Logan Square Kitchen
2333 N. Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
http://logansquarekitchen.com/
If there ever was a perfect testament to Logan Square’s Foodie character, it would certainly be found in the Pop Up restaurants hosted by the Logan Square Kitchen. During the weekend of the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival, this space hosted a chef and his small menu for one weekend only. The menu was a small and delicious addition to Logan Square, at least for that small glimpse of time.
Now, what is a pop up restaurant? It is as it sounds. A chef comes into a space and plans to try few dishes on the good people of Logan Square like guinea pigs for one weekend. The Logan Square Kitchen is one such venue that hosts these restaurants. It is an extremely cool idea to know that this one location will effectively morph into different restaurants throughout the year.
On the weekend of July 29-31 of 2011, the Logan Square Kitchen became a restaurant called “Gypsy”. The menu, as simple as it was, was very tasty. The chef was the same chef of Le Bouchon /. The main dish that caught my eye on the menu was the duck tacos. The duck was very tasty and oily, as expected from duck meat. It came served on a fried flour tortilla and topped with mandarin oranges, clinanto and pickled onions. The pickled onions added both a sweet and sour flavor to the taco, which I am still conflicted about. My biggest complaint was how greasy the dish was. Granted, it was duck after all. I think settling on a corn tortilla that was not fried would have helped cut back on the grease that did literally drip out onto my hand.
For a starter, I had an order of Risotto balls. These were extremely good. The outside texture was crunchy and the inside was the goowy risotto that tasted lovely with the tomato sauce and fresh basil on top. Compliments to the chef.
I recommend that all aspiring Logan Square chefs and admiring foodies keep an eye on what new pop up restaurants end up at the Logan Square kitchen. You’ll be supporting and fueling the Foodie movement that is, most certainly, taking over Logan Square.
