Galit go from an idea to a standout success, and both Zach and Andres have taught me a lot about everything that goes into creating a lively restaurant. (I could talk numbers with Andres for hours.)
Food as memory
I received an unexpected jolt of emotion, as well. After I’d finished my hummus starter and was waiting for the rest of my food, Andres brought me out a lagniappe: Galit’s roasted beets with black garlic, tahina and pumpernickel crumbs.
I love beets, and I’ve written about cooking them. My late mother especially loved beets, and I knew she would have enjoyed these, especially because pumpernickel was her favorite bread. My aunt used to bring us loaves from Chicago when she visited.
When I took my first bite, a wave of nostalgia swept over me, and tears came to my eyes. I had to make a quick trip to the ladies’ room for a little cry. Some people weep at movies or concerts. I weep at food.
This happened to me once before at Compere Lapin, the New Orleans restaurant owned by Nina Compton and her husband, Larry Miller. During a lunch there, my server brought out a side dish of pommes puree, which was something I’d eaten often with my mother on our trips to Paris. My eyes flooded and as in Chicago, I needed time to collect myself.
When Zach stopped by later, I complimented him on the beets. He said they’d been on the menu a long time and he was tempted to switch them out, but customers always ordered them, so they stayed. All I can say is, “DON’T 86 THE BEETS.”
Goodbye To A Beloved Bakery
Next weekend is the last for Dinkel’s Bakery, which is closing after 101 years. Generations of Chicagoans have gone there for doughnuts, Danish, cookies, cakes and especially stollen, which has been available year around.
Ever since its closing was announced, lines of people have showed up to get one last box of pastry and say goodbye to the staff. During my visit, I ran into several nuns from the Little Sisters of the Poor.
They brought a bus load of residents from St. Mary’s Home, their elder care facility. Dinkel’s kept the home supplied with goodies for years, and the elders came by to say thank you to owner Norm Dinkel.
I will definitely miss their sign, and their sweets.
What I’m writing — and saying
Last week, The Takeout published my story about coffee cake, which is one of the first things I learned to bake. The accompanying recipe is one of the easiest ever, and comes from Chelsea Milling Company, the parent of Jiffy Mix.
Some families were Bisquick families: we were a Jiffy Mix family, in part because the factory was just a few towns over from us.
I was tickled when Texas Standard, the daily program on Texas Public Radio stations, reached out for my thoughts about the possibility of an electric Delorean. Although the original car has a cult following, thanks to Back To The Future, it really was a dreadful automobile (look up the Consumer Reports rating).
San Antonio has provided the developers of the Delorean EV with $500,000 in seed money to explore building the cars there.
The prospect of that car is truly a back to the future idea. There were dozens of EV companies a century or more ago at the dawn of the automobile era; now, once more, dozens of EV companies are vying for funding from investors, states and cities.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
I have a new Instagram account, devoted to my upcoming life in New Orleans. Follow @micki_in_nola. I’m putting some road trip photos there, too. My usual IG account, @michelinemaynard, is focused on my news coverage and dining experiences.
You can email me at culinarywoman at gmail dot com. Please use that for PR pitches, as well as speaking invitations and requests for book plates.
It’s been interesting to see how fast people have dropped wearing masks, but if you feel at all concerned, keep wearing yours. Get your booster if you are eligible and stay safe.
See you next Sunday from New Orleans — I hope!