Feast Chicago: Gilt Bar

Gilt Bar in Chicago is a modern day speak-easy. Wooden floors and tables, leather couches in a conversation pit in the middle of the room, and lighting so dim its like walking through smoke. At 11pm on a Wednesday night, a jazz band plays just loud enough to be lively, but doesn’t completely overpower conversation. The crowd is trendy Chicago hipsters, and the food  borders on decadent.

Steak tartare with a soft-boiled egg and sriracha was excellent – I never want a raw egg with tartare again. The hot sauce was a great complement, really bringing out the flavor of the beef. Pork belly with lentils was fork-tender and juicy. Short rib pasta with horseradish cream sauce was unique and well-balanced, though after a few bites you start breathing hard and need to take a break from the richness.

Even after all of this goodness, the winner of the evening was the “deli style” lemon meringue pie. The filling was rich and tart- not the bland, overly sugared filling from grocery store pie. The meringue seemed to be crossed with whipped cream, less sticky and most dense than usual. One piece was huge, but we managed to finish it.

Gilt Bar is a must visit restaurant in Chicago. Voila.