People and Hot Chocolate

Recently relocating to within 100 paces of People (give or take 100 more), it wouldn't be long until we timed ourselves slightly before their 8 p.m. dinner crowd and settled into their atmosphere of enveloping wood long tables and hospitality. Pics above are from their website, as I was sans camera this evening- but all tastebuds. We started with 2 glasses of Seis Rioja, which was a little more assertive than I usually expect of a Rioja, but tasty and bright, a good match for the cuisine that followed.
The cold tapas arrived first: a not-to-be-underestimated bowl of olives- my tapas standby; the Tortilla Espanola, pictured above on the left; and the Citrus and Vodka Cured Salmon, some tare tare slices of salmon set ablaze by a lusciously tangy sauce drizzled about. It was one of those dishes that allows each bite to be a rumination on the layers of flavor.
The Pepinos (right)- goat-cheese stuffed sweet peppers with crostini- which I thought were being referred to as Pimientos on the menu last evening, were another case in point. They arrived nicely timed after our cold tapas were partially dispensed with, along with the Hongos Jerez, sautéed mushrooms with herbs.
The food invited us to linger over its flavors, but the growing cacophony of activity at the bar which amorphously spills over into the dining area, was more Bucktown than Barcelona, and 6 Gypsy Kings songs later we finally got a check and made tracks elsewhere for dessert.

Dessert we found elevated to the sublime at Hot Chocolate, which apparently also serves savory fare- surprise to me. We sidled up to the bar for dessert wine and "something sweet." The dessert menu was divided into a few categories that first required us to narrow down which sector of the tooth was feeling most vocal this particular evening. The chocolate choices were almost overwhelming. Our standby, creme brulee, seemed parochial beside the fruity, get-em-while-can, seasonal delights. And so we alighted on "Apples." Let me just take a moment to voice my love for the nude signifier aspect of the menu. No need to gild the lily. It belies an awareness that the food will speak for itself. Made of fresh, seasonal, as local as possible in the corn-belt ingredients, and artfully conceived, the dessert roster could be untitled for all I care. What arrived as "Apples" was an apple spice cake layered with pecan ice cream, topped with a creme anglaise and the tableside finish of a warm, cider sauce. That first bite, when the tart apple cider meets the creamy ice cream, and the heat of the sauce hasn't yet melted the ice cream, but allow both to be distinctly tasted at once in all their opposing qualities... was heaven. My first thoughts after the moment of silence/awe were of all the special people in my life I wanted to bring here and to taste this exact taste, to share this bit of earthly pleasure.