with all the formalities now out of the way, i’d like to kick off grain of salt’s greatest hits (us edition) with a look back at a brilliant restaurant in chicago. as it turns out, chicago is positively covered in excellent eateries, but more on that later. this one in particular is gilt bar, located in the river north neighbourhood. much like a culinary centaur, gilt bar is half bar, half restaurant, all awesome.
we kick off our evening in gilt’s trendy yet cosy dining area with some delicious warm bread. underneath lies some sweet balsamic garlic cloves and a pool of vinegar and olive oil. after completing, we promptly order more.
now this is the part where i make australians angry. no, new zealand didn’t beat us in … err… rugby? we’ve got bigger problems. take a look at the above dish (my main meal). a fresh, filling ricotta gnocchi with pancetta and (non-frozen) peas. quite possibly one of the nicest gnocchi’s i’ve experienced. now, how much would you expect to pay for this? us sydneysiders are used to seeing such a dish for anywhere between $19-$32, depending on the restaurant. i despair, therefore, in informing you that this gnocchi was $14. annoying, i know.
my lovely travel companion opted for the oven roasted pork meatballs with anson mills stone ground grits & thyme brown butter. an exceptionally tall man with a seemingly never-ending appetite, he struggled to finish this hearty meal, which again was shockingly priced at $16.
the highlight of the meal, however, had to be this humble side dish. inside were smashed red potatoes with roasted garlic & chicken jus. quite simply, this is the greatest side dish ever. i ate the entire thing to myself. oh, and what’s that? you’re wondering about the price of this sumptuous side? it was $5. ok, so i know what you’re most likely thinking next. “so what? you still have to tip, so it works out the same.” i can tell you that no, it doesn’t. it is considerably cheaper. plus, when you consider that the minimum wage is $7 and the service is impeccable, a small tip is nothing.
case in point: dessert. during the meal our lovely waitress apologised profusely for an apparent delay in our mains (which we hadn’t noticed, as it must have only been 15 minutes). to make it up to us, she offered to pay for our dessert. correct me if i’m wrong, but i don’t believe this has ever happened in sydney. seeing as we were insanely full and my body was now a mere outer casing for mashed potatoes, we gratefully accepted her offer but insisted that we share a dessert. brownies with vanilla bean ice-cream it was, and even though i struggled to get air in between each bite, it was totally worth it.
now, i realise that my criticism of sydney restaurant service/value may seem unpatriotic, but this is not the case. i am exceptionally proud of our incredible industry, and told anyone who could bear to listen throughout my entire stay in the u.s. i simply urge local restauranteurs & staff to borrow a few tips from their american counterparts. if someone asks for a salad/burger/pasta without the olives/tomato/anchovies, don’t groan and say “i’ll have to check with the chef,”* simply smile and offer to substitute it for something else. if a customer is made to wait too long for a part of their meal, offer them something to make their experience more enjoyable. don’t ignore them repeatedly and act annoyed when they do finally get your attention.* when pricing side dishes, don’t feel it reasonable to charge $10 for a “mixed leaf salad” which takes little to no time to make.* you and i both know it is unacceptable to charge more than $6.
on that note, i will say farewell to gilt bar, devastated that i cannot return soon. in the meantime, stay tuned for the next edition of my u.s food adventures!
*all of these incidences i experienced at two of sydney’s “hottest” restaurants in the weeks before my trip. true.
