Chicago Foodies

M Burger. Good, Fast or Cheap. Pick 2... right?

Well it's not exactly fast. So fast food that's not fast is what? The line outside of M Burger is long. It's not likely going to get short anytime soon. You'd think that's because foodies make a point to head over for burgers made in a kitchen that used to house TRU's pastry kitchen but it's more likely that it's across the street from the hospital. Nearly the entire lunch line was badged hospital staff. Considering nothing is over $5 it's a welcome addition to the local workforce.

Truth told the line for takeaway took 20 minutes. The walk back to the office 2 minutes. When I opened my bag and saw that they forgot a burger I was really disappointed. I've never had it happen to me at a McDonald's... so that's not good.

With a twinge of frustration I decided to just deal, I mean who goes back for a burger? Granted I ended up paying ten bucks for a burger and fries, albeit unintentionally, but they're swamped. I'll bug them later and see what happens.

I did get the M burger... they left out a regular burger. The M is awesome. It's really what I like about fast food burgers. The meat is not livery. It's well done (as any thin fast food patty should be). There may be a bit of salt on the burger but I think it's the sauce. Until I get that damn plain one, I won't really know. The fries were a bit salty but not as salty as the 5 Guys fries.

Restaurant Week: Blackbird

So I found out too late that Blackbird was serving dinner in addition to lunch specials for restaurant week. But, no matter, I was in for the typical Blackbird treat.

I hit about 4 places every restaurant week. I find the choices made to be very indicative of the caliber of restaurant. You can tell when certain menus seem chintzy. It sometimes is a type of ingredient or a very common dish. Broad examples would be pasta-heavy options or maybe lots of chicken. It could maybe be dishes with very few ingredients or big hunks of grilled something ie. burgers, etc.

Blackbird offered roasted chicken, grilled trout or a sweet potato agnolotti and in doing so could suggest some prix fixe adjustment. But it just goes to show how perceptions are unreliable. It may have been one of the best lunches out that I've had (the last one also being at Blackbird).

HB: Home Bistro... In the words of Britney Spears, "Gimme More"

I say “Gimme More”, not because I was disappointed, but rather I cannot wait to go back and try the rest of the menu. This past Wednesday, another self ordained Foodie and I ate at HB: Home Bistro on Halsted Street. For $29 per person (3-course menu), we enjoyed one of the best meals in a long time!  HB is also a BYOB, so the bill for the 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts was $64. Value, leftovers, and satisfying/memorable food…very nice!  HB offers a variety of dishes that can be categorized as American cuisine with East Coast and European influences.

Ria and Balsan at the Elysian Hotel

After months of anticipation, delays and rumors, the Elysian Hotel finally unveils two new restaurants this week. Ria is an upscale dinner-only concept with a focus on seafood, while sister restaurant Balsan is more casual, featuring a raw bar, wood-fired oven pizzas and housemade charcuterie. Both restaurants are on the third floor of the sparkling (literally) new Elysian Hotel, whose elegant European courtyard entrance is worth a detour by itself. Executive Chef Jason McLeod leads the helm for both restaurants, and has ample amounts of luxury hotel experience under his toque from San Diego's Grand Del Mar resort and Four Seasons. He is also wont to walking around with a cast-iron skillet of sizzling sausages. The rich, meaty smell was making heads swivel like a turntable.

So, were the restaurants worth the wait? Are hotels finally shedding their reputation for overpriced, stodgy dining and leading the way with revolutionary new restaurants? I dropped by the media preview on Monday night to check out the action.

Nightwood - Brunch

Nightwood is a relatively recent addition to the neighborhood of Pilsen, brought to you by the owners of Logan Square's Lula Cafe. With a market-driven contemporary American menu that changes daily, the restaurant has been hailed as a diverse bite in a sea of tacquerias. Their Sunday brunch service is an even newer phenomenon, having been around only since mid-August.

Located on an otherwise quiet stretch of Halsted, Nightwood attracts a trendy crowd of discerning locavores and fixie-riding hipsters. On this particular visit, I arrived bright and early at 10 am, out of fear that Nightwood would be swamped with Bongo Room-esque lines. Much to my happy surprise, we were able to get a table without a wait, but I expect the crowds to build in coming months as the secret gets out. In the meantime, there is ample street parking near the restaurant.

Flossmoor Brewery

In the mood for some quality craft beers? Itching to get out of the city for the day? In search of hoppy times, I recently took a trip to Flossmoor Brewery for a summer diversion.

Flossmoor Brewery is set in idyllic downtown Flossmoor, an easy 45-minute Metra ride from the loop. If you go over the weekend, the weekend Metra pass will set you back a mere $5. Once you arrive in Flossmoor, the brewpub is immediately adjacent to the station, marked by its distinctive train station decor. Behind the main restaurant is the Old Caboose Ice Cream Shoppe, a charming ice cream parlor built in an authentic caboose car, perfect for your (inner) child.

We started off with the meal with an appetizer of fried green beans, battered in Zephyr Golden Ale tempura. The coating was crisp and well-seasoned, and the bright burst of green bean flavor inside made me feel like this was semi-healthy. If only all vegetables could taste this good.

The BEST 'Happy Hour' in Chicago… Fleming's

Fleming's has been serving their "5 for $6 'Til 7" special this summer and, frankly, it's the best deal in the city. They're offering a selection of 5 Cocktails, 5 Wines and 5 Appetizers for $6 initially, until 7pm but it now is running all night.  If there is a downside to tasty and affordable beef carpaccio, seared tuna, lump crab cakes and top shelf cocktails it's that the dining area is not a rooftop deck. That said, the rooftops seem to be aloof and un-apologetically trendy to a fault.

So I find myself more often than expected enjoying an after work snack of seared tuna with a lovely wasabi/mustard sauce and a nice glass of Mondavi's Solaire Chardonnay. Followed by a Dimond Rita (glorified margarita with Herradura) or a Grey Goose Appletini hold the apple and the jumbo lump crab cakes – all together you're looking at $24. Not bad at all.

Sixteen Restaurant: In Perspective

Chicago is a beautiful city, American to the bone, and Trump Tower sits in a perfect location.  The Terrace Bar, outdoors, on a Saturday night at dusk, seemed quite magical.  Despite the long waiting list for a party of two to grab a drink outside, $20 gets you in fairly quickly. 

It was worth it.   My wife and I were there for a very special occasion, with reservations to Sixteen awaiting right after the cocktails at The Terrace.  The staff were extremely nice, and we even got a window table.  After all, the view is part of the experience. 

The first thing that became apparent after we sat down is the true Donald Trump-like nature of the restaurant.  Despite us supposedly getting the only available time slot for dinner reserved a month in advance, there were empty tables around us.  I also realized that the coveted window tables are not worth tipping the host.  There was more than one available, and the windows looked onto the party crowd at The Terrace.  But the famous "We'll try to accommodate you to the best of our abilities" speech, especially on an anniversary dinner, makes one feel a bit jumpy and start fishing for greenbacks in the pocket.

Goose Island Brewpub

A couple weeks ago, Chicago's thriving craft beer scene got some unexpected national recognition when the NYT ran an article on local microbreweries. Though a few lesser-known gems are mentioned (like Ukie Village's Bar DeVille), the article reads like a Who's Who in highlighting the area's best beer lists, from the Map Room to road-trip destination Three Floyds in Munster, Indiana. Luckily, many of the best beers are offered in conjunction with excellent food, so no sacrifices have to be made if you are in the mood for noshing. Hipster haven Piece packs its tables with patrons salivating for their thin-crust pizza, while Hopleaf offers an irreproachable menu of Belgian-style mussels, charcuterie and sandwiches. But the grandaddy of all brewpubs in Chicago is Goose Island. When it was announced that the Clybourn brewpub would not be closing after all, I leapt to my feet and shouted, "There is a God!"

Taste of Chicago 2009

The Taste of Chicago is the city's largest draw in terms of visitors, and you either love it or hate it. Though many foodie cognoscenti turn up their noses at the prospect of Port-a-Potties, waiting in long lines, torrential sweat-inducing 90+ weather, and the possibility of people packing other kinds of heat, I say this is no reason to miss out on Chicago's celebration of the best deadly sin: gluttony. You simply need to have a little strategy and planning before attending.

To avoid the elbow-to-elbow crowds, I stopped by the Taste a little after the weekday lunch rush, at 1:30 pm or so. I was able to buy tickets in minutes, and never had to wait to buy food. This was a vast improvement over last year, when I showed up on a weekend afternoon, during the Stevie Wonder concert.

I recommend scanning the list of vendor booths beforehand, and jotting down ones to target. This year, the item with the greatest Whiz-Bang appeal is definitely Garrett's Popcornsicle, or a caramel & cheese popcorn ball flash frozen in liquid nitrogen. You can see the liquid nitrogen steaming off of your popcornsicle for a minute or two after receiving it. The popcorn ball itself is crunchy, cold and refreshing on a hot day. It will set you back 6 tickets.