Chicago Foodies

Bar Toma Shows Up Mag Mile Tourist Attractions

If there's one restaurant opening that people can't stop talking about, it has to be Tony Mantuano's Italian-style pizzeria in the spot of Bistro 110. But can a restaurant nuzzled next to Ghirardelli and across the street from Water Tower Place actually have quality food - without being over-priced? 

Bar Toma was much anticipated as a way to enjoy Spiagia-style food on a more casual night out. And fortunate for diners, the restaurant has accomplished exactly that. It even has an impressive, yet reasonably priced, wine list. Not only does Bar Toma deliver some inventive and delicious pizzas, but it also has a bar of mouth-watering gelato, espresso and breakfast pastries for the serious morning shopper or local. 

Table 52 – Saturday Breakfast To-Go

A cost-effective way for your average foodie to get to try Art Smith's posh Gold Coast restaurant, Table 52 is in the morning. If you want a sampling of the restaurant's creations, pop in early on a Saturday to try out the housemade doughnuts, grab a cup of coffee or the ultimate breakfast - a hummingbird cupcake. These cupcakes are the piece de resistance, based off of Smith's famous hummingbird cake. 

The cake is a banana-pineapple combination with a light and airy cream cheese frosting to top it off. At $4 for a small cupcake, this isn't exactly cheap but it's definitely worth trying. The fruity cake will assure you that it's okay to eat dessert for breakfast... Isn't it always?

Hugo's Frog Bar – Summer Desserts... It's Not Over Yet!

The Gold Coast doesn't exactly have the thriftiest of restaurants, but they do serve up a nice ambiance, especially in the summer. And nothing goes better with some impressive outdoor seating than an impressive, large dessert. But a $12 dessert? Keep reading - it's totally worth it.

Hugo's Frog Bar features a house-made strawberry shortcake in the summer that will literally make your jaw drop. A large, flaky biscuit is cut in half, filled with fresh strawberries, strawberry syrup and whipped cream, and then topped with another layer. Ask for yours with ice cream and you won't be disappointed.

Hendrickx Belgian Bread Crafters

Consider it not being up on my game or just plain laziness, but it took me eight months to visit this specialty bakery that has been open since May of last year.  Operated by the husband-wife (correct me if I'm wrong?) team of Renaud Hedrickx and Dominique Schewebach, I instantly got the feeling of this place being a labor of love.  I ordered a tuna salad sandwich on a croissant roll, which was simply tuna mixed with homemade mayonnaise on a very soft, dense, and fresh croissant role where you could see the layers of dough like rings of a tree, not the fluffy types where everything seems to congeal together in one big lump with a few air pockets.

Les Nomades

Les Nomades is one of those places that falls beneath the celebrity chef and media hype radar.   Owned by Mary Beth Liccioni since 1989, acquiring what was at the time Le Français, the restaurant is in some ways very established.  Its Streeterville location is very unassuming, tucked away on Ontario Street, hidden behind a garden, that one would miss if not paying attention to it.    Chef Chris Nugent also remains behind the scenes, despite a pedigreed resume of Zealous and Tru, as well as stellar reviews of his cooking at Les Nomades by Chicago Magazine, which gave 3-1/2 stars, four stars by Phil Vettel at the Tribune, and 2010 Restaurant of the Year by Pat Bruno at the Sun-Times.

The clientelle, when we were here, tended to be more senior, which is often the case for jacket-and-tie places, though perhaps a bit more at Les Nomades, whose long span sometimes receives unwarranted assumptions that it is long in the tooth.  Despite the undeserved assumptions of French food being stuffy, Les Nomades is anything but with its seamless fusion of contemporary with traditional.

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.

Cru Wine Bar: A second look

It has been almost a  year ago since I had reviewed Cru Wine Bar.  I love wine bars, and the fact that it is in the Gold Coast makes it an instant plus, especially since it is near one of our condo's.  With my wife's coupon in hand we decided to taste a couple dishes.

The first server nearly scared us off.   When my wife asked about what type of crab was in the crab and artichoke gratin, she barked "it's crab."  Her series of short answers almost caused us to walk out.  No hard feelings, of course, just that we made a bad decision.  Luckily she didn't serve us, and another person came, and she was more pleasant to deal with.

Bistrot Zinc: My Offal Meal This Past Weekend

One of my favorite haunts, Bistrot Zinc, changes its core menu once a month.  And with frequent $25 off coupons in the mail I come back quite often..and order the wine.  And appetizers.  And dessert.  And get a good meal for two for $60 after the discount, not including tip.

This month I'm pleased to announce the rognons on the menu, called Rognons de Veau à la Sauce Moutarde.  Not knowing much French I understood veau but had to ask what rognons were, and much to my delight they were...