A cold, dark night of messy melting snow filled streets had us jumping out of an uber across puddled pavements and into a seductively inviting restaurant in Wicker Park called Black Bull.
Black Bull had been on my go to list since moving to Chicago a few months ago. Highly recommended by friends and colleagues as a place I must try for authentic Spanish cuisine. My friend was in town for the weekend, so it was time for a visit.
We were welcomed a restaurant of wood walls bathed in a red hue, adorned with Spanish bull artwork and industrial lighting. Our host escorted us to the furthest reaches of the restaurant to a small table right next to an elevator. Not a great location as it was freezing and made us almost instantly miserable. We asked to be moved and without hesitation we were politely moved to a great corner table, perfect for looking into the open kitchen and people watching. Our misery quickly turned to happiness. This maneuver was repeated all night with people being seated at the same table and them asking to be moved. Each time the staff were incredibly nice and moved everyone without worry or frustration.
The menu is filled with shell fish offerings of mussels, clams and scallops as well as mackerel and sardines, olives and handmade chips, meats and cheeses and of course paellas. The cocktail list offers unique gin cocktails and selection of sherry as well as wines and beers. We enjoyed a glass of Cava while we tormented ourselves over the 20 things we wanted on the menu.
Our wonderful waiter knew the menu intimately and talked us through some great options based on our combined tastes.
We started with clean, fresh slivers of roasted beet tartare with trout roe, which popped in your mouth in a delightful way giving this great starter dish a slightly sweet finish.
Next up was the croquetas. Creamy, deep fried bites with hints of salty ham dipped in yummy garlic aioli, so darn good.
Pork meatballs were up next. While this dish was nice, it didn’t really wow us.
For our next dish, we were stuck between meats and cheeses and bread or the paella. After hearing the guys at the table next to us rave about the paella, we felt destiny had spoken and the mushroom and pork shoulder paella was ordered.
Delivered in its own skillet, this paella is a little different from the run of the mill paella I have had in the past. Large grain paella rice, earthy mushrooms and seriously fabulous salty pork. What made this dish extra special is when you scraped the rice from the bottom of the pan it had a crispiness to it. We were scraping the skillet until there was not even a grain left. Definitely worthy of a Fab Dish Friday post. I have been dreaming of this dish since my visit.
Our evening meal was paired perfectly with a brilliant white Rioja – Hermanos Peciña Blanco Cosecha 2014, Viura, Rioja, Spain.
During the night we were glued to watching the Chef meticulously hand cut the Jamon onto small plates for its customers. It was quite an intense experience.
After our dinner we ventured upstairs to Bordel for a cocktail. Bordel is a funky speakeasy, known for its craft cocktails and burlesque nights. While there was no show on that evening, we were certainly entertained by the eclectic scene.
A great night out! Highly recommended for a cozy evening of good food followed by a fun cocktail and an uber home.
