Out at ENO

Forlorn Hope Flight and Cheese: 4/5

Price: $$

Address: 505 North Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60611

With modern high top wooden tables, a bar of faux marble, and floor to ceiling wine racks, ENO (pronounced EE-noh, as in oenology the art of making wine), in the ground level of the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue, attempts to give the feeling of a modern winery, but comes off more as an amusement park recreation.

Started as a refined wine bar in California, specializing in a variety wine, cheese, and chocolate pairings, this now hoity toity chain is strategically located adjacent to high end hotels, leeching off tourist’s and businessmen’s money.

With a variety of options, patrons can choose from wine flights, cheese plates, or the ENO experience, an $85 tour of wine, meat, cheese, and chocolate. Unfortunately for me, the ENO experience was unavailable due to a lack of meat. With one sommelier, one server, and one busser, the operation was run more like circus than a relaxing retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life. Expecting to be educated by the sommelier, I was instead brushed off, as she hurried to her computer to delete emails from her over-full inbox. Later, after understanding the rest of the staff was on vacation leaving these three workers to run the establishment for the entire weekend, I was able to forgive the rude behavior.

Deciding on a flight of Forlorn Hope wines paired with a cheese plate recommended by the sommelier, I watched as a slab of marble was placed on a cutting board and adorned with bread, marcona almonds, a seasonal fruit spread, and the three cheeses. Presented together, the wine and cheese were clearly marked by printed cards, including information of names, flavor profiles, and cases produced (for wines).

First was the 2008 Forlorn Hope La Gitana Torrontes from Alta Mesa, California, a light un-oaked white. With strong lychee notes, and hints of a subtle floralness, the Torrontes was light and refreshing on the palate. Paired with a Ossau-Iraty Sheep Cheese from Basque, France, the hard cheese brought out the light complexity of the wine, while adding a subtle saltiness.

Second was the 2007 Forlorn Hope Que Saudade Verdehlo from Amador County, California. This oaked white was fuller bodied and had immediate walnut notes, with a background of honey. Paired with the Gaperon Cow Cheese from Auvergne, France, this soft garlic and peppercorn cheese, was able to contrast with the nuttiness of the wine, providing a strong depth and concentration of flavors.

For the finale the 2008 Forlorn Hope Suspiro del Moro Alvarelhao from Alta Mesa, California, was truly the creme de la creme of the flight. With only 77 cases produced, the wine had rich notes of tobacco mixed with rhubarb, giving off almost an incencse like flavor. Paired with the Sottocenere cow cheese from Venice, Italy, rich in smoky truffle flavors, the combination was a melt in your heart experience.

Sparking conversation at any chance to cool the frustrated employees I was treated to a shitake truffle and another splash of the Alvarelhao. The Alvarelhao brought out the earthiness of the mushrooms, while the smooth chocolate complimented the tobacco flavors of the wine. Truly exceptional.

ENO, while providing over 200 wines, is still a tourist trap, and with places like Wine Styles located a mile south, offering a variety of great cheap wines by the bottle, it will be hard to come back again. But if you don’t mind spending $50 dollar on three 3oz pours and some cheese to impress your date, then ENO is a pretty perfect pair.

Fricassee, Friends, and Feelings of Home

Chicken Ficassee with Chive Dumplings and Pacific Rim Dry Riesling: 4/5

Fall has such flavors—cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, apple. Looking at golden leaves, falling gently to a browning green carpet calls for warmed cider, mulled wines, and food that reminds you of home.

Michael and I went to Texas a week or so back, and we returned with a cook book. Within its tattered pages, browning with age and soaked with grease stains and bits of recipes past, was a taste of history, Betty Crocker’s Cookbook from 1974. Thumbing through its pages, a picture of what looked to be chicken and dumplings caught my eye, making me feel the books past, wondering about a 1970’s household, unfamiliar with the gastronomic world.

Chicken Fricassee with Chive Dumplings. Fricassee means any meat that is stewed together with gravy and vegetables and served with noodles and dumplings. Don’t worry I didn’t know that either. I looked over the recipe, calling for shortening and salad oil, ingredients not usually found in generation Food Network recipes. All the same, I find it funny what you can find on the internet these days. Without even having the cookbook, you can find this recipe at http://www.recipezaar.com/Chicken-Fricassee-With-Chive-Dumplings-340905, imagine that.

I set off to make the meal, gathered my ingredients, and heated my cast iron dutch oven with butter and shortening. I have learned that butter is the key to browning meat. While preparing my chicken, my butter got to hot, and started to smoke in the pan. A fog began to circulate through the living room, and make its way towards the smoke detector. As Michael spun a towel like a helicopter beneath the smoke detector, I reduced the heat and hurried to get the chicken in the pan. Through the fog of our apartment, little halos danced around the evening city lights, beautiful, but not exactly pleasant for our eyes.

The rest of the recipe went along smashingly, until I got to the dumplings. Audrey, a co-worker from the restaurant that Michael and I have both worked at, and dinner guest for the evening, sat at the island separating our kitchen from the living area, talking about her latest school project that Michael was helping her with. Not until the dumplings were in the pot did I realize that the recipe said 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 3/4 cup of milk, not 1/4. Fishing out the dumpling from the dutch oven, I debated trying to salvage the gravy covered dough balls. Squeezing the slimy dough, I opted for starting over. Luckily the second time went smoothly.

The smell of greasy chicken coated the apartment like a pat of butter on freshly toasted bread. Most of the smoke had filtered out of our windows, leaving the chill of the night to nip at bare forearms and exposed necks. Audrey, Mike, and I sat at the table, looking at golden yellow dumplings with specks of green, and a taupe gravy with beige chicken. As soon as a bite hit my mouth I was taken to my childhood, the chilly nights where kitchen smells would taunt my nose while I concentrated over algebra homework and a grumbling stomach. The T.V. blaring in the living room, covering the sound of rattling pots and pans, while my mom moved about the kitchen like an ant making its way back to the hill.

These are the flavors that satiate the hunger of fall, coating the throat as they move down to rest in the stomach. These are the meals that leave you feeling satisfied, and help you forget about the soon to be negative temperatures of winter.

Although www.winedin.com suggested a Pinot Noir or American Chardonnay, as I roamed the isles for a bottle, I was over taken by an urge to try something based on my own volition. I held a bottle of Pacific Rim Dry Riesling. While one would expect a Riesling to be sweet, like those of Germany, this was from Santa Cruz California, and it had dry in the title. I asked myself, as I ponder its description of lime and apricot flavors, would this be similar enough to a Chardonnay to hold up against the rich and creamy flavors of the dish? I went for it.

The Riesling had a powerful nose of apricot, but left us searching for the lime. We had all tasted the food before the wine, coating our palates with the bold peppery gravy and sticky dumplings. Swishing a bit of wine around in my mouth, I found that the body was that of Chardonnay, but the crispness of the wine was that of a Sauvignon Blanc. There was little sweetness, but the lingering finish was distinctively Riesling. Although a Pinot Noir might have paired a bit better, the effect was still enjoyable.

As Michael served up apple crisp a la mode for dessert, I finally let out a sigh of relief. Although this recipe might call for a towel helicopter, and a redo on dumplings, it was worth the effort, and left me with a lingering sense of home. Another perfect pair.