Baccaro is a relatively new (maybe 3 years old?) wine bar and restaurant in the heart of downtown Champaign. It's located on Walnut, between Cafe Kopi and Radio Maria. The decor is pretty modern, but relatively understated. Which is nice when compared to some attempts at being hip. It's usually dark inside, a little too much for my tastes, but I'm not as much into the romantic settings as the rest of the clientele may be. And I hear that it's a great place to take a date, though I'm not so sure that I want my dates to be into wine and fine dining. I think that I prefer my dates to be into fake ID's, cheap beer, and grinding to hip-hop music. But that's just me, and I'm a scumbag.
The wine list is largely from Italy (if not entirely - wasn't positive), and broken down by region. If you're not a wine connoisseur, your best bet is to ask the very helpful servers or bartenders. They'll point you in a good direction, and you'll get to try some good wines. But, really, I'm not a big wine guy. So, while the wines are a fun way to spend a few hours, I'll talk more about the food.
The food is solid. The portions are a little small, but the quality is high. Many local and/or organic ingredients. The menu changes probably every 2 months or so, as different items come into season. Overall, the food is lighter. You won't find many thick, heavy dishes, even as the seasons change from summer to winter.
There will always be a handful of appetizers, or small plates that run between $6 and $10. These are often small salads that would be great to split at the start of a meal. One of the highlights (which I believe is now off the menu ) is cured salmon, served with some potato crackers and poached quail eggs. The cured salmon was a little salty and a little smoky, but not overpowering. The potato crackers were really more like really thick cut chips, dried out, and then fried to a real crunch. The whole dish was a fun mix of flavors and textures, as the egg yolks ran over the salmon and potato. Another highlight was a duck confit salad, served with some fresh sweetcorn and tossed greens. Nothing transcendent, but just a mix of some nice ingredients, and a nice vinagrette.
There are also a few different soups that are served. You get a small bowl that runs about $5 or so. Last time around was an almond soup that was a bit of a miss. They just ground up almonds, rather than use almond flour to thicken the soup. The texture just didn't do it for me, nor did the flavor, which ran just a little plain. I was expecting aromatic, a little thick and smooth, and slightly sweet. Instead, I got something of a broth that had bits of almond, and was pretty plain in taste. Now, the previous time, I got a great green apple soup, so maybe it's hit and miss with the soups. Another regular item is the risotto of the day, which costs around $12. The last time I was there it was a great sausage and artichoke risotto. From my times there, the dish is always creamy, the rice cooked just right, and the seasonings are spot on.
The entrees also change quite a bit, but generally focus on fresh, in-season ingredients. They'll run somewhere between $17 and $25. The portions are small, but the food is generally of high quality. Last time, there was a wonderful pork shank dish served over smashed potatoes and some veggies. Incredibly tender meat, seasoned appropriately, was the highlight of the dish. I think that too many people focus on the "easy" cuts of meat - the loin and tenderloin. Large, lean, boneless cuts are easy to cook, but really lack the flavor of the fatter, more sinewy cuts that have those wonderful bones still in there.
Dessert also change frequently. Generally, you'll find a few relatively simple, light desserts like fruit tarts or a mascarpone cream with fresh fruit. The last time we went with a nice creme caramel as well as a pot de creme. Both were nicely done, though could have stood to be a bit richer, in contrast to the rest of the meal.
All in all, expect to spend in the area of $85 for a dinner for 2, which includes an appetizer, 2 entrees, a dessert, and 2 glasses of wine. I think that Baccaro is a place that would be nice to take a date who may know the difference. From what I've seen, the food is meant to be subtle. It would be sad to waste the experience on someone who may not catch the innuendo. A lot of the experience depends on the ambience. The place can become a little too noisy when the tables are filled up. I'd suggest that you go during the week, when it isn't as busy, and you're more likely to get some advice/conversation about the food and wine from the servers.
1.5 stars
-foodgeek.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Friday, November 25, 2005
Site Update: New Location...
...same great service. Or least, the same service.
We're moving foodgeek to blogspot.
Updates soon.
-foodgeek
We're moving foodgeek to blogspot.
Updates soon.
-foodgeek
Friday, September 30, 2005
Kitchen Happenings: Changing Speeds
Wow, it's been a while. I promise that we'll get a few updates in. We've had some reviews sitting on the back burner: Baccaro, Jim Gould's, The Jolly Roger, The Great Impasta, Hickory River, and some others. We've had some nice food experiences over the last few months. We've just been way to busy with this whole PhD thing to get it down in print!
One thing of interest that's been happening in my kitchen is the back and forth between fast and slow cooking. I love the grill. There's nice smoky flavor and tenderness that comes from that whole quick cook, high temperature thing over charcoal. But there's also a place in my heart that yearns for slow cooked, braised, and stewed dishes.
So today, I want to talk about pork loin. Done two styles. One, this southwest, more Tex-Mex, spicy grill. The other, more of a Mexican style braised dish with a pseudo-mole type cooking liquid. The first comes from a little bruschetta party that I had. One of the three types that I made was this awesome Southwestern Pork Bruschetta, which had thinly sliced pork loin, topped with this spicy/sweet white bean, corn, and jalapeno salad. Just FYI, the other two types of bruschetta were the Mediterranean chicken bruschetta that I talked about in a July posting, as well as a fancy Salisbury Steak bruschetta.
THE HARE
For the Southwestern pork, start off with nice, thick pork chops. Maybe 3/4" or so. It's just easier to keep it juicy, and to get it to a nice medium on the grill if it's thicker. Too thin, and you're automatically looking at medium well or better. But, go with a dry rub of onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, Cayenne pepper, cumin, and salt. I didn't really measure, but just seasoned pretty aggressively on both sides of the meat after I had cut my pork chops. I have a garlic and chili infused olive oil that I make, so I used that to dress the pork chops before grilling, as well. The whole idea with oil is that it gets hotter than water, so that you can get the surface hotter when you apply that nice, direct heat. Grill until the chops are medium, and then let them rest for at least 5 minutes (which is probably the hardest part for me... I just want to eat!).
The salad topping for the pork is ultra simple. A large can of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of white beans, a bag of frozen corn (I'm sure that canned corn would be fine, too), a chopped onion, some chopped bell pepper, some cilantro, some green onion (which is very underrated, I believe), some jalapenos. Add a similar spice blend that you used for the pork, and some fresh squeezed lemon and lime, and you're in business. Just let everything sit for a couple of hours.
To serve, just have the grilled bread ready, slice the pork chops really thin, on the bias, and top with a little bit of the corn and bean salad. Instant hit. Nice, warm, tender pork, a nice cold salad with some of that contrasting texture that you get from the beans and corn and the crunchy veggies. Some sweet, some heat, and a lot of good times, really fast. I think that pork loin is a perfect cut for this dish. Tenderloin would make for too small of a slice. The other cuts that come to mind wouldn't be quite as good for this fast grill that I want.
THE TORTOISE
The other route is the slow route. Slow cooking. I was flipping through my cabinets and found some dried poblanos and other chilies sitting around. It was sauce time. So, into the pot goes some of that infused olive oil, and these dried peppers. As things were heating up, I got to thinking. And I ended up thinking mole. Obviously, not real mole, but my take on it. I've discovered that a little knowledge can be dangerous, but in some cases, it can also loosen up boundaries. I think that cooking is one of those places where you can loosen up boundaries, and bring in your own flair to some traditional methods and ingredients.
So after the peppers started to smoke up, in went some water and vinegar. Then ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, black pepper, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, a bunch of garlic cloves, and a lemon, cut in half. I didn't have any stock laying around, otherwise that would've been better for the sauce - stock is always more flavorful than water. So, I just went with some beef bullion. At this point, I let everything simmer, and when I tasted, it was this awesome, smoky, tangy hot sauce. I almost just wanted to bottle it then and there. But the image eating a slow, braised dish later on changed my mind. And hot sauce is it's own column, as well.
I didn't have much in the way of dried fruits and nuts, but I did have some canned fruit laying around. So in went some canned peaches and canned pineapple. I dug around, and found some fresh tomatoes. A large onion, cut into eighths helped out the cause, too. So, all of this just starts to cook down into that nice liquid. As things begin to soften up, I decided to just be lazy. Immersion blender. I did let it cook to the point where everything was fork tender. And then, in went the immersion blender. Strain with a not-too-fine mesh strainer, and you're in business. Let things keep simmering. I added some chocolate (dark, if you have it), as well as some vanilla extract. A little sweet, a little smoky, a little tangy, a little spicy, a little creamy. All sots of tasty.
Now, with the pork loin, I think that you want to leave it relatively whole, but a couple of cuts will help the cooking process move along. Brown off the fatty parts, and then just pour enough of the mole sauce to cover. Cook it down on low heat for a few hours, and then try to break apart the meat with tongs. After it's broken up, let it cook in the sauce for a little longer so that the inner parts of the pork loin get some more flavor. You can just serve it with tortillas, or what we did was on a plate with steamed rice, topped with a warm black bean and corn salad. Again, just really good eats.
In retrospect, I regretted using the pork loin in the braised dish, though it was good. I think that it would've been better with a pork shoulder, or another more fatty, less "premium" cut. The meat would've been a little richer in flavor and a little juicier, I believe. And was it a real, traditional mole? No. But it was pretty good. Especially for a college apartment of two dudes in grad school. And with all of the extra sauce left over, there will be more braised dishes (chicken comes to mind... Coq au Mole?) as well as some enchiladas in the works.
Oh well. Hopefully this will make you guys experiment a little in the kitchen.
Some restaurant reviews will be up soon!
-foodgeek
One thing of interest that's been happening in my kitchen is the back and forth between fast and slow cooking. I love the grill. There's nice smoky flavor and tenderness that comes from that whole quick cook, high temperature thing over charcoal. But there's also a place in my heart that yearns for slow cooked, braised, and stewed dishes.
So today, I want to talk about pork loin. Done two styles. One, this southwest, more Tex-Mex, spicy grill. The other, more of a Mexican style braised dish with a pseudo-mole type cooking liquid. The first comes from a little bruschetta party that I had. One of the three types that I made was this awesome Southwestern Pork Bruschetta, which had thinly sliced pork loin, topped with this spicy/sweet white bean, corn, and jalapeno salad. Just FYI, the other two types of bruschetta were the Mediterranean chicken bruschetta that I talked about in a July posting, as well as a fancy Salisbury Steak bruschetta.
THE HARE
For the Southwestern pork, start off with nice, thick pork chops. Maybe 3/4" or so. It's just easier to keep it juicy, and to get it to a nice medium on the grill if it's thicker. Too thin, and you're automatically looking at medium well or better. But, go with a dry rub of onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, Cayenne pepper, cumin, and salt. I didn't really measure, but just seasoned pretty aggressively on both sides of the meat after I had cut my pork chops. I have a garlic and chili infused olive oil that I make, so I used that to dress the pork chops before grilling, as well. The whole idea with oil is that it gets hotter than water, so that you can get the surface hotter when you apply that nice, direct heat. Grill until the chops are medium, and then let them rest for at least 5 minutes (which is probably the hardest part for me... I just want to eat!).
The salad topping for the pork is ultra simple. A large can of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of white beans, a bag of frozen corn (I'm sure that canned corn would be fine, too), a chopped onion, some chopped bell pepper, some cilantro, some green onion (which is very underrated, I believe), some jalapenos. Add a similar spice blend that you used for the pork, and some fresh squeezed lemon and lime, and you're in business. Just let everything sit for a couple of hours.
To serve, just have the grilled bread ready, slice the pork chops really thin, on the bias, and top with a little bit of the corn and bean salad. Instant hit. Nice, warm, tender pork, a nice cold salad with some of that contrasting texture that you get from the beans and corn and the crunchy veggies. Some sweet, some heat, and a lot of good times, really fast. I think that pork loin is a perfect cut for this dish. Tenderloin would make for too small of a slice. The other cuts that come to mind wouldn't be quite as good for this fast grill that I want.
THE TORTOISE
The other route is the slow route. Slow cooking. I was flipping through my cabinets and found some dried poblanos and other chilies sitting around. It was sauce time. So, into the pot goes some of that infused olive oil, and these dried peppers. As things were heating up, I got to thinking. And I ended up thinking mole. Obviously, not real mole, but my take on it. I've discovered that a little knowledge can be dangerous, but in some cases, it can also loosen up boundaries. I think that cooking is one of those places where you can loosen up boundaries, and bring in your own flair to some traditional methods and ingredients.
So after the peppers started to smoke up, in went some water and vinegar. Then ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, black pepper, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, a bunch of garlic cloves, and a lemon, cut in half. I didn't have any stock laying around, otherwise that would've been better for the sauce - stock is always more flavorful than water. So, I just went with some beef bullion. At this point, I let everything simmer, and when I tasted, it was this awesome, smoky, tangy hot sauce. I almost just wanted to bottle it then and there. But the image eating a slow, braised dish later on changed my mind. And hot sauce is it's own column, as well.
I didn't have much in the way of dried fruits and nuts, but I did have some canned fruit laying around. So in went some canned peaches and canned pineapple. I dug around, and found some fresh tomatoes. A large onion, cut into eighths helped out the cause, too. So, all of this just starts to cook down into that nice liquid. As things begin to soften up, I decided to just be lazy. Immersion blender. I did let it cook to the point where everything was fork tender. And then, in went the immersion blender. Strain with a not-too-fine mesh strainer, and you're in business. Let things keep simmering. I added some chocolate (dark, if you have it), as well as some vanilla extract. A little sweet, a little smoky, a little tangy, a little spicy, a little creamy. All sots of tasty.
Now, with the pork loin, I think that you want to leave it relatively whole, but a couple of cuts will help the cooking process move along. Brown off the fatty parts, and then just pour enough of the mole sauce to cover. Cook it down on low heat for a few hours, and then try to break apart the meat with tongs. After it's broken up, let it cook in the sauce for a little longer so that the inner parts of the pork loin get some more flavor. You can just serve it with tortillas, or what we did was on a plate with steamed rice, topped with a warm black bean and corn salad. Again, just really good eats.
In retrospect, I regretted using the pork loin in the braised dish, though it was good. I think that it would've been better with a pork shoulder, or another more fatty, less "premium" cut. The meat would've been a little richer in flavor and a little juicier, I believe. And was it a real, traditional mole? No. But it was pretty good. Especially for a college apartment of two dudes in grad school. And with all of the extra sauce left over, there will be more braised dishes (chicken comes to mind... Coq au Mole?) as well as some enchiladas in the works.
Oh well. Hopefully this will make you guys experiment a little in the kitchen.
Some restaurant reviews will be up soon!
-foodgeek
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