Losing a talented chef is cause for concern, but Sepia couldn’t have found a better replacement for Kendal Duque than Andrew Zimmerman (Mod, Del Toro, NoMi). On my recent visit his subtly playful seasonal menu brought the familiar litany of “natural, organic, sustainable, local” to life in an appetizer of a gently poached and crisply fried duck egg, the essence of spring on a bed of sauteed asparagus, ramps, and morels. The charcuterie combo, perfect for sharing, featured a rich country-style duck paté, fine-textured rabbit rillettes, and a house-made pistachio-studded mortadella that put store-bought to shame. And it was hard to pass up the English-pea-and-mascarpone agnolotti or the sea scallops with sunchoke so highly touted by our proficient waitress.
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She also raved about the Gunthorp Farms pork porterhouse, which almost everyone in her station obligingly ordered—and she was right. Given a southern slant with bourbon, a salad of greens and cherries on top, and smooth cheese grits underneath, the thick “steak” was perfectly grilled, moist and delicious. Panfried rainbow trout strewn with black-eyed peas, candied bacon, pecan bits, red onions, and skinny green beans also sang “Dixie,” as did a takeoff on chicken and buttermilk biscuits that subbed in rabbit. Warm flatbreads still head the lineup, but though the one with merguez sausage, eggplant puree, and fresh mint was fine, it paled in comparison to the rest of the meal.
In January, just after squeaking out a new lease on its space, the flagship Goose Island Brewpub got another much-needed shot in the arm with the installation of former Mas chef John Manion, who quickly signaled—if not immediately executed—a new approach, emphasizing the pairing of locally sourced foods with brewmaster Greg Hall’s prolific rotation of beers. The kitchen fell in line with current snout-to-tail doctrine, receiving and butchering whole animals, and the brewery even began sending its spent grain back to farmers to use as animal feed.
The restaurant space itself is pleasant enough, with natural-wood walls and a glassed-in room for private dining, but once the food starts coming it can feel downright festive. Balodimas, a graduate of Kendall College and former Spiaggia sous chef who opened the critically acclaimed but shortlived Fahrenheit in Saint Charles a few years back, seems to delight in unexpected juxtapositions. Nancy’s Camembert, a starter, was a generous rectangle of cheese with a little pile of candied pistachios, a few spears of pickled white asparagus, sprigs of mache, and crispy morels. Smeared and arranged on a baguette slice, the combo took off, all the more so when matched with a just-right white. Fried soft-shell crab came with red and yellow baby beets and horseradish foam, and while my companion deemed it less successful than the cheese dish, well, he once lived in Maryland. Other appetizers—several of which are available on the “Q2” menu at the new bar—included rabbit rillettes and salmon tartare.
