Conscious Choice: Veggie Dining Goes Posh at Green Zebra

September 2004 | Conscious Dining

Veggie Dining Goes Posh at Green Zebra

by Janine Maclachlan

Devoted Chicago vegetarians have waited a long time for a restaurant like the Green Zebra. The highly-anticipated West Town spot celebrates the bounty of the garden in a way that would make proud Alice Waters, the California food guru who preaches the preparation of natural organic foods in simple ways. The restaurant, which opened in late April, is the latest venture by star chef Shawn McClain and his partners, the luminaries behind Spring, the popular mostly-seafood establishment in Wicker Park.

At Green Zebra, McClain has chef Michael Bulkowski manning the stoves. Bulkowski changes the menu as frequently as three times a week to showcase the ever-evolving palette of vegetables that become available as the seasons march forward. He focuses on small plates so diners can experience many different tastes.

Farm-fresh Food in an Upscale Urban Setting

Bulkowski, previously McClain’s sous chef at Spring and four-star Trio in Evanston, reveals the source of many of the ingredients on the menu, most of them from local growers in the Midwest.

Bulkowski buys from farms represented by the Land Connection, an organization founded by Terra Brockman to save farmland in central Illinois, and Home Grown Wisconsin, a consortium of mostly organic farms near Madison, Wis. He patronizes his friends, too. Eggs are from Prospera Farm, owned by Michael Zink, a Chicago restaurant veteran who worked with Bulkowski at Spring.

The menu also includes a few non-vegetarian items, but the chicken and fish are chosen with just as much care. Halibut comes from Alaska, recognized for its well-managed fishery program, and the chicken is from small organic farms.

Small Plates Mean More to Taste

To help guide your do-it-yourself degustation, or progressive tasting, the small-plate menu is divided into three sections ranging from lighter to more robust dishes.

Refreshing starts are baby lettuces with shaved manchego cheese, radishes and creamy peppercorn dressing ($8) and a tower of chilled organic beets with creamy mascarpone and port wine-lemongrass vinaigrette ($9). The singular raw selection is the California inside-out roll ($8) where the traditional nori wrap is encased in a coconut-mix coating, so that it resembles rice on the outside. The fresh wasabi gives it a nice punch.

For a second course, I loved the baby patty pan squash with zucchini bread ($9) and heirloom tomato sauce with Saigon cinnamon, a spice with a kick that simply adds depth here. Dumplings made from Okinawan sweet potatoes ($9), a surprising purple, are presented in a star anise broth.

For the third wave, the angolotti ($10), tiny hand-made pasta pillows filled with goat cheese, served with luscious brown turkey figs and pistachios, was a highlight.

While this item rotates on and off the menu, others simply evolve with the seasons. Earlier this year a galette, essentially a puff-pastry tart, showcased spring-only ingredients: morel mushrooms, spring onions and white asparagus ($11). Later in the season it brimmed with lobster mushrooms, baby shallots and sweet corn ($14).

It’s difficult to choose between a cheese course and dessert, so opt for both. While some chefs focus on European cheese, this rare American-only cheese course ($6) criss-crosses the country and is certainly worth the indulgence. You’ll want a second helping of the ice cream tasting ($6), on one visit a “flight” of carrot cake, tarragon, hot chocolate and medjool date flavors. Vegans can choose the spiced ginger baba cake ($7) with roasted banana soy ice cream and fresh coconut. But the show-stopper is the white chocolate dreamsicle ($7) with vanilla bean ice cream and orange granite, (pronounced “grah NEE tay”) an icy version of sorbet, which is served in stemware topped with ginger soda poured at the table.

Chic and Friendly

The hip and friendly service staff seem just as excited about the ingredients as the team back in the kitchen, and are skilled at guiding wine choices to complement menu choices. The chic room is a calming pale green with abstract art, lush palms and Asian-influenced dinnerware. With all its Zen-like glory, the designer overlooked a teeny washroom essential — the mood lighting makes it impossible to do a lipstick check.

The Final Word

Green Zebra, which derives its name from a quirky-looking striped heirloom tomato, is clear evidence that vegetable-focused cuisine, like its namesake, can be adventurous and delicious, no small feat for the meat-and-potatoes Midwest. The clear flavors exemplify my favorite cooking philosophy: get good ingredients, then get out of the way.

Green Zebra, 1460 W. Chicago Avenue, 312-243-7100. Tuesday through Thursday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5:30 to 11 p.m.; Sunday 5:30 to 9 p.m. Closed Monday.

Janine MacLachlan is a writer, cooking school owner and food enthusiast whose search for well-raised food is a passion.

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