Lure Izakaya - Chicago, IL

I visited Lure Izakaya with my cousin when I was in Chicago.  I had heard of a new izakaya opening in Chinatown and it sounded like it could be promising.  

I was expecting a more low key, Japanese pub like environment but I think they were going for a more trendy, lounge feel.  It's reflected in the menu as well.  Their menu consists of mostly small plates of Asian fusion dishes and a few yakitori options.  My cousin and I thought the food was tasty, but definitely not what we were expecting from a traditional izakaya place. 

We both picked a few dishes that jumped out at us.  First was the Zuke salmon, which was seared salmon in a soy-mirin broth.

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. 

Graham Elliott - Chicago, IL

We celebrated our friend Gook's birthday at Graham Elliot months ago.  We happened to go when they were revealing their spring menu, so that just goes to show how long ago this was.  Sorry guys!  

I've always wanted to try Graham Elliott, but I had heard some mixed reviews.  I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised and ended up leaving the place a bigger fan of Graham Elliot than before (if that's even possible).  Everything was so whimsical yet at the same time delicious. 

Judith's Dungeness Crab Cioppino

Jung introduced me to this recipe and I devoured bowls and bowls of this.  I felt up to the challenge one weekend so I went grocery shopping to only realize that I couldn't find Dungeness Crab anywhere.  Thankfully Whole Foods had frozen crab legs so I improvised.  I'm sure this would be amazing with Dungeness Crab, but this was still unbelievably good.  

Judith's Dungeness Crab Cioppinio

Michael Mina

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

8 large garlic cloves—6 finely chopped, 2 whole

3 jalapeños, seeded and minced

2 red bell peppers, finely chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 large bay leaf

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup dry red wine

One 28-ounce can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved

Four 8-ounce bottles clam broth

1 1/2 cups water

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup packed basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

4 steamed Dungeness crabs, about 2 pounds each (or in my case 2 pounds of frozen crab legs)

2 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed

2 pounds firm, white-fleshed fish fillets such as halibut, skinned and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks

2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined

2 pounds mussels, scrubbed

1 pound sea scallops, halved vertically if large

Crusty bread, for serving

It helps to do the prep before, so I started chopping up the bell peppers and onions.  

Province - Chicago, IL

I am so embarrassed that I am months and months behind in my posts.  I can't even remember what I ate.  This was a lovely dinner though that I had with my friend Christina.  

We were greeted with an amuse bouche of fried olives.  It took us awhile to figure out what to order so they accidentally brought us two plates of this.  Psst... don't tell anyone, we didn't mind though.  :)

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.

Nightwood - Chicago, IL

My old roommate first introduced me to Nightwood last year.  We drove down to Pilsen to have dinner on night but were heartbroken to find that they were closed that night.  I love the Pilsen area but for a girl without a car, it can be a pain to get to sometimes.  Nightwood is owned by the same people as Lula's Cafe, which I also adore, so I've been wanting to check it out for some time.

When an old college friend came to town, a group of us decided to have dinner here.  It's on the corner of Halsted and 21st in Pilsen.  Here's a pic of their unassuming sign. 

Lure Fishbar - New York, NY (Soho)

I went to go visit Pete in New York last month and I always face a conundrum when I am there.  I have limited time and there's too many places to eat.  So when Pete asked what I wanted to eat for lunch on Saturday, I had no clue.  Luckily Pete suggested lobster rolls.  It's hard to say no to lobster rolls, so off we went to Soho to Lure Fishbar.

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.  

Mariscos de Veneno - Chicago, IL

Sometimes when I go for a run after work in my neighborhood, I pass by this restaurant and there is always groups of people waiting outside to eat. I made a mental note that I needed to check it out one day.

My cousin, Susan, Aleen and I came here early one Saturday night because were had heard the wait can be quite long, but we got lucky and got seated fairly quickly. Just be forewarned, the seats are packed pretty tight inside, so you'll be very close to your dining companions.

Here's a picture of the menu. It refers to Nayarit, which is a costal state in Mexico. I've never been there, but I presume that this restaurant showcases the seafood cuisine of that region.

When you sit down, they will give each diner their own tuna tostada with some chopped cucumbers, red onions, carrots and tomatoes. They also served this with a hot sauce, which was HOT! They weren't kidding when they said not to use too much. It was a salsa huichol, which is made from a blend of spices, chiles and vinegar. A few drops was all that I could handle.

We ordered some shrimp empanadas as well. It was served hot with a slice of avocado on top.

We ordered a plate of the langoustines, which look like mini lobsters or giant crayfish. I've been duped by places in Southern California that advertise lobster tacos and it turns out to belangoustines, so I think a lot of people use the terms interchangeable, but really they are not baby lobsters. I think it tastes more like a shrimp or crayfish than a lobster. I've seen biggerlangoustines before, but these were on the smaller side. My cousin and I wondered whether maybe the size depends on the season. Anyhow, the garlic and butter sauce is what makes this dish. We dipped fries or anything we could get our hands on, into this sauce. We even dipped the peeled langoustine tails into the sauce before popping them in our mouths. Although this looks like a lot of food, there's not that much meat in each langoustine. It's a shame because all of that flavor is seeped into the crevices of the shell.

We also got a grilled red snapper with garlic butter sauce. Most people around us ordered the whole fried red snapper. Since it was four girls, watching their figure, we opted for the grilled option. We were so confused because it looked like three pieces of fish, but they had deboned the fish from the back bone, breaded the two pieces of the fish and the backbone, and fried it. So it wasn't what you would consider grilled, it's just slightly less fried. lol.

The breaded part was garlicy, buttery and crispy, and the flesh of the fish was perfectly moist. We really enjoyed it. It came with a side of rice and salad. We ordered a side of french fries as well.

My friends and cousin still rave about how good the food was here. We'll definitely have to come back. They also have crab legs in that nayarit sauce that we saw a lot of other people eat. We might have to try some next time.

Mariscos de Veneno

1024 N Ashland Ave

(between Augusta Blvd & Cortez St)

Chicago, IL 60622

Btw, it's across the street from El Barco, my friends ended up there by accident.

Ja'Grill - Chicago, IL

I did a really stupid thing a few weeks ago and I needed a picker upper, so my friends were nice enough to take me to a Jamaican restaurant in Chicago. While most people want to go to a bar and drink away their sorrows, Soomeenshee wants jerk chicken.

Ja'Grill is tucked away in a cute little neighborhood in Lincoln Park.

I couldn't resist a dark and stormy which consisted of gosling's black seal rum and barritts ginger beer. So tasty! If you ever have a hunkering to make your own ginger beer, check this out.  Soup Cook got a rum and kahlua drink that was equally as tasty too. Aleen had the usual diet coke. =)

To start, we ordered some chicken and beef patties, which were basically turnovers filled with Jamaican seasoned ground chicken and beef. We determined that every culture must have their own version of dumplings and this apparently is the Jamaican version. I highly recommend it.

These may have been baked because they didn't seem greasy to me. The filling had a wonderful mixture of spices in it.

We didn't realize that plantains came with out dish, so we ordered some fried plantains, which were also quite delicious.

Coco bread sounded interesting so we ordered it, but it didn't have any coconut in it and it was not all that tasty. It had the texture of Hawaiian bread but none of the taste.

For our entrees, while I originally came for the jerk chicken, our waitress kept raving about the tilapia, so I got the jerk tilapia. All of the entrees came with rice and braised cabbages and carrots and some plantains on the side. I keep forgetting how good braised cabbages are. It's so simple to make, yet so tasty.

Aleen got the jerk chicken. Between the jerk tilapia and jerk chicken, I'd go for the chicken. I think you get more flavor from the chicken than from tilapia.

Soup Cook got the curry goat, which is goat meat seasoned, marinated and stewed in spicy Jamaican curry. Also very tasty, if you like goat that is.

All of the dishes were really tasty and full of flavor. The portions were huge so we ended up taking them home and it tasted great the next day as well. I can't wait to go back. Let's hope next time I have some jerk chicken, it'll be on some tropical island somewhere. =)

BIG and little's - Chicago, IL

When Susan asked me what other place I've been wanting to try on my growing list of places to check out in Chicago, somehow BIG and little's came to mind. I couldn't remember for the life of me where I read about them or what was special about them, but I just knew we should try it.

We went after work one day and walked into this small restaurant. Half of the space was devoted to an open kitchen and there was a counter on the other side with bar stools where some people were eating their food. It was very bare bones, it literally felt like they just decided to set up shop one day and started doing business. There's a little chalkboard menu posted up on their wall.

Truffle fries were also listed on the menu so we got an order of that. Susan says she hasn't seen the soomeenshee facial expression of euphoria in awhile, but these fries brought it out of me. They cook all the food to order and you can see the chef literally toss these fresh from the fryer. These fries were perfectly seasoned and had just the right amount of truffle oil on them.

For our other side, we got the beet and pineapple salad. I love beets, but this was a big let down. This was basically canned beets and pineapples sprinkled with some black and cayenne pepper. Maybe it was a bit naive of me to expect to get roasted beets and fresh chunks of pineapple in a side salad that costs only $2.50, but what can I say, I've been spoiled. =) Susan, on the other hand, commented on how sweet the pineapples were. I had to gently break it to her and explain that it's because they are canned. Her response was that she needed to go buy some at the store next time. lol. Susan is so easy to please.

Although we were intrigued by the fried egg hamburger, the tacos and tostadas were calling out to us so we tried those instead. Here is a shrimp and fish taco. They were grilled and came with a tasty sauce and tons of cabbages or lettuce. I appreciated that there were different toppings for the different tacos.

Here is a picture of the squid tacos, also very good. It looks like I will be able to get my taco and truffle fry fix in Chicago after all.

This was the crab tostada. It was a fried tortilla piled high with fresh crab meat, some lemon juice, black pepper, cabbages and green onions. It was very mild in taste and a bit too bland for Susan, but I couldn't get over the fact that it was practically all fresh crab meat. I thought it was great. Yes, you might lose interest in eating it if this was the only thing you were eating, but steal a couple bites of tacos and fries here and there and it works.

So while we were eating, we saw some of the press that the place has garnered and it's because one of the chefs, Tony D'Alessandro, was a contestant on the sixth season of Hell's Kitchen. Duh! So that's why he looked so familiar! I actually chatted with him for a bit and he was super nice and really laid back. He said that they plan to put out some picnic tables outside during the summer. I told him I'd definitely be back to try some of their other offerings and that I loved the fries. The prices are reasonable and the food is tasty. If only this place was slightly closer, I'd be stopping by all the time.

BIG and little's

939 N Orleans

(between Walton St & Oak St)

Chicago, IL 60610

Tru - Chicago, IL

In a recent Top Chef Masters episode, Gail Simmons said, "if you're in Chicago and not eating in a Rick Tramonto restaurant, you're probably eating at the wrong place."

So naturally, when our friend Will was in town, we decided that we should eat at the right place for once and for all, so we went to Tru, which is described as "upscale Mediterranean-influenced French food set in a whimsical setting for the serious diner." I think the last part of that description is incorrect, I think Tru is set in a serious setting for the whimsical diner. It's very formal, men are required to wear jackets, but fear not, they will lend you one if you weren't prepared. As formal as it is, it didn't feel stuffy and all of the waitstaff are so friendly and helpful that you feel completely at ease. You will see what I mean about the whimsical part as you see what our meal was like.

Tru offers two styles of dining:

Prix-Fixe: A three-course menu offering a choice of appetizer, main course and dessert.

Collections: Our pre-set tasting menus ranging from six to nine courses.

We opted for the Grand Collection, which consisted of six dishes.

1. white sturgeon “caviar”, avocado, hazelnut
2. english pea soup, olive oil,brioche
3. wagyu beef ravioli, foie gras, chive
4. alaskan halibut, young carrot with ginger
5. glazed veal ribeye, spring garlic, asparagus, wild mushroom
6. tahitian vanilla cremeux, hazelnuts, manjari chocolate ice cream

Are you salivating yet?

Up first was an amuse bouche of comte cheese gougere. I've never met a gougere I didn't like.

Next we had fennel panna cotta with bonito. I'm used to seeing panna cotta as dessert, but this was delicious. Susan said it tasted like fishy jello. hahaha.

Tramonto is often described as "a blend of mad scientist and magician in the kitchen." The next dish was definitely representative of his creativity and playfulness. It may look like caviar and taste like caviar, but wasn't caviar. It's actually white sturgeon cooked with cream and gelatin. I have no clue how he made it look like little eggs, but you could have fooled me. There was creamy avocado on the bottom, topped with faux caviar. It even came in a little caviar tin. It was served with a mother of pearl spoon and three hazelnut crackers. As you can see from the picture, those crackers aren't going to be enough for all that faux caviar. So Susan requested more crackers to eat with her caviar and he came back with this huge plate with yet again three little crackers. Susan stared at the huge plate of three crackers, then at the waiter and at the plate again. It was the funniest thing ever. I was dying from laughter.

Next, we were served English pea soup finished with some cream and prosciutto in a beautiful tea cup. I couldn't help but think it looked like a green tea latte. This was kind of hard to eat since the cup was so narrow, but I think we all wanted to just pick it up, sip it like a cup of tea and lick the cup clean if we could. I wasn't sure what to do with the olive oil brioche sticks, so I just ate it. When in doubt just eat it. Well, except for the crystals at the bottom of the caviar tin in the picture above, which who shall go nameless accidentally ate. =)

This was my favorite dish of the night: Wagyu beef ravioli with the foie gras, chives and edible flowers. It looked too pretty to eat, but of course, someone had to do it.

They brought out a little clear teapot filled with beef consomme and poured it into the bowl. The beef ravioli was out of this world, full of flavor yet so delicate. Look at how paper thin that ravioli is. At first I thought that the foie gras was a scallop, until you cut into it and ate it with a spoon full of the beef consumme, did you realize you were dealing with a completely different animal here.

Next we had alaskan halibut, cooked sous vide, which is a French way of cooking that cooks sealed food in water at low temperatures, locking in natural juices and flavors that are often times lost with other methods of cooking. It retains the flavors of the ingredients and locks in the natural juices. So it's no wonder the halibut was moist and flavorful and was the perfect canvas for the young carrot and some carrot and ginger foam. The flavors of the halibut were so delicate and the sweetness of the carrots was a nice contrast. I think the carrots might have been slightly overpowering, but the ginger helped to cut the sweetness a bit. This dish was almost a palate cleanser from the richness of the foie gras in the prior dish to the veal ribeye that was coming up.

This was glazed veal ribeye with spring garlic, which didn't taste like garlic at all. I've never had spring garlic before but it was very creamy and mild. It also had edible flowers, asparagus and wild mushrooms.

Next we had the option to add a cheese plate to our meal. She described each cheese and described at length the taste for us and we couldn't resist but to share a plate before our desserts arrived. Each row had a selection of cow, goat and sheep's milk cheeses.

I can't even remember what these were, but oh my lord, they were delicious. I've never seen honey that pale before but, that mango chutney was quite good too. The goat cheese with that grayish rind could pass for an oyster, no?

Now for the desserts. Up first was an amuse bouche of mango bavarian. A bavarian is a stirred custard that is mixed with gelatin and then lightened with whipped cream, poured into mold, and allowed to set until firm. On top of this was a thin layer of pineapple gelee.

For dessert, we had tahitian vanilla cremeux with manjari chocolate ice cream with toasted hazelnuts. There was a cake of some kind on the bottom with a vanilla mousse on top, with a tulle on one side of the plate and chocolate ice cream with toasted hazelnuts on the other side. Sometimes you can't decide between getting ice cream or cake and this was like having the best of both worlds. I've seen a lot of ice creams served with toasted nuts recently and they are really good. I must try them at home.

Just when you think you are done, there comes more. A cart of mignardises or little desserts pulled up to us and we were thrilled to hear that we could have as much as we wanted.

I was so full at this point, but I managed to squeeze in a pineapple marshmallow, macaroon, raspberry gelee and nougat, all of which were fantastic.

Here's a lollipop that Susan got.

And just when you think you can't possibly eat anymore, they bring out a plate of exploding truffles. He explained that we should put the whole thing in our mouths because it's all liquid inside. I thought, how can this square looking truffle have liquid inside, as if I haven't learned by now what these chefs are capable of. All you have to do is gently squeeze down on it and the truffle floods you mouth with this lusciously, light liquor of some sort and the cocoa dusted exterior lands at the surface of your tongue and just melts. Gale Gand, you are a genius.

The service here was impeccable. It's definitely the little touches that make it so memorable. From the little cushions next to each seat so you can rest your bag, to the individualized menu that they give you at the end of the meal listing every dish and wine that you've had, to the little muffin that they pack for you to have for breakfast the next day, you feel very well taken care of. It will cost you a pretty penny, but I feel lucky to have finally tried Chef Tramonto and Chef Gand's restaurant. It was Tru-ly an unforgettable experience.

Tru

676 N St Clair St

(between Erie St & Huron St)

Chicago, IL 60611

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.