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Ceres' Table
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It takes a special kind of daring to open an upscale restaurant on a desolate stretch of street that is home mostly to garages and to newly built condos that are still awaiting the end of the recession before they are filled. Especially if the view out the front window is of the cemetery across the street. For that reason, if no other, I would salute Giuseppe Scurato, who has opened Ceres' Table at 4882 Clark Street in Chicago, on the site of a restaurant that folded in less than a year. Luckily, I can also salute him for his wonderful food. The cemetery in question dates from Civil War days, and Ceres' Table (named for the Roman goddess of grain whose likeness is also on a statue atop Chicago's Board of Trade) stands on the site of an inn that was built to accommodate overnight stays by people who had come by horse and wagon to visit the resting places of their loved ones. Later, it was a tavern owned by Al Capone. It's an historic spot, but not the cheeriest one. On a cold and snowy night shortly after Christmas, just three weeks after it had opened, I went to Ceres' Table with my Webmeister and Webmistress for a belated holiday celebration. The restaurant itself is very spare, with very few decorations on the wall. That may, of course, change, but we soon had the menu to concentrate on, so any thought of studying paintings fled from our mind. Our server was gracious and knowledgeable and was able to guide us through the menu of 9 appetizers and 9 entrées. The Webmeister had already read about – and was actively salivating for – the appetizer of homemade gnocchi with arugula pesto and confit of Gunthorp Farm rabbit. He pronounced it everything he could have hoped for, and even asked the server if, on his next visit, he could order an entrée-sized portion. The answer was "yes." The Webmistress started her meal with a country paté laden with pork and Sicilian pistachios and accompanied by a fruit mostarda, cornichons and sourdough toasts (which were almost superfluous, granted how good the loaf of bread on our table was.) It was firmer than many patées I've had, and very flavorful. I selected baby octopus with puttanesca sauce and preserved lemon. The Webmeister explained to me that puttanesca means "in the style of whores" and that it was supposedly their between-customers meal. Where they found time to chop olives and cook them with tomatoes is beyond me. For my entrée, I chose liver, grilled and served with cipollini onions, preserved lemons and balsamic vinegar. I know that a lot of people still say "yuck" at the thought of liver, and you don't see it much on menus, so I was happy to see it and even happier that it was perfectly grilled, neither over nor underdone. I almost had chosen the strozzapreti pasta (think very thick spaghetti) with boar sauce, mushrooms and spinach. The Webmistress did did choose it, and let me sample it. It was heavenly; earthy and filling. The Webmeister, still raving about the gnocchi, had a lamb shank with garlic mashed potatoes, cipollinis and quince paste. He quickly started raving about that. The wine list was split among French, Italian and California bottles, with a few Germans and New Zealanders thrown in. With our widely divergent dining choices, we opted to order by the glass and were able to find wines to suit our tastes from among the nine still and two sparkling selections available. You know that I never do dessert, but the Webmeister seemed pleased with the chocolate and banana bread pudding he chose. He reports that it was neither too dry nor too moist. We were able to chat with Chef Scurato before we left, and he emphasized his aim to present fresh and seasonal dishes with locally sourced ingredients and house-made pastas. We will look forward to seeing what each season brings. Ceres' Table |
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