Entries associated with the tag "Baccala":

More sad news from a great chef who cares about his community and pays a hell of a lot more than lip service to the principles of slow and sustainable food. After ten years John Bubala has announced that he's closing Timo (formerly Thyme), citing rising food costs and a desire to spend more time with his family. But he'll be going out in style with a New Year's Eve bash.

There will be two seatings: the first, at 5:30 PM, is three courses for $50; the second, at 9:30 PM, is four courses for $80. Guests choose from a list of 20 delicious-sounding items, among them risotto with sausage, smoked Gouda, and asparagus; “chef’s whim” house-made ravioli; pork shank with gnocchi, bacon, and roasted onions; steak in red wine sauce; and six desserts including a creme brulee trio and a chocolate gateau. Both packages come with a complimentary glass of bubbly, and the Dan Cray Trio plays jazz at the second seating--“like Miles Davis's Bitches Brew,” says Bubala. “No Sinatra.”

Reports of the closing of John Bubala's excellent Baccala were premature, but the chef confirms that the restaurant will in fact shut its doors this Saturday, September 1. "It seemed like the majority of the customers were really looking for meatballs and red sauce, eggplant parmesan, and fried calamari," he writes.

Wicker Park, what's wrong with you?!?

On the brighter side, Bubala says Timo is doing swell and he's currently serving a tasting of four prosciuttos: Parma, Serrano, La Quercia, and Ossabaw.

Ossabaw! 

In Restaurants this week I reviewed Baccala and Boka--two fine restaurants, though I can't see myself returning to the latter very often. Baccala, on the other hand, I'll go back to again and again. One clarification though: John Bubala uses olive oil at Baccala, but butter by far predominates. Classically, olive oil wasn't used much in Northern Italy, simply because there weren't any olive trees. Plenty of cows though, and plenty of butter. What we call localism these days. 

Also, an observation about the decor at Boka that didn't make it into the paper: There's a dark, malevolent painting recessed between the restroom doors in the back of Boka's dining room that looks like a creepy old man masturbating on a toilet seat. Objectively, it's kind of cool in an H.R. Giger / Ivan Albright sort of way, but it's not a comforting thing to have lurking over your shoulder when you're eating stuffed squid with black tapioca. But hey, I'm no art critic.