Update: mk
I suppose there’s a chance that someday I’ll get a bad meal at mk, but I don’t expect it to happen soon.
The restaurant, launched by Michael Kornick in 1999, is going as strong as ever, and Kornick’s current executive chef, Erick Simmons, looks like a major talent.
The 28-year-old Simmons comes from the highly regarded Bradley Ogden at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas (I had a terrific meal there in November), which shares mk’s passion for local and seasonal ingredients. On board for just about seven months, Simmons is proving to be a great fit for mk. A recent meal was highlighted by Simmons’ salad of white asparagus with a yummy poached egg, and a marvelously intense, cream-free asparagus soup in which lurked three impossibly plump mussels. Other knockout dishes included thinly sliced hamachi sashimi, sprinkled with a bit of salt and lemon vinaigrette and strewn with shaved fennel and fennel pollen.
I took it easy on dessert, but couldn’t resist the Soda-licious, a ginger-ale ice cream soda with scoops of coconut sorbet, bing-cherry frozen yogurt and passion fruit gelato. And it’s nice to hear that pastry chef Kate Neumann is back in the kitchen, after a nasty car accident that had sidelined her for three months.
I gave mk three stars back in 1999, and it’s easily worthy of that rating today.
mk, 868 N. Franklin St.; 312-482-9179
— Phil Vettel
First bite: Sura
If you don’t mind feeling like you’ve drifted onto the set of Woody Allen’s “Sleeper,” you can chow on some tasty Thai/pan-Asian food at 2-month-old Sura. With its nearly all-white interior, ultra-modern design and egg-shaped swinging lounge chairs, the room tends to inspire adoration or eye rolling from those looking through its huge windows.
We stopped by for a noon meal of “face towel noodle” (like thick pad siew in a tomato-y sauce) and chicken penang curry. They didn’t taste much different than the version at our local Thai place. But, at $7 a plate they were also comparably priced if not cheaper (and Sura offers a complimentary appetizer with each lunch entree).
We tried the grilled teriyaki calamari with mushrooms. It had few signs of grilling but we enjoyed the sweet and salty tangle of tender tentacles over pleasantly earthy fingers of fungi. Another starter of taro egg rolls is served sprouting out of carrot dip-filled shot glasses. Striking to look at but disappointing — a few tiny cubes in a log of egg roll skin. Still, with lunch for two at about $20 before tip, it was hard to complain.
Sura, 3124 N. Broadway; 773-248-7872
— Monica Eng
