Time for a break. Too many restaurants, too little time. And I’m TIRED. I know, I know. What happened to all your photos, Krista? What happened to full blog write-ups?  Frankly speaking, no one restaurant has driven me to such great lengths in a long time. So micro-reviews it is for you. For now. Personally, I kinda like the micro-review thing. It’s like Twitter. Or a Haiku. (A long one.)

Benny’s Chop House, 444 N. Wabash, River North (ish, because I kinda feel like Wabash is a bit of a wasteland and even though it’s north of the river, it’s still in The Loop, isn’t it?). When I was looking for new kitchen knobs in December (yes, I’m very domestic like that), I met Benny himself in a hardware store and made a mental note to stop in to his restaurant sometime. In return for the name and phone number of his handyman and all. So I did. (Although I never called his handyman.) It was a weekend afternoon and the place was EMPTY. I sat at the bar and had a burger. And it was so flavorless, it was sad. The bun was good though, as were the fries. (Served in their own miniature basket for frying! Genius!) But really, all I wanted was some salt and pepper. BUT wait. The PRICE. The price was kind of amazingly right. $10 for a burger and fries that is certainly better than Mickey D’s. I mean, for that, I might just have to go back. Even though the bar area kinda felt like a bad 2008 Chicago condo kitchen installation. The Verdict: If you like value for money, sit at the bar and get a burger, but ask for salt and pepper and all that other stuff.

Irazu, 1865 N. Milwaukee, Bucktown. Everyone told me I would love Irazu, one of Chicago’s only Costa Rican restaurants. Well, I didn’t. It all felt a bit unkempt and dingy, and our table was unsteady, so that was annoying. And my tilapia tacos were probably about the most underwhelming thing I’ve eaten so far in 2012. (Tilapia. In a taco. With a lot of overcooked onions. No thank you.) My friend Amy got that oatmeal shake that everyone raves about and I thought, “Gee, it’s just like drinking cold oatmeal.” The Verdict: Meh. Not so exciting. Not sure why it’s so packed.

Maza, 2415 N. Ashland, Sort of Lincoln Park-ish. I will admit to a total bias. I used to live by the old Maza on Lincoln and I always loved it. You might know my greatest goal is to go to Lebanon at some point in the near future. And I am also a sucker for hummus. So it was that I found myself at the new Maza at Ashland & Fullerton, where I heard the incredibly sad story of the owner losing the lease on his old space in West Lakeview. The landlord on Lincoln wanted a monthly sum that no sole proprietor could ever agree to. So Maza moved. And the old space remains unoccupied still. Greedy bastards. Well, bygones because we had fun at Maza and I loved my assortment of food, just like I did in the old days. I love that it’s this guy’s restaurant and it always has been and he works there all the time.  The Verdict: Support a local businessman and go. (And really, ignore the Yelp reviews.) Sadly, the proprietor hasn’t been back to Lebanon in 30+ years.

I’ve got more. A lot more. Coming up: Storefront Company, RPM Italian, and the part where I nearly die on a bar stool at Yusho. And a lot of other places that I can’t even remember at the moment. Hmmm.

The post TOO MUCH FOOD, 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.

Fritz  Pastry, 1408 W Diversey, Lakeview: I dropped in for some of their macarons on the way to a Girls’ Night In up in Edgewater. These were disappointing, when compared to the macarons at Alliance. Too big. Too fluffy. Too sweet. Missing all the delicate loveliness of a macaron.

Shine, 756 W. Webster, Lincoln Park: I dropped in here for lunch during WordCamp and was terribly disappointed. My chicken stir fry used the cheapest, most terrible chicken. You know the type…the type that’s all injected with weird fluids.

Sepia, 123 N. Jefferson, West Loop: My friend David took me along to Sepia for the opening of their private event space. I served as photographer’s assistant briefly as he did his thing and took all sorts of lovely photographs. Then I helped myself to some of the lovely terrines and charcuterie. Sepia’s new event space seems like a lovely spot to hold a party.

Bar Bar Black Sheep, 1415 N. Milwaukee, Wicker Park. My friend Amy and I popped in here the other night for a good old-fashioned catch-up. She was lured by the prospect of complimentary bacon with everything. I was lured by the proximity to my apartment. We shared a chicken schnitzel sandwich, which was just okay. And some truffled mac & cheese, which Amy liked but I thought was a bit wet. Then we somehow found ourselves with the Trio of Bacon, which I honestly couldn’t touch, so rich and dense was it. Service at the bar and then outside on the patio was particularly nice throughout our meal though, which was good.

I think with this post, I am fully caught up to date. A good feeling!

The post Other Places I’ve Been Eating Lately… first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Christina & Kent are having twins on Thursday. And Kent has two broken elbows. Cracks me up every time I think about it. Yes, I’m a bad friend. Worst part? Kent broke his own elbows! Riding his bike into work one morning. But he’s feeling better and as they’re relishing these last few days of freedom, we met up for a leisurely dinner at Aquitaine, the restaurant that will forever be know after this as The Sweat Locker.

Because Aquitaine was HOT. It was okay at first, with a cook trickle of air conditioning making it up to our table at the front of the restaurant on occasion. But around the time our starters arrived, a table of four arrived and asked that the restaurant open the doors to the street. The staff (and I believe the chef herself) had already starting opening the doors when they turned and asked us, “You don’t mind if we open these, do you? It should cool things down a bit.” Well, firstly…we did mind. But the horse was already out of the barn. Secondly, anyone who has studied anything remotely related to science will know that when it is 95 degrees outside and you open a window, it will become warmer inside.

Sigh.

Christina and I split an extremely generous “petit” tart to start. I’m afraid to ask what the grande looks like, because this was the size of a baby’s head. Made of portabella mushroom, sundried tomato, and goat cheese, it was badly in need of seasoning.
Better was the mustard porkchop. That was some porky pig because this too was a very generous serving. (At $24, I’m glad it was.) I did not do this dish justice, even though it was a pretty excellent juicy pork chop and I am a fan of all things mustard. The seasonal vegetables seemed a bit catering college to me, but really they were fine. We were all so hot though that we asked for the check as soon as my plate was cleared and headed across the street to Dairy Queen to cool down.

The Verdict: The Sweat Locker — I mean Aquitaine — is probably that sort of restaurant that lots of locals like. So if you live in the neighborhood, maybe you should go there. When it’s not too hot outside.

The post Aquitaine, Lincoln Park first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

I’m not sure why when I uploaded the video to Youtube it did that vertical letterbox thing. If you know how to fix it, let me know and I will reupload…

The post Dessert at Alinea Last Night… first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, March 1

The Victims: Christina, Kent

The Damage: $40 or so each.

The Background: Although I love my new neighborhood — depending on how you define your boundaries, I’m somewhere in and between Wicker Park, Ukranian Village, West Town, and Noble Square — there are a few major drawbacks:

Lack of good east-west transportation
Lack of good straight north-south transportation
Lack of good  northeast-southwest transportation
No lake

So getting from where I live to Lincoln Park is not entirely easy. When it’s light out, I don’t mind hopping on the Ashland bus to go north or south and then the Chicago or Division or North Avenue buses to go east or west. But while it’s still dark — and if there’s still snow on the ground — I find myself taking a lot of taxis. A lot. (Probably still costs me less than buying a car of course.)

That being said, if you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you know I don’t mind traveling for food. So a taxi to dinner is no hardship, especially if I expect good grub on the other side.

The pimento cheese spread at Kith & Kin isn’t exactly my idea of good grub. Kent wanted it. I just went along for the ride. But it was the worst sort of bar food. The texture was sickening. Processed cheese, processed. (I’m sure it was high quality processed cheese, processed. Heck it might have even been real cheese, processed.) With mayonnaise. And the barest hint of pimentos. I am a Yankee and Kith & Kin specializes in southern food, so you can blame my Yankee heritage for my feelings about this dish, which is apparently much loved in the south. (Kent is from Indiana. I’ve just researched whether this makes him a Yankee or not, and the verdict is mixed. Some say the Upper Midwest counts as Yankee territory. Others say it’s just New England and the Northeast.)

For my main dish, I opted for Kith & Kin’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken, which everyone raves about. It looked quite nice on the plate. Like really good fried chicken. But although the fried crust had a good crunch to it, it was oddly tasteless. So too the white gravy. Worst still, the chicken just wasn’t HOT. The plate was hot, but the chicken was not.

The Service: Service was prompt and friendly throughout. No complaints there.

The Atmosphere: Loud. Really really loud. They need some soft fabrics or something. I don’t like shouting over cheese spread.

The Verdict: Obviously very popular. Just not this Yankee’s bag.

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Hema’s Kitchen Samosas

Hema’s Kitchen

2411 North Clark
Chicago

The Victims: Too many to mention thanks to Grubwithus.

The Damage: $25 each

The Background: I used to be a sucker. Big time. Big big time. Back in the late 90s, the head of my division at work was leaving the company. So we of course decided to throw him a going away party. Anyhow, in the course of conversation, we asked John if there was any particular food he wanted at his going away party.

Big mistake.

Because he said Indian. And not just any sort of Indian. He wanted Indian from Hema’s Kitchen. And this was YEARS before she had an outpost on Clark. This is when Hema’s only kitchen was on Oakley. 6400 North Oakley. 6400!!

And somehow, I was the person nominated to get the food. Me, who made $23,500 a year and had no car.

But it gets better. Because I arrive at Hema’s little storefront to pick up the big trays of biryani and samosas that we ordered. We’re talking over $200 worth of food here. I pay the bill and turn to leave when Hema shouts, “What about the tip for my cooks?”

Tip? But this is take out?

I turn around and look at her silently. She repeats her request that I tip her cooks who have worked so hard to prepare my food. (“But isn’t that their job?” I wonder.) She asked for $25.

Highway robbery.

I will forgive her because fast-forward to 2011 and her saag paneer is very delicious. Rich. Dense. I don’t want to know how much oil is in here, really. But this may be the best saag paneer I’ve ever had, and I consider myself a connoisseur. The tandori chicken and the samosas are a bit less delicious–the tandori missing that bit of oomph! and the samosas a bit too pastry-like for me. (I need more savorynesss.)

But almost as good as the saag paneer was the lamb vindaloo. Not lip-numbing enough for me, but still with an appreciable kick. I must have lived in the UK too long because most at the table felt this too hot for them. (Hmmm…I’m reading that wondering if that’s an oxymoron to my American readers? The UK, breeding ground of spicy food? Why yes, in London, I might say that’s true.)

Throughout it all, service was prompt and sweet. Well done.

The Verdict: I liked it here at Hema’s in Lincoln Park. The restaurant is actually quite well decorated and makes for a nice night out. Inexpensive, to boot. Oh, and BYOB!  And luckily, no one came out at the end of the meal to harass me about the tip.

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Perennial
1800 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60614

Date of Last Visit: Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

The Victims: Christina, Kent

The Damage: $75 USD each

The Background: I moved to Chicago in July of 1996. My mom came with me to help me find an apartment and we stayed for a few days at the Days Inn Gold Coast…”Gold Coast” making it sound a lot ritzier than it was. Our room was super tiny, and the air conditioner was questionable. Downstairs, the hotel had a restaurant, one of those old-school Chicago ones with lots of formica. We had breakfast there. It was the first place I ever ate in Chicago.

So here it is 13 years later, and I’m back at The Days Inn Gold Coast, although it’s not a Days Inn anymore. It’s been completely renovated.

And it’s also completely empty.

It’s a ghost hotel…totally kitted out like a hotel, but not operating. It’s spooky, almost, standing there in the lobby, looking at the check-in desk and the big chairs. No brochures, no paper, no people. Weird.

Perennial, on the other hand, is hopping. Particularly its outside area. The crowd is upwardly mobile, wearing large sunglasses, and drinking mojitos. Not an inch of formica in sight.

The Food: I’ve read about the chicken lollipops online and people have raved about them. They’re served in a soy reduction with cashews, and “asian” slaw. They’re okay. They’re HUGE actually and look nothing like I imagined. There’s four of them. And they’re SALTY. I eat two and give the rest to Christina and Kent. Always a bad sign when I give my food away.

Next up are sea scallops, wild mushrooms, and short rib cannelloni gratin. The scallops are great. The short rib cannelloni tasts like nothing. And the mushrooms are, again, super salty. It’s just not working for me.

The meal is saved by the lovely dessert. The menu calls it cheesecake, but as you can see, it doesn’t look much like cheesecake now, does it? That’s raspberry custard, cream cheese foam, and graham cracker ice cream. The ice cream is in the center of the foam. I love all the flavours and textures here…really, very very nice.

The Verdict: I wasn’t so keen on the food-food. But the atmosphere of the place was pretty fun and the dessert was great.

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