Wagyu Beef

Beef is enjoying a resurgence in popularity and sola knows how to serve it best.

wagyu new york steak
new potatoes, cippolinis, wilted greens, red wine ginger demi

Known by the Japanese as "white steak," Wagyu (pronounced wah-G'YOU, a word that translates as "Japanese" [wa] "cattle" [gyu].

The beef comes from Japanese cattle that are treated to regular massages and a diet of grains and beer, at least in Japan. Wagyu cattle are now raised in the U.S. and Australia, although Kobe beef, considered the best of wagyu, comes from a specific region in Japan.

Chicago's Green City Market is in full bloom!

The produce is still a bit limited due to the cold winter but we have asparagus, strawberries & rhubarb aplenty.

Come in to try our prairie fruits farms goat cheese biscuits with strawberries and rhubarb from klug farms served with goat cheese-ginger-vanilla cream. We're doing our best to feature the freshest in local produce as the seasons unfold.

aloha,
Carol Wallack

James Beard Dinner

I got a call back in November from a woman from the “beer house”, is the way I heard it from my host.

I figured my bar manager forgot to make a beer order. I was shocked to find out it was the Beard House (better known as the James Beard Foundation, in the industry). They had heard a lot of great things about sola and wanted to invite me to New York to cook there. What an honor.

Never in my life (or I should say “my culinary life”) was this ever on the radar. Really. I cooked and then owned a restaurant because it’s what I did, what I knew and because I enjoyed it. I never even considered this to be a possibility. I hadn’t even considered it. Ever

So here I am talking to the woman from the James Beard House. She was lovely, kind and complimentary.

She invited me (and some of my staff) to come to cook! Display our wares, so to speak.

The James Beard House is so deeply rooted in culinary history and tradition. The whole ordeal is rather daunting.

I’ve spoken to other chef acquaintances I have in the city to get ideas and suggestions and personal experiences.

Alex is heading up the organizing while we are there, I’m figuring how we’ll get us and everything to new york!

We’ve now been planning it for months. It’s a logistic nightmare getting everything we need to New York, but we are excited as hell. We’ve got the hotel, airline tickets, food and wine donations, flowers. And now we just have to pull it off.

We are offering the dinner we will be serving in new york at sola on may 1st… Two reasons. We want to share it with our guests. And we need the practice!

We hope you’ll come, enjoy, and wish us luck

Mahalo and Bon apetit

The Bacon Menu

I always thought it would be a cool idea to do a bacon menu. I’ve done it at home and once or twice for a specific guest in the restaurant, so I decided to create a menu around our housemade bacon. We have a 3 course menu, including a dessert of taffy apple pie, with housemade bacon brittle ice cream.

I’m so surprised at the response that we’ve gotten from the newsletter we sent out. I never knew people had such a preoccupation with smoked pork belly!

We also are asking guests, and visitors to our site, to email with suggestions of topics for our upcoming prix fixe menus. Every month we will change the ingredient and create a menu, for $30.00, around it. Some suggestions we’ve already received are chantrelle mushrooms, avocado, raspberries, etc.

I love the involvement!