Okay, so they changed it for the worse, that was an excellent dish.

They actually changed the menu pretty extensively, including, as Jazzfood noticed, getting rid of the one transcendent dish the place had. The rabbit agnolotti stayed (as did the espinaca side and the serrano ham salad), but they replaced the fideo negra with a squash dumpling dish that, while tasty, was overwrought and an unbelievable $14 for three tiny dumplings.

I ate there last week for the first time in a year and can say, with a certain amount of resignation, that my enthusiasm has waned: while very competent, MxP is also depressingly corporate.

chezbrad wrote:They actually changed the menu pretty extensively, including, as Jazzfood noticed, getting rid of the one transcendent dish the place had. The rabbit agnolotti stayed (as did the espinaca side and the serrano ham salad), but they replaced the fideo negra with a squash dumpling dish that, while tasty, was overwrought and an unbelievable $14 for three tiny dumplings.

I ate there last week for the first time in a year and can say, with a certain amount of resignation, that my enthusiasm has waned: while very competent, MxP is also depressingly corporate.

Sadly, I have to more or less echo these comments. After my first meal at Mercat about a year ago (documented upthread), I was eager to return. But we did return this past Saturday and this experience left me feeling fairly indifferent about the place. We worked our way through 14 savories and 3 desserts, and with few exceptions, the meal never really got off the ground. Nothing was horrible (though all 4 of us thought several dishes were way too salty) but nothing really compelled either. Execution was not as good as I remembered it from my first experience, either. For example, the highly stylized patatas bravas didn't please like they did the first time out. This time, they were luke warm and somewhat soggy. Last time, they were hot and crispy, and nearly impossible to stop eating. I also felt like the plates had gotten even smaller which, when you are sharing, is very frustrating. Some dishes were barely big enough for the 4 of us to all get representative tastes. Also, there is only 1 item on the charcuterie menu which is actually made in-house and it was 86'd by the time we ordered it.

It's hard to put into words exactly what was missing this time around but it just didn't click. It lacked that sparkle that special meals typically deliver. We certainly had a great time, service was very good and I love that they offer Pappy Van Winkle 23-year bourbon. This might still be a place to grab a nibble or 2 and a drink -- or maybe lunch, which I hear is a great deal -- but foodwise, I felt like our Saturday night dinner was something of a missed bet.

=R=

Thanks Ronnie- Mercat is tops on my list of places I have no idea why I haven't visited (probably because I go to Publican so damn much) but now I no longer feel the urgency. Maybe a pig roast one day....

misterchico wrote:Thanks Ronnie- Mercat is tops on my list of places I have no idea why I haven't visited (probably because I go to Publican so damn much) but now I no longer feel the urgency. Maybe a pig roast one day....

Being only 4 of us, we never really considered the pig this time, even though it was excellent last time. And that decision was partially based on the fact that so many other restaurants (Vie, Publican, Bristol, Sun Wah, etc.) -- not to mention fellow LTHers -- serve up really great pig these days. Instead, we were eager to try more of the other items, which really impressed us last time. In fact, last time out, in spite of how good it was, I was almost disappointed that we ordered the pig because the non-pig offerings were so terrrific, I wished we had room to order more of them. As I mentioned above, this time, with our focus entirely on tapas and other dishes, the meal just didn't resonate for me the way it did the first time.

I can definitely see returning and I'm sure I will but I won't be longing for it like I was before this most recent visit.

=R=

Thinking about doing the suckling pig for my birthday. With recent reviews, im now a little hesitant. Is the pig worth it? prob going with a group of 4 or 5.

Wow -- one of my top meals ever.
We had a "discount date" today: Free February at the Art Institute (most modern art is still "meh" for me, with exceptions of Picasso, Braques, Dali, Hopper), then the Restaurant Week meal at Mercat a la Planxa.
We'd looked at a number of the Restaurant Week menus, and most were pretty vanilla -- a basic broiled fish or a small filet, a dull app and a dull desert.
Mercat really wowed us with three courses -- but unlike most of the RW menus, instead of picking one of each item listed in the courses, we got a plate of each:

First "Course"

• Charcuterie - Chorizo Cantimpalo
  Thin sliced, served with bread, cornichon, a fantastic mild mustard, and sliced peppers that resembled sport peppers
• Cadi Urgelia - Unpasteurized Cow’s Milk cheese with Sherry‐Bacon Caramel
  When they say "Sherry-Bacon Caramel", there's not really caramel in there, probably caramelized shallots or onions. Still awesome, although it did overwhelm a nice mild cheese
• Truita de Patata con Espinacas - Spanish Omelette with Spinach, Potatoes & Saffron Aioli
  delicate and moist, a perfect example

Second "Course"

• Costillas de Ternera Coca - Beef Short Ribs, Horseradish, Parmesan & Bacon
  Something like a gordita/blini/ sort of flatbread. Great kick from the horseradish. Probably one of the tastiest things on the menu.
• Gambas al Ajillo - Garlic Shrimp
  Traditional, shrimp in garlic oil. Perfectly moist, a tricky thing to do if there's any hold time at all, as the shrimp can turn to sawdust, but these were spot on.
• Datiles con Almendras - Bacon‐Wrapped Dates Stuffed with almonds
  Very, very good, with a "fonduta" poured over them. Not as awesome as Avec's stuffed dates, but wonderful. I wanted to lick the little pitcher of fonduta out, but they took it with them after pouring it on.

Thirs "Course"

• Mar I Muntanya - Slow Cooked Short Ribs and Diver Scallops, Eggplant Purée, Shave Parmesan Artichokes
  Another out-of-the-park item. The eggplant was a little nondescript compared to everything else. The artichokes slices were sort of batter-fried on one side of the plate, with a small stack of short rib and scallop on the other. A dab of cinnamon in the rib braise added a lot of depth to the braise. Gimme about eight of these!
• Prawns a la Planxa
  One nice-sized prawn -- peeled but the head put back on. Again, perfectly cooked.
• Coles de Bruselas: Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon, Garbanzo Beans, French Feta &
  Orange‐Sherry Vinaigrette
  I'm not fond of Brussels Sprouts, and this was amazing. Lightly grilled small sprouts along with salty and sweet items made for a great salad to finish off the meal.
• Patatas Bravas - Spicy Potatoes with Spicy Paprika Aioli
  A refined version of the tapas bar classic: six chunks of skin-on fingerling topped with spicy aioli.

We accompanied this with a white sangria for me and the red wine flight for MrsF, and two desserts: Olive Oil Cake with Almond Ice Cream; and Chocolate Croquettes, which tasted like xurros con xocolate -- also garnished with olive oil and rosemary.

If I have a criticism, it's that short ribs, shrimp and bacon came up multiple times in this tasting menu -- a little more variety in the proteins wouldn't have hurt. But everything was perfect, exciting, and an adequate filling meal even though the server warned us "it's smaller than the chef's tasting menu" a couple times. Total bill was a lot more than the $32/plate of the Restaurant Week, but we did have a lot of supplements.

I'll definitely be back, this is one of the gems of Chicago dining.

Oh, and the bathrooms? They directed me to the ones across the hotel lobby, no lighting problems. It must be the bar servicios that are gloomy.

We went to Mercat on Mother's Day for Brunch. Unfortunately, while they take early reservations, "brunch" doesn't start until after 10, before that you can only get "breakfast" (this isn't clear on their web site, which indicates only that brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday).

We had another disappointment, when an item described as a Jumbo Lump Crab Meat omelet with Serrano ham, Manchego cheese and Piquillo peppers was actually a cheese omelet with a ham slice and a dollop of mayo-heavy, shredded crab salad on top (to their credit they took the omelet off the bill, even though it was eaten - the crab salad was not eaten).

I wouldn't go back for "breakfast", but I might try again for "brunch".

A pleasant recent lunch at Mercat yielded some good flavors: our three starters were the pimientos de padron, serrano ham and spinach with figs, and the brothy arroz a la cazuela, and our mains were the scallops with eggplant puree and artichokes, hanger steak with braised short rib on a potato cake, and the butifarra con judias. The last was particularly commendable - succulent house-made pork and apple sausage and perfectly cooked beans with truffle oil and pickled carrots; a cassoulet level of richness but with a nice variety of textures. Portions were quite shareable for this 'Catalan Express' (one first, one second, and a glass of iced tea for $18 each). Only quibbles were their use of a smoked serrano (should have been specified as such on the menu) and two perfectly fresh and delicious shrimp in the arroz which were not completely deveined, easily rectified.

The best part of the meal were the six flash-fried dark chocolate croquettes, each on a melty banana marshmallow with rosemary caramel and some very rich olive oil. I have always been a sucker for desserts here with their nice balance of salty and savory (and the occasional carbonation or other mo-stro touch), especially paired with their exemplary espresso. Note: checked the evening menu, squid ink fideos still not listed, but we were told they can be prepared with advance notice.

Santander wrote:
The best part of the meal were the six flash-fried dark chocolate croquettes, each on a melty banana marshmallow with rosemary caramel and some very rich olive oil. I have always been a sucker for desserts here with their nice balance of salty and savory (and the occasional carbonation or other mo-stro touch), especially paired with their exemplary espresso. Note: checked the evening menu, squid ink fideos still not listed, but we were told they can be prepared with advance notice.

I'm not a desert person really and not a banana person but during restaurant week, this was on the menu and sounded so crazy, I ordered it. Have been back once since for dinner and again this tasty ending was a wow ... hoping to go again this week and can't wait to order a third time.

BTW, I really like their Lobster a la planxa ... so simple but perfect flavor and a great counterpoint to some of the more complex dishes. No melted butter needed to make it delicious.

Curious if anyone's been here recently for dinner? My husband is looking for a place for about 20 people for a work dinner downtown, and this place looks fun, and I recall there being a lot of buzz about the food when it first opened... Thanks!

I was there about a month ago and enjoyed it as much as my first visit (which I posted about in this thread). I don't know if they have private rooms. If they do not, then the only issue to consider is that the regular dining room can get quite loud.

They do have private rooms -- of varying sizes -- I think they have 2 or 3 at least. As I recall from my last research into their options, they had some affordable per person meals for groups.

Maybe starting as low as $45 per person...

rehorn wrote:Curious if anyone's been here recently for dinner? My husband is looking for a place for about 20 people for a work dinner downtown, and this place looks fun, and I recall there being a lot of buzz about the food when it first opened... Thanks!

Have been to Mercat several times and always enjoy the food. It's a lively space, as well. We went with a group for a friend's birthday last year and ordered the whole suckling pig. It was remarkable, the skin and the cheeks in particular. Several of the included sides were very good, calçots with romesco and white beans with rosemary.

The upstairs private salon overlooking the main dining room and bar is terrific. Maybe the best private room in town.

Thank you very much for the prompt feedback. This is very helpful!

I disliked almost everything about Mercat - from the don't bother me attitude of the little-black-dress-wearing hostess, to the flashy 1988-in-Manhattan dining room, to the six unexciting dishes I tried. The "baby clam rice" exemplified the meal, with bland rice that had zero infusion of clam flavor, grainy bechamel that tasted of raw flour, and a scant few pieces of clam amidst a bounty of mushy, out of season cherry tomatoes. It's not worth writing much about the overcooked barramundi, the chewy mushrooms, the pici with seafood that was completely drowned out by a spicy, soupy sauce, or whatever other poor dishes we had that I can't recall now. Service was what you'd expect in a downtown hotel, meaning that they seem well-informed if this is the first time you've ever left Kansas.

Stopped by for dinner on a Saturday night after a prolonged happy hour, with well traveled friends, a Cubano and Dominicana. All of us loved the food. I agree with Kenny that the service is efficient, but knowledgeable only to the extent of tourists fresh off the bus (nothing wrong with it, just your run of the mill tourists).

Haven't been for a while, so we just ordered things with ingredients that appealed to us:
- Pelotas de Calabaza y Cordero - Butternut squash dumplings, lamb ragout, escabeche, and black truffle
- Tocino con Cidra - Pork belly, cider glaze, green apples & truffle
- Paella Negra - Calamari, octopus, chipirones with black rice & octopus tomato salad.
- Pulpo con patatas

We loved everything. My brain is a little more muddled on the tasting notes than usual after the looong happy hour, but distinctly remember the pleasing experiences on our palate after each bite as we discussed the dish before moving onto other topic of conversation. I was a little skeptical of the Paella Negra and Pulpo, more pedestrian dishes that can be watered down or badly prepared. However, both, had distinct flavor profiles and texture that speaks of well cared for preparation instead of goopy mess.

Was NOT a fan of the sangria, though. I traded mine in for a whiskey cocktail that is in the online menu, recommended by the server after he realized we are locals that are into food.

Have to admit the tomato bread that is gratis as soon as you are seated, was a bit mushier than I remembered, and not as fragrant. I attributed some of that to winter tomatoes, but have to admit, that doesn't excuse the mushiness.

Liked it enough to return in a couple of weeks.

Forgot to mention, as much as I like it at Mercat the resto, I detest their website with the intro and crappy tinny music and zooming noise for no reason other than to remind you that you need to close the browser. Topic for another thread, which I will re-post there.

petite_gourmande wrote:Forgot to mention, as much as I like it at Mercat the resto, I detest their website with the intro and crappy tinny music and zooming noise for no reason other than to remind you that you need to close the browser. Topic for another thread, which I will re-post there.

There's a good thread about that already going here:

Restaurant Websites, According to The Oatmeal

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

petite_gourmande wrote:Forgot to mention, as much as I like it at Mercat the resto, I detest their website with the intro and crappy tinny music and zooming noise for no reason other than to remind you that you need to close the browser. Topic for another thread, which I will re-post there.

There's a good thread about that already going here:

Restaurant Websites, According to The Oatmeal

=R=

Thanks, Ronnie. Sorry, just posted there, wasn't quick enough. Not as successful at multi-tasking as I thought.

I've always enjoyed Mercat, though I haven't been there in a couple of months. Maybe they've gone through some staff changes, Kenny?

Anyway....would like to get back and check on it but its been a place where I've always enjoyed the food.

DutchMuse wrote:I've always enjoyed Mercat, though I haven't been there in a couple of months. Maybe they've gone through some staff changes, Kenny?

It's possible. I don't really know much about the history of the place - we decided to go mainly because it was a convenient pre Jazz Showcase spot. It could be that the place is fine but just a mismatch with what I like. I tend to like places with more humble decor and casual staff, and the lack of those things probably biased me against the meal before I tasted anything. The food was really disappointing though. I don't know if the cooking or the raw ingredients were more to blame, but in the seafood-focused dishes especially, the core ingredient's flavor barely came through at all.

downstairs lounge pre-Fist and Heel performance:

me: Spanishattan-Bulleit bourbon, vanilla something-or-other, earl grey infused yadda yadda yadda, house-marinated black cherries?

a great cocktail with a hugely-bitter back end that grew on me

T: I should've stolen a drink menu, the online menus are out of date...he (and I) enjoyed a tart, crisp margarita of something or other and cucumbers

post-Fist and Heel(we were in town for the Columbia Dance Center performance, our friend P is a member of the company):

P joined us for drinks

himself: two shots of Dewers?(no, not Dewer's, something a notch better) and a hot green tea

T: another of his previous...this time seriously syrupy...a notch down and nowhere near as stiff

me: A Hendrick's and Hum liqueur, etc., etc. ...that again, I found palatable, but, the upstairs bar seriously ups it's syrups and waters down the booze

c'est la vie

after P waded in after the aloof hostess and bitched us into a table

he abstained from food(worn out from a stomach bug, the rigors of performing all week, and just plain tired...we hung out for a bit then he bid his adieus leaving us to our repaste)

the plates:

amuse: pane con tomate(a pave of tomato on crispy, oil-redolent toasts...perhaps a bit much sherry vinegar)

the plates:

we shared-(stars giving an elision of the success of each plate)

pimientos de padron(flashfried padron peppers, salbitxtada & sea salt) ****

tocino con cidra(slow-cooked Holland pork belly, cider glaze, granny smith apple and black truffle slaw) ****

pulpo con patatas(spanish octopus, confit potato, smoked paprika) **

albondigas devenera(scallop and shrimp meatballs, marinated grapes, shaved idiazabal, and roasted scallop jus) ***

cepes y butifarra(flatbread with porcini and Catalan sausage, roasted garlic, and manchego) **

------

mercat's a little clubby, touristy for my tastes(but, then, it's in a major Chicago hotel)...(I didn't realize it was a hotel restaurant in my cursory review readings over the years)...(serendipidity revealing itself in that mercat's long been on my list of places to try and it just happened to be in our hotel)

there's a lot more to the story of course, not least of which Fist and Heel's evocative performance, the best quiche ever with A and L, a strange bathroom, JFK and the Cuban missile crisis, and a truffle tremor

---

Congratulations to Chef Cory Morris who will be head chef in May (currently he's sous chef) when the current chef goes to the corporate office in Philly. We've known Cory since we moved to Chicago and have a very high opinion of his talent. Congrats Chef Morris!

Mom was in town from New York last Saturday, so we walked around the lake for a couple hours. Had to get back to the Metra so we found something quick on Michigan Ave for lunch. Had heard great things about Mercat, so we stopped in. We were not disappointed.

First Courses:
CHARCUTERIA MIXTO Chef's Selection of 2 Meats

ARROZ A LA CAZUELA Chicken, Chorizo & Tiger Shrimp Soup with Artichoke Salad & Piquillo Aioli

ENSALADA VERDE Mixed Greens with Asparagus, Avocado, Green Beans & Shaved Mahon Cheese


Second Courses:
CHICKEN BREAST A LA PLANXA



ATUN CON APIO-NABO Yellowfin Tuna, Smoke Pine Nuts, Celery Root, Basil Emulsion


VIEIRES | ALBERGINIA Diver Scallops a la Planxa



and a side of house cut fries with spicy paprika aioli


Desserts:
CROQUETAS DE XOCOLATA Milk Chocolate Croquettes, BananA Marshmallow, Rosemary Caramel, Arbequina Olive


CREMA CATALANA Orange-Scented Crema, Cranberry Compote, Chestnut Cake


Edit:
Had such a great lunch that I went back with my fiancee for breakfast on Monday. It was...good. I wasn't blown away, but I find it difficult to be blown away by breakfast. Mercat did open at something like 6 am, which is fantastic when you want to go before work.

BLACKSTONE BENEDICT Toasted Brioche, Chorizo, Truffle Hollandaise


Blackberry Pancake (forgot their fancy name)


Anybody know of any other breakfast spots that open earlier than usual?

gleam wrote:FYI to anyone curious: the menu now lists flat prices for the half and whole pigs: $220 and $440 respectively, presumably regardless of the number of diners. Maybe they quite different numbers when you actually call to reserve, though.

The PDF on the website still says $55 per person... anyone know which is correct?

so we found something quick on Michigan Ave for lunch.

The also often have some pretty good deals for lunch (considering the location). I stopped in last month for appetizer/main-course/beverage at $18. If I recall correctly, they were also offering a nice table-selection for, I think, $35.

Brunch at MalP is wonderful.
It's a combo of a tasting menu and a buffet for $25. The buffet is a little thin: several charcuterie items out at any given time included chorizo, another sausage, and jamon serrano and three cheeses (one each of goat, cow and sheep, don't remember the names, all very good, none idiazabal), roast suckling pig and a bunch of pastries (good, but not the least spanish-seeming). An $8 supplement gets you bottomless bloodies with an assemble-it-yourself bar (server brings glass with ice and vodka). That was fun, including standard bloody, yellow tomato gazpacho and tomatillo purees, several chiles, smoked tomatoes, olives, veg garnish, white anchovies (menu said prawns, only slightly ripped-off feeling as the anchovy I had was fantastic), roasted garlic and cippolini onions.

The tasting menu wasn't a one-from-each-course thing -- like the Restaurant Week meal we'd had there, it was everything listed: First round was a tomato, frisee and compressed watermelon salad and the Blackstone Benedict (truffle hollandaise, chorizo, tomato and egg on brioche) (fantastic); second round was scrambled eggs with mushrooms and toast with truffle butter, and jamon croquettes (nummy); third was fried peppers with salbitxada, braised short rib and broiled octopus on brioche (both good, but I wouldn't eat together), and a cazuela of poached eggs and oxtail in a tomato sauce.

Overall, kind of a heavy meal. The last dish should have been earlier, I'd have sopped up that sauce with bread. A little too much repetition: three egg dishes, two braised beef, brioche twice -- mix it up a bit, lighten it up, and I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Now don't get me wrong, this was one of my better meals this year... but it ended up being a bit quantity over quality by the end there. With $25 (and up) being the going rate for buffets in the city, this is a great value. Hey, with a couple of anchovies or prawns, some olives and onions, the bottomless bloody mary's could be brunch!

I noticiced yesturday that Michael Fiorello was the sous chef for Forgione/Garces on Iron Chef Thanksgiving battle.....Awsome!