Bottlefork, a new restaurant in the River North neighborhood, features a traditional American menu that focuses on smoked entrees, alongside an exclusive beer brewed by Begyle Brewing Co. of Ravenswood.
The beer, called Root Cellar Rye Amber Ale , is brewed with sugar beets, parsnips and celeriac from Nichols Farms, based in Marengo.
Located at 441 North Clark St., Bottlefork is a collaboration between former Four Seasons Chef Kevin Hickey and Rockit Ranch Productions, a Chicago company.
“There’s a fusion of ideas, flavors, ingredients and techniques that are crossing over from the kitchen to the bar,” said Jason Ring, general manager at Bottlefork.
The building formerly housed a restaurant called Dragon Ranch, which was shuttered after a small fire and insurance investigation last year.
During the closure of the restaurant, Rockit Ranch and CEO Billy Dec decided to re-concept.
“Billy Dec and I had known each other for sometime and he approached me about creating a new concept for the space,” Hickey said.
Hickey said the long 40-foot bar inspired him to create a space that was equally restaurant and bar. He said he wanted a place where the cooks and bartenders worked together, food and beverage blended together cohesively to create some flavors and experiences that were new.
Ring said the goal of the decor was to be domestic.
“From the tin ceiling worked on the kitchen hood, to the fabric patterns on the banquettes, and the collective music playing in the background, they all give a warm, rich and inviting domestic characteristic,” Ring said.
He said the concept was to take the domestic field and turn it into a dinner party.
“Bottlefork is a cozy, relaxed environment in River North with a strong emphasis on locally sourced and globally inspired food and drink,” Hickey said.
Yet like any other new restaurant there are always some challenges.
“The human element is always the most challenging aspect of any project,” Hickey said.
Hickey said hiring the right people to become cooks, dishwashers, bartenders, waiters and training them was the another big challenge for.
“Writing the menu, buying art, plates, glasses, creating the wine list, beer list, cocktails program—that’s the easy, fun stuff,” he said.
Ring said one of the most unique presentations building has to offer is a bag of crisps with eggs.
It’s a homemade bag of potato chips with malt vinegar powder and sea salt mixed with a perfectly poached egg shaken at the side of the table like a cocktail. Then it is poured into the bowl, coming out crunchy and gooey chips.
“It’s one of the highest selling items on the entire menu and people just love the show,” Ring said.
Ring also said the burger is a must try dish since the customer feedback is always consistent.
The Wood Grilled Ground Bacon Burger consists of 70 percent lean beef, 30 percent smoked bacon, buttermilk vermillion blue cheese, shoestring potatoes and a special sauce.
Ring said customers tell him, “it changed my life, and it’s the best burger I ever had.”
The collaboration with Begyle Brewing Co. in February has been a success since it has become the restaurant’s top selling beer.
Hickey’s said he wanted to mix deli flavors with the beer—another way to blend food and beverage cohesively.
“We all like a seasonal beer that is nicely balanced and a full flavor,” Ring said.
The Drawing Room’s Brandon Phillips designed the cocktail program and came up with the smoke of the day, which encapsulates Bottlefork’s concept.
Smoke of the day uses the kitchen smoker’s leftover fat in a process called fat washing that extracts the flavors without the texture of meat products.
Then they take a base spirit and blend it with the liquefied fat, letting it absorb for a few hours while the alcohol breaks down the essential oils and flavors.Once that’s done they do a hard strain to get out any particles and freeze it.
“When you freeze it, the solids of the fat will turn into a hockey puck and you just pull it right off and bring it back to that essential spirit,” Ring said.
Phillips said it was a way to incorporate that always changing daily regimen of going about creating something that’s new and different.
“It was interesting to see people who look at the description and read smoker drippings in their cocktails but once they try it, they are able to see how the flavors play well off one another,” Phillips said.
“They certainly promoted their cocktail list well. It was above average,” said Aris Michalopoulos, a customer.
He added the food was also above average but relied on heavy-handed use of oil, butter, and fat to make flavor.
“Though that’s depressingly typical for the area,” Michalopoulos said.
Another customer felt differently.
Izha Gayotin said the cocktails are exceptionally good and the food was well-prepared and delicious.
“It’s a perfect meeting spot for some food and drinks before hitting the town on a Saturday night,” Gayotin said.
“We strive for everything to be good about Bottlefork,” Hickey said. “From the atmosphere, lighting, music, food to service and location.”
Ring said Bottlefork is open seven days a week for dinner but eventually will be open for lunch and brunch in the summer.
“Bottlefork stands for a restaurant where you can get a great meal with an equally great drink,” Hickey said. “You’re not eating well if you’re not drinking well.”