Soundtrack of the day: Summer by Calvin Harris
I still can't believe it! It's Memorial Day weekend! It's the unofficial start of summer! After the rough winter Chicago has had, it's only right for Mother Nature to give us the best weather possible for this weekend. In the spirit of red, white, and blue, and honoring the troops, it's only fitting that we commemorate this holiday with a good old American barbeque... with Chicago Q as the grill master.
Not wanting to waste precious sunlight, we started early, as in early enough benefit from Q's bottomless mimosa brunch. When my friends arrived at Q, it seemed as though a lot of people had the same barbeque idea, and was told that it would be 1.5 hr wait for outdoor seating. Somehow, Buddy Jesus was on my side because when I arrived to meet my friends, the hostess sat us outside without waiting 1.5 hrs. My tapeworm thanks you (Brittney/Bridget)!
This little bowl of pickles arrived along with a bowl of sweet potato chips ( I was too busy eating them to remember to take a pic! Whoops!) I am not a fan of pickles. I would gladly give you my pickle anytime ( uh huh. I set that up just for you.) For the sake of my reading noshers, I figured I would eat at least one, so you know, I can tell you that the pickle tasted like a pickle. Pow right in the kisser! What kind of heaven is this pickle pickled with?! These are sweet pickles, and by sweet, I mean that it tasted like they were bathing in some honey/maple syrup. It was AMAZING! It also had the most subtle, but just right peek of spice. I was starting to think that the chips and pickles were bottomless too. They kept bringing more! And once again I polished off the bowl of chips before remembering to take a pic.
Que up the grill Q. I'm ready for some meat! I could not decide as to what meat would go with my mimosa, so I opted for the Benedict Flight. This fulfilled all my wishes. You get 3 different kinds of Benedicts:
Southern Eggs Benedict : You get a fried green tomato instead of an english muffin. I never thought I would ever be enjoying a fried green tomato, but I did! The breading around it still had a nice crunch despite the juicy piece of meat resting atop it.
Smoked Chicken Eggs Benedict: This was my favorite out of the three. The chicken was juicy and tender, and to my taste buds' surprise, the chicken was nestled on corn bread! I typically think cornbreads are gritty and tasteless, but not this one. It had a cake-like consistency, and was perfectly sweet.
Kobe Brisket Eggs Benedict: Do I need to say anymore? Kobe is all I need to say.
As if their meat was not well sauced enough, they serve you with different sauces so you can drench to your hearts desire. You have the choice of some mustard based sauce, traditional bbq, spicy, and vinegar. I tried them all, and ended up just leaving my meat as it was served. It was already perfect! If I had to pick my fave out of the sauces,it would be the spicy bbq. I commend Q for giving their diners the option to sauce their meat so no one can EVER complain that it's not "wet enough" (here we go...)
Now what proper Southern dweller would want to curtsey around with sticky bbq glazed fingers? The Q ends your meal with a nice moist warm towel, so the people who absolutely cannot thoroughly enjoy their piece of barbequed meat without using their fingers can clean them like a proper gent.
Chicago Q's atmosphere transported me to a picturesque southern town lined with plantation houses. The added visual of the horse drawn carriage passing by was a great prop to my fantasy. Wait, what? I'm in Old Town?
No. I did not forget about my mandatory dessert. Stay tuned for Memorial Day Sunday Funday! Part 2 to find out where I got my sugar high. Now go back to work!
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