Conscious Choice: Fixture: A Lincoln Park Newcomer Here to Stay

May 2007 | Conscious Dining

Fixture: A Lincoln Park Newcomer Here to Stay

by Tanya Fritz

On a recent rainy Friday night I strolled into Fixture restaurant and was greeted with a smile, a table, a happy crowd and a creative wine list. It’s a small place, seating about 45 people total, which creates a cozy atmosphere and an audible level that allows for conversation between friends. The intention in opening Fixture in April 2006 was to create a neighborhood night spot, but so far it’s working out well as a place for an after-work drink or a leisurely dinner. “We wanted to offer the neighborhood a place for a casual drink, a local dinner spot and even a nightcap on the way home,” explains Fixture’s owner Chris Peckat.

Fixture’s chef, Sarah Nelson, believes in eating for health — and for good reason: at age 14 she was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Virus, a disease causing fatigue. According to the CDC, as many as 95 percent of adults between 35 and 40 years of age have been infected with Epstein-Barr, yet there are no proven treatments. Nelson’s illness drove her interest in learning how certain foods react with the body, how they affected people’s mental and physical state — and especially how her diet directly affected her. This interest inspired her to enroll in culinary school and is clearly reflected in Fixture’s menu, both through the dishes she has developed and the academic insight the menu offers customers.

Divided into “Hot” and “Cold” sections, the globally influenced menu offers small plates, each of which are meant to pair well with wine. Favorites include dishes with creative ingredients such as the Pasilla marinated Lobster Ceviche which comes on a bed of jicama salad with a cactus pear emulsion. The Truffled Grilled Cheese with smoked tomato puree and basil oil offers a rich comforting meal with a twist — a perfect warmer for a cold rainy night. The Grilled Hanger Steak is especially interesting served with Togarashi frites and yuzu aioli, which the menu explains is a a sour Japanese citrus fruit with a hint of lime. Yuzu is a flavor enhancer, similar to lemon, but it has a sweeter and brighter taste and a great green color. The ingredients may not be familiar to many diners, but the menu gives educational, fun and well-written descriptions of the unusual ingredients in each dish.

Wine Director Michael Willison has created a list offering wine both by the glass and by the bottle, including a few hard to find favorites such as a Heinrich Zweigelt, from Burgenland, the eastern most state of Austria. Other bottles, which are not so hard to find, but tasty and shockingly well-priced, include, Burgans Albarino ($26) and Ridge Vineyards Three Valleys ($46). Fixture’s list of global microbrews includes beers from far off places like Czechvar from Czech Republic and Hitachino Nest White Ale from Naka-gun, Japan as well as some closer to home like Two Brothers Domaine Dupage from Warrenville, Illinois and the Victory Hop Devil IPA from Downington, PA.

With its imaginative menu of comfort foods and exotic ingredient twists, Fixture has become a neighborhood favorite and will most likely continue to be for a good time to come.

Fixture, 2706 N. Ashland, Chicago; 773-248-3331. Open at 5pm daily except Monday.

Tanya Fritz is a professionally trained chef, oenophile, slow-food fanatic and yoga enthusiast.

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