SODIUM LOVERS REJOICE…read more
Let me start by saying: I love sodium. Salty food, salty snacks - give me savory and spicy over sweet any day. Our kids (who joined us for dinner) are the same way. My husband...not so much. He grew up not salting his food and is way more sensitive to it than the rest of us (honestly, it's impressive restraint since we all love salt!). Thus, this place wasn't really for him.
We kicked things off next door at the other bar, opposite side of the basement from the speak easy. Val Air is through the main doors, and at the south east side of the building is a small, green door. It's easy to miss (blink-and-you'll-past-it), but that is how you get downstairs. When you walk downstairs, you can go left to the speakeasy or right to a bar. I ordered a red wine and was handed a rocks glass of rosé - loved the rocks glass but not the rosé. When I inquired, the bartender said that was the only version of red wine he had. We decided to head to the speakeasy bar next door but not before my husband got charged $12 for the untouched rosé I didn't order. Not exactly the warmest start.
The speakeasy bar, though? Fantastic. The bartenders were charismatic, fun, and gave us solid food recommendations. We hung out there for about 45 minutes waiting on one of the kids to arrive, and the piano player behind us was fantastic. Really loved the vibe (honestly could've stayed at the bar all night and called it a win).
Once seated at our table, our server greeted us quickly, but table service was average.
Relish Tray: Big fan. A mix of pickled goodies - olives, beets, golden beets - plus fresh radishes and cucumbers. And two very tasty deviled eggs that were very salty and very mustardy (so basically perfect).
Bread service: Sliced bread with oil & balsamic. Bread wasn't soft (which is more my preference), but the kids were all about the hard bread.
French Onion and White Fish Chowda: I LOVED BOTH. The French onion was aggressively salty but absolutely divine - I'd go back just for this. The chowda was also great. If they had a third soup, I'd be ordering a soup flight as my meal (no shame). Only note: potato chunks in the chowda were a bit too big and took over like they paid rent in the cup.
Fried Walleye: Ordered to share and everyone loved it. Yes, salty - but the carrot purée balanced things nicely. Honestly, is it even a Midwest supper club without fried fish?
Chicken Tagliatelle: I love wide noodles - chewy, substantial, and not the skinny kind. This leaned more fettuccine-sized, but we were told it's house-made, so I was all in. Salt level? Pucker-up intense. Still, the flavor was good. Broccolini had a slightly pickled vibe (adding even more saltiness to the experience), and I would've preferred the green olives sliced. Capers were minimal (sad face) and the chicken was the lone neutral party in a salted world. Skin-on roasted breast meat - not typical for pasta, but I liked the switch-up.
Prime Rib French Dip: Massive stack of shaved prime rib. Kind of surprising there wasn't just straight-up prime rib on the menu, another go to of mine. Sandwich was solid, and yes - the au jus was very salty. My husband skipped dipping entirely (a decision I cannot relate to). We took half home, and I fully intend to demolish that au jus later this weekend. Shoestring onion rings were an awesome side, and very well salted!
Pork Belly: This was excellent. Thick cut, crispy outside, buttery inside - just right. The sweet potato purée paired beautifully. Only miss: lima beans. None of us thought they belonged (felt like they crashed the party). The broccolini was nice, but skimpy.
Filet: Really enjoyed this - felt more like a tenderloin cut than a classic tapered filet. Whipped potatoes were . We had a mini deburgo debate at the table, but the sauce was great (my husband confused deburgo with stroganoff - we'll let it slide). And yes, salt made another strong appearance (including a generous sprinkle on top, just in case you forgot where you were).
Chocolate Mousse: A lovely whipped mousse...topped with yes...more coarse salt. By this point, we were all deep into water-chugging mode and a bit dehydrated. Water became the real dessert. Once we got past the salt, the mousse itself was very good.
We'd definitely go back for select dishes - and probably sit at the speakeasy bar. That experience was noticeably better. Now that we know what we're getting into, we'd just ask for less salt next time (or bring a gallon of water and embrace the Seabiscuit + saltblock lifestyle). ~$325 including bar tab, pre-gratuity.
