Her Tasty Life

How fun to try a new restaurant this week that isn’t ramen-focused. Thank you, Sink Swim Chicago!

Don’t get me wrong, I probably eat more tonkotsu than your average ramen eater, but that doesn’t mean that the recent surge of ramen restaurant openings in this town doesn’t feel intense, even to me. Hearing that Danny Shapiro (of Scofflaw and Slippery Slope fame) was opening a seafood-focused restaurant on the same block as the very beloved Scofflaw peaked my attention. The fact that it got me off the ramen track made it even that much more appealing. So, last Sunday, I walked – no, ran – to Sink|Swim to envelop myself in all the delicious fishes.

Sink | Swim interior vibes

Upon entering Sink|Swim my eye was immediately drawn to the vibrant pops of color emanating throughout the room. The bright orange fireplace and peppy teal booths and bar chairs just sing against the monochromatic white brick and Cape Cod-style bleached wood shingles. It’s wharfy without being campy. Bright, but not jarring. The coastal theme is well-played while lending itself perfectly to casual, effortless nights out. There’s no pressure at Sink Swim Chicago to get gussied up or put on your Sunday’s best. In fact, you’d be kinda out of place if you did.

The laid back Logan Square crowd is prevalent here, though I could tell a lot of curious foodies were out giving it a gander as well. Present company included.

Think bohemian-grungy-maritime-chic and you’ll be just fine. [wink]

We (the hubby and me) were lucky to be sat in the front of the restaurant near the fireplace and huge floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto Armitage. Surrounded by succulents, streaming light, with the neighborhood passers-by and a glass of rosé  (I went with the Ostatu) already in my hand, I was in heaven. It was time to peruse the menu and make some choices.

Unlike almost EVERY OTHER TIME I go out to eat, I hadn’t even peeked at the Sink|Swim menu prior to my visit. There were no dishes I couldn’t wait to try, no preconceived notions. This was an exercise in the unknown for my maiden voyage and as I scanned the menu, I found I was surprised. The offerings were succinct and the dishes unique. Amongst the 20 or so total menu items there are no lobster rolls, no chowders, no fish tacos. Sink Swim Chicago is going for a far more uncommon take on a seafood experience. One that boasts ingredients like umeboshi, whey soubise, and fermented black beans.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I have no idea what those things are. I’d love to get all high horse foodie and be like, “yeah, I totally had an umeboshi soubise smoothie topped with fermented black beans yesterday.” But, I didn’t. And sometimes, even for me, a super well-versed culinarian, dining out is new and unchartered.

With that kind of lack of familiarity came an interesting side effect: not much called to me immediately on the menu. I was hunting for things to single out instead of trying to parse back my massive list of must-try’s. The distinctive ingredients paired with a more edited menu made decision making difficult. And that is unusual for me. I finally sacked up (thankfully) and chose what I thought would be a nice handful of dishes to try and let ’em rip.

caviar & toast, garlic panisse, gin cured salmon

caviar & toast

garlic panisse

gin cured salmon

The first dishes we ordered all came out together. While that makes for a far better food photo, as we can see here, it also makes me kind of mental. When 3 of the 5 sharing dishes you’ve ordered drop at once, service feels rushed and dinner is almost over in a flash. Tiny bummer. Luckily, the items were tasty and once I started devouring, I was the one in a hurry… to eat.

Hubby and I sampled the garlic panisse and caviar & toast from the “snacks” and the gin cured salmon from the “cold” categories. We demolished all three. The caviar & toast was a surefire winner. We both noted that it tasted like BBQ but in the most affectionate way imaginable. There was something distinctly smoky and sweet about it and we absolutely loved it. Not what we expected, but would have it again in a flash.

The garlic panisse was a nice, cake-like, fried finger snack, but almost unbearably salty. Hubs and I both adore salty foods and this one was bordering on overkill even for us. Amen for the bright, fresh parsley that accompanied this dish. It was the only savior keeping us from massive cases of sodium face.

Last in this round was the gin cured salmon. This was so up my alley… I loved this dish! The salmon was cut beautifully and was as delicate and melty as could be. The addition of the crunchy radish and parsnip sauce elevated it to a game-changer level. Fresh and bright with gorgeous, unpredictably earthy tones. It’s a do not miss.

my partner in food (and life)

Next up were the charred broccoli and spaghettone.

Absolutely no complaints on flavor. Just on portion. Both were a little, well, little. With the fear of sounding like Ms. Piggy, I wanted MORE. The charred broccoli (this was the dish with the whey soubise) was a cheesy, nutty, pecorino covered dream. The 3 pieces we got just weren’t enough. Mas, captain!

The spaghettone was a bit more generous, though we polished it off quickly as well. This is the kind of dish you just want a big, honkin’ bowl of. The spaghettone noodles were glorious. It’s the kind of pasta that bites back a little. I hate the term ‘al dente’ so let’s just call it toothsoome. Yeah. It held up exquisitely to the salty clams, punchy dashi broth and tangy onion brûlée. All that flavor, man. Yum. Leave me alone in a dark cabin with this dish and I’ll be the happiest of sailors.

At this point, we were supposed to be done with dinner. We’d worked our way through the five dishes we’d ordered in just under 30 minutes. I hadn’t even finished my glass of wine yet.  Not satisfied with that kind of dine-n-dash scenario, I ordered another dish just so we could stick around awhile.

Revisiting the “snacks” we went with the shrimp toast tea sandwich.

It arrived stacked high with a darling paper umbrella sticking out of it. That just tickled me pink. I’m now of the opinion that more dishes need umbrellas. Just how adorable does this look?

So cute, right? What a fun dish, I’m glad we didn’t miss it. The toast had a lovely layer of kimchi aioli that was then topped with shrimp, avocado, radish, frisée and lemon. Such a little party in the mouth. Its got all of the elements of a great salad with a convenient, crunchy, little, toast handle. ‘Cuz carbs make everything better.

The shrimp toast concluded our savory sampling and next we moved on to a little dessert.

This was the pecorino cake with whipped honey, grapefruit, pistachio and cappelletti. It did its trick by providing a sweet bite at the end of the meal, though it didn’t quite bowl us over. The grapefruit had an odd flavor and consistency. We didn’t think it was at its peak of freshness, unfortunately. After daintily moving it aside, the remaining elements were lovely. Adored the ubermoist pecorino cake and the zing the dish got from the cappelletti, a wine-based Italian aperitif.

Overall, a rather enjoyable experience that swam way more than it sank. Sink|Swim is a cool additional to Logan Square and a much-needed addition to this stretch of Armitage. I’m loving watching this area grow.

Break out your water wings and swim on over. Reservations recommended.

Sink|Swim | 3213 W Armitage Avenue | Chicago | IL | 60647