Category: food

North Pond

2610 N Cannon

For our 9th dinner out, we decided on Friday-night fancy: martinis, champagne, salads, beets, gnocchi, morels, asparagus, pinot noir, halibut, black bass, beef, octopus, bread, dessert, port, cheese. All shared with 2 wonderful friends.

Completely decadent food, a beautifully clear night, and really fun conversation in a beautifully restored Park District building (though a bit overwrought with Arts & Crafts decor for my taste).

And when was the last time you walked through Lincoln Park to get to dinner?

The Husband and I each had work-social plans right after clocking out. Our plan was to meet up at a vegan place in River North for a healthy dinner. Of course that’s not what happened.

The Husband had an after-work meeting to get his affairs in order. I went to O’Callaghan’s (29 W Hubbard) to meet with work friends. (This place was the scene of many a fun night when the Husband and I were first dating. Sigh, reasonably young and in love.) At around 7, the Husband walked into the bar. And so we lingered.

We really don’t need to go into details here, do we? Too late for good-intentions dining—but too old for the drink-your-dinner routine—we ended up back at The Bluebird. We split the beet salad and the Jamon serrano/manchego flatbread. And yes, we had another round.

Don’t know what was spent on beverages. Receipt from Bluebird was $39.23.

The Bluebird

1749 N Damen (at Willow)

Out of gas and wanting nothing but comfort last night, we walked to The Bluebird, our favorite neighborhood joint. Might be my favorite, anywhere. This place has everything I want in a restaurant: interesting yet unobtrusive decor, friendly and informed service, good music, a wine and beer list that’s fun to explore, and truly delicious food that’s as good or better than I’d make at home. I love sitting at their bar for a glass and a snack. We recently came for a really fun art+wine+food event. It’s the kind of place where you actually want to linger after dinner. This time, we sat at a table in their quiet back room.

The Husband ordered a Green Flash West Coast IPA and I had a glass of a great Cabernet Franc. Ignoring my yearnings for the hanger steak, I ordered the slightly garlicky and warmly spicy shrimps and the outstanding sauteed green beans, which are really haricot verts served with shallots. Also bits of bacon. The Husband ordered the perfectly-sized burger, which comes with frites. Also topped bacon, I believe.

Complete out-to-dinner perfection. Total was $62.99 because we ordered a second round. So there.

Rootstock Wine & Beer Bar

954 N California (at Augusta)

After our weekly house meeting, we went around the corner to a place I’ve been wanting to try: Rootstock. We found an unassuming yet comfortable room and very laid-back staff. Good music.

We ordered drinks: for the Husband, a brown ale from Brooklyn Brewery and for me, Engelgarten, an Alsatian white. Not really hungry for a full meal, we settled on 3 cheeses and 3 charcuterie.

We were presented with a truly careful assemblage of snack: Delicious La Quercia meats and the house pate. A great trio of goat, sheep, and cow’s milk cheeses. Accompaniments that went pleasantly beyond the usual suspects. And….slices of squishy Italian loaf. Such a let-down. Bread matters! Bread is important! Good meat and cheese deserve better than that! Hopefully next time, they’ll sport a baguette at the very least.

Total was $41.99.

Renga-Tei

3956 W. Touhy (at Crawford) in Lincolnwood

After attending a wake in Skokie this evening, we went with friends to Renga-Tei, a homey Japanese place that we realized we’d been to before (albeit many years ago).

Don’t be fooled by the strip-mall setting. This place produces serious eats. We were greeted with a warm “irasshaimase” when we walked in and the service was very friendly.

We started with too many appetizers: the most delicious goma-ae I’ve ever had, gyoza, and a delicious seared beef. Still full from last night—I ordered a salad of gorgeously fresh ahi tuna and avocado. Our friends opted for nigiri and a California roll. But the Husband went for it and ordered katsudon (pork cutlet on a rice bowl) which the cognoscenti will recognize as having an egg on top. He was not disappointed.

Total for the 4 of us was $95.31, which included white wine, green tea, and a giant bottle of Kirin Ichiban.

Army & Lou’s

422 E. 75th St. (at King Drive)

WWJD for dinner on Easter? Clearly he’d be hungry after the previous week and he’d head to the South Side for soul food, I’m pretty sure. This evening, a group of friends rolled down to Chatham to the oldest black-owned restaurant in the Midwest. We were greeted with super-friendly service. With little prompting, we all opted for their all-you-can-eat Sunday dinner buffet.

What I ate: fried catfish, ham, fried chicken, slow-roasted duck, mashed potatoes, collard greens, crowder peas, macaroni and cheese, corn muffin, mixed vegetables, sweet potato pie, blackberry cobbler.

What I didn’t eat: herb roasted chicken, beef, sweet potatoes, mixed greens, leg of lamb, turkey, cornbread dressing, gravy, cake, salad bar.

The buffet was $22.95 per person. Apologies for the lack of commentary but I’m still in a food coma. I don’t even remember driving home.

Crust

2056 W. Division (at Hoyne)

After a day trip to Madison and back, we weren’t up for much dinner nor much of a scene. An easy walk through our neighborhood led to Crust, which features organic pizzas made in a wood-fired oven. We sat at the bar and split an arugula and avocado salad and my favorite pie, Italian sausage with freshly shaved fennel on top. Watched the beginning of the Duke game. Talked about cartoons and our future. Drank a giant bottle of hoppy Three Floyds Brian Boru Old Irish Red (the Husband) and 2 glasses of a lovely, silky Chilean red (that would be me). Total was $58.57.

Chicago French Market

131 N. Clinton (at Randolph)

For tonight’s dinner, we strolled from office locales to meet friends and their 2 younguns at the city’s attempt to “bring back the European-inspired marketplace.” Located at the Ogilvie train station, the French Market consists of a hodge-podge of items to consume onsite as well as lots of ingredients to take home. Also square pegs like homemade soap and woven baskets. The meat, cheese, and fish vendors displayed some great-looking stuff. Live lobsters in a tank entertained the kids. One of my favorite places, Pastoral, has a prime spot by the front door. But as a whole, it felt like the gastronomic version of a buddy cop film: suburban mall food court is paired with an urban gourmet shoppe and as long as they stick together, they’ll be given one hell of a deal on rent.

We camped at a table and took turns hunting and gathering before returning to the den with food for the kids.

From Frietkoten Belgian Fries & Beer: Frites with curry mayo and blue cheese mayo. But no beer, as the liquor license is still snarled in the city’s red tape machine. The allure of frites+beer after work had been the focus of my afternoon. Le sigh.

From Necessity Baking Co.: Tsoureki (Easter egg loaf shaped like a wreath with dyed, hard-boiled eggs as garnish). Turns out an entire hard-boiled egg can cram nicely into the mouth of an 18-month-old.

From Bowl Square: Bibimbap with beef. Also “some kind of really spicy French dressing.”

From Chundy’s Bistro: Curried chicken and saffron rice. Also a discussion about being allergic to chicken.

From FLiP Crepes: Buckwheat crepes filled with brie, fig jam, onion confit, walnuts and spinach. Also samples of Nutella-filled crepes that were for the chocolate tour group, not us. Completely busted by chocolate smeared lips and fingers. This would be the adults, not the kids.

From Vanille: A chocolate eclair. Also a perfect-looking raspberry macaron, which fit into an 18-month-old’s mouth in a single bite.

From Delightful Pastries: An small cake loafette, decorated like an Easter egg. Crumb survey revealed that the 3-year-old was a big fan.

Overall, everything was pretty tasty. And the company was excellent, with ample entertainment by adorable children. I estimate that we spent about $15 a person (not including the kids).

Gilt Bar

230 W. Kinzie (at Franklin)

We went here because it’s down the block from the Husband’s office. Chill vibe, fancy rustic look, good music. Truly nice service. PBR on the menu, served in a “Hoffman” which was explained as a large chalice; the restaurant received a shipment of Hoffmans by mistake and decided to go for it. We however, decided on Two Brothers Domaine Du Paige and a nice viognier.

We started with two outstanding salads: For me, a gorgeous plate full of celeriac, yellow beets, red beets, carrots, fennel—all thinly shaved and dressed with a delicate Champagne vinaigrette. For the Husband, mixed greens and shallot dressing. The menu is a la carte, so we ordered a side of roasted cauliflower. Husband had a Croque Madame with a fried egg on top. He’s a sucker for the fried egg. Two big ol seared scallops on top of housemade papardelle in a simple, barely-there  butter and lemon and celery sauce. Completely delicious; $95.89 included 2 drinks a piece.

[Side bar: What’s with the annoying trend of waiters “explaining” the menu? This seems to happen at every place that’s opened in the past 2 years. Do we look like rubes who’ve never been to a restaurant before? It’s a menu. This is a restaurant. Unless the restaurant does something really crazy like “kill it yourself” or “we’re anti-utensil” it seems the explanation part could be eliminated.]

The kitchen is closed.

Seriously. At least for April. The Husband has come up with a brilliant plan: dinner out every night for a month.

Of course I agreed: going out to dinner is my absolute favorite thing to do. Our fridge is empty. The freezer is bare, save for emergency staples (coffee, Girl Scout cookies, vodka).

We compiled a long list of places to explore. Some in the neighborhood, most not. Sushi, soul food, burgers, pierogi, steaks, tamales, fried chicken, seafood, noodles, pizza, bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with chorizo. And hopefully a salad or two. Can’t wait!

Check back for nightly reports on our progress and tips on treating culinary withdrawal.