One of the great ironies of Bravo’s “Top Chef” is that it’s all about food, and we never get to eat. We get attached to contestants because we like their attitudes, their passion, their faux-hawks — just never because we love something they cook.
This season, we had a chance to change all that. Chicago contestant Radhika “Rad” Desai is in the kitchen six nights a week as executive chef at Between Boutique Cafe and Lounge in Wicker Park — and as of last weekend, you could walk right in on a Saturday night without a reservation.
We sampled a handful of dishes from Desai’s new seasonal menu to see for ourselves how her food might fare on “Top Chef.” We almost wish we hadn’t. Some things, it seems, are better left to TV.
Lobster trifecta ($23)
Desai says this dish is one of her favorites. But has she learned nothing from “Top Chef” about the perils of offering a mediocre duo — or worse, a “trifecta” — when one great dish will do? The curried lobster bisque was such a thick mess of cream spiked with an overpowering amount of cumin that even if everything else on the plate had been superb, it wouldn’t have mattered. We can almost hear Tiffani, who lost Season 1 (San Francisco) because she tried to serve duos of everything in the finale, shouting from inside our TiVo: “Don’t do it, Rad! Don’t do it!”
Sweet heat shrimp ($13)
This dish reminded us of bubbly Betty from Season 2 (L.A.). We really, really wanted to love her. But she could never quite get it together to convince us that she was the one. At least the bright, minty cucumber salad accompanying the shrimp let us know there’s someone in the kitchen with knife skills that would make Hung from Season 3 (Miami) blush.
Barbecued pork loin satay ($16)
Remember Brian Hill from Season 1? Yeah, neither do we. Save for a pomegranate dipping sauce that tasted strangely of Worcestershire (and little of pomegranate), this dish was utterly forgettable too.
Spicy mantou burgers ($12)
Here, Desai channels Richard from Season 4 (Chicago), who inexplicably managed to work ras-al-hanout (a Moroccan spice blend) into two of the first three dishes we saw him cook. It’s to good effect. We happily would have munched the Moroccan-seasoned frites that accompanied these little bao bun sliders all evening — especially since the sliders themselves were laced with so much paprika we could hardly finish them.
Mint & black pepper crusted lamb chops ($16)
These micro-chops were the one dish we tried that might have won over Tom Colicchio, a man who prizes clean flavors and consistent execution. But anyone who’s watched “Top Chef” knows the only thing Tom hates more than a whiner (ahem, we’re talking to you, Lisa from Season 4) is a garnish that doesn’t serve a function — and Desai has a habit of garnishing all of her dishes with flowers or flower petals. What, for the love of Padma, were flowers doing atop this manliest of manly dishes?
Grand Marnier French toast ($9)
We felt a flash of hometown pride when we tasted this sticky sugar bomb. Desai, who started her career as an assistant pastry chef at River North’s Vermilion (10 W. Hubbard St.), clearly has an edge in a category that’s the undoing of many “Top Chef” contestants (witness Camille’s pineapple upside-down-elimination cake of Season 3). Unfortunately, dessert challenges usually don’t come around until a few episodes into the season, and by that time, we fear Padma will already have asked our only hometown hope to pack her knives and go.
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Follow-up review
Between Boutique Cafe and Lounge
1324 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-292-0585
Try it yourself
Taste Desai’s dishes while watching the season premiere.
What: Five-course tasting menu with wine pairings
When: 9 p.m. Wednesday
Cost: $50. Reservations recommended.
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See related story “Totally RAD / ‘Top Chef’ contender talks about making the cut, on-camera nerves and kitchen disasters,” RedEye, Page 18
