Root's Pizza - Chicago, IL

When I heard a Quad City style pizza place was opening near my old neighborhood in Chicago I knew I had to go.  For those unfamiliar, Quad Cities refers to the five cities on the Mississippi River—Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in Illinois, and Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa.  A particular style of pizza is home to that area and it's known for their hand-tossed malt crust pizzas that are scissor cut into strips, not slices.  

For a city that deeply prides itself on deep dish pizzas, you would think a Quad City style pizza place would not flourish here but from the looks of it, it's been doing pretty well.  For those that aren't into pizza, they also have hot dogs, sausages, bratwurst, sandwiches and pasta options on their menu.  

Caroline and I chose for our pizza the garden pizza which came with roasted mushroom, diced green peppers, roasted red peppers, kalamata and green onion mix and Quad Cities Mozzarella Blend.  The crust was definitely chewier and a tad on the sweet side.

Sable Kitchen & Bar - Chicago, IL

If you haven't been watching Season 9 of Top Chef, you will notice several Chicago chefs competing for the grand prize.  One of the chefs, Heather Terhune, is executive chef of Sable Kitchen & Bar, which is in the Palomar Hotel in the River North area of Chicago. 

El Taco Veloz - Chicago, IL

Jung and I tried eating at El Taco Veloz one day as a pre-meal snack, but we were in a rush and we didn't realize it was a sit down restaurant so we didn't get to try it.  He went back a few days later and told me about this soup that he had that had bacon in it.  At this point, he's tried deep dish pizzas, italian sausage and beef sandwiches and pork rinds at the Publican, so he is convinced that restaurants in Chicago, when in doubt, just add meat to everything.     

I got home pretty late from my trip from New York and didn't get to eat dinner, so I figured I'd stop by and check it out for myself.  

It's a few stores down from Alcala's Western Boots on Chicago Avenue.  You also can't miss the bright yellow sign.  

Ruxbin - Chicago, IL

When I heard about a new restaurant opening near my place, my curiosity was peaked.  When I found out that the chef and owners were Korean-American, I knew I had to get my butt over there.

If you read his bio, you can't help but be immediately impressed.  He's been Le Cordon Bleu trained and has worked in the kitchen of Thomas Keller's Per Se.  His dishes are a blend of French, Asian and American bistro fair.  I was expecting a lot Korean inspired dishes, but the K-town empanadas is the only item on the menu that seems to suggest his Korean background.  

Here's the outside of the Ruxbin kitchen on the corner of Ashland Ave and Pearson Street.

Inside, it's cozy and warm.  We came on a weeknight around 7:30 pm and it was packed.  We waited an hour and a half to get seated.  They don't take any reservations and the hostess told us it's really hard to predict how busy they will be.  She did mention that it's definitely easier to get seated with a smaller party, but there was four of us that night.  

Kuma's Burger (Lollapalooza) - Chicago, IL

I've been wanting to go to Kuma's Corner forever, but it's up in Avondale and I hear the lines are crazy so I was really excited when I found out they'd be at Lolla this year.

A friend described their size of the beef patties to hockey pucks. The beef patties were indeed huge, 10 ounces to be precise. They had three options: The Kuma Burger (bacon, cheddar cheese and fried egg); the Iron Maiden (Avocado, Cherry Peppers, Pepper Jack and Chipotle Mayo) and the Judas Priest (Bacon, Bleu Cheese Dressing with Apples, Walnuts, and Dried Cranberries).

XOCO - Chicago, IL (revisited)

Soup Cook and I were looking for a place to grab dinner after work and we literally stumbled upon XOCO while wandering around River North. I always forget that this place is so close. Lucky for us, we were early for dinner so there wasn't the usual line out the door.

I haven't been back since January and I was so excited to try some different things on their menu. To start, I got some of their guacamole & chips. My roommate recently got me guacamole and chips from Big Star and I have to say, Big Star's was slightly better, but no complaints with Rick Bayless's guac.

Do I get a torta or a caldo? Decisions, decisions ... I opted for their Carnitas Caldos, which is a soup with slow-cooked pork carnitas, potato-masa dumplings, chayote, roasted serrano chile, spinach, arugula and avocado. Yum, yum, yum. I always think a soup is not going to be filling enough, but this is like eating a huge bowl of pho minus all the noodles. The chunks of tender pork and veggies make this very filling. The potato-masa dumplings added an element of starchiness to the dish as well.

Now for my favorite part, their desserts. I wanted to order dessert after we were done because I had my heart set on trying their soft serve ice cream, but by the time we were done with dinner, the line was out the door again. So we waited and waited hoping that it would die down and realized, that there was no way around it, we'd have to stand in line again. Thank goodness the hostess recognized me and told me I could just go up to the register because the line is usually due to people waiting for seats to free up. So if you want to order to go or order dessert, you can just go up to the counter. Good to know for next time!

So here's a pic of the homemade Mexican vanilla soft serve with maple-pecan-bacon-streusel & salted caramel sauce. Yes, you read that right, bacon-streusel. I've been seeing a lot of bacon in desserts lately and XOCO was no exception. I liken this to a grown up version of McDonald's caramel sundaes. The soft serve had amazing flavor, the pecans and bacon added great texture and crunch and let's face it, salted caramel can do no wrong.

Soup Cook's never been here so we had to get the churros and hot chocolate. These churros never seem to fail me. I am so regretting not taking the leftover churros to go.

Grilled Tuna Rolls

I had the Food Network on in the background while I was cleaning up my room a few weekends ago and I heard snippets of Ina Garten create this lunch on the go. She made grilled tuna rolls with some homemade granola bars. I thought I'd make a mental note to keep this in mind for a picnic menu for the summer.

When I heard Ina say Grilled Tuna Rolls, I thought she was going to make sushi rolls, but turns out it's more like a grilled tuna salad on a hot dog bun. hahaha. I wasn't planning on making this for awhile, but when I was at the market and they had tuna steaks on sale, I couldn't resist! I didn't write down the recipe, but I vaguely remembered the ingredients. I improvised with what I had at home and it turned out pretty well. It's a bit messy to eat so not sure this is good picnic food, but at least I was able to test it out. The original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of salt to the marinade, but I thought it was way too salty, especially since you are also adding soy sauce and the tuna is seasoned as well. I'd start with 1/2 teaspoon and add more to taste. I had to add an additional avocado to this since it was way too salty.

Grilled Tuna Rolls

Barefoot Contessa

Good olive oil

1 pound very fresh tuna steak, 1-inch thick

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lime, zest grated

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes) (I only had 1 lemon so I squeezed the heck out of that sucker, probably amounted to 2 tablespoons worth)

1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder

1 teaspoon soy sauce

5 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)

1 firm, ripe Hass avocado, medium-diced

1/4 small red onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced scallion, white and green parts (I substituted with cilantro)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)

9 hot dog rolls, grilled or toasted

1 bunch baby arugula, washed and spun dry

Heat a charcoal grill with hot coals. Brush the grill with oil. Brush both sides of the tuna with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Cook the tuna over the hot coals for about 2 1/2 minutes on each side.

(If you don't want to heat a grill, you can sear the tuna in a dry saute pan over high heat. Heat the pan for 2 minutes, add the tuna steaks and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side until seared on the outside and still raw inside.)

Remove to a plate. The tuna should be seared on the outside and raw inside. Allow to cool and cut into cubes.

For the dressing, whisk together 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the lime zest, lime juice, wasabi powder, soy sauce, hot sauce, 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl.

Toss the avocado in the dressing and then add the tuna, red onion, scallion and sesame seeds. Toast the rolls and line them with arugula leaves, fill with the tuna mixture and serve.

Quite messy to eat, but quite delicious. The peppery arugula is perfect for this sandwich. It needs that bitterness to balance out the creaminess a bit and it brings out the nuttiness of the avocados as well.

Just beware, this makes a lot of sandwiches. I should have cut down on the recipe, but I didn't think it through so I was eating this for lunch and dinner for days. I am going on a Grilled Tuna Roll fast for awhile.

Not My Mom’s Avocado and Orange Salad

This is a recipe from Andrew Carmellini, the chef and owner of Locanda Verde in Manhattan, called Mom's Florida Avocado and Orange Salad recipe. Clearly my Korean mother would never have come up with this concoction. I wonder if she's ever even tried an avocado. I'll have to ask her next time I talk to her. =)

One of the things I really miss about living in LA is the plethora of grocery stores, farmers markets and ethnic markets. Even though I love my neighborhood Dominick's and relish my weekly trips to Trader Joe's, grocery shopping here is just not the same. I miss the fresh fruits and veggies that are available in LA all year round. I think I used to have at least 5 different types of fruit in my fridge at all times when I lived in LA. The only things that are not over the top expensive, still tasty and thus, in heavy rotation at our place these days are oranges, bananas and avocados (yes, an avocado is a fruit). I've been making tons of guacamole lately and was tempted to make yet another batch, but I happened to stumble upon this recipe for an avocado and orange salad and leaped for joy because I happened to have all the ingredients at home. Isn't it the best when that happens?

Not My Mom's Avocado and Orange Salad

adapted from Andrew Carmellini

3 Valencia or navel oranges

1 Haas avocado

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 scant tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for sprinkling

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce

Handful of cilantro leaves

1. Segment the oranges by slicing off the ends with a sharp knife. Put the orange on one end and, with a small, sharp knife, cut around the fruit, slicing off the peel and white pith.

2. Segment the orange by slicing between the membranes. Remove the segments and drop into a bowl. Squeeze the juice out of the remaining membranes into the bowl with the segments. Reserve the juice.

3. Slice the avocado in half and twist off the halves. With a knife, cut each halved avocado half lengthwise into segments, cutting through the meat. The original recipe said to cut around the avocado meat and push the pieces out of the skin with the knife. I tried that and it was more trouble than it's worth.

Personally I think it's easier to either peel the avocado skin off entirely and then cut into slices or cut into slices and scoop out the whole thing with a spoon. Whichever method you decide to employ, place the sliced avocado into the bowl with the oranges.

4. Add the lemon juice, red onion, oregano, olive oil, salt, hot sauce and the reserved orange juice. Using a large spoon, mix all the ingredients together so that everything is coated and well combined.

5. Remove to a serving bowl. Garnish with cilantro leaves and drizzle with more olive oil. Serve as an appetizer or antipasto.

Who knew oranges and avocados complimented each other so well? The sweetness of the oranges highlights the creamy, richness of the avocado and olive oil and the red onions provide the perfect crunch and spice to the whole salad. This would be such a great side dish with grilled fish. Wouldn't that be so good on a warm summer night?

Just remember folks, when your supermarket gives you only avocados and oranges, make this salad!