Homestead

Being a huge fan of Roots, I was more than excited to be invited to an event at Homestead. This farm-to-table restaurant sits atop Roots Handmade Pizza. Walking to the roof is like walking into a lush garden with over 100 plants growing alongside the walls and patio. Lights are strung across the space and add a romantic finish to the simplistic and rustic rooftop. Are we still in Chicago? Chef John Wayne Formica has previously shown his expertise at Sunda, and his talents are executed with perfection up here. His food inspirations can be found on his blog Traveling Cowboy Chef. For the Grey Goose event, he prepared bite size portions of some favorite menu items. I may or may not be lying when I say I helped myself to seconds and even thirds. The first bit we tried was a goat cheese and beet bite. This combination has always been a favorite of mine. Next came the Mozzarella Roulade. The house cheese was rolled with meadow mix, arugula and basil. It was topped with a cherry tomato and sustainable spanish extra virgin olive oil. This was absolutely delicious and refreshing. The texture of the mozzarella contrasted well with the filling. Now I love tartar, and I am a huge fan of steak tartar. However, I have never tried Lamb Tartar. That being said, I am a lamb fanatic so having them together was quite the treat. The Colorado lamb was mixed with bulgur, mint, scallion, parsley, tomato, cinnamon, lemon, cucumber, apple wood smoked sea salt over a sesame aioli. As if that wasn’t enough to make your mouth water, it was served on chickpea crisps made in house. Keep passing the yum! The Two Way Potato melted in my mouth. What I believe was a cannoli shell was stuffed with potatoes blended with prairie fruit farm goat cheese and truffle oil. It was topped with a piece of Italian summer truffle. I thought I was over the truffle craze until I tried this dish. The Crispy Vegetable Tempura offered a nice variety of unique vegetables. One of my favorites were the Seared Scallops. Bay scallops were served with a sun choke puree, capers, chives and house-pickled tomatoes. They were then topped with free ranched Kentucky paddlefish caviar and finger lime caviar. This was another new taste for me. The lime caviar added a nice twist to the dish. Last but not least were the Spicy Chicken Wings. Now this might sound a bit messy, but the taste is worth the mess. This chicken is prepared with soy, turmeric, ginger and lemongrass. It’s served over a bed of kale kimchi and accompanied with a chili sauce. Go ahead… dig in. These might give chicken wings a whole new meaning! The menu is meant to be ordered in a sharing manner. So grab a couple of friends and enjoy the ambiance, cocktails and delicious food!