After googling up which restaurants were participating in this event, I was ecstatic to find out that Blackbird was one of the restaurants participating in Restaurant Week. I heard so many good things about it. Even Chef Tom Colicchio suggested Blackbird as one of the restaurants to eat at in Chicago. Of course I found out about Restaurant Week a couple of days before it started, so reservations at popular dining places were all booked, or limited. I was lucky enough to snag a lunchtime reservation!
There were a lot of words on the menu that I've never seen. I texted my sister's boyfriend, who went to culinary school, and asked him what they were.
I couldn't decide which starter to have. I decided to order soup, which was a broccoli soup and fluke tartare.
Besides grilled broccoli, I can't remember if that's pork belly or salmon. The soup was okay. The grilled broccoli gave a burnt taste to the soup. The protein was tasty. The broccoli soup itself tasted bland. Then again, maybe I didn't know how to eat the soup.
I also had the coffee-scented fluke tartare with lemon cucumber, saffron, and bread sauce for my appetizer. I would have been okay if the bread sauce and the orange chip was left out.
At this point, I was getting quite full. At the same time, my expectations of Blackbird declined. I was sooooo excited of eating at Blackbird that the soup and fluke tartare did no justice to the expectations I had on Blackbird. I mean come on, they got a Michelin Star. I know I'm no expert when it comes to food and may not have the 'palette' to eat at Blackbird. And I know that it's restaurant week, and maybe, possibly food standards are lower than usual, but I thought this was the time of the year where you want to showcase what your restaurant is all about to bring in customers? So who are these food geared to? Is it because I'm a girl sitting at the bar, having lunch by herself? Do I not look like the 'type' of person who is a regular diner at these type of restaurants?
For my entree, I decided to order the wood-grilled sturgeon with ham stock, red beet, cabbage, smoked dates and walnut consomme. The sturgeon was rubbery on the outside but tasty, especially when mixed with the walnut consomme.
The dessert brought back hope for this restaurant. I had the chocolate ganache with tahitian vanilla, gastrique and parsnip ice cream. This dessert was an orgasm sent from heaven.
The start of my Michelin Starred Restaurants in Chicago Tour is not how I expected it to be. Yes my expectations are high, but these restaurants have received a Michelin Star! So what if it's Restaurant Week?!! Maybe I should try to come back for dinner. I may not have a background in culinary, but my tastes bud have come across many food to know the difference of what tastes good and what doesn't. First impressions last a lifetime and to me Blackbird was egh okay. I probably won't be coming back for a while. There are many other restaurants that I would go back to before it.
