But who cares? We have some pretty outstanding feathers in our chefs' hats in the South Loop, too. We have, for example, Iron Chef Jose Garces. A Chicago native, not only does he rock at the Food Network, he's also the executive chef at our very own Mercat a la plaxa at our very own Blackstone Hotel in our very own neighborhood at Michigan and Harrison. He also owns several restaurants in Phildadelphia--but he made time to come to Mercat recently for the restaurant's third anniversary party. And he made cordial rounds during the well-populated family-style dinner the restaurant hosted for its fans to celebrate the big day. It wasn't cheap--$95 plus tax and tip, but many of the most popular of the restaurant's Catalan-style tapas were served--plus all the wine you could drink, including enough Cava for a good toast!

I know all this because my South Loop friend Anita went to the anniversery dinner--and loved it. She said she could have talked to Garces all she wanted but never got around to it. But it was cool the way he was on hand to talk to anyone who was an admirer. Anita told me all this tonight while we dined at Mercat and had many of the dishes she had on that special night: like serrano ham and fig salad. And diver scallops. We did not have the suckling pig, however--which requires special arrangements and costs a few hundred dollars.

Anita said she also heard that on Mondays Mercat was going to host dinners featuring dishes Iron Chef Garces has made on the Food Network. But when we asked about it, our server brought us a card for upcoming Mondays with a nice tasting menu on it containing Mercat's beloved standbys only--such as Spanish omelette with spinach, potatoes and saffron aioli--not Garces' Iron Chef standouts such as asparagas ice cream.

Time will tell what will happen and how it will all work. But Anita and I decided to devote an upcoming Monday or two to Mercat no matter what they are serving.

In the meantime, if the Iron Chef stuff doesn't appeal to your palate, you still have nothing to fret about concerning the lack of a Michelin star in our community. Just remember this: Kroll's at 18th and Michigan was recently recognized by Channel 2 for having some of the best fried cheese curds in Chicago.

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By Cousin Bruce from West Orange, NJ
Posted: 04/17/2011 4:34 PM

Hi Bonnie: Sounds like you had a good dinner. We've had a good one recently and are looking forward to another in May (my 65th b'day). Love, Cousin Bruce West Orange, NJ

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By Stephen Reginald from South Loop
Posted: 04/04/2011 4:22 PM

Once of these days, I'm going to break my piggy (no pun intended here) bank and visit Mercat. I keep hearing how wonderful it is and this piece made me want to go...and made me very hungry.