Chef Larry Feldmeier, the former chef de cuisine at Chicago’s two-Michelin-starred Oriole, wants to do a little something for everyone. His new restaurant, All Well, opened in April with a five-course prix-fixe menu and a la carte bites served at the bar (including a hefty late-night short rib sandwich). The result is a space that works equally well for a special occasion and to grab a beer after a game. In this episode of Now Open, Feldmeier and co-partner Noah Sandoval (the executive chef at Oriole) walk Eater through a day of food prep and service at the new West Loop spot.
The day starts with making freshly ground sausage for the stuffed quail option in the fourth course. Truffle and mustard are mixed into freshly ground chicken before being piped into two-day dry-aged quails. The birds then dry out a bit more before service. In another section of the kitchen, the team begins basting the short rib sandwich. The steak-sauce coated dish was inspired by Chicago’s recent obsession with high-end burgers — this version is not quite a burger but is just as comforting.
Next is the pasta course, a cheese and potato-filled ravioli in a half-moon shape, traditionally called mezzelune. The pasta are served in a creamy beurre monté sauce with fresh peas. A chicken brodo (rich chicken broth) is served on the side to pour over the pasta, as well as a puffed grain toast slathered with buckwheat butter.
Starting bites for the prix-fixe include a savory sunchoke beignet. The fried, small doughnuts have a truffle and sunchoke custard filling that is frozen and dropped into the batter before they’re fried. Other early bites include foie gras mousse layered in a stroopwafel with rhubarb jam and strawberries, plus a smoked trout tart.
“We wanted to build a place where there’s something for everybody,” Feldmeier says. “We’re not doing things for awards or things like that. As cliche as that is, we’re doing things that we want to do and take pride in.”
Watch the kitchen team at All Well navigate operating a more casual restaurant that is still serving up creative cuisine in this episode of Now Open.