Cary Taylor

One week in and the new concept has really taken off!

It is great to finally meet a lot of the neighborhood folks.  We now have an establishment that they seem to really enjoy and feel free to stop by on any given night.  This is exactly the atmosphere that Jimmy and I hoped to create when we decided to redo Chaise Lounge in to a more bar-centric concept.

So stop by and check out our incredible selection of southern beers, including our favorites from the Atlanta Brewing Company and Southern Star.  Dan has assembled a great selection of Bourbons and Tennessee whiskeys that really complement the style of our venue.

If you are looking for a time for a great first visit, we are giving away free gumbo for our Mardi Gras Celebration and slinging plenty of Abita Beer for three bucks each.  Tuesday is the new Saturday – at least this week.

New Orleans Saints gear is optional.  Just don’t taunt Dan with it too much.

Dan Forks the Cash Over

This is a picture of him forking over 100 bones to Ulyses as a result of his beloved Colts dissolving in the second half of last Sunday’s Super Bowl.  Hey, at least Indy’s already got one ring.

Cary Taylor

About three months ago, I sat down with James Lasky to discuss business at Chaise Lounge.  We were doing everything to get customers in the door – free drinks, cheap (delicious) dinners, inexpensive parties – you name it and we had done just about all we could think of.  Not even the three-star reviews, great spots on T.V. shows, Green City Market appearances or high priced consulting could get us out of a rut that we desperately needed to dig ourselves out of.

So we thought about what we could really succeed at.  Jimmy knows bars and I know food, so it shook down to a simple combination of our strengths.  With the conception of The Southern, a more approachable bar project that allows us to serve great drinks and tasty, affordable food, we’ll see just how strong we really are.

The biggest problems that encountered Chaise Lounge ironically were monsters created by the best attributes of the space Jimmy inherited.  The outside patio and the roof top deck were the real showstoppers at Chaise when it opened.

But, per Chicago city noise ordinance, we have to close those spaces by midnight.  Not a good thing when you are banking on drinkers to hang out at your establishment well into the night.   Plenty of people would show at 10 p.m. and then be forced to close their tabs at 11:30.  That’s a recipe for disaster and we felt it every night.

Aside from the ordinances, we still had to work around a dining room that was also not conducive to comfortable cocktailing and a bar that was too small and congested to accommodate people even if they did want to drink in an elegant dining room until 3 a.m.

The room just didn’t fit.

So we went out and found the best designer in town and the best architect and let them feel the place out.

We wanted a relaxed bar that served great food.  I think it’s what Jimmy wanted the whole time.  It just turned out to be a restaurant that served great food.  Just not enough to pay the bills.

We are currently on the third day of construction at The Southern, our laid back revamp of Chaise Lounge.  It is everything that Chaise never was but deep down inside always wanted to be.

We will feature food from the deep South, but with a more metropolitan edge that still makes the most of the classical skills I’ve picked up from culinary schools to James Beard award-winning restaurants.   The Southern will also feature a short list of Southern beers, including Atlanta Brewing Company’s highly-rated Blonde Ale and Abita’s Turbo Dog.  But I’m really looking forward to new takes on old standby’s like the Whisky Sour at the bar.

We are shooting to open this place in one week, and the pressure keeps me up at night, but I think it is going to be the best move we ever made.

In the meantime here are some fast food shots:

Johnny Cakes

Southern Poutine

Cary

Yes, it soothes the savage beast.  That’s at least what my 7^th grade math teacher and J.V. basketball coach Steve Dashiell told me when he allowed me to listen to my Walkman (remember those?!) in class.  I was what therapists call “loquacious” in my early teen years, and I certainly had a problem sitting still though pre-algebra and whatever the hell else you learn in junior high school.  Thus, Mr. Dashiell let me listen to music while we did our assignments so that I wouldn’t chat with friends and hopefully learn how to add correctly in perfect silence.

Remember these?

It would be kind of lame to wax poetic here about what bands influence me, or what kind of music I like to listen to at home or in the car.  My iPod playlist is irrelevant, nor even that unique or cool.

But one thing I dig about Chaise Lounge is the music we listen to in the kitchen.  The stereo is open game, and you can get a good feel for your squad when you see what kind of tunes they crank during prep.

Ulyses likes pop music.  He is a 30-something year old, hard-working, veteran line cook who is the only holdover from the previous administration.  And man does he like Lady Gaga.  Black Eyed Peas the same.  But he really gets the place rocking when he dials up the hybrid American pop/Latin rap station.  I don’t know what it is off the top of my head, but cruise into Chaise Lounge between Thursday and Sunday and there’s a good chance you’ll get to experience this phenomenon.

Kristin and I are pretty much on the same page.  Classic rock reigns supreme on her iPod Touch, and AC/DC flows right into Sabbath with a heavy dose of Led Zeppelin.  But I really dig her entire Beatles collection, and it makes for a great wake-up call on Sunday mornings while assembling the Bloody Mary cart or dusting portions of buttermilk brined chicken in flour before the brunch rush.

David and Steven are kindred spirits, musically at least.  They have both spent time as deejays and have a deep repertoire of collecting tunes from some relatively unknown gems like The Pimps of Joytime (the chef’s favorite new soundtrack to life) to classic Mos Def/Common type tracks.  They are all about the beat – the rhythm and flow – and it is pretty refreshing to get outside my daily classic rock routine.

Jorge, who we miss greatly as he is out with a back injury sustained in a car accident, is the king of frat rock.  He cherishes the entire O.A.R. catalog as well as Dave Matthews Band.  We aren’t afraid to tell people that we like Jason Mraz’s music, even though that’s a secret best kept for Tuesday’s when it is just Steven and the two of us on the line on a slow Tuesday night!  His playlist takes me back to a simpler time, when the hardest part of the day was making it to class. I appreciate that.

Even my former cooks brought so much to the table.  Two were punk-o-philes, if that’s even a word.  I must thank them for enlightening me on the subtleties of Glen Danzig’s career.  I had a raging metal head, who couldn’t channel his anger through the music.  That got weird.  But he introduced me to “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath, and I can’t figure out how that album escaped me for the first 28 years of life.  And our former salad spinner was quite the Young Jeezy and Mary J. Blige aficionado.

You can tell a lot about people by what they listen to.  That’s kind of stating the obvious, I know.

But regardless of who owns the airwaves at 1840 W. North Avenue, the fact that we have music playing at all times provides a more relaxed atmosphere and quite the conversation piece.

We would listen to music at Blackbird during prep time downstairs and I learned a lot about music there too.  From Bowie to bluegrass, we covered a lot of ground of there.  But baseball season took precedence in chef Kahan’s abode, and nothing says summer at Blackbird like the sound of Ron Santo over the airwaves while cleaning a case of rainbow chard.

It’s just another reason I think I was sucked in to this business.  No ties, no fighting with the crowds on public transportation (the bus is all yours at 11 a.m.), no cubicles.  Just good food and loud music.  And the occasional Santo rant.

Probably the biggest thing that freaks me out on a daily basis revolves around happiness.  As a chef, we have a duty of making sure the guest is fulfilled on several different levels, whether it is satiated palates or comfort sitting in off white lighting.

Regardless, a chef has several other responsibilities and one of the most challenging for a young toque like myself is keeping a good team together.  You must be an artist, craftsmen, savvy business person and psychologist/psychiatrist at once, which makes recognizing the hard work logged on by cooks occasionally lost on the shuffle.

But luckily, I’ve assembled a great squad this fall/winter season, and they all bring something special to the table.  That makes me happy everyday when I get to work.

One of the best things I ever learned as a cook was under the tutelage of Graham Elliot Bowles while he was the Chef de Cuisine at Avenues in the Peninsula Hotel Chicago.  Elliot pushed us to be creative.  He didn’t want us to plate the same dish twice.  He gave us a sheet with seasonal ingredients a few weeks before each major menu change and wanted us to come back with ideas to contribute to the 4-star restaurant he had built the foundation for.

I always appreciated this about Elliot and I don’t think I truly comprehended the value of these exercises until I took over an upstart place for myself.

It falls in line with something that I learned while toiling away in journalism school some 10 years ago:  Everyone needs a good editor.  And that’s precisely what Elliot was for us at Avenues.  It was his food, his words so to speak, but he allowed us the privilege of figuring out the framework for successful cuisine (on any level I might add) and chefdom in general.  We’d shoot a story idea to him and he would refine it, expand on it, or go on his own brilliant tangent to bring the idea to the level that makes it something special.

We don’t have a pastry chef at Chaise Lounge, so I really like to have fun with the desserts.  This is where I also like to get the crew involved.

Here is a case in point.  This is a picture of Kristin Miller, one of the newer additions to the back of the house team, showing an Almond Cake that she worked on for a few days before finalizing the right recipe and total dish.  It’s a great feeling to know that the team is interested in creating and learning and not just pulling a shift at a restaurant.

Most importantly, I think that this makes them happy, knowing that they are getting something more out of their experience at Chaise Lounge.

Kristin with Almond Cak

Cookbooks that is.  I learned the value of reading great cookbooks from just about every chef I worked for.  Trotter wanted to know what his cooks were reading.  Kahan had a great library.  Bowles had read everything and had tossed them away to take what he had learned and make it his own.  Christian Eckmann had a great collection of books by European chefs.

But Jared Van Camp, my line mate at Blackbird and now chef at Old Town Social had an affinity for books that surpassed all others.  He gave me a copy of Culinary Artistry by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg that really helped me get a grasp on what worked together.  It is a rudimentary book that has only been trumped by the same author’s newest tome, The Flavor Bible.  I bought it when it debuted and have cooks and servers alike grabbing it from the bookshelf in the kitchen every day.

So here at the end of the year, when the “best of” lists saturate daily candy and front pages, I decided to come up with the books that I come back to regardless of the season or situation.

In no particular order:

The Flavor Bible, by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg:  Everything you need to know about traditional flavors, seasonality and great insight on ingredients from some wonderful chefs.

On Food And Cooking, by Harold McGee:  Over-the-top culinary reference book by a true scientist.  If you want to know its origin, why it happens or the emulsion power of an egg yolk, this is your bible.

Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing, by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn:  Great beginners guide to all things listed in the title.  Some nice sketches help the novice see how to do it, bu the explanations of a great writer and master chef hold the torch here.

Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind The Craft of Everyday Cooking, by Michael Ruhlman:  This changed how I look at recipes.  While not the say all, end all, this book simplifies some things – especially pastry – that unfortunately aren’t always absorbed by young chefs.

The Thomas Keller Collection:  He’s got a book for home cooks, professional cooks and ones just to show what badasses he and his crew are.  Follow the leader.  If you don’t believe me ask anyone else who cooks for a living.

Cookwise: The Secrets of Cooking Revealed, by Shirley O. Corriher:  A southern belle meets Harold McGee.  Her “Touch of Grace” Biscuits rival any flaky ones I’ve ever had, but it’s her description of the science behind how we cook that makes this invaluable.  This works for pros and novices alike because it’s easy to read, and more importantly understand.

Bras, by Michel Bras:  Picked this one up in Paris about 8 years ago and I’ve never been so humbled by one persons skill and vision through pictures.  I can’t read much of it, but words can’t describe this guy or his food.

Cooking By Hand, by Paul Bertolli:  Amazing collection of personal experiences and essays that illustrate the essence of one of America’s finest culinary craftsmen.  His recipes are not for the weak, but what master’s work is?

The Gift of Southern Cooking, by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock:  An assortment of traditional southern recipes, many extracted from over a hundred years of colonial era cookbooks.  Lewis was the matriarch of Southern cuisine and Peacock brings it to the modern table.  The desserts are terrific.

A Day At elBulli: An Insight Into The Ideas, Methods and Creativity of Ferran Adria, Ferran Adria, Albert Adria and Juli Soler:  While the recipes are incredible and show just how genius these guys are, the real standout points in this book are the illustrations of just how much goes into the daily routine of the greatest restaurant.  I’ve never been to elBulli, but I feel like I have now after reading this book.  Stellar photos, brilliant insight and one of the most captivating single quotes I’ve ever heard:

“Creativity means not copying” – Jacques Maximin, 1987

One of the best things in life is Fried Chicken.  Thomas Keller believes that you can judge a chef by how well he or she ROASTS a chicken, and I totally agree.  But fried chicken means a lot more to me because of its relevance in southern culture and for the simple fact that it’s just so damn good.

If I ever wind up on Death Row, this is my final meal.  Hopefully I never find myself in that predicament, but IF SO – I hope the warden will let me cook it myself.

I wanted to have fried chicken on the menu, but knew that a kid telling everyone that he was from the deep south better not have anything but the best in town.  So here’s my attempt at deep fried fame.

We feature fried chicken on our Sunday brunch menu and it seems to be a popular choice.  We like to marinate the breasts and thighs in buttermilk, hot sauce, dried oregano, and Old Bay Seasoning for 2 to 3 days before giving it a simple coating in seasoned all-purpose flour before frying up.  The buttermilk contains a little lactic acid, which acts as a natural tenderizer for the meat.  The spices season and penetrate the meat with the help of the aforementioned buttermilk.  The hot sauce gives it that KFC heat that we all want though we can’t muster the shame of actually eating at KFC.

The best fried chicken is cooked in peanut oil, as that was a prevalent farm byproduct in the early south.  We stay away from nut oils at Chaise Lounge due to allergy restrictions, and our canola oil makes for a good substitute.

At brunch, we team the bone-in chicken (necessary to keep more moisture locked in) with house made waffles, maple syrup and butter infused with cinnamon and honey.  A good alternative would be to douse the bird in our house made tasso ham and rosemary gravy.

This is the chicken brining in our buttermilk mix

Here is the finished product.

Cary Taylor and Paul Kahan

Several years ago, I had the honor of working for Paul Kahan at Blackbird.  Paul is the master of many things in the kitchen, but I think he is a true artisan when he has a whole pig on his butchers table.  I remember walking down the stairs of Blackbird in to the prep area and seeing Chef Kahan carefully breaking down pigs that we had received from local farmers and being amazed at what was happening.  Maybe it was the first time that I realized as a cook where our food comes from and how it goes from pasture to plate.  There was a certain respect that Paul and his sous chefs and long time line cooks instilled in me, and one of the facets of that trait is utilization of the whole animal.  Hell, it died for us to eat, so why waste anything, right?

It is a great day for pork lovers, especially in the Chicago area.  There has been something of a bacon renaissance and I’m all about it.  We make our own pancetta at Chaise Lounge, and braise pork belly with stock and spices to add to our popular Lobster Pot Pie.  But there is something special about the other parts, in particular the feet and the head that I have gleaned an affinity for recently.

Maybe it was the ethereal ‘Pied du Cochon’ I had on the patio of Le Comptoir du Relais, Yves Cambordes bistro in Paris that solidified it.  Perhaps Thomas Keller’s ‘Fromage de Tete’ in the French Laundry cookbook made it all ring clear.

But I really think it was that sight of Paul making the most of a beautiful pig at Blackbird that had me interested in doing more than just roasting pre-packaged boneless pork loins from some mass pork producer in the middle of nowhere.

Go to www.lthforum.com and find the Mangalista thread featuring Paul Virant from Vie, as well as the Boka Restaurant Group Chefs.  Find Giuseppe Tentori from Boka’s shot of his pigs head terrine and you’ll see what gets chefs and food people alike so psyched about this part of the animal.

This is a pig’s head that we bought separately from Gunthorp Farms in Indiana.  We brined it in a 5% salt solution, meaning we dissolved 50 grams of kosher salt per liter of water.  We added some pink salt, which contains nitrites, to help preserve some of the natural color and some peppercorns, allspice, clove and coriander to spice the headcheese.

Today we’ll braise the pig’s head in a stock that we made from Gunthorp pig bones.  Then we’ll pull the meat, clean the delicate and edible cartilage from the ear, chop up some of the skin, the tongue, and all of the snout, and set them all in a terrine mold with reduced braising jus.  The end result will be a mosaic of delicious pigs head bound together by the tasty, gelatinous broth.