Counsel’s Table: Mercat — an eclectic array of food choices

By Russell B. Selman
Katten Muchin Rosenman • Restaurant Critic

I’ve always been a sucker for anything Latin. And, by ”Latin,” I don’t mean what President Bush might confuse for what is spoken in ancient church services.

No, I mean the whole romantic, rapid-fire passionate swirl of color and flavor of things that are Spanish.

Every morning I start off my day by getting on my cross-trainer machine and turning on a Spanish soap opera. Admittedly, I cannot understand a word anyone is saying, but everyone just seems so sexy.

I am energized just listening to the hyper-excited dialogue and a full hour of exercise passes without my ever getting bored. In my imagination the actors all seem to be saying that life without passion is impossible. Needless to say, none of the actors ever seem to be playing lawyers.

On an all-too-occasional basis, my wife and I would spice things up for ourselves by assuming Latin identities, she was Maria and I, Bernardo. We lived on a South American sugar-cane plantation where work was long and arduous, we had nothing but each other. Yes, life was impossible and yet passion seemed to flourish amidst our poverty of material goods. Fanciful perhaps, but the Latin soap operas are definitely a source of pharmacological grade pheromones for the imagination.

Mercat taps this same pop-pop-pop energy. Located in the very unlikely Blackstone Hotel (where that wild-and-crazy president, Warren G. Harding was nominated), Mercat (and the hotel) have shaken off the decay of this mundane location.

Mercat’s revivified space is fantastic a very large multi-story reservoir-like room surfaced with kitschy 1960s multi-color mosaic walls intruded upon by a semi-circular kitchen jutting into an electric atmosphere. I was psyched just strutting into the place and I felt a deep tan coming into my complexion.

Our Iberian temperaments were awakened. We were not looking for a pleasantly amiable three-course meal with a predictable beginning — middle — end. No, we wanted an unpredictable and smoldering assortment of things that were not all facing in the same direction. Mercat delivers an eclectic small plate array of food with an immediacy of flavors.

We started in on a selection of cheeses with an unexpected twist of jams as dipping sauce truffled apple, caramel, and chocolate hazelnut to be specific. Sort of desserty to start, and really why not. Or, in the vernacular, you might ask, why, and ”por que,” and then respond, ”porque,” or because.

Yes, this is exactly what I like about both Mercat and passion because you can answer your own question about the unexpected by simply saying ”because” and, that’s enough when you’re in the right frame of mind.

We chewed through a wide selection of savories very good Serrano ham, wonderful thin slices of octopus and some vanilla-scented rabbit-filled dumplings. Not knowing what would come next was a strong conversational stimulant and very welcome. Very good razor clams and nicely rare lamb chops topped things off.

So find someone with whom you can share the same delusions, just because, and enjoy your evening, as I did at Mercat.

Pleadings:
Mercat a la Planxa
Blackstone Hotel
638 S. Michigan Ave.
312-765-0524

Court costs:
Tapas $5–$11; various meats $32–$54

Verdict:
3 Gavels