Chicago Foodies

Spacca Napoli

A nice walk to a new pizza place would be a good appetite stimulant and help digestion on the way home. The only problem was when we realized that Spacca Napoli was on Sunnyside, not Summerdale. So we stopped at Joie de Vin, next to Pauline's on Balmoral, had a glass of wine and then started our additional mile-long march for pizza.

A total of 2.7 miles usually means eat like a pig but somehow we didn't. We simply ordered the four cheese pie, two more glasses of wine and the antipasti plate. While it's not enough to really judge this place, it was a tasty evening and delivered on the artisanal wood-fire style pizza where we were disappointed by Pizza D.O.C.

Toast

I usually dislike the idea of going to out for brunch.  The thought of waking up on a Saturday or Sunday morning and standing in line for an hour, starving, while waiting to stuff myself because I’m over hungry doesn’t appeal to me.  I like to start the day out light, then go in for a big meal at late lunch or dinner.  I don’t like to blow all of my calories first thing in the morning.  But really, it’s the crowded room and long lines that turn me off first and foremost. 

Hamburger Mary's

We finally got to Hamburger Mary's after driving past its sign many times. It's a big sign and, hey, you always want a burger, don't-cha? I settled for splitting a burger, rings, and coleslaw. But that's okay, the burger's are huge.

The name of the place and the style of the menu seem to say diner with burger's defined by Mary's Special, Proud Mary, etc. however the velvet curtains, loud club music videos (of people who likely skip the burger) skew it some which I think is a good thing. Another Johnny Rocket's/Ed Debevic's type place isn't as needed.

Michael Carlson–One of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs

I have yet to eat at Schwa on Ashland and now I have another reason to bump it up on my list. This month's Food & Wine includes chef Michael Carlson in its list of 2006's Best New Chefs. He's the only one from Chicago so props to him for keeping Chi-Town on the list.

Meson Sabika

Picking a restaurant for a party of 7 when not everyone knows each other (but they all know the guest of honor) is not easy. Tapas usually works, offering something for the vegetarians, the heavy carnivores, and the picky eaters.  A 30th birthday dinner for a friend-of-a-friend at Naperville's Meson Sabika was my best domestic tapas experience yet.

The ALL CANDY Expo

McCormick place hosted the All Candy Expo last week. From interesting Indian candy to Korean candy with everything in-between, the expo kept me interested for the few hours I spent there.

The news has covered the tongue tattoos and the new M&M's, which I didn't see, but not the candy bikini or the flavored bugs... Since Stacy actually risked her taste buds with sour cream and onion crickets I feel like I have to let her tell some of these stories.

How many ways to say: Egg in a Basket

Almost every time I eat breakfast at my folk's house my mother makes me a "donut egg" which is a piece of bread with a hole in it, a fried egg, cracked into the hole.

I think everyone has had this breakfast. I was in line for an omelette this morning and heard two people talking about V for Vendetta and how they used to have "Eggy in the basket" (as it was called in the flick) all the time. The response was, "Yeah, me too. We called it ____." I forgot what she called it but it was something I'd never heard before.

Ginza Restaurant - Terrific!

Everyone complains that there's no good ethnic food downtown. RIght on Ohio, just off of Michigan, amidst Uno's, new concept restaurants and chains-chains-chains there are a couple gems. Every now and then I come across a place that surprises me. I went to Ginza for lunch Monday and loved it but I loved it so much that I had to go back. I mean, chicken katsu and gomae... with miso and green tea... under $10? I'll give it another shot to see if it was really that good.

It is. Shame on me for posting ad nauseum about Oysy. I've been doing a disservice by my ignorance of Ginza Fish.

Arya Bhavan

Arya Bhavan is a small vegeterian Indian spot on Devon. I had a coupon which got sucked into my dashboard but went anyway. We've been impressed before at Udupi Palace (until the incident) and unimpressed by Annapurna's take on fast food veggie Indian. I was excited to potentially have a good veggie spot to mention on Devon.

Kang Nam

A couple months ago I met Mike from Eatchicago.net at Kang Nam. It's a Korean BBQ spot in a strip mall off of Kedzie. It's by the brown line stop and well worth the trip. It was my turn to spread the word and brought a group of 4 for dinner this past Saturday night.

The deal with Kang Nam is that the BBQ is over charcoal. Every time I've tried Korean BBQ it has been over gas. The coals add a distinct flavor to the already distinct marinades bulgogi (Pul-Kogi), kalbi, and others. The nice thing is that the flavors match so well.

I think I've admitted in some article that I'm not super crazy about the vinegary base to Korean flavors. That seems like it's changing slowly. I made my way through most of the panchan this time. The 15 or 20 different sides that magically appear with everything from everyone's favorite kim-chee (pickled cabbage) to pickled cucumber slices, spinach with sesame sauce, even crab legs. Well I didn't try the crab legs... I had to save something for next time.

Northshore Cookery

Cooking food is second only to eating food, in my book, and when you find a place that allows you to do both well AND be social at the same time, you just can't beat it...

I conned my husband and  two friends into taking a couples cooking class with me at Northshore Cookery up in Highland Park. It's a Chopping Block-kind-of-place in the 'burbs, where every class is hands-on. On this particular night, our instructor helped us make an entire meal on grill pans: we smoked a brisket and grilled chicken skewers (and made yummy BBQ sauces for each - chipotle for the meat, cherry for the poultry).

1492 Tapas Bar

I decided to pop into 1492 Tapas Bar for a quick bite before a movie.  I wish I had saved the calories and heartburn for buttery popcorn and soda instead.  With so many good Tapas restaurants to choose from (Emilio’s, Café Iberico, Café Ba-Ba Reeba etc.) the not so good ones really stand out and although I didn’t order that many plates on their very extensive menu, I feel like what I did order would not prompt me to return and try more. 

The restaurant itself is pleasant enough, with four different dining levels in a converted grey stone.  Each level is small enough for a group to enjoy conversation, which is quite different from the before mentioned Tapas Bars that always seem to be rather noisy and lively, and incidentally, a lot more fun.

Fogo de Chao

There is one word that, to me, best describes Fogo de Chao and that word is ridiculous.  I still can't get over the idea that people will pay 50 bucks price fix (OK, 48.50 to be exact but that's not including drinks, desert, tax or tip) so lets say really 80 bucks for all you can eat meat off of a stick.   I know I can't eat that much meat.  Maybe most people can.  Maybe that's why the place was mobbed.  Or maybe, like me, they just had to see it for themselves. 

I agreed to go on a Friday night for a friend's birthday.  He had been to the chain concept before and had very much enjoyed the gluttony of it all.  The place itself is large, cold and pretty.  It reminded me of Vegas, over the top but expertly done.  Everything was well orchestrated with impeccable service.  You never had to ask for a thing.