Fab Happenings: New Menu Tasting at The Bristol

The Bristol is a New American restaurant located in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood. The menu is creative and changes frequently with a focus on farm-fresh produce and whole-animal butchery.

A few weeks ago, Fab Food Chicago and friends were invited to preview the new menu (literally, we were the first to try!) at The Bristol curated by Chef Sean Pharr. Oh, and we celebrated reaching 10K followers on Instagram! Woot, woot!

Meet Chef Sean Pharr. Pharr attended Le Cordon Bleu in Minnesota and worked in Madison, Wisconsin during his early career. He moved to Chicago in 2005 and worked for many reputable kitchens including Tru, Osteria Via Stato, and NoMI Kitchen at The Park Hyatt. Pharr joined B. Hospitality Co. in 2014, and worked at Balena and helped launch Formento’s in the West Loop. Currently, he serves as the Executive Chef at The Bristol.

Chef Pharr came out and talked to us throughout the meal. His passion speaks through his food and the best part…he’s a super nice guy. Show him some love on Instagram and Twitter.

Our intimate preview party took place in the spacious private event space on the second floor with cocktails flowing from our very own private bar. Talk about VIP treatment! No surprise since the hospitality at all their restaurants (Balena, Formento’s, Nonna’s, Swift & Son’s, Cold Storage) are always outstanding.

FAB TIP: The second floor space can be rented out for private events and accommodates 75 guests for a seated dinner and 120 guests for a standing reception.

Hi, friends! (@bestfoodalex, @sherriesavorsthecity, and @sheeatschicago)

The Bristol uses the best seasonal ingredients, which are sourced from farmers, foragers, and artisan craftsmen to ensure freshness and quality.

Our first course was a salad of living water greens with O-med olive oil (try this olive oil, if you haven’t!), chives, and pickled shallots. The dish was simple, light, and refreshing. The ingredients were so fresh it felt like someone just picked them out of a garden.

For our second course, we had smoked whitefish with horseradish, lumpfish roe, and scallion blini. This was a crowd favorite. The whitefish had a silky texture and a delicately smoky taste, which was a blissful combination with the scallion blini.

Next came an endive tartlet with comté. Comté is considered one of the finest cheeses in the world and has a buttery and nutty aroma with a sweet finish. The tartlet was drizzled with the chef’s secret “awesome sauce” and it was…awesomesauce! This third course dish was savory and decadent.

Heyyyyy, ladies! How you doin’? (@chelsias, @fromuyenwithlove, and @nyk_events)

First, let me get this out of the way before we go on to the next dish. Sweetbreads are not sweet breads. It is the culinary term for the thymus or pancreas usually from a calf or lamb. Why in the world would anyone eat this, you ask? Well, when cooked properly, it is delectable.

For the fourth course, Chef Pharr prepared pan roasted sweetbreads with rutabega and pineapple. The pineapples added a nice acidity and sweetness to the mildly flavored sweetbreads while the rutabega played off the velvety texture of the organ meat. The chef’s nose-to-tail approach to cooking uses every possible part of the animal with minimal waste.

On to the fifth course! We had a house-made Pfaelzer sausage with braised red cabbage and bacon potato chowder. The casing of the sausage wasn’t as thin as a typical sausage. It was thicker and cooked to a slight crisp. All the components worked well together. The different textures and flavors were satisfying and comforting.

When a chef is as passionate as @chefseanpharr from @bristolchicago, the food carries a consistent comfort level. Take this homemade pfaelzer sausage with braised red cabbage and chowder, for example. It was a divine part of @fabfoodchicago’s 10k celebration. #FabTheBristol #TheBristolChicago #sausage #fabfoodchicago #myfab5

A photo posted by Alex Jewell (@bestfoodalex) on Jan 20, 2016 at 6:56pm PST

The sixth course was my favorite…Bristol fried rice. Pharr’s version is healthier and uses brown rice instead of white. It is stir-fried with braised beef belly, kimchi, scallions, and balsamic soy. The braised beef belly was wonderfully tender and the kimchi was perfectly ripe, which added a nice tanginess. The sweetness and saltiness from the balsamic soy pulled all the flavors in together.

Awesome dinner tonight!! Coming soon: fried rice with braised beef belly, kimchi, scallions, and balsamic soy. 😍😍😍 | @bristolchicago | 📍Bucktown #FabTheBristol #thebristolchicago #fabfoodchicago

A photo posted by Chicago Food 🍴 (@312food) on Jan 20, 2016 at 6:24pm PST

Dessert time! The seventh and final course was a sticky toffee pudding, which is essentially a rich, moist cake topped with a warm toffee sauce, walnuts, and vanilla crémeux. It was a sweet ending to our meal.

Overall, all the dishes were thoughtfully executed with great flavor combinations incorporating many different cultures. The portions were ideal for sharing and we all left feeling stuffed. It was a fabulous night with wonderful friends, fantastic food, and remarkable service.

We had a fabulous time celebrating our 10K and previewing Chef Sean Pharr’s new menu. We appreciate everyone who came to support us. Thank you to The Bristol for hosting a spectacular event!

FAB TIP: Click here for the special Valentine’s Day 2016 menu. It is $65/ person with optional $35/ person wine pairings. These prices do not include gratuity or tax.

{Location}
The Bristol
Bucktown || 2152 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL || P: (773) 862-5555

The new menu is fully launched and we can’t wait for you to try it! Check out our Instagram post to see how you can win two $50 gift certificates to dine at The Bristol! Contest ends tomorrow, 2/10 at 12 p.m. Central Time.

Tag your The Bristol photos at #FabTheBristol!

Live the Fab Food Life,
Soo

Note: This meal was complimentary. However, the views and opinions expressed herein are those of the writer.

//Special Thanks//

Thank you The Bristol & Nicole for hosting the event!

Thank you for coming out and supporting us!
@312food @bestfoodalex @everythingerica @fromuyenwithlove @ms.rosie.mo
@mushroomstew

Congrats Instagram winners! We’re so excited you could join us!
@nyk_events @52eatinghouse

Thanks to our contributing photographer!
@kristen_mendiola

Thanks to my FAB team!
@sherriesavorsthecity @vansventures @chelsias @roneng1