Spectacular Memorable Anniversary Celebration St Regis Miru Chicago
For
our wedding anniversary we spent a spectacular night in our beloved
Chicago doing many of our favorite destinations' activities.
We stayed at the new
St Regis Hotel
in the magnificent new Jean Gang designed tower, the second tallest
building in Chicago - home of the skyscraper and city of tall buildings.
(Officially, the equally magnificent Trump Tower (shown in background up the river) is second tallest when
you take into account the tall spire atop the tower, which is
considered inclusive in determining the building height.)
The
St Regis Tower was designed by architect Jean Gane and extends the
street wall of Upper Wacker Drive on the south bank of the Chicago
River. It is a $1 billion, 1.9 million-square-foot condo-hotel with 393
condos and 192 hotel rooms.
Originally known as the Vista Tower
until St Regis took over as lead tenant and thereby acquiring the naming rights, it is now the
tallest building in the world designed by a woman. It sits on the same
block as the Gang designed picturesque 82-story Aqua Tower,
whose wavy concrete balconies were inspired by the layered topography
of limestone outcroppings along the Great Lakes, which used to hold that
title.
The unique intricate St Regis/Vista tower design consists of three towers of 48, 72, and 101
stories with staggered undulating 12-story pyramids, alternating right side up and upside down.
There is a lower 11 story tower to the east and the central tower front has an 11 story cube abutting the front, suspended two floors above
street level linking Upper Wacker
Drive to the north with East Waterside Drive and the Lake Shore East Park to the south.
The
eastern section and cube tower section house the hotel and provide the rooftop terraces of
Miru Restaurant, and the lounge and meeting venue hospitality areas, above the pool and spa.
Another new hotel restaurant, not yet
completed, is the only interior designed by Studio Gang, it will have
ceilings up to 38½ feet high and views uptown, downtown,
and along the river.
Our deluxe executive hotel room was the
nicest non-suite room we've ever experienced (which is saying something
considering I've spent over four thousand hotel room nights during my
many years of travel over four decades!) The hospitality and service provided by Erika Portocarrero, Butler Coordinator, Mark at the Concierge desk and the rest of staff was exceptional!
We dined at the St Regis Miru Restaurant,
sited on the 11th floor of the tower with an outdoor terrace
overlooking the Chicago River, the River North citi-scape, and Navy Pier
and Lake Michigan in the distance. The
Miru Japanese French fusion cuisine & innovative desserts are
prepared by Miru Chef Hisanobu Osaka (of Morimoto, Daniel) and Netflix’s
School of
Chocolate winner, Pastry Chef Juan Gutierrez.
The Miru extensive menu offers over sixty small plates from which we chose the following selections:
Bluefin Tuna & Crispy Shiso Sesame Vinaigrette
Chilled Torchon of Foie Gras with Rhubarb, Ichigo
Lobster Spring Roll Thai Orange Sauce
Waygu Beef Center Cut Beef Filet
followed, of course, by deserts .....
Calamansi Crème Brûlée - Madagascar Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée, and a very unique
Black Sesame Mochi - Charcoal Vanilla Ice Cream with Black Sesame Praline and Mochi Sponge
Every course was spectacular - delicious, imaginatively prepared and presented, and the service was outstanding in every respect. We look forward to returning and dining when we have more time to explore the cuisine in more depth, without the tight schedule of a theatre reservation.
For
our wine selections we had the Cremant d'Alsace Camille Braun Miru
Special Selection Champagne, French Burgundy Pinot Noir followed by
Yamahi Junmai Genshu "Ancient Treasure" Niigata (Sake).
Cremant d'Alsace Camille Braun, "MIRU Spécial Sélection", NV
This is from the Braun family whose presence in Alsace dates back to 1583. Since
then, generations of farmers and wine growers have followed one
another. The Braun family estate was established in Orschwihr in 1902,
with the purchase of a 17th Century farmhouse.
The Brown estate is located in south-central
part of Alsace, midway between Colmar and Mulhouse, where Orschwihr has been known for quality wines since the middle ages.
Camille Braun took over the family farm in 1960 and began to focus exclusively
on wine production and selling his own production in bottle. Beginning
with six acres, the domaine has now grown to 17 acres of vineyards
in and around Orschwihr and Uffholtz. Camille’s son Christophe took
over the family business in 1987 and today runs the domaine with his
wife, Chantal .
Roughly 90% of the domaine’s production is sold directly to private
customers leaving very little available for sale beyond western
Europe. Crémant sales havae been surging in France in reent years and
are beginning to do so in the U.S however quantities imported to the US
Market are limited.
Wine Enthusiast gave this label release 92
points and writes: "A very subtle nose is promising with its hints of
ripe red apple, gentle
shortbread and lemon zest. The palate presents that very same
harmonious and fresh picture, enhanced by the finest fizzing creaminess
of the mousse and the integrated yeastiness that can only stem from
sufficient time on lees. This is a paradigm of balance and understated
elegance." - Anne Krebiehl MW, Nov 2018
Jacques Girardin, "Maladière", Santenay ler Cru, Pinot Noir 2019The Girardin family has been in Burgundy since 1570 where today, Domaine Jacques Girardin is a
family affair with a winemaking heritage that stretches back to the
beginning of the 19th Century, Jacques (brother of Vincent) now runs the
142 acre family domaine together with his wife, Valérie, and son Justin.
The entire Girardin family
are renowned winemakers, including Jacques’ father Jean, and his brother
Vincent. Jacques has been producing wine from his own domaine since
1978. Valérie
& Jacques (12th generation) & their son Justin (13th generation)
manage the 42 acre domaine which goes from Santenay to Savigny les
Beaune, passing through Chassagne Montachet and Pommard.
The estate, located in Santenay, produces
three Premier Cru red wines in Santenay, Clos Rousseau, Les Maladières
and Clos Beauregard, Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru “Les Peuillets,” as
well as Pommard Village and Bourgogne Pinot Noir.
They also produce a
Santenay Blanc, Bourgogne Blanc, and a small amount of
Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru “Morgeot.”
The name Maladière comes from the nearby Maladière of Chagny
hospital. This is a sunny, warm site, its wines typically spicier, with
darker berries. It is a south-east facing vineyard, with deeper soils,
located in the centre of the appellation.
Maladière is a very common name for hamlets in Burgundy. It comes from maladrerie, hospitals that date back to medieval times.
La Maladière of Santenay is a parcel given by a noble to the maladrerie of Chagny, probably before the XIIIth century.
Between
Santenay and Santenay le Haut is this climate halfway up the hill,
exposed to the southeast with a thin soil which gets more and more
clayey downhill producing wines from this climate taht are extremely
fine and complex.
The average age of the vines is 45 years, planted 100% to Pinot Noir. It was aged fifteen months in French oak barrels, Allier and Vosges, 20 % of new oak.
Winemaker Notes - "Fresh and elegant nose with dark fruit aromas– black and red currants,
blackberries, plums. Supple wine, lightly structured, fruity and fresh.
Classic Pinot Noir with a touch of Burgundian earthiness in the elegant
finish."
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4741415
https://www.girardin-santenay.com/english/red-burgundy/bourgogne-rouge-santenay-1er-cru-maladiere.html
With desert we had this interesting and distinctive Japanese desert Saki.
Yamahai Junmai Genshu "Ancient Treasure", 12 Year Kanbara Niigata
I
know nothing about Sake and was intrigued to try this since it is offered and recommended in such a fine dining reputable establishment.
From the distributor, we learn this
Kanbara label and brand is produced by the
Kaetsu Brewing Company and is made in the
Niigata prefecture in the
Hokuriku region of Japan.
It is considered in the Sake Junmai Category and Subcategory Yamahai, Genshu, Koshu.
Sake classification levels are determined
by the percentage the rice is milled before the brewing process. In
general, the more you polish (or mill) the rice, the more aromatically
expressive the sake becomes (the rice polishing rate expresses the
amount remaining, so lower numbers translate to higher polishing).
Junmai is premium sake that is made only from rice, water, and koji
enzymes. Although most junmai sake meet a polishing minimum of at least
70%, there is technically no minimum polishing rate designated to this
category. Junmai sakes are often considered rustic and full bodied, with
pronounced umami.
It is produced from the Rice variety Yamadanishiki, Koshitanrei.
I asked how it acquires its colour and our server told us it from aging in plum barrels.
This unique sake is a 12 years aged
(approximately-- the brewer uses a solera system of fractional blending,
think of it like a mother sauce), and is made of 99% koji rice, aged in
tank. The 99% koji and low polishing of the rice (90%), plus brewing
with the high-acidity yamahai method, give the sake enough sweetness,
structure and acidity to stand the test of time. Why 99% koji and not
100%? Because that inclusion of 1% plain steamed rice lets it legally
qualify as sake in Japan.
Kaetsu
Shuzo calls this style “jijoshu,” which is a term they invented, as it
has much more acidity and glucose than most koshu but is not technically
kijoshu. Dr. Sato of Kaetsu heads a society dedicated to studying the
aging of sake and has been doing it longer than most (actively brewing
>50 years now!)
Kaetsu's Kanbara brand (of Kanbara Junmai Ginjo Bride of the Fox)
was created to make non-Niigata styles of sake (their original brand,
Kirin, is much more Niigata-like). Kaetsu exports most of their Kanbara
production to europe and the US.
This was interesting and delightful, somewhat akin to a more subtle tawny port or almost a sherry.
After our early dinner we attended MJ The Musical at the magnificent Nederlander Theatre.
Back at the hotel we were treated to Champagne, French Macarons, artisan Chocolates and Cheese.
This sweet meringue-based biscuit-cake made from egg white, powdered
sugar and almond flour, is quintessentially French were fresh and flavorful.
