Friday, January 10, 2014

Grace: My First Great Dining Experience of 2014

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Fourth course: duck with sunflower, cranberry and marjoram (Photo: William Boulware)

On the same day Grace's Curtis Duffy was named Chef of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, I had a reservation.

That just set the bar even higher for my first great dining experience of 2014. Honey, I was not disappointed.

I'm good friends with the staff, so I've had the pleasure of hanging out in Grace's front room lounge for drinks as well as attending a summer BBQ where all the chefs grilled their favorite meats. This occasion, however, was my first time officially dining at the restaurant.

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Grace winter menu (Photo: 312 Dining Diva)

We were rewarded with 13 memorable courses, including a delicately prepared amuse bouche of seafoods and chilled soup, but I have to say that my absolute favorite of the night was the duck from the all-meat tasting menu (Guests could also order an all-vegetarian menu). Delicate slices of duck prosciutto and duck confit paired nicely with hand-made tortellini, sunflower and the bold flavors of cranberry and marjoram.

We were going to do wine or cocktail pairings, but that probably would have been a bad idea considering that my previous engagement was at the Chicago Single Malt Society. I settled instead for one delicious Negroni made with Smalls gin. A great choice indeed.

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