Either MK is one of the best new restaurants to open in 1998 or the early leader for the single best restaurant of 1999, depending on which category one places a restaurant that opened in early December.
Of course, there was considerable buzz long before MK made its debut, fueled by Michael Kornick’s work as executive chef at Marche and previous high-profile stints at Gordon and The Pump Room, among others. Add pastry chef extraordinaire Mindy Segal to the mix, and a lot of foodies anticipated something exciting.
MK, so far, isn’t disappointing. The food, almost without exception, is delightful. Kornick detests labels, but contemporary American is as good a description as any for his cooking, which combines clean flavors with eye-pleasing presentation.
Good starting courses include a thick disk of tuna tartare, topped with a remoulade of celery root, mustard and creme fraiche, or sauteed sweetbreads with caramelized endive and a sherry-shallot sauce. Soups include a velvety carrot soup with roasted cumin and spiced apples, sprinkled with crispy shallots for texture, and a chile-laced cream broth ladled over a handful of perfectly steamed mussels. An endive salad, decked out with French beans, Bartlett pears and toasted pecans, is a keeper, too.
For the indulgent, there are a couple of pricey appetizers — one a luscious slice of foie gras, served with armagnac-laced prunes and smooth parsnip puree, a marvelous meeting of three very aggressive flavors. Another is homemade fettuccine, tossed in butter and topped with shaved black truffle and parmigiana reggiano.
Venison is rapidly becoming the must-try entree; it works well with the accompanying zinfandel-braised onions and apple-endive salad, though the meat is so tender and mild-flavored that “spa-raised,” rather than “ranch-raised,” seems a more accurate description.
Also impressive are beef filet, poached in consomme, smeared with a lovely white-truffle cream and served with crispy fries, and rack of pork, presented sliced with braised cabbage, fig relish and a madeira wine sauce.
The monkfish-lobster combination is a clever pairing, given monkfish’s “poor man’s lobster” nickname. The monkfish fillet arrives atop a pile of saffron-garlic whipped potatoes, which in turn is surrounded by a light lobster broth; firm pieces of Maine lobster are scattered about the plate.
Barely seared tuna is another treat, served over mashed potatoes with roasted garlic and a tangy red-wine syrup.
Mindy Segal’s desserts come at you in waves, offering a variety of tastes and textures on every plate. Her aptly named Amazing Apples presents a thin slice of apple pie, a small taffy apple, cinnamon ice cream and a delicious caramel sauce spiked with spiced apple cider. A banana assortment includes a bit of banana bread pudding (made with brioche), banana sherbet and pools of butterscotch sauce surrounding puddles of hot fudge. The decadent bittersweet chocolate cake is all that, layered with malt-chocolate mousse and cashew-meringue crisps. My favorite is the pineapple, braised in ginger and vanilla (picking up wisps of each) and served with pineapple sorbet and mango-pineapple coulis.
The six-course degustation menu ($54; $78 with wine) includes two desserts; one visit the features were warm apple-cider soup, with scoops of apple sorbet (granny smith and delicious), followed by a napoleon of milk-chocolate malt mousse and chocolate tuiles.
Kornick has always demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to fine cheeses, bless him; and the servers gently prod customers to consider them. About six cheeses are available daily; a selection of three cheeses costs $9, serves two and promises to be memorable.
You’ll want good wine to go with that cheese, and MK’s compact but nicely varied list is more than sufficient and priced fairly. There are about a dozen wines by the glass on the menu, along with a handful of aperitifs and martinis, and the dessert wine selection is particularly large.
I didn’t eat lunch at MK because lunch service started a few days ago; the menu, however, is enticing, including a decadent-sounding sandwich of lobster, apple-smoked bacon and plum tomato on toasted brioche. There is also a burger, grilled “to near perfection,” with cheddar, smoked bacon and barbecue sauce — which some youthful staffers have taken to calling, facetiously, as the “McJordan.” (MK, MJ — what’s the difference?)
The decor cleverly incorporates many of the building’s original design elements (it originally was home to a paint-finishing factory), including a couple of sharply angled skylights and exposed wood trusses. Cream, tans and charcoal dominate the color scheme, along with some exposed brick. Most of the wine list is displayed in temperature-controlled coolers with full glass doors.
From the sleek, metal-and-cable railings that trim the open loft upstairs to the sleek black and bluish-silver waiter uniforms (provided by Banana Republic, which gets a menu credit), no detail has escaped notice at MK. The tablecloths are heavy and wonderful to the touch; the flatware is Christoffle, and the wine stems are by Riedel.
The choicest tables are the prime people-watching vantages at the edge of the upstairs loft, which is open to the main dining room below. Though efforts have been made to keep the ambient noise to a manageable level (most of the main dining area is carpeted), this is not a quiet restaurant. Improbably, some of the more intimate corner tables can be noisiest, because lowered ceilings there tend to reflect sound.
Service is laid back but efficient and attentive to detail, although by my third visit it was apparent that they had figured out who I was. (Your mileage may vary.) Kornick himself spends a great deal of time in the dining area, showing up at tables to deliver food, pour wine or just chat (he scrupulously avoided my table, however).
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MK
(star) (star) (star)
868 N. Franklin St.
312-482-9179
Open: Dinner Mon.-Sun., lunch Mon.-Fri.
Entree prices: $16-$28
Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V.
Reservations: Strongly recommended
Noise: Conversation-challenged
Other: Wheelchair accessible; valet parking available
Rating system
(star) (star) (star) (star) Outstanding
(star) (star) (star) Excellent
(star) (star) Very Good
(star) Good
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
