One reason I love to travel is the exposure to different foods, cultures, ideas and people. A case in point is the food discovery from last night at a business dinner in Chicago: short rib lasagne. Wow! It was a blustery, windy, rainy night, and the sadly, the Cubs didn’t win, place or even show in their first World Series appearance in a zillion years, but the kitchen at Bar Siena on Chicago’s near west side was on its A-Game.
Let’s set the stage – the big ballgame was on, the place was packed with hungry and loud Cubs fans, and my dinner hosts were foodies. We ordered a selection of cicchetti (Italian for “little bites” meant for sharing). While the octopus with a chili vinaigrette and grilled shrimp with artichokes were wonderful, the short rib lasagne adorned with roasted garlic béchamel and taleggio cheese was the meal’s most valuable player.
This dish is now pretty high on my Must-Learn-How-to-Make List, and I found the recipe on the first page of Google search results. The owner of Bar Siena is Fabio Viviani from Top Chef, and he shared his recipe with the world on Rachel Ray’s show.
With the windy weather and the World Series, autumn was in full swing last night in Chicago – and this dish really hit the spot. We’re not quite there yet here in Southeast Texas, but once the chill sets in, I’ll be making this “warm up your bones” dish. If you get to it first, please share the results!
Links:
- Bar Siena
- Short Rib Lasagne Recipe
- Fabio Viviani’s Site
- Blogger Review of Bar Siena 1
- Blogger Review of Bar Siena 2
