The Party is on Parson's Patio; Brindille's Elegance Shines

Parson's Chicken & FIsh [Photo: Clayton Hauck]

The patio at Parson's Chicken & Fish is where the party's at this summer, writes Amy Cavanaugh. The long wait is made more bearable by a "damn fine" Negroni slushy and other "outrageously good cocktails." As for the food, the grilled chicken is "lovely and smoky" but the fried chicken "merely passes muster" with a light batter "without much taste." Instead, the highlights are "pristine" oysters, a "lively" chickpea salad and baccala that are an "ideal salty bar snack." And the lone dessert—funnel cake—is "confusing" as "none of the flavors meshed." The crowds will come during summer, but it won't necessarily be for the food. [TOC]

Brindille continues to impress critics with Phil Vettel deeming it worthy of three stars. King crab merus is placed over savory tapioca custard and a Sauternes-laced broth while wild frog legs arrive "luxuriating" in a cauliflower blancmange. The foie gras with house-made brioche and "complex" rhubarb jam is "knife-and-fork, share-with-friends hefty;" a "brilliant composition" of sweetbreads is accented with cocoa nibs, rabbit saddle and a tiny rack of rabbit; and the "majestic" lobster Brindille is a one and a half pound lobster surrounded by "marble-sized" potatoes and a vanilla-scented, roe-fortified sauce. Capping off the meal, a "gorgeous presentation" of roasted pineapple with toasted cashews and crème fraiche ice cream along with cherry-almond clafoutis and a dollop of Chantilly cream will leave you feeling like you're in the "world's fanciest soda fountain." [Tribune]