The Lady had family in town for the weekend, so we played host by booking some best-of-the-best restaurant reservations. In this crafty little way, we got to showcase the city AND cross a few more restaurants off our “to-do” list. That’s fair, right? And… being the first time this Fellow would be meeting the Lady’s mother, it wouldn’t hurt to pick to impress.

As the plane touched down, we scuttled about preparing for dinner at The Publican, one of Chef Paul Kahan’s many endeavors (see also Blackbird, Avec and Big Star) and one of the earliest up-scale settlers in the now growing Fulton Market neighborhood. The restaurant models itself in the style of a European brew hall with a very strong beer menu (especially highlighting Belgians) and rustic, farm-fresh food. Vegetables are sourced locally, butchering happens in the neighborhood and the dishes are presented family style at communal tables.

The Publican’s long communal tables (Source)

On arriving — “Hello,” “Hello,” “Nice to meet you,” “He’s Cute,” “I KNOW!”— we began with an order of the famous spicy pork rinds (which never disappoint) and thin slices of Serrano ham. By the insistence of the group next to us, we added the green beans to the mix, which turned out to be an excellent suggestion. Coming with turnips and topped with peanuts, the beans were salty and curious, but quite delicious.

The group failed to be very adventurous, vetoing the vote for sweetbreads (even after our server managed to explain what they were without using words like “entrails”) and opting NOT to top our pommes frites with a fried egg. For some larger dishes we shared the Boudin Blanc (a white sausage dish) and fried Lake Erie smelt (which prompted stories of Italian Christmas smelt).

Mouth watering pork rinds

This is a beer joint, though, so we made sure not to skimp on the beverages. One of our guests, a lover of stouts and porters, tried the Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald — the distillery’s most award-winning beer — while the Fellow sampled Zephyr, a Lagunitas-brewed ale exclusive to Chicago and designed in partnership with The Publican and Big Star. The Lady, on her second round, scored a winner with Kipling — a UK offering from Thornbridge — and also quite fancied her boy’s second pick, Allagash Curieux, a bourbon barrel-aged Tripel.

Did you know that a zephyr is a west wind? We had to look that up. (Source and Source)

Even though we were soon to be off for after-dinner drinks at nearby Aviary, we went ahead and had dessert in liquid-form anyway. The house special Kyle’s After Pork — a mix of Chartreuse, Cynar and other herbal bitters — was a great digestif, while the Lady and her mum sprung for the the tart and creamy creme di limoncello.

While a serving of hearty food might not have helped our guests brush off their travel daze (they’d only been in town for a few hours), we don’t think anyone went away unsatisfied. The Publican is always a spot sure to please.