Feb. 10--'The Table, Donkey and Stick" is a Grimm fairy tale of magic and revenge, and I will not trouble you with the details (that is what Google is for) except to note that a fable involving a gold-excreting beast of burden is an unusual tie-in for a dining establishment.
Nevertheless, at Table, Donkey and Stick the restaurant (2728 W. Armitage Ave., 773-486-8525), you will eat well and heartily. Chef Scott Manley offers an Alpine-influenced menu, which translates into robust fare on the order of roasted and braised meats, artisan cheeses and charcuterie.
And its Restaurant Week dinner menu (three courses, $44) offers a virtual tour of its best offerings.
For starters, you're asked to pick one of six cheeses or spreads; there are some nice cheeses on the list, but I'd steer you toward the house-made stuff, including a pleasantly creamy duck liver mousse (not foie, but very tasty) and the coarse but mild pork rillettes. (I love the minibaguette served with this course.)
Among the four appetizers is a very good smoked salmon, served with some odd-looking vegetables that turn out to be long strands of cocoa-roasted parsnips. Braised rabbit over creamed celery root, with shards of mustard tuille and wilted spinach, looks delicate but has plenty of backbone.
The duck meatball is an agreeable mess of an entree; the meatball is already sliced up, gamboling in a tangle of egg noodles, grilled cabbage, duck breast, Comte cheese and shaved carrot. The grilled pork loin is a much tidier composition, the bright-pink pork slices laid against sunflower risotto, roasted sunchokes and some Meyer lemon bits that add bright notes of acidity.
Dessert is optional; there's a very nice deconstructed carrot cake that's a worthwhile $7 investment. Even better, though it's most appropriate for the beginning of the meal, is the soft Swabian pretzel (Swabia is a region in southwest Germany), house-made and accompanied by a lovely cauliflower and Comte cheese fondue. I'd spend $6 on one of those anytime.
The building, once home to Bonsoiree, is cramped and noisy, though not intolerably so. The main dining area, in back, consists of several long communal tables in proximity (the outdoor area eases the crunch somewhat in more pleasant weather). It's easy, sitting there among fellow diners, to imagine yourself in a convivial, crowded beer hall.
Which I gather is the point.
Chicago Restaurant Week features three-course lunches ($22) and three- and four-course dinners ($33, $44) and runs through Thursday. For participating restaurants, menus and reservations, go to choosechicago.com.
pvettel@tribpub.com
Twitter @PhilVettel
