The more things change, the more things stay the same. Sometimes the simplest explanation IS the explanation. Sometimes, you have to leave to go home. Or come home to leave. Thankfully, the winter of my homecoming last year has not been repeated. Chicago is bright and cool and BRISK. The skies are stunningly, vividly blue. I’ve worn my boots just once. And my down coat — its buttons lost somewhere between last year and this year — also just once. Everything is lovely, but it makes me feel like we are on the cusp of something. On the cusp of something big. Something huge. Something terrible.

I am frightened.

So, um, I’ll just keep going out to eat then. Here’s where I’ve been lately:

Boiler Room, 2210 N California Ave: I loved the vibe of Boiler Room. I loved the loos. (Chicago Transit doors and, even, sound effects.) I loved the beer selection and I thought our service was pretty good too. But the pizza? Undercooked, and while at least the pepperoni had some taste to it, The Purist (mozzarella, basil, balsamic reduction) was pretty tasteless. The Verdict: Meh. So much promise, but not fully realized.

Keefer’s, 20 W Kinzie: My NY Strip Steak was good. The creamed spinach was good. The potato croquettes were excellent. But our server took FOREVER to take our order, and then he claimed we didn’t order calamari to start (we did) and then at some point, a fist fight broke out between other tables. ??? Oh, and I should mention that my friend who made the reservation is a very dependable, reliable person and I was there when she called Keefer’s and booked the table. Upon arrival, they had no record of our booking. They worked things out which was good of them, but still all very odd. Oh!! And then, when the bill came, we asked for it to be divided up amongst credit cards and that was one of the most complicated conversations I’ve ever had, for what was a basic math thing. The Verdict: I’d go somewhere else before I went back here, but I did like the vibe of the room with the radios in it.

Nori, 954 W Diversey: I dropped in here for a quick dinner after getting a haircut at Salon Blue on Sheffield, a place I’ve been going to since 1998! (Go see Amy. Tell her Krista sent you. Funnily, Chicago Food Snob has been going to Amy forever too!) Amazing. Anyhow, obviously Penny’s isn’t doing as well as it used to because this used to be part of Penny’s next door. I sat at the bar and had the Red Nori (spicy tuna, spicy shrimp, and avocado covered with tempura crumbs, red tobiko, and unagi sauce) and it was pretty enjoyable. But then I had the Crunchy Spicy Tuna maki and it was so depressing, it made me cry. There was no crunch. It was like they forgot a step. Roll the maki in raw tempura crumbs and…sigh. The Verdict: OK. Not great. I will keep searching.

Roka Akor, 11 W Illinois. I dropped in here for lunch with some colleagues this past Wednesday during Restaurant Week. The restaurant was curiously empty. Apparently, no one in The Loop wants to go north of the river, because Petterino’s is freaking PACKED every single afternoon. And Petterino’s is just good. And not as vibe-y as Roka Akor. Fascinating. Well, I had the restaurant week special and although I thought the Wagyu beef and kimchi dumplings were pretty luscious, the rest of the meal — the butterfish roll and the barbecued pork loin — were uninspiring. At $22 though, this was a very good value. The Verdict: Good. And the bar area seems good for solo dining.

So there we are. Some recent tries in Chicago. Until next time! Let’s hope it doesn’t snow like crazy in between.

The post Eating Out, Chicago Edition first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Native Foods, Wicker Park: I want to like Native Foods because I want to feel virtuous all the time. And you know, as a lover of food of all kinds, I can get down with veganism once or twice a year. But my Soul Bowl at Native Foods was two-thirds cardboard.  (The Soul Bowl is made up of Southern fried Native Chicken (i.e., not chicken), red beans, rice, steamed veggies, and kale dressed with ranch and BBQ suace and served with cornbread.) After eating half of this dish, I came to the sudden realization that I do not really like kale. The Native Chicken was pretty good, for not being chicken and all. I might go back here for my twice-yearly “I need to feel virtuous” visit but otherwise…meh.

DMK Burger Bar, Lakeview: I refuse to go back to Fish Bar, so after my last hair cut, I dropped into DMK for a burger.  They have a weird space issue going on…it’s like the space is just a little too big for them. But service was pretty cheerful and helpful and I liked my roasted hatch green chili, fried egg, sonoma jack and smoked bacon burger. My only complaint was the usual one: SOGGY BUN SYNDROME. I really need to remember to ask restaurants to toast my bun for me before serving. I really liked the lemon alioli they did with the sweet potato fries. Everything is served on small little plates though. That’s weird. I would still go back here though.

Siam Rice, The Loop: Dropped in here one afternoon for a quick work lunch. We got here on the early side, and for that I remain grateful. Because by the time we left, we couldn’t even get out the front door, so crowded was it. My Thai green curry — a standard by which I measure most Thai restaurants — was watery and missing its zip. I was very disappointed. I would not go back here. Or if I did, I would not have the green curry.

Hot Woks, Cool Sushi: Another quick lunch during the work week. I love the idea of a bento box, but in this one, the only thing worth eating was the vegetable tempura. (With one battered shrimp thrown in for good measure.) The chicken teriyaki was dry and flavorless and the California rolls were oddly assembled. I would not go back here.

I am still way behind. More Chicago, plus Mexico City, Doha, Tel Aviv ahead. Stay tuned.

The post Where I’ve Been Eating, Chicago Edition first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Least favorite question? What’s your favorite restaurant. I hate it. Because you know what? I don’t have one in Chicago. (Yet?) I’ve yet to walk into a place here where I can say to myself, “Oh now here…I’d eat here all the time.” But I did walk into Mana Food Bar on Division the other weekend and think…”Ah, now this is interesting.” I liked the decor. I liked the smallness. Chicago doesn’t do SMALL so it’s refreshing to be in a place with only about 24 covers where the server can’t possibly ignore you.

The only factor preventing Mana Food Bar from being a true favorite? Sigh…it’s vegetarian. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But I like a little pork belly now and then.

Yup, no meat on this menu.

The small vegetarian chili was surprisingly hearty. I barely missed the meat. Only complaint? Too small!

Bi Bim Bap is one of my all-time favorite dishes. This too was a surprisingly hefty dish, but I did miss the marinated beef. Still though, I felt virtuous with all this veg inside of me.

At Mana Food Bar, they leave the tap water on the table so you can serve yourself. I like this. A lot! I hate it when servers fill up my water glass every two minutes, even when the glass isn’t anywhere near empty. I want to see more bottled water on the table in Chicago. More.

The Verdict: I really like Mana Food Bar. I’d go back again and again and again some more. (I’d probably have a turkey sandwich for lunch though.)

The post Mana Food Bar, Wicker Park first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Hub 51
51 W Hubbard St
Chicago

Date of Last Visit: Thursday, November 11th

The Victims: Four work colleages

The Damage: About $60 per person

The Background: My company has a lot of international visitors. A lot. This is fun for me at this stage, when I’m still new-in-town and somewhat of an international guest myself. So I don’t mind taking the reins on organizing dinner. I wonder though when this will get old.

On this particular evening, our “Welcome to Chicago” dinner was for a colleague visiting from Spain. Organizing a work dinner is not easy. There are many requirements. Firstly, given that a lot of people live in the suburbs, you need a restaurant that’s relatively downtown so people can easily catch their trains. This rules out A LOT of cool places. Secondly–again because of the commuters–you have to eat early. (This is generally not a problem in Chicago, where most restaurants start serving dinner at 4:30 pm. Yes, you read that correctly. But it just means that your reservation window is small…you need a table between 5:30 and 6. Any later and the commuters bail.) Thirdly, you don’t want to mortgage the farm on dinner. It has to be decently priced. And lastly, I like to take country-of-origin of the guest in question into consideration, which can eliminate a whole swath of restaurants. Italian guest? You’re screwed. For all these reasons, Hub 51 was my choice.

The Entrance: Hub 51 is LOUD. I have made a bad choice. We can barely hear each other over the din, and or table is in front of a roped off area where the young and upwardly mobile of a large financial services firm are celebrating something. Loudly. My ears ache. (They are also all wearing suits and ties, which you rarely ever see in Chicago anymore.) The restaurant is also dark. Very dark.

Hub 51 also has a lot of Mexican items on the menu. This is annoying because our guest–again visiting from Spain–is actually Mexican. I hate taking natives to a place that serves inauthentic versions of their food. I have obviously not done my homework well enough.

But wait…Hub 51 serves sushi too. And not in a fusion kind of way. There, sitting next to the guacamole on the menu, is the sushi. I believe this was the Tuna and Thai Basil roll, with avocado and wasabi cream. It was okay. Luckily, the presence of the sushi made me feel better about taking our Mexican guest to a restaurant with a Mexican-tilted menu.

Best was the ceviche. Whoever made this knew what they were doing. It was fresh and light and not skimpy on the seafood. (Although perhaps a little too much avocado for my taste, after all the avocado in the guacamole and the sushi roll.) I don’t see this on their dinner menu online, so I’m wondering if it was a special.

These were my fish tacos, a disappointment to fish tacos everywhere. (So disappointing, apparently, that I neglected to really photograph the fish.) The indeterminate fish was dry and there was nothing on this plate to brighten it up. Even the tomato salsa was boring. I ate the black beans and left the rest behind, not even asking for a doggy bag. Bad sign. Oddly, the dish was accompanied by cole slaw.

The Verdict: Eh. I’ve had better. Particularly in places where I could hear myself think.

The post Hub 51, River North first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

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Banana Tree Canteen
412-416 St John Street
EC1V 4NJ

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, May 16th

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £15ish

The Background: I was in need of a quick lunch. I always walk by The Banana Tree and it's always got a good crowd in it, so I thought I would give it a shot.

The Entrance: Whoever designed the entrance is not claustrophobic. Seriously, there is absolutely no space between the door and the host stand. I wasn't quite sure where to put myself. Luckily, I was seated quickly before I fainted.

The Service: Fine. Nothing exciting. I was waited on two servers and they were both polite and nice.

The Starter: I started out with some sort of prawns. Fried. Rubbery. Bland. Tasteless. And despite the red flakes in the dipping sauce, there was no kick. No kick at all. Next?

The Main: I really should have written the name down. It was noodles of some sort. With chicken. They were rubbery. Bland. Tasteless. Are you sensing a theme to my review here?

The Weird Part: I'm not quite sure how to classify this restaurant. It was a bit Thai and a bit Malaysian and God knows what else. So I'm throwing it into my other Asian category.

The Verdict: Skip it. Blah.

The post Banana Tree Canteen first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Oriental City is fun. I have no idea what most things are. I love the packaging.

There's a somewhat lonely and desolate air to the place, with a bit of tackiness thrown in on the side. The cashiers are grouchy, and loos off the foodcourt are some of the worst I've seen.

We pick up our sake and head to Alexandra Palace for the fireworks. I've never been to Alexandra Palace before and I'm super-impressed by the sweeping views of London. We conduct our second taste test of the day–the Sake taste test–and are split on the winner.

Ben likes the gold bottle. Me, I like the green. I think Gerry was somewhat split between them. As we have no idea what the bottles say, well…

The fireworks commence and they're pretty fantastic, although the music reminds me of a high school dance. I don't think they've reworked the soundtrack since 1992.

The night is not over yet–it's only around 9 by the time we leave. Heck, in many ways, it's still getting started. We have six more hours of adventure in front of us…

The post Where Lunch Ends 12 Hours Later Part II first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

I am on the tube–the Northern Line. I need to get to Collindale–N22, if you can belive that! I am switching to the Edgware Branch at Camden and I am almost alone on the platform. An odd thing on a Saturday afternoon.

There is an attractive man sitting on the bench. A very attractive man. And he’s with a little girl of about 3. Maybe 4. She’s blond. Very blond.

I am looking at them and thinking how cute she is, how very very attractive he is. And what nice hands he has. And then it hits me.

It’s Chris Martin from Coldplay. And that’s Apple. As is Gwyneth Paltrow and Apple.

Before I was just looking at them. Now I’m staring them. He totally sees me staring at him. The train arrives. He puts his hood up and gets on the train. I follow them. I NEVER see anyone famous (except for Amy Winehouse once in a bar in Camden).

No one else on the train seems to know it’s them but me. I know if they get off at Belsize, it’s definitely them. But I’m pretty sure it’s them anyhow. They do get off at Belsize and the girl sitting closest to me looks at me and says "Was that who I think it was?"

Yes. It was.

My destination, as I mentioned, is, N22. I’m on my way to Oriental City–an Asian shopping mall–to meet Gerry & Ben for lunch. My heart still palpitating with lust for Mr. Martin–I never even thought he was cute until today–we three rendevous at the station and make the short walk to London’s largest Asian supermarket.

I like Oriental City. It’s a bit tatty. But it’s fun. There’s Hello Kitty paraphenalia and lots of Japanese pottery and chopsticks. I’m going back for the Japanese pottery alone.

We are really there for the food court. There are about 12 Asian food stalls gathered around a large number of picnic tables. You wander from one stall to the next, ordering food and getting a number. When they calll your number, you get your food.

We order dim sum from the two competing dim sum stands. I’ve heard that Dim Sum House is the better of the two and am proven right when we get through Battle of the Pork Buns. The pork buns from Dim Sum House are soft and airy, and the meat is plentiful and well-seasoned.  Not so from the competing house, whose offering is so inconsequential, I have forgotten the stall name.

We get a Korean pancake which is quite nice. And some California rolls and tuna rolls from the Japanese stall, which are only average. We wash this all down with a few Singhas before making our way to the Sake department of the supermarket, where we pick up three small bottles of different Sakes. We need some drinks for the fireworks in a few hours.

It’s a good day. And it’s only the beginning.

The post Where Lunch Ends 12 Hours Later, Part I first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Arepa & Company Camden

Arepa & Co Camden

The Victim: Stacey

The Damage: Well, it was probably something like £40, but I loaned Stace some money so she could buy some fab dresses and she insisted on paying for a lot more than she should have from there on out.

The Background: It’s funny…I’ve just been on the phone to Rutton (it’s 8 p.m. on a Sunday as a write this), and I told him about my day. And he said, “You’re very good at planning your weekends.”

And that gave me pause. Because although I’d so like that to be true, it’s not. I’m a planner, for sure, but planners can’t plan alone.

So yesterday, I was supposed to go over to Al & Louise’s for a barbecue with baby Oscar. (Al & Louise have the distinction of being this American gal’s “English friends.”) At 8:30 a.m., I checked my phone and there was a message from Al that said something like…

“Stuck my head in a bucket of PIMS last night. I’m dying. Barbecue is off. Sorry.”

So that left me wondering what to do next. (Cue Al Green, Tired of Being Alone.) Result? I read Vogue. I read Travel & Leisure. I update my blog. I start the dinner music mix for Matt & Feathers’ wedding. I hang out on my patio. I rent a car in Mexico. I call my friend Brian who is somewhere in the Middle East. I pick things up, I put things down. In short, I do nothing until around 8:30 p.m. when I head over to Au Lac for dinner with Chris & Evelien.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. I have plans to have brunch with K&A. I get back from my run around 10:30 a.m. and there’s a text from K…they’re not feeling very brunchlike. How about dinner on Tuesday instead?

Sigh. Cue Al Green again. The best laid plans.

Arepas in Camden

Enter Stacey and a “What are you doing?” text around 1 p.m. And a trip to Camden. And the most delicious lunch ever…arepas from Arepa & Co, live from Venezuela. An arepa is a cornmeal patty. I love cornmeal. I love grits, corn bread, corn muffins…and arepas. Ours were stuffed with beef, beans, and cheese. They were super-delicious. You should get one sometime. Get me one too while you’re at it. Or e-mail me first and we’ll go together.

An Update on Arepa & Co

Note that Arepa & Co now has two restaurants in London!! You can find them in Haggerstown and Bethnal Green. The no longer seem to be at Camden Market but there is a new arepa purveyor there called Arepazo Brothers.

Where Else to Get Arepas in London

• Guasacaca in Southwark
• Petare at Pop Brixton
• Mi Cocina es Tuya in Crystal Palace
• Don Arepa on Rupert Street in Soho

And then…we went to Gilgamesh…
Camden Stables Market
Chalk Farm Rd
NW1 8AH
Tel: 020 7482 5757

Have you read about Gilgamesh? Well, it’s huge. And you take an escalator to get there. And there’s a lot of carved wood. It reminds me of a hotel in a small city in China. It’s trying really hard from a decor standpoint. But at 3 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon when the market is packed, Gilgamesh is empty.

Gilgamesh Camden

We are shown to the bar area and we wait forever for someone to take our order. We just get drinks. Fruity cocktails. They are actually quite pleasing, but they’re pricey. £9.50 maybe? Eventually, our server drops off some complimentary prawn crackers. And an hour or so later when she gives us our bill, it’s £5.23. 🙂 I was so very tempted. But the Catholic guilt kicks in.

I go to the ladies and I am again reminded of being in a hotel in small city in China. There is a mop bucket and some mops in the stairwell, as well as some red velvet ropes. Dude, that stuff should be in a closet. And in the ladies’, there are orange traffic cones. Because apparently, they’re about to start some roadwork. How random.

We tried to eat, but they wouldn’t let us, despite having a bar menu. Apparently, they don’t serve any food between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Not even food from steam baskets. (You know, because that’s hard.) Bummer. But we can have some more prawn crackers.

Stacey and I decide that we would maybe come back to hang out at Gilgamesh. It’s in a good location, and the decor is sorta cool. And it’s so weirdly bizarre. Although I do pray for the rainforests.

So…in our search for sustenance, we decide on a CHANGE of VENUE!

The Cuban Camden

The Cuban
The Long Stables
Chalk Farm Road
NW1 8AH
Tel: 02074240692

Well, we like The Cuban immediately because there is live music. And the band rocks. And every so often, a few people get up to dance. It’s fun.

We get some mojitos, and we get some food. It’s bar food…quesadillas (with goat cheese?), croquettas, and something The Cuban calls Nachos, but I call “the bottom of the tortilla chip bag, with some sour cream spread on top.” Yikes. Nachos are the easiest thing to get right…why do so many (non-American, non-Mexican) people screw them up?

But then I got thinking–what if they got the Arepas guys to come in and make Arepas? (I’ve had arepas in Puerto Rico, so I am guessing that Cubans do arepas too?) That would be a sure hit.

The Verdict: Love Arepa & Co. Intrigued by Gilgamesh, but frightened as well. Had fun at The Cuban, but wouldn’t eat there and would only go back if I knew that there were many mojitos were in my future.

The post Arepas in Camden, Gilgamesh, and The Cuban first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Friday, February 2, 2006

The Victims: Conrad, Laura, Rob

The Damage: £16 each + Drinks (paid for separately at the bar)

The Background: We were over at Conrad’s place, making plans and drinking red wine. Our stomachs started talking to us, so it was time for sustenance. Cicada is right down the road from Conrad’s flat and he is a not infrequent visitor. I had heard mixed reviews about Cicada, but good company always wins out, so off we went.

The Arrival: Rob was waiting for us at the bar, and we quickly put our name in for a table and got ourselves some beer. The staff there had just turned away a party of two–they told the couple that they couldn’t take them for another 45 minutes or more. We put in for a table of four and almost immediately after placing our drink order at the bar, we were seated.

Now this brings up an interesting conundrum: when I was a hostess in the US, if we had an unreserved table available, it went to whoever asked for it, regardless of party size. If that meant sitting two people at a "four top," that was fine. So I felt bad for the couple who were turned away because if they had just adopted a random stranger from the bar (and becoming a party-of-three), they totally could have eaten. I’ve also noted in my "career" there are lots of parties-of-two who will out eat, out dessert, and out drink a party-of-four. So why pass them over for the unknown? And you know the really sad thing? I looked around the restaurant 30 minutes later and there were a bunch of empty tables. Those 2 people totally should have had one.

The Food: We ordered a bunch of things and had them delivered randomly to the table. There was edamame, of course. And some squid in a paper funnel that was quite nice. And some great pad thai. I ordered the duck pancakes and they told me it was available, but then they later told me they were out. By that point, it would have taken too long for any additional food to arrive, so I got a beer instead. This was sad because I left the restaurant just a little too hungry still.

The Service: It was her second shift.  A little more menu training and she’ll be fine.

The Verdict: You know, I liked Cicada. I’d be interested in knowing what people disliked about it, because I thought it was pretty decent.

The post Pan-Asian: Cicada first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, April 24

The Victims: Brian, Jeff, Rafa, Ana, Bernard, Sarah

Every so often, I get together with my former classmates for some sort of brunch. Because we’re a motley international crew, we like to pick someplace relatively international. Qualities we look for are large restaurants, no booking necessary, and good/interesting food.

After some searching, and feeling like trying a new cuisine, I chose Melati. I headed over to Picadilly and wisely avoided spending any money at HMV before lunch–but did not escape my fate after lunch! Bad Krista!

So then I entered Melati. And honestly, it smelled like pee. But maybe that’s just the oil they cook in. So I cut them some slack.

The music was fantastic. It was like my high school prom. Tainted Love! And the vegetable fritter starters were AMAZING. I fell in love and forgot about the urine smell. Besides for the fritters however, everything else in our vegetable-mixed-starters plate was a bit questionable and I stayed away from it.

OK, and here’s where I made more mistakes. I had read some reviews of Malaysian restaurants elsewhere and everyone was talking about Nasi Lamak. The coconut rice part sounded delicious. And it was a Sunday, so the fried egg was also an intriguing option.  And I do appreciate a good anchovy. But well, the execution was just not what I expected. The anchovies were dried, and the curried part was super spicy. I ate the egg and the rice but golly–that wasn’t enough. Get me another vegetable fritter!!!

Service throughout was nice, but a bit weird. At one point at the beginning, they made us all get up and move down two tables, rather than just moving one table away from us. It was annoying. And I wasn’t quite sure if they understood our English! But oh well. What can you do?

The Verdict: Funny smell is the clincher for me. I made the mistake of ordering the wrong dish for me, and I can’t hold that against them. I’m just not sure I’d go back! Perhaps only to eat the vegetable fritters. A big plate of them!

The post Malaysian: Melati first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.