—RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT: The restaurant known as erwin, 2925 N. Halsted, offers primarily American fare, although chef Erwin Drechsler's cooking techniques are steeped in the nouvelle movement of French cuisine. Dish List expferienced erwin's offerings first-hand, and was impressed across the board. Appetizers like potato-and-sausage salad and chicken livers had just the right amount of bite, while entrees like the grilled chicken were especially tender. The desserts were actually beyond words: If anyone can resist the peanut butter-mousse cake ( with a graham-cracker crust and chocolate ganache ) , that person's pulse should be taken immediately. ( Also, check out the eatery's award-winning wine list. ) Moreover, the atmosphere is intimate and conversation-friendly—perfect for a date, and the budget-conscious should check the place out on Wednesdays, when it's only $25 for a three-course, prix fixe meal. ( The diners choose the menu items. )
Dish List spoke with Drechsler about the menu and the restaurant.
Dish List: What would you say is the running theme throughout the menu?
Erwin Drechsler: We just redid the menu about a month ago, and we decided to categorize items—snacks, salads and [ such ] —to give people a road map to navigate and to figure out what direction they want to go in. We want to offer light bites for those who might want a snack and a glass of wine, as well as offer regular entrees.
DL: And does the menu change seasonally?
ED: It actually changes about every week; components of it change every week. As soon as things are in season, they're on the menu; as soon as they're out of season, they go off.
DL: You used to be a schoolteacher. Why the career change?
ED: I got involved in developing curricula for the Chicago Public School system, and I got more and more into the bureaucracy and away from the kids. I lost interest in what I was doing, and I always loved food and wine. My dad was in the meat-packing business and my mom was this incredible baker, and we had this huge vegetable garden [ behind ] the house; everything was always freshly prepared. … My home was about freshness and quality of food.
I didn't go the culinary-school route, but I decided to immerse myself in restaurants and see if that was a culture I wanted to be part of.
DL: You've said that 'food is like fashion.' What did you mean by that?
ED: People want to identify with what's popular. You know how people say that black dresses never go out [ of style ] ? Our food doesn't necessarily follow the fashion trend; it follows the quality trend. Rather than having dishes with seven or eight components to them, we try to minimize the number of components.
See www.erwincafe.com for more information.
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