CheekyChicago

When it comes to the glory of the show Top Chef, there’s not a city in America that has more bragging rights than Chicago. We’ve got two out of the two Masters (Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill and XOCO and Marcus Samuelsson of C-House), Season 4 winner Stephanie Izard  who just opened Girl and the Goat to raves a few weeks ago, chef-testants Radhika Desai of English, Dale Levitzki of Sprout and, probably unbeknownst to most, the talented and under-the-radar Valerie Bolon.  (Some may remember her as Izard’s Chicago comrade on Season 4, who made it pretty darn far in the competition before she had to pack her knives and go.)

Bolon and biz partner chef Rachel Winpar are the masterminds behind the “Culinary Speakeasy,” which began its monthly dining series in late 2009. The two personal chefs have gradually and steadily grown this underground supper club by virtue of guerilla style marketing, stellar food and bona-fide word-of-mouth.  This past weekend, Cheeky checked out the duo’s first ever brunch series, which synced up with New Holland Brewery and Master brewer, Fred Bueltman, who led the four-course breakfast progression, paired with Michigan’s finest, hand-crafted beers.

As the 40+ guests entered the gorgeous and intimate raw space called the Ravenswood Event Center (one of the best kept secrets in the event space arena), Bueltman poured Garden Fresh Bloody Mary’s with Hatter Royale Hopquila rimmed with celery salt and adorned with a pickled vegetable skewer.

Course One included a Veggie Frittata with caramelized mushrooms, corn, sweet potato, onion hash and finished with tomato confit jam. The Mad Hatter IPA was bitter and frothy, bringing out the acidity of the tomato confit (the best part of the dish) while offsetting the creaminess of the frittata.

Course Two served up Herb Biscuits, Smoked Trout, Grilled Asparagus with a Crab Bernaise, served with a super hoppy, Hoegarrden-reminiscent Golden Cap Saison Ale, which was pale and uber-effervescent with notes of cracked peppercorn.

The brunch’s shining glory was no doubt Course Three: Miso Glazed Pork Belly and Wild Boar Sausage over cheesy grits. The pork belly was cooked perfectly, tender with the right amount of fat and the sausage encased a generous kick of spice. But it was the Dragon’s Milk – Oak Aged Stout with pungent hints of anise and vanilla that made this Sunday morning beer pairing study worthy of an A+.

Full or not (beer buzzed or not, depending on what table you were at and I plead the fifth), Course Four completed the brunch experience the way it should be: with some serious sugar, butter and cream. A Strawberry Peach Bread Pudding topped with yogurt, toffee sauce and granola came paired with the Beerhive Tripel, a beautiful beer with subtle notes of ginger and honey. If there ever was such a thing as “dessert beer,” New Holland Brewery’s got it.

Here in Chicago, we can be a little hard-pressed to find an intimate, personal culinary experience amongst the hooplah of new weekly restaurant openings and all of our celebrity chefs (we’re not complaining though: we do kinda kick ass). The Culinary Speakeasy may be the next generation of food trending in Chicago, and this, my fellow die-hard foodies, is a very good thing.  Just be sure to get a seat.

Check out the Culinary Speakeasy’s website for more information on the next dining series.