Chicago Eats - GT Fish & Oyster

I have been waiting for tonight for quite some time. I finally had the opportunity to eat at GT Fish & Oyster, a restaurant that is a part of the Boka Group (think Girl and the Goat). The GT comes from the chef's name, Guiseppe Tentori, and as you can tell by his name, there was definitely a lot of Italian Italian influence at this obviously seafood joint. Tonight's experience confirmed what I had thought - the wait was worth it. Before getting to the actual food, have I told you how much I love small plates? I experience the buyer's remorse constantly when I order one single entree for dinner. GT, you have already delivered before I even started to order.

foie gras and shrimp terrine

Foie gras! Yep, I had to get it. And my friend had never tried foie gras, and wasn't quite sure what it was when I ordered it. I didn't actually tell her what it was for fear that she wouldn't quite take to the "fattened fowl liver" as I so eloquently put it. All turned out better than expected as she thought that this was the best dish of the night! This was one of the two cold dishes we ordered tonight, and it was definitely one of my favorites. As with most foie gras dishes, it was paired with sweet things - an apricot chutney (amazing in its own right) and pickled onions which reminds me of another foie gras dish I had not too long ago... This was the first time I had cold foie gras, and what I really liked about this one was that it was unspoiled by a rich sauce or other flavors being introduced to it - you were able to experience the rich and buttery goodness of the liver. It went nicely with the shrimp, but the best part was throwing everything together into one bite. A great way to start.

sunfish ceviche

As I perused the menu, another one of the cold plates caught my eye - and not necessarily because I love a good ceviche (which I do). Chimichurri sauce, which is essentially an Argentinian steak sauce, was what really drew me to this dish. I wanted to see GT's take on it since I'm going to be attempting to make my own soon, and wanted to know what his would taste like. The sauce itself was tangy but didn't overpower the milder tasting sunfish. Besides the green coloring from the chimichurri, you also had some small chunks of avocado thrown in there for good measure. All a great combination of course, and quite tasty with the tostadas served alongside it. We purposely got the ceviche to balance out the richness of the foie gras, as well as the dishes coming soon...

basil gnocchi

So here's where some of Guiseppe's Italian heritage comes into play - pastas. And I am a particular fan of gnocchi. When it's made right. Light and fluffy but still starchy, it's a unique texture that maybe not everyone loves. GT did it justice in this application, although I do have to say that it was my least favorite dish of the night. The gnocchi itself was of melt in your mouth variety, which is always a positive. But my feeling about the rest of the dish and the sauce was that they didn't really wow the tastebuds. The mussels, shrimp, and cherry tomato gave it some extra flavor and cooked well, but overall I'd say this dish was relatively flat, probably due to the incredible foie gras and ceviche. Not to say that this wasn't good - it was just a bit underwhelming compared to the other all-stars on this menu.

kobe short rib agnolotti

See those little red things? Those are the crawfish. And those purple things that you can't really see too well? Purple cauliflower. Yep, this was our second pasta dish of the night, and definitely the better of the two. The agnolotti itself was delicious, although I question the need for kobe beef in anything that's minced up (kobe burgers somewhat confound me). The sauce was good, flavors were well balanced, and the pasta itself was tender. Overall, a great dish that left me wanting a few more pieces.

oyster po'boy sliders

So now you've probably realized the other cultural influence of our good chef GT from the post above including some kobe goodness - asian flavors and ingredients. Here, we have a couple of fried oysters, thrown in between a Hawaiian bread bun, some fairly spicy red chili, and topped with some kimchi. Mmmmmm, I love kimchi, just like any good Korean. This was my favorite dish of the night. Not just because of the kimchi, mind you (although that helps a lot). It was basically the perfect blend of flavors and textures. When you first bite into one of these nuggets smashed full of fantastic, you immediately notice the heat and POW! of the kimchi and red chili. Somewhere in there you notice the sweetness of the Hawaiian bread, and on the back end, you finally taste the oyster, beautifully fried but not greasy. You also notice the textures - the softness of the bread contrasted so well with the crunch of the peanut and the kimchi. All in all, a beautifully constructed dish, married to ingredients I would have never put together. I mean who knew peanuts and kimchi would go together so well?

Chocolate, raspberry, caramel, peanut semi-freddo

blueberry buckle with almond ice cream

The desserts. We were sitting next to a table of ~10 that tried pretty much everything on the menu it appeared. And they tried all 4 desserts, and they all looked great. So we pretty much had to get two desserts. Unfortunately, I don't remember the actual names, but I did my best. First up was the semi-freddo. As I remarked to my friend, this is the dessert that everyone wants. It was a cold dish and it seemed to have every decadent ingredient on the must-have list: raspberry sauce, caramel, chocolate, chocolate cookie crumbs, peanuts, peanut butter. This thing was rich, creamy, and pretty much THE dessert to get. Quite possibly the best dessert I have ever had.

Second up was what we thought was a cookie, but it was not. The blueberry buckle had toasted walnuts and almonds atop a scoop of almond ice cream and this blueberry pastry. There was also a blueberry sauce that was either sitting below the pastry, or baked inside. Either way, this was really good. Not nearly as rich and decadent as the semi-freddo, but damn good in it's own right. It sort of reminded me of Christmas for some reason. Definitely not as sweet of a dessert, but the subtle flavors blended well to win you over. And this was not an easy task to do sitting next to the semi-freddo.

So yes, GT Fish & Oyster, you are yet another staple in my list of recommendations for Chicagoans looking for a great meal. It's not just seafood as the name would suggest - it's definitely an interesting combination of Italian, Asian, and even Latin flavors and cooking techniques that really set this place apart. Book a reservation to this place, and book it for a bigger party - your friends are going to want to join you.