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.

Bar Toma, 110 East Pearson. So firstly, I need to give them props because their location is huge (both in size and the perfectness of location) and if I were a tourist and stumbled in here, I would be very very happy. It’s casual. There’s a bar. And look…I ate some vegetables! We LOVED the charred carrots with Capriole goat cheese, almonds, and Acetaia San Giacomo balsamico. Also loved the beets and gorgonzola. Our pizza was just good, but we weren’t very creative. Just a Pizza Margherita. I tried to get my friend Aileen to have some Prosecco and she demurred. Who says no to Prosecco??? I think she’s preggars. The Verdict: Fun. Cheap. Casual.

Lula Cafe, 2357 N Kedzie: I dragged my friend Amy here one afternoon after New Year’s and I think she hates me now. Lula’s was packed. We got two seats at the bar and were promptly ignored by anyone and everyone. We eventually placed our order and we were promptly ignored again. And then we ate our food — my butternut squash soup and salad were good but not swoon-worthy — and we asked for our bill and (surprise!) we were both promptly (or impromptly) ignored again. It was all rather tiresome, and we left very tired and very grouchy. The Verdict: Hard to focus on the food when the service was so terribly terribly terribly abysmal. (You can imagine my Madonna accent — yes the UK one — as I’m saying that.) I liked the decor though.

The Southern Mac & Cheese Store, 60 East Lake Street. Even though my one and only experience at The Southern in Bucktown was nothing to write home about, I really liked my Artichoke Spinach Mac & Cheese at The Southern’s newish retail outlet. Crispy where it needed to be crispy, with plenty of artichoke and spinach, only two of my favorite things. I was surprised the shop wasn’t more crowded on the day we were there. Personally, I think they need to offer half portions because of the perception of mac & cheese alone. A lot of mac & cheese is NOT good for the waistline. Somehow a sandwich of the same caloric value doesn’t have the same perception. The Verdict: I liked this, but I can’t eat like this all the time. I’ll be back once a quarter.

I think I still have more to catch up. The more I eat, the less I write. I’m okay with that.

The post Yes, Occasionally I Do Eat in Chicago first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Upstairs at Owen & Engine

Owen & Engine
2700 North Western
Chicago

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, January 8, 2011

The Victims: Christina, Kent

The Damage: $20ish each

The Background:  Christina & Kent wanted to see True Grit. I had no idea what they were talking about. Shows you what kind of movie buff I am. They found a 7:20 pm showing at the theater on Western–affectionately known as the Ghetto Theater, even though it’s across from a Target. And a new gastropub–Owen & Engine. I feel like we’ve been calling this theater the Ghetto Theater forever, but 2700 N. Western isn’t really the ghetto anymore now is it?

Charcuterie at Owen & Engine

We started out with some charcuterie, which I believe is all made in-house. I liked the sausage there at 6 o’clock. And the salami (?) at 4 o’clock wasn’t bad either. Ah, the pickles were nice too. However…that pate (2 o’clock) was truly dreadful. The consistency, the color , the taste and the smell were all a bit off-putting. Slimy, really.

Fish & Chips

I opted for the fish and chips for my main and it was a surprisingly generous portion. Two big fat filets. The only problem? The dish was cold. We had waited a really long time for our food, and I think mine must have been sitting somewhere in the kitchen under the coolest (as in “not warm”) of heat lamps. This would have been 100% better piping hot out of the fryer. The crust on the fish was light but crispy–someone obviously knows what they’re doing–but it’s just too bad it was not hot.

Not pictured here, but Owen & Engine makes their own ketchup. We had a long debate about making your own ketchup. Heinz rocks, I say. Don’t mess with Heinz. There are other things you can spend your time and money on. Like making sure your patrons get hot food. The homemade alioli, on the other hand, that I’m okay with. It was a nice touch. There’s more latitude in making your own alioli.

The Service: Friendly  but gee whiz did we wait a while for our mains. The charcuterie arrived pretty quickly though.

True Grit: Eh. Felt long and drawn out and anti-climactic. Ended too quickly and in an unsatisfying way.

The Verdict: Owen & Engine is VERY convenient to that big movie theater on Western. It’s right across the street. As such, we were a little surprised the pub wasn’t a bit busier, but I suppose they’re still new and all that. Plus Americans still have that thing against British food. I would go here again for the atmosphere but the food at this point seems just, well, nice. Not special.

Ah, and they don’t serve half pints. This bugged me. The US needs more half pints.

The post Owen & Engine, Logan Square first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The Victim: Matt

The Damage: Not too much. $25 each?

The Background: Everything changes and sometimes life is like a boomerang, sending you back from whence you came. So it is with me. So it is with Matt. He too is back from London (along with Carolyn, his wife).

And we can’t get over how expensive food is here. It’s really crazy. A small soup at Au Bon Pain? $4.33. Just for some tomato puree and some pasta. Really. Go for a burrito and you’re out $10. A BURRITO.

I suggest to Matt that we catch up about repatriation at Revolution Brewing, a relatively new brewery in Chicago’s Logan Square. And you know what’s scary? Even though I lived in Chicago from 1996 to 2004, I’ve NEVER been to Logan Square before.

But now it’s relatively close to my new place, so it’s a no-brainer. We take the Blue Line up to Logan Square and there we are.

It’s a big space. An airy space. I like the tin ceiling and the light fixtures. But again, I’m afraid of what it might be like on a Friday or Saturday night. (And indeed, Foursquare tips confirm: Stay away on the weekends when the wait can stretch out forever.)

And there it it. The burger. Sorry that there’s not a shot of it open-faced because as always, I totally forgot to take a photo until the very last minute. I opted for the farm burger: baby spinach, roasted beet, horseradish cream, organic egg. FANTASTIC. Really, really…a really good burger. My only complaints were (as always) a soggy bun from too much juice, and a bun that just wasn’t as toasted as I like it. (And well…I was hypnotised by the horseradish cream, as I often am these days, and it didn’t pack the whollop I was hoping for.) I opted for the side salad instead of the fries, so I can’t comment on the potatoes. The side salad was HUGE though. More baby spinach. Good stuff.

This was all washed down by a number of Revolution’s beers. Between the two of us, I think Matt and I tried 75% of the menu. (Hey, they have 2 oz tasters…calm down. It was a WEDNESDAY.) I wish I could say that one or more really stood out, but nothing is really springing to mind. They were fine. Just fine.

The Verdict: I liked my burger. I liked the tin ceiling. Apparently, the bacon popcorn is something to go back for. Maybe I’ll go back. Maybe. But there’s a lot of other places–and a lot of other burgers–in Chicago that I need to check out first.

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