First Look: The Publican

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They say good things come to those who wait. If that's true, The Publican, which finally opened Thursday in the Warehouse District, should be just about the best thing ever.

Few restaurants have been so hyped as this temple of beer, pork and seafood from some of the heaviest hitters on the Chicago restaurant and nightlife scene: Terry Alexander (Mia Francesca, Sonotheque, Violet Hour), Donnie Madia (Avec, Blackbird, Sonotheque), Eduard Seitan (Avec, Blackbird) and executive chef Paul Kahan (Avec, Blackbird). And few spots have been such a long time coming.

So what does nearly two years in the making get you? In this case, a surprisingly unfussy space. Madia and Thomas Schlesser, who designed Blackbird and Avec, also went to work here, and the result is similarly minimalist with just a few carefully chosen, grand focal points.

Dozens of globe-sized ceiling lights cast a warm glow over the otherwise stark room and the larger-than-life communal table that wraps around the center of it. Along one wall, wooden alcoves house booths, each with a pair of doors that swing shut for privacy. (This lends a certain VIP quality to the booths, but only if you can get past the fact that the setup is strikingly similar to how livestock is corralled.)

In the room's center and fronting the floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto the sidewalk are three-tiered, standing-room-only wooden tables, a nod to European beer halls as well as a convenient way to appease overflow diners until a seat becomes available-reservations are only accepted for Sunday dinner. [Editor's note: The Publican started accepting reservations nightly in December 2008.] The high tables also are ideal for snacking and scoping the scene, and if opening week is any indication, they're where you'll find the trendier elements of the crowd perched after work and throughout the night.

The Publican opens at 3:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday with an abbreviated menu featuring only oysters (six varieties) and ham (three varieties). If you find yourself grazing at one of the high tables later in the evening (the dinner menu starts at 5:30 p.m. daily), don't miss the crisp, salty pork rinds ($5) and the addictive frites ($5) with equally addictive aioli. And, of course, there's the beer.

It's hard to explain just how seriously The Publican takes beer. We could tell you that there are 12 wood-handled taps pouring cult faves such as Coffee Bender ($8) from Minnesota's Surly Brewing Company and seldom-seen-on-draft selections like La Trappe (Koningshoeven) Quadrupel ($11), a Dutch Trappist brew. We also could tell you that there are about 80 beers available by the bottle, from a classic German rauchbier (smoke beer) to multiple Belgian gueuzes and lambics, or that there's a reserve list in the works. But none of that will drive the point home like a trip to the restroom, where in nearly every stall you'll find a single beer stein displayed under lights and behind glass with utmost reverence, like a museum piece. Now that's respect.
 
The food here bows respectfully to beer too-or perhaps it's the other way around. Either way, the two quickly become partners in a decadent plot to seduce you. Smaller plates, designed for sharing, include jarred pork rillettes ($12) and a not-to-be-missed charcuterie plate ($19) of game bird terrine, Morteau sausage and head cheese.

Pork, as you might have gathered, makes its way into a good portion of the dishes. It even shows up in the salads—our chili-garlic vinaigrette-dressed heirloom apple salad ($9) was sprinkled with small strips of bacon, and in playful recognition of the hog-obsessed menu, a Little Gem organic lettuce salad is actually cheaper if you choose to add crispy pig's ears ($8 without pig's ears, $7 with).

Larger plates, such as the Lindeman's Gueuze Cuvee René-steamed Bouchot mussels ($18), a wood-roasted half chicken with frites and summer sausage ($20), and a potee of pork shank, belly and tenderloin with horseradish aioli ($25) can be shared or ordered as individual entrees. We found at least one dish—a house-made chicken and pork boudin blanc ($15) served over frisee, roasted grapes and a crisp hash brown cake—that we'd just as soon keep to ourselves. And the only flaw we noticed opening week was that some dishes-the heirloom apple salad in particular-were oversalted. Of course, that's nothing the arsenal of palate-soothing beers can't remedy.

Besides, we can't blame the kitchen for being a bit overzealous right out of the gates. We've all been waiting a long time.

M. Kathleen Pratt is the Metromix dining producer. kpratt@tribune.com 

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