Perennial (favorite)

Living on the "edge" of Lincoln Park, C and I have a pretty restaurant accessible location. We are not in the midst of the hot spots, per se, but there are decent places in walking distance. Anyway, a new place opened up about the time we moved here in August - Perennial. While we have tried to go only once (it was their brunch opening), we have been wanting to try it for quite some time. What I love is that they are directly across the street from the Green City Market and use a lot of the fresh ingredients from the market in their food.

My company holiday party was there for an afternoon last week. It was primarily passed appetizers, a limited buffet and an UN-limited bar - isn't that a good equation? I am writing this based on my professed love of the passed apps...honestly, they were fabulous. Written from my (somewhat) foggy memory, here's what they served us:
Corn and crab hushpuppies
Semolina gnocchi with butternut squash puree
Potato bites with red pepper coulis
Ahi sushi with a ponzu sauce

My favorites were the hushpuppies (an overlooked southern food) and the gnocchi (nontraditional and delicious). The texture of the potato bites was a little off for me and the sushi was good, with a tad too much sauce. Given that none of these options are on their regular menu, the point might be moot...BUT, my thoughts are this: if their catering for 250 is this good - hand me the dinner menu.

Check it out.

P.S. It is the same restaurant group as BOKA and Landmark...good kin.

In Defense of Food

A friend of mine lent me a book recently In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan. I have been making my way through it and have enjoyed it and the things I'm learning...nothing totally ground breaking, but just reiterations of these tenets: Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants.

What I really like is the reference to "real food" or "whole foods" - there are so many manufactured and processed and additive-injected foods these days. While I'm not bashing these foods (hello, cheese and chocolate are processed) but I like that reminding people that an orange can do so much for your health, as can spinach or blueberries, or oatmeal.

Reading Pollan is like a smart-alec former biology professor - his personality shines through and it's refreshing when you are reading more dry content (eg. soil mineral deficiencies or colon cleansing). It's good for foodies, health-conscious folks, and anyone interested in learning more about what they eat.

Read it and eat. Available at Borders!

Sultan's Market Falafel

For a late (late) Sunday lunch, C and I headed up the street to Sultan's Market - a place that I'd been wanting to try since before we moved in. We're huge falafel fans (and c'mon, I'm Armenian) and love Middle Eastern food - plus it was supposed to be "cheap eats" and who doesn't love that?

We bused ourselves up Clark (it was freezing) and ordered up two falafel pitas with hummus. As we were on the late side (3:30pm) there was a lot of empty space in the hot bins, though the salad bar was fully stocked with cheeses, olives, pickled peppers, and tabbouleh. We skipped that in favor of something warm and crunchy.

The young guy making our pitas was generous with the falafel and hummus and all the extras - we ordered them "medium spicy" and the proportion of everything was great. The falafel was a little dry, to be honest, but the cucumber-yogurt sauce and the hummus helped. I was surprised that the falafel weren't hot - they were warm at best...and I just think that all falafel should be crispy, warm goodness. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt, due to the timing of the lunch (which I keep saying) so we'll see what happens the next time.

Side bar point - what a great website?! For a local chain and quick-service restaurant, I was very impressed.

Also, I would like to point out that, in comparison, I prefer the falafel at Taza (on Franklin, in the loop). I am going to get C over there for his perspective and we'll write something up!

Birthday dinner!

Well, I hit the big 2-8 last Thursday and was coerced into eating and drinking and merry making because of it. For several days. It was wonderful.

Due to my overwhelming love of Avec, I requested that we go to Blackbird - the upscale sister restaurant to Avec. C obliged and made us 7:30 reservations...I point out the time only because when we walked in, it was quite empty. Usually, at least in my experience in Chicago, 7:30 is THE time to eat. We are generally later diners (8:30/9pm) and I've noticed that this is against the grain in Chicago. Anyway, when we walked in, we were seated at a nice banquette and our server showed up in a suit (Joseph Abboud according to the menu).

After selecting some vino, we settled in with the menu. Blackbird does that thing where they basically list ingredients: salad of endives, crispy potatoes, basil, dijon, pancetta, and poached egg. Personally, I love this, then there are less questions. But, again, I digress.

I ordered the delicious salad above (and pictured below) and Chris ordered the mussel soup.
I would highly recommend both. The salad comes in this crispy potato fortress and is stacked high with endive and mixed baby greens, sliced potatoes and herbs and topped with a perfectly poached egg. Tableside, they puncture the egg, split the fortress of potato and efficiently "toss" the salad. Every bite was amazing - I took a picture because I was so impressed - yes, I was that girl. The soup was poured in the way du jour with the contents served first and the broth poured delicately around. The mussels were plump and plentiful, though knowing C, the real winner was the broth - sweet, creamy, saffron, with a touch of shallots and wine. He mopped up every last bit of it with bread!

For dinner, I opted for a crispy cod fillet over parsnip puree and sauteed apples. It was a light, yet fall focused dish. I cleaned my plate. The fish was cooked perfectly crisp and flaky, and the hint of herbs (chervil and something I can't place!) added a freshness to each bite. C ordered the wagyu beef which was tender (though tiny) and came with a chestnut/onion thing which was unique...C loves potatoes, we should have ordered some on the side, but he enjoyed it.

The only disappointment (to me) was the dessert. I guess I was expected something with a little more depth...it was sort of like we got fried donut holes with chocolate...and ice cream. Here is there description: milk chocolate fritters with apricots, soy and rice milk sorbet.

All in all, the meal was exceptionally good - the service, the wine, the food, the atmosphere. I can see why it has the reputation it does...I know we will continue to enjoy their restaurants! By the way, when we left, the place was packed - jammed to the gills. So, perhaps all the late diners go to Blackbird?

Movember

So my friend Anna's husband (the honorable Brandon Haley) is helping save men everywhere from Prostate Cancer by participating in Movember.

Check it out - should be an interesting month!

Old Town Brasserie

In a recent game of restaurant roulette (of sorts), my friend Amanda and I both randomly selected the Old Town Brasserie for a weeknight dinner out. It was a cold, windy Chicago day (read: normal) so the thought of cozy French fare was comforting.

I made reservations easily and beat her to the restaurant. Still freezing from the cold, I went right to the table, anything to get away from the door...The dining room is bright and yellow and inviting. It was smaller than I thought it would be, but a perfect neighborhood size. The tables are set with French country plates and napkins folded like little spa robes (lapels and all).

After perusing the wine list, I had a lapse of judgment and ordered a Spanish Malbec...quite ripe and not at all what I was expecting or wanted. The waiter was quick to notice and replaced my poor choice with a French Cabernet - much better.

Amanda and I were both struggling with the menu - many interesting things and seasonal dishes to choose from, she and I decided to divide and conquer - she ordered the apple and parsnip salad with maple walnuts, I ordered a roasted beets and goat cheese salad (yes, predictable).
Her salad had this wonderful parsnip pancake - moist and dense, like a blini - that was warm and added great texture to the apples, nuts, and red leaf lettuce. The beets on my dish were minimal, but the haricot verts and crisped chevre was delicious.

Next course was difficult...I read that you should always order the "duo" on the menu...I just wasn't in the mood for steak/lamb, so I went with the roasted duck and Amanda chose the duo. I think her dish might have been superior, though for any duck lover out there, the confit was amazing and the duck breast was plentiful and cooked perfectly medium rare. The duo had braised beef and roasted lamb ribs - the lamb was too infused with rosemary for my tastes, but the beef was absolutely perfect - tender, flavorful, perfectly sauced.

We couldn't stop there so we moved onto dessert and had pre-ordered a chocolate souffle with almond ice cream. The souffle was gooey, chocolate goodness. Light and super chocolate-y. The tiny speck of ice cream that we received was unbelievable...like I can't believe that they put this miniature dot of ice cream on a plate...it was two bites (at best) and was melting fast next to the warm-from-the-oven souffle dish. Poor judgment OTB - that's like kitchen 101 stuff, right?

Regardless, we still had a great meal and I would definitely go back again...a few quick things to point out is that this is not a menu of "obligatory French". You will not see Onion Soup or Steak Frites - so don't go expecting that.

Okay, who's been there, any other major standouts?

Shame, shame, shame

So, the whole point of writing a blog is to have an outlet, a way to share things with the world...we have just completed one of life's great experiences (maybe great is a strong word)...one of life's most painstaking experiences and I have been a horrible blogger. No updates, not log ins, no responses to comments. Terrible.

I should be ashamed of myself. And, I am.

C is one of my only readers, he and my mom, but after convincing a bartender in Boston (Hi Ned) that he should read it, I haven't even posted about my most scrumptious meal at Hungry Mother, nor have I talked about loving Avec and the case of the unordered focaccia, I didn't even post to tell you about the new falafel place that I found near work that offers free samples in line (and it's only $4 for a sandwich). These are all very important food finds and I'm not sharing them...apologies. Sincere apologies.

Starting fresh this weekend, I will post more about the Chicago food scene. I will also write to Megan and let her know that I owe her a HM post - the deviled eggs alone could write themselves a few paragraphs. But, I digress...

Please stay tuned for more - big dining weekend with Cafe Spiaggia and North Pond!