Hold on, don’t go! This is Tasty Chicago…yeah, I’m serious.
I know, you don’t often see me eat things that are green. But I do. Really.
This is the Asparagus and Goat Cheese Strudel from Fiddlehead Cafe at 4600 North Lincoln (a whopping $15). It has some grilled green garlic, spring onions, and sorrel puree. This was my entree a few weeks ago for my wife’s birthday celebration and it was surprisingly good.
As I’ve said before, I love cheese made from a goat. I talked about it after a trip to Scoozi a few months ago. I’ve never entertained the idea of wrapping it in a pastry, baking it, and tossing some veggies on top, but it was extremely appetizing. The pastry was light and crispy and the goat cheese was warm and smooth. And much to my surprise, the combination of cheese and vegetables in each bite was very good. I cleaned my plate and used other carbs from the table to soak up the sorrel puree.
Fiddlehead is a cool place right along the strip of bars and restaurants in Lincoln Square. It’s a wine bar with an eclectic American cafe style menu. Lincoln Square, it’s nutty I tell ya’. We ate outside, but it’s a lot different from the grittier West Town type of outdoor dining that I usually partake in. There are just so many more people walking up and down Lincoln Avenue (versus Chicago Ave) and the outdoor dining options are all out on the street. It’s quite a scene.
I want to add a story about the service. The crew at Fiddlehead struggled this evening a little. We had a fine waitress who busted her tail, but she was new and one bartender called in sick. Needless to say, it took forever to get drinks and food. Now my wife and I are very patient and we take it slow, so we hardly ever complain. And we didn’t this time, but there were two moments when I was just about ready to get up and ask “what’s going on?” But alas, each time I was pleasantly greeted with our order, so no problems. We ended up staying a few hours and in return for our patience, the host brought our table a complimentary after-dinner drink. It was a dessert wine that we all loved (all four of us). Awesome, awesome gesture, and we will be back. I appreciate stuff like that and it tells me this place is in it for the long haul. Way to go. The reviews at Yelp for Fiddlehead are mixed, but generally positive. Check them out.