As we were seated at our table, nestled into the back corner, I had no idea what to expect. My initial exposure to the restaurant was a quick jaunt to the facilities to wash my hands after an ever-so-hygienic CTA trip. The entrance to the restroom had been borrowed from a darkroom, and between that and the light fixtures straight out of ABC Raw I have no idea to expect. Though I continued to be surprised by Ruxbin's quirky innovation, I was far from disappointed.
Ruxbin is a BYO ($5 corkage per table). We took advantage of that by bringing a 2011 Tamber Bey Tovero, a 75% petit verdot blend with great depth and a smoky finish. Rather than a traditional bread service, Ruxbin starts you with popcorn covered in sea salt and seaweed. It might not pair perfectly if you're starting with a white, but the salt whet the appetite perfectly alongside the Tovero.
We started the meal with their octopus and mushroom toast appetizers. The octopus was a delicately balanced dish, with chickpeas, radish and onion balancing out the rich octopus. All was drizzled with a ginger-scallion vinagrette, sweet enough to encourage using every last piece of anything on the plate. My sole complaint was the lack of any char on the grilled octopus; additional smoky flavor would have rounded out the dish quite well.
The mushroom toast was the best execution of the evening, turning simple ingredients into a deceptively savory appetizer. The oyster mushrooms were loaded atop a biscuit slathered with ricotta and accented with sweet peppers and hazelnut to complete the dish. Fork and knife ready, the three pieces didn't last long enough to contemplate their presentation.
For the main course we went with the scallops and the venison. The venison, a generous portion of farm-raised New Zealand variety, was impeccably accented with horseradish and bourbon jus. Some bacon and chestnuts were balanced with poached pear and berries to round out the dish. While the farm-raised venison doesn't have the same depth of flavor as those served at the Musket Room, it's more than solid enough to highlight the subtle riffs on the preparation.
The twist on the scallops is the pork carnitas. The slow roasted carnitas served as an excellent counterpart to the seared-in crisp flavor of the scallops. Accented with roasted carrots (soft and sweet), raisins, fine whipped potatoes and pine nuts, the pork transforms a pedestrian but well-executed dish into something memorable.
If I had to describe Ruxbin in two words, it would be character and innovation. They don't try to reinvent the wheel, and they give you the latitude to ruin your own meal with a bottle of Barefoot if you do so desire (shame on you, people two tables down). Now that they're taking reservations (on their website, through Yelp's SeatMe), there's no longer much of an excuse not to try them out.
The facts:
Entrees 25-35
Appetizers 8-15
BYO ($5 table corkage)
**
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