the peasantry

a lincoln park neighborhood restaurant, the peasantry that just opened early last year, promises elevated street food. their new american dishes lie in the foundation of farm-to-table concept and believing in making everything in-house including grinding only prime cuts of meat for their burger patties. the minds behind the peasantry are also the propietors of chicago favorite hot dog joint, franks 'n' dawgs.

the decor of the place was a interesting mix of rustic and modern contemporary. the grey wall on the right is adorned with grafiitti style art while the opposite walls are clunged by grade school style blackboards. at end of the restaurant, i was greeted by "fire place" where reflective jars held candles. while in one back corner of the restaurant, a chicago flag paints the wall. surprisingly, it also chipped in some southern vibe on  top of it all.

the reason why {xy} and i were there :: their menu was a rather interesting mix and i was interested in tasting their interpretation of elevated street food. we were seated at the back of the restaurant near the fireplace and next to one of the few communal tables they had available for table sharing and huge parties.

pasta :: rabbit pasta | red wine braised rabbit with homemade egg noodles, mushrooms, shaved ricotta salata and thyme ($15)

i've read many praises for this lean meat gamey pasta but was i in sync with the other food reviewers on their sentiments? the first thing i was noticed was the lack of seasoning on the pasta, which could have helped it a long way. but, the rabbit meat in contrast was flavorful with every biteful although a couple of pieces were a tad dry.

one of the positive points was that the fact that the egg noodle had a lovely al dente bite to its texture, only can be found in fresh homemade pasta. the mushroom were great sponges absorbing the delicious wine based sauce. the rustic bread was not toasted enough and the ricotta salata did not add any value to the dish in my opinion, both of which i could have done without. overall, the dish was fine but it wasn't amazing.

burgers :: lamb burger | onion lamb burger with olive aioli, green garlic, and asparagus pistou, red onion and parsley ($12)

{xy}'s choice: the grill marks were apparent on the lamb patty and the crusty bread.  {xy} mentioned that the bread was too dry and crusty that it hurt his lips. thank goodness that the meat was moist and they injected a good punch of gamey flavor leaning towards the mediterranean spice palate. good lamb patty sandwiched between not so good bread took away some of its potential to be out of this world.

salads & sides :: triple truffle fries | yukon gold waffle fries, truffle butter, truffle salt, truffle oil & parsley ($7)

as much as i liked truffle, i was a bit nervous when i chose something that called itself triple truffle fries - i'd expect a truffle overload! surprisingly, the truffle flavor was just right, mild enough to not overpower the fries itself but not so subtle that i could still taste the hint of it. while the seasoning was balanced, which resulted to pretty tasty fries, the crispiness wasn't close to what it needed to be :/

chalkboard specials :: macadamia nut churros | with white chocolate and hibiscus anglaise sauce ($6)
 

one word: disappointing. churros, they were not.... i am not quite even sure what to call them. they were overfried on the outside but undercooked on the inside. wasn't light nor airy encased in a crispy exterior like a good churro should be. the white chocolate and hibiscus anglaise sauce was a delight though.  i would definitely skip this unless these were an off night for their churros.

the peasantry offers quite a wide selection of their personal spin on elevated street food - while fascinating on paper but still has the room for improvement in their execution. perhaps i should be a tad more adventurous with my choices but i hope the people responsible for the success of the reputable and loved franks 'n dawgs will steer the peasantry in the right direction.

the peasantry | location

2723 n clark st, 
chicago, il 60614, 
united states

{yummy-ness | 3.5 forks out of 5 }

{worth trying | truffle fries}

disclaimer this is written based on personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others.