Food Blog

The guys who brought you Volo and Kitsch’n have put together an outstanding beer geek and foodie destination, The Paramount Room on Milwaukee (415 N. Milwaukee Ave) just south of Hubbard and the train viaduct in an old speakeasy. I guess you could define it as a gastropub if that definition is above average pub drinks and food. And they’ve conveniently put it between work and the train for me.

When they first opened, just a few weeks ago, they were serving the Paramount Burger, with a ‘complimentary, optional’ slab of foie gras. It’s no longer on the menu, and I fear I’ll never have such a decadent meat and fat combination for 16 bucks again.

Chef Stephen Dunne’s foie is bourbon cured and now appears as a ‘Brioche French Toast’ with maple walnut syrup, again, the menu stressing that the locally illegal foie is optional and complimentary.

I’ve been in there several times when locals chefs and restaurant people are there, and when I hear them raving about the food, you know it’s got to be good.

When a guy like John Manion from Mas is sitting next to you raving about the steak tartare, you order it.

This is no ground beef tartare, it’s the perfect size cut, with the traditional capers and onions already mixed in.

I tried the Scotch Egg on another visit, prompted when I heard another group of visiting chefs demanding it.

The Scotch Egg, for the uninitiated, is a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage and deep fried. The 4 spears of asparagus under it do little to make such a combination look or sound healthy.

The sausage is perfect, towards the pink side.

As for the beer, a worthy selection of 11 taps (NOT counting the bud light) - Goose Island Matilda, Spaten (lager), Delirium Tremens, Left Hand Milk Stout, Great Lakes Holy Moses, Strongbow Cider, Smithwicks, Guinness, Einbecker Pilsner, Arcadia IPA, and Konings Hoeven Quad. Delirium, while more and more popular, is great to find on tap, the Arcadia Hopmouth will satisfy the hop-lover, the Quad (Quadrupel from the former La Trappe Trappists) is a real treat, but the Left hand Milk stout is just plain delicious. Lighter than you’d expect from a beer as black as night, sweet, like a chocolate-coffee milk shake, without the darker, burnt roasted flavors you find in a typical stout.

The bottle list is also well-rounded, but I’m always more impressed by taps. One interesting bottle is Unibroue’s Ephemere a white (”Blanche”) beer with the crisp flavor of green apples.

My main caution is ‘above average’ goes for the price as well. The sandwiches and most entrees are served without sides, so if paying for a 9 dollar hamburger without fries (an extra 6) or paying 7 bucks for 4 fried pickle spears scares you, be forewarned.

PostScript - A review would be incomplete without mentioning that they have the coolest bathroom hand dryers you’ll ever see. Made by Dyson, it’s called an Airblade.