Chicago

Decorated chef Shawn McClain now is more dominant in Chicago than ever with a trio of restaurants. The latest, Custom House, was our dinner destination this week when author and journalist Bruce Schoenfeld arrived in town from his bunker in Boulder, Colo. I was in some knowledgable company, so I listened, savored and sipped for the most part as an evening of conversation — mostly about Spanish wine — unfolded amid the buzz of Custom House, a comfortable, contemporary room adjoining the city’s financial district.

Also at the table was Brian Duncan, wine director at another superb Chicago eatery, Bin 36, and Denver-based Spanish importer Steve Miles. Steve is an independent operator now but was a key player with Eric Solomon’s European Cellars import operations for more than a decade.

I always look forward to dining with Bruce, a former newspaper journalism colleague who contributed extensively to Vintelligence during Hinsdale Cellars’ infancy. No sub-set of wine or food is too insignificant to merit dissection by Mr. Schoenfeld over a meal. He traveled to Chicago to conduct a seminar for a promotional organization called Wines of Spain, a topic on which he is an expert. That event and a tasting featuring 44 distributors the next day also accounted for Steve’s presence. Naturally, both gents arrived at Custom House with Spanish wines ready for decanting.

Beforehand I was treated in the lounge to a light, flavorful dish showcasing various tomatoes — Cherokee purple, yellow cherrys and sliced heirlooms — adorned with an olive oil-based drizzling. Then, we headed into the main dining room which is intimate enough to lend a sense that it’s a happening place, but certainly not cramped.

Someone at the table, probably Bruce, said the Custom House menu and food presentation has a distinct “American” leaning, and that is indeed accurate. Which is not to suggest you are in for jumbo-portioned, meatloaf-and-mashed potatoes options. Everything about Custom House feels contemporary, bold and cutting edge. The dinner menu, nonetheless, is dominated by two main course categories, Meats Braised and Meats Roasted. Fortunately, we had Spanish red wine at the ready.

Two winning choices from the Roasted category were the Prime Flat Iron steak (an increasing popular shoulder cut) I ordered and a Berkshire pork chop with grilled fennel ordered by Brian. The latter was extremely flavorful and delicate. The former was immensely satisfying (served medium rare, sliced), quite similar in taste and texture to a tenderloin. I paired the Flat Iron with a somewhat sinful cauliflower gratin, but there was consensus that a side of roasted baby Brussels sprouts was the best of the night.

Our waiter was friendly and knowledgable, happy to keep the decanted Spanish reds coming. He navigated quite impressively around what had become a sea of stemware. Bruce and Steve contributed four excellent reds, two from Rioja, one of Priorat origin and another from emerging Valencia.

The latter was a 95% bobal (a red grape native to Valencia), the 2004 Bodegas Mustiguillo Quincha Corral, a VdT (or “country wine”) produced in the town of Terrerazo. From Priorat we sampled a Clos Galena 2004 from Steve’s roster, a proprietary red blend of Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignane and Syrah. The Riojas were a Marques de Vargas Reserva Privada, a 75% Tempranillo notable for having been aged in 100% Russian oak (which is gaining popularity in various winemaking regions), and a Finca Allende Calvario, a single-vineyard (c. 1945) Tempranillo. It is forecast to age brilliantly but was very approachable during our evening out. (Wine Advocate’s Jay Miller recently rewarded the ‘04 with a 95-point crown).

To close the circle, I referenced three Shawn McClain locations in Chicago. The other two are Green Zebra (vegetable-focused fare) and Spring (seafood).

– Steve Woodward

This entry was posted on Friday, September 28th, 2007 at 2:45 pm and is filed under Destinations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.