Longman & Eagle - Chicago, IL

One of my favorite favorite restaurants in Chicago is Longman & Eagle in Logan Square.  It's a gastropub and I know what you are thinking Chicago is full of gastropub so what's so special about this one.  The difference is that they actually fulfill on both fronts - great drinks and great food.  Maybe it was also that we came during a warm autumn night and got to sit outside and ate and drank to our heart's content, but I think the company that you're with can definitely make the food association that much greater and of course I was with Susan and Aleen.  

They had a bunch of interesting small plate options so we couldn't narrow it down so we got three to share.  This was the Ricotta Gnuddi with Asian Pear Black Walnut Jam, Butternut Squash Veloute and Brown Butter Sage Emulsion.  Basically imagine a ricotta gnocchi that is fried and you get the picture.  Yum is right.  

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. 

Sunda - Chicago, IL

Andrew has been telling us about the industry discount at Sunda that he gets for some time but we never managed to go.  I realized if I plan it, they will come, so I made reservations for us for Sunday evening.  Here's a sampling of the yummy things we ate.  

For appetizers we ordered the “toast and jam” which consisted of crispy shrimp “toast” and spicy tuna “jam.”  A bit difficult to spread the jam unto the bread, but it was fun to eat.

Sprout - Chicago, IL

One of the Sundays when Mary and Jeanie were still in town, we went to Sprout for brunch.  If you are top chef fans, the names Dale Levitski and Sarah Nguyen may ring a bell.  They joined forces after the show ended and opened Sprout in the fall of 2009.  Sprout has a three course prix-fixe dinner menu, which looks really interesting, but sad to say, it never made it to the top of my list when picking a place to eat amongst friends since not everyone wants to do a prix-fixe.  But when they started serving brunch on Sundays earlier this year I knew that would be more conducive to me visiting.   

Blackbird - Chicago, IL

I've been wanting to go to Blackbird for some time and I noticed that they usually participate in Restaurant Week so I figured I'd try to get a reservation that way.  They are one of the first restaurants to completely fill up so you really have to get an early start if you want to try to get reservations there.  I haven't been able to get reservations the last few times I tried, so when I heard that they were participating in Chef's Week this year, that was the first reservation I made and I didn't even consult my friends.  I just booked it.

Mercat a la Planxa - Chicago, IL

I've been a fan of  Jose Garces on Iron Chef and especially from his food demonstration at the Chicago Gourmet this past summer. He was very approachable and down to earth. I've been itching to try his Chicago restaurant, Mercat a la Planxa, but for one reason or another, it kept eluding me.  

So number two on my list for Restaurant Week was Garces' Mercat.  I got a bunch of us together on a Friday night for some tapas.  It's a beautiful space right on Michigan Ave near the Art Institute.  Here was what was great and not so great about Mercat for Restaurant Week.

The good news: the food is excellent, it's so flavorful and everything we had was delicious

The bad news: you do not get your money's worth if you come in a big group for Restaurant Week.  Typically for Restaurant Week, you get a choice of three items as a three course meal, which usually ends up being more than enough food.  I thought it was a bit odd that the waiter encouraged us to order additional plates on top of the restaurant week menu.  We thought a few additional tapas would be enough, but even with those additions, we totally felt stiffed.  We got some items taken off the final bill, but it didn't leave us with a good impression.  


Because everything is served family style, the portions weren't adequately thought out.  We were often times presented with one dish to share among the six of us, even though we were each paying a prix fixe price.  Tables of two next to us were getting the same exact dish that we were, except they were only sharing amongst the two of them.  


I do think it's worth it if you come in pairs.  If you do decide to come with a bigger group, you're better off ordering off the regular menu instead of doing the set menu.  

Our waiter highly recommended the bacon wrapped dates stuffed with almonds.  Each order comes with 2 skewers so for the five of us, we ordered 2.5 orders.  These were amazing. If you've never had bacon wrapped dates before, you need to get on it.  

Ricotta-Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Dates

I started out taking lots of pictures of the food I made, but got distracted halfway through.  You'll have to bear with me.  But here are some pics of the Ricotta-Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Dates we made.  Susan was in charge of making these and she did a great job.  :)  We had to take the pit out of all of the dates, so that was a bit of a challenge, but aside from that, it's quite easy and really tasty.  

I forgot to take pictures, but here's what they should look like.  Photo courtesy of food network.  The combo of sweet, salty, crispy and creamy are what make these so addicting and fun to pop in your mouth.  

Huckleberry Cafe - Santa Monica, CA

I've been meaning to check out Huckleberry Cafe for awhile, so when I went home to LA last month and my friends wanted to meet up for brunch, I figured it would be the perfect place to meet.  

Huckleberry Bakery and Café is owned and operated by husband and wife team Zoe Nathan and Josh Loeb. Zoe learned to bake at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, which is one of my favorites.  Josh opened Rustic Canyon Wine Bar and Seasonal Kitchen in December of 2006, which is where they both met and eventually fell in love.  They wanted to open up a local artisan bakery and cafe where friends, family and enthusiastic food lovers could come together to eat delicious homemade bread, pastries and savory food in a warm casual atmosphere.  

Huckleberry Cafe is definitely warm and inviting and if the lines out the door are any indication, I think they have succeeded.   Inside, their spread of sweet and savory foods is quite broad and expansive.  My eyes were bigger than my stomach, as always.  

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.  

The Silver Palm - Chicago, IL

So after day 1 of Lollapalooza, where do we go for dinner? In keeping with the Meat-fest theme, we decide to hit up The Silver Palm for the Three Little Piggy sandwich.

Now why does that sound so familiar you ask? It's because Anthony Bourdain called it the "greatest sandwich in America" on the Chicago segment of his No Reservations show last year.

The Silver Palm is basically a retired railway dining car-turned-restaurant, docked near the intersection of Milwaukee and Chicago Avenue. This restaurant serves up one mean sandwich, enough to make any wolf jealous.  Good thing the Silver Palm is made of brick.  Coincidence?  I think not.

RoliRoti Gourmet Rotisserie - San Francisco, CA

One of my closest friends from college got married in a tiny little town near San Francisco a few weeks ago and it was a blast. It was a fun filled weekend, but a definite highlight was our dinner prepared by RoliRoti, a rotisserie food truck. She had originally planned on having dinner at the only restaurant in town, but they were charging exorbitant prices for fish and chips, so she asked the wonderful people at RoliRoti if they wouldn't mind driving an hour up from San Francisco to cater a dinner for her wedding party.

For those that have never heard of RoliRoti, it's a rotisserie food truck based in San Francisco that serves free-range chicken, Heritage pork and local lamb, prepared by owner Thomas Odermatt, a Swiss former organic farming student whose business card reads “Rotisseur.” You can read up on Mr. Rotisseur himself here.

I've heard so much about RoliRoti so I was so excited when they pulled up to our house. From the side, it looks like a regular van, but prop open the back and you see a built in rotisserie grill. Where can I get one of those?

Here is a close up.

On top of the rotisserie was the Porchetta (por-KET-ta). My friend described it to me as basically a pork roll, a free range pork loin that is wrapped in a layer of pork belly. Thomas takes the pork loin and loads on the garlic, fresh herbs like rosemary, marjoram, cracked black pepper and fennel seeds. He then wraps a pork belly and skin on top, ties a nice bow around it and skewers it on a rotisserie for four hours until the skin is crispy brown on the outside, and the meat is succulent on the inside. Thomas typically uses the Porchetta and serves it in a sandwich at his food truck stop at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market every Thursdays and Saturdays. I hear the waits can go for hours. We were so thrilled knowing that we'd have all of the Porchetta to ourselves that night.

Below the perfectly packaged Porchetta were the Gourmet Rotisserie Chickens. Thomas grills only the freshest corn-fed chicken from Sonoma County, which he sprinkles with herbs and spices. And don't forget that it's also getting bathed by the Porchetta drippings from above. Have mercy.

As if that was not enough, at the bottom of the rotisserie was a layer of halved french fingerling potatoes that had been tossed with fresh rosemary and unpeeled pieces of garlic. These potatoes were just hanging loose, getting a nice sun tan and catching every juice from the chicken and porchetta morsels above. We all know that there's nothing better than golden brown roasted potatoes cooked in chicken and pork fat renderings, right?

The caterer said that he had started cooking this on his drive up. The drive up to Bolinas is quite windy and treacherous so thank goodness these chickens were skewered on tight. He said he had about an hour or so more of cooking left so we waited. The truck was stationed outside and every 10 to 15 minutes, a few of us would venture outside to check on our dinner and just stare glassy eyed into these skewered meats being rotated round and round. You could tell that dinner was almost ready when you heard the pork skin start to crackle and the birds were getting nice and golden as well.

A close up of the triplets.

When the food was all ready, he laid out all the other dishes that accompanied this glorious feast.

We had some Heirloom Tomato Salad with crispy shallot vinaigrette and fresh basil. Oh my lord, these were so good!! Anyone that has tried heirloom tomatoes knows they are the real deal. Crazy expensive anywhere you can get your hands on them, but so full of flavor.

At the bottom of the picture, you'll see Summer Corn Salad, which consisted of charred corn and fresh avocados tossed in lime-jalapeño vinaigrette, garnished with cilantro.

Here is our dear friend untying our present and preparing to slice up pieces of that infamous Porchetta. We had a delicious onion marmalade, some French sea salt and rolls from Acme Bread Company to round out our meal.

Here's a picture of our plate. Every single thing on that plate was heavenly and quickly devoured.

I wish I lived in SF. I'd gather a bunch of my friends every weekend and have this catered if I could. Everything tasted so fresh and so flavorful. Without a doubt, this was the best food at a wedding ever! Congratulations J & M! Love you guys, and your taste in food trucks! :)

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.

New favorite brunch spots in LA

I've been having really yummy brunches these days, but I keep forgetting my camera so I'm borrowing these pics from other reviewers from yelp.

First up is BLD, which I discovered is super close to where I live. I've never noticed it before though, shame on me. I've gone to Toast and Doughboys many a times, but after awhile, it gets a bit old and the lines are out of control. The line at BLD was not that much better, but I'm always on the hunt for good brunch spots (aside from the usual IHOP which is unavoidable with Papa Choi), so it was worth it.

We had to wait quite a bit so we looked at their menu beforehand and firmly decided on the ricotta blueberry pancakes and the turkey sausage frittata. However, once we got seated, we eyed the couple next to us who was grinning ear to ear and raving about their fried egg sandwich. It looked really good, so we caved and ordered that instead.

The fried egg sandwich ($13) consisted of toasted sourdough bread, nueske's thick cut bacon, gruyere cheese, aioli and a side of potatoes. I feel like I could attempt to make this sandwich at home, but where can I get my hands on some nueske's thick cut bacon? It was thick and salty and paired wonderfully with the runny, golden egg yolk. Oh my lord. Wanda and I thought it was a bit oily and couldn't figure out where it was coming from, but now that I read the ingredient list, I think it was from the aioli, which melted from the heat.

Wanda and I also shared the Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes ($13), which were so fluffy and light. It was served with warm butter and Berkshire maple syrup, which was housed in a cute log cabin tin. Adorable!

I am usually not a big fan of pancakes because they end up tasting a bit bready and dry and I end up dousing the whole thing in syrup, but these made a believer out of me. I need this recipe pronto.

My second recommendation is the Alcove Cafe and Bakery in Los Feliz. We came here after hiking in Griffith Park. It's an outdoor cafe and it feels like you are eating in the front porch of someone's house. It kind of reminded me of The Cottage in La Jolla. They have tables out in front of the cafe and all along the sides. It's a cute place to just sit out and enjoy the California sun with a newspaper in hand and some yummy breakfast.

Wanda got the peach crepes ($11.95), which had about 4 thin crepes stuffed with fresh whipped cream infused with espresso and caramelized peaches. It definitely was not enough food for breakfast, but would be a tasty snack or dessert to share. I couldn't find a picture of the crepes.

James got the crab cake benedict ($13.95). It had Maryland style crab cakes made from sweet blue crab meat, fresh spinach, two poached eggs on focaccia with hollandaise and fresh chives.

I ordered the cobb omelette ($12.95), which had grilled chicken, applewood smoked bacon, point reyes blue cheese, tomato and avocado in it. I don't know why no one thought to make a cobb salad into an omelette before, but it's genius I tell you, genius!

They also had a huge dessert case and I am pretty sure they get their cakes from Susina. Usually when my friends have a hunkering for dessert, Susina is my go-to place, but their tables fill up pretty quick, so I think I'll take them to Alcove next time. They have the same desserts and you can sit outside on a warm night.

BLD

7450 Beverly Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90036

Alcove Cafe & Bakery

1929 Hillhurst Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90027