The Cotton Duck – Culture and Cuisine Mingle in this Art Gallery meets Restaurant
By Torie Gehrig
In the constantly fluctuating world of cuisine, it’s difficult to really pin down on something new and different, or at least something new and different enough that your average foodie wouldn’t have experienced it before. This is especially difficult in a city like Chicago, which has a thriving and constantly pulsing, cutting edge food scene. Sometimes though, you come across something so rare and unusual it seems almost like an anomaly
Being an average foodie myself, I was intrigued and surprised when I heard about The Cotton Duck, a new restaurant in Chicago’s trendy Ukrainian Village. There were a few elements that pulled me in. 1) This was not only a restaurant, but also an art gallery. 2) The items on the menu are inspired by the current art installation and change every three months along with the show 3) The Cotton Duck has a B.Y.O.B. cocktail menu. This was something I found particularly exciting. I love choose your own adventure gimmicks and I found the concept of choosing my own spirit very engaging. Also I personally love not spending $15.00 on a 1 drink.
I made this venture on one of the last lovely nights in late October. Like many places in the neighborhood blocks of the Ukrainian Village, The Cotton Duck is not obviously situated. It could actually be passed by if you weren’t paying enough attention, as it shares a patio with another restaurant.
The Cotton Duck’s swank interior houses most of the art. The current show, entitled GIRLS by Renee McGinnis presents numerous sweeping paintings of famous historical ships. Each a symbol of innovation during its time, they all eventually sank. Read into this how you will. But it’s possibly a metaphor for creative innovation and how what was once relevant and progressive is almost always eventually cast into obscurity. Restaurants can often be sinking ships. We certainly hope The Cotton Duck isn’t attempting to toot their own horn because, judging by their food, they should stay sailing for a long time.
Since it was so nice out my friend and I were seated on the small patio, which was quiet, verdant, and interspersed with various art pieces.
We were pretty excited about the cocktails menu. Though I am more of a whiskey or gin drinker myself, we brought vodka, as it’s generally your most safe versatile bet. If you want to get the full experience I’d recommend maybe even bringing some shooters. The menu has spirit pairings suggested under each cocktail (all $5). For the most part, the drinks are pretty no frills in the sense that you wont find any egg whites or stemware. The drinks this time around were on the sweet side. Our favorites were the “Umami” which tasted a bit like an amped up Moscow Mule and the delightfully lemonhead-esque the “A Particular Sort of Heaven.” Interesting Note; the names of these drinks are derived from the titles of the various pieces in the current show.
Though not a tapas restaurant, The Cotton Duck embodies the classic quality over quantity notion and emphasizes modest portions with superb ingredients. The food menu is divided into six sections; Crudo, Small, Fish, Meat, Vegetables and Sugar. As opposed to ordering for ourselves, we allowed Chef Dominic , to take the helm.
Our first course was from the Crudo section of the menu. Chef Dominic selected the Fluke served with tomato dashi, avocado and rice crisp. Prepared sashimi style, the fluke tasted bright and citrusy rather than fishy and its delicacy was offset by fresh pepper as well as some shishito pepper jam, which added a complex sweetness.
For our Small dish, we were sent the Octopus served with orange, fennel and sherry. Plated somewhat similarly to a sushi roll, this dish proved to be one of the standouts of the night. Octopus can be tricky to prepare. When done incorrectly, it becomes rubbery. This octopus was wonderfully tender, however, and with just enough bite. The fennel was delicately served and the tiny lush oranges provided further texture. It was the sherry bacon reduction however, which acted somewhat like unagi sauce, which brought this stunning dish to the next level.
For our Fish selection, we received the Scallops with salsify, rice crepe and salmon roe. The scallops themselves were tender and juicy and the salmon roe brought a salty pop to the flavor profile. We were very surprised and delighted to find that the aforementioned rice crepe was actually a tiny spring roll containing confit duck.
For the Meat course, we were given the Rohan Duck. It seems only fitting that we should have the restaurants namesake as our entrée. Like all good duck, it was tender, rich and fatty in just the right way. The inclusion of fish sauce provided a savory departure from a sweeter preparation and the whole thing was served atop a bed of tikka masala granola. For our vegetable side, Chef Zumpano served us the Charred Carrots, which came with red wine reduction and potato horseradish foam.
Before we moved on to dessert I did make one additional request. An oyster lover since birth, I never pass up the chance to see what variation of the mollusk a restaurant has to offer. I did not regret my choice. Each of the large juicy oysters was delicately fried before being placed back on its shell atop some savory tomato jam. As if that wasn’t enough, Chef Dominic takes it to the next level by serving each with some Minus 8 vinegar whipped cream. If this isn’t a riot of flavor and textures in one single bite, I don’t know what else is.
For the Sugar option, and the close of our meal we were served the Chocolate dessert. The dish was comprised of several small, well corresponding parts. The brown butter ice cream, pana cotta, lime emulsion, chocolate cookie crumble and fluffy chocolate cake all work together to form a delicate and satisfying dessert dish.
You’ll want to go back to the Cotton Duck, the prospect of change and the thrill of what could be coming next will keep both foodies and art aficionados on the edge of their seats. But, like any great restaurant, you’ll also come back for their consistently conscientious service and excellent food. That’s the brass tacks of owning a restaurant right there.
All in all The Cotton Duck brings a fresh, modern and surprisingly unpretentious presence to the Ukrainian Village.