Fig & Olive Chicago, located on Oak Street between Rush Street and Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile, offers relief from the hustle and bustle of the city for tired shoppers and locals. Indulging in a handcrafted drink on the Rosé Terrace or a fine meal in the Provence Room, visitors have whisked away from their ordinary lives and transported to the sunny south of France. Late-night get-togethers can happen everywhere, but especially at the Wine Room or one of the other lively bars.
Enjoy Mediterranean Food at FIG & OLIVE Chicago
Since it’s obviously not possible to discuss every dish food that you can find in the Mediterranean, we will focus on a few of the more well-known specialties. Let’s check out some tasty options from the Mediterranean.
Spanakopita
Among the many delicious Greek delicacies at Fig and Olive Chicago, one of the most well-known is the spinach pie known as spanakopita. The chef uses the traditional ingredients in this pie that include are chopped spinach, feta cheese, onions, an egg, and a medley of spices. Each bite of spanakopita has a perfect combination of crunchy flakes and savory filling. This meal’s signature flaky texture comes from the phyllo dough that forms the base of the dish.
Also, if you want to bake a spanakopita, you’ll need a rather sizable baking dish. After you bake the pie , slice it into serving-sized pieces.
Chicken Shawarma
Fig & Olive Chicago serves some of the best shawarma ever. Their style of cooking meat is common in Turkey and dates back to the 19th century when the Ottoman Empire initially introduced it. Meat is layered on skewers and then slowly roasted, a method is known as shawarma. Many shawarma options, including chicken, beef, and lamb, are available, but most people prefer the chicken variety.
The meat is sliced thinly and served directly from the skewer. Wrapped up with fresh produce, crunchy pickles, creamy hummus, and savory tahini sauce
Falafel
In the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries, falafel is the staple cuisine. Even while the dish’s precise beginnings are up for debate, most food historians agree that it was first prepared in Egypt. The chef prepares these bite-sized balls of deliciousness to perfection and are ready in no time. Falafel is made by forming little balls or patties out of mashed chickpeas along with herbs and spices. Next, it is deep fried until it is crisp and golden.
You can use tahini sauce, fried eggplant, a salad of tomatoes, and cucumbers for dressing top a falafel sandwich. Vegetarians and vegans will love Fig & Olive Chicago’s falafel since it doesn’t contain any meat.
The Special Hummus at Fig and Olive Chicago
A tasty hummus dip is always welcomed. Makers of this recipe combine chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic to make it a vegan-friendly recipe. Having such a short list of ingredients also makes it simple to whip up in your kitchen. Despite the simplicity of the original recipe, numerous eateries and manufacturers provide hummus in a variety of exciting flavors. Pumpkin, roasted red pepper, avocado, black bean, and sweet potato hummus are some broad types available at the grocery store.
Usually, restaurants serve hummus as a dip with pita bread, veggies, and other snacks. People like to eat hummus with cucumber and carrot sticks at Fig & Olive Chicago in Chicago as a mid-afternoon snack. It’s tastier and better for you than a bag of potato chips.
Tabouleh
The special Tabouleh at Fig and Olive Chicago is a famous salad from the Eastern Mediterranean region, and it is typically served with a few appetizers. When making tabouleh, fresh ingredients are essential, as fresher is always better when it comes to cooking. Diced cucumber and tomato complement the dish’s star component, parsley. Additional carbohydrates and fiber are provided by soaked bulgur grain. Last but not least, a refreshing dressing made of olive oil and lemon juice covers the salad.
Besides this, Tabouleh is a refreshing and nutritious salad that goes well with a wide variety of dishes. Common pairings include shawarma, garlic rice, sautéed veggies and mushrooms, and roasted meats.
Moussaka
Moussaka has been linked to Greek lasagna by several chefs—meats like beef or lamb simmer in a thick tomato sauce in this comforting stew. When making Moussaka, the chef at Fig and Olive uses eggplant slices for the pasta, and it often has a meaty bolognese filling, typically cooked with beef or lamb. Add a rich bechamel sauce to the dish to make it taste even better. Moussaka gets its classic Mediterranean taste from a combination of cinnamon, onion, garlic, and spices.
This another specialty of the restaurant and is a filling dish frequently served as the main course. Family dinners at Fig & Olive Chicago prefer ordering Moussaka as it includes salads, bread, and cakes made with Greek tomatoes, cucumbers, or eggplant.
Baklava
You can enjoy Baklava, a Greek and Turkish dessert made of phyllo dough, chopped nuts, and honey, at Fig & Olive Chicago. Go for this item If you’re in the mood for something sweet and salty. Typically, Baklava is rich with walnuts, but there are multiple other options available at this restaurant. The options include Baklava stuffed with pistachios, hazelnuts, or peanuts. Phyllo dough, cinnamon, ground cloves, and honey or sugar are some other components.
You can either have Baklava on its own, or you can even pair it with sweets like ice cream, Nutella, and cheesecake.
Dolmas
Dolmas are mainly grape leaves that the chef packs and use as a wrap for various meats and vegetables in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. They are also known as stuffed grape leaves and dolmades. A blend of grains, meats, herbs, and spices is used as a stuffing inside the grape leaves and they boil the leaves in a lemony broth. However, one can use cabbage leaves as a replacement for grape leaves. Other alternatives to these leaves are cucumbers, eggplants, and apples.
At Chicago’s Fig and Olive, you can enjoy it warm or at room temperature. So, next time you visit the place, do try out this unique dish.
Conclusion
Mediterranean cuisine: what’s not to love, right? Diners often want more of this eclectic cuisine. At Fig & Olive Chicago, you can have shawarma, which is meat on a spit, or chooses from a variety of other options, including open-air eateries providing fresh fish and piping hot hummus. It is common knowledge that Mediterranean food is quite popular, and Chicago is no exception.
You will find something familiar and new in these recipes from nations around the Mediterranean Sea, including Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, and Lebanon. Interested in exploring more exotic cuisines? Read about these Italian Restaurants in Chicago.
