Food Truck Footnote:

I had to have it.  I've read about the empanada truck.  I found it's location.  I put it in my crosshairs and bam!  So amazing.  I've read online that the beef empanada was the best.  But I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the BBQ chicken.  It was sweet, tangy and tender.  I'll be back for more.  I hope you can track down Empanada 5411.  They are worth whatever hike you have to make to find them. 

I found you!!!  Sneaky truck on Monroe & Dearborn.

I'm in line too!  Save a couple for me.

Nope.  that's my empanada.  You get your own.



Pizza redeemed!

A new little gem in Old Town has really caught my attention.  After last week's let down I was pleasantly surprised by the delicious array of food at Flight 1551.  Jen and I met for an impromptu flight of wine one fine evening and decided to stick around for a little nosh. 

Oh my gosh, I'm so happy right now!!! Great wine...I had the Italian Stallion, a trio of rich reds. Jen enjoyed the Soft Rock, more reds with a soft and easy palette. We loved the fun facts about each wine at the bottom of each tasting card.

We then spied the classic flatbread pizzas and had to have the one drizzled in white truffle oil. Not a sauced pizza, but it didn't need any classic tomato sauce. The fresh arugula, little grape tomatoes and truffle oil were flavor enough. And what meal would be complete without a flight of grilled cheese topped with everything from manchego and figs to brie and lemon confit! And a third more normal and equally as delicious topped with a cheese and yummy roasted tomatoes. I can't wait to go back and try some other items from the menu.

As we were licking our lips and finger tips at the end of the meal, enjoying another sip from our flights, one of Flight 1551's owners, Dan, asked how we enjoyed our meal and sat down for a little laughter and banter about our favorite restaurants around the city. We continued the conversation inside at the bar, allowing Todd, the bartender, to select two amazing glasses of wine.

I know we'll be back.  Hopefully you'll give it a try too!

Enjoy!!!

Food Truck Footnote:

 OMG!!!  I've found fried chicken nirvanna in The Roost Food Truck.  I happened upon this lovely truck the other day while running around like a chicken with my head cut off (irony definitely intended).  It smelled so good I just had to grab my wallet and run back before they closed their window and drove away for the day.  I'm just sad that some smart foodie from the neighborhood swooped in before me and got the last of the peach cobbler!  I'm gonna hunt you down roost.  I want my cobbler!

Herb fried chicken
' Slaw
Biscuit

AMAZING.

I was so happy with my lunch time find that I forgot to take pictures of my meal.  Just trust me when I say:  GO!!!  EAT!!!  Be so happy right then and there.

TimeOut Chicago Image



Food Truck Footnote:
I have a serious infatuation with food trucks.  I've had some really amazing street food while traveling Europe and that trend has finally hit the US.  I am making it my goal to test out all the food trucks that Chicago has to offer.  A quick snippet of food truck commentary each week for you and yours.  I've been to a few so far this week and cannot believe my good fortune. 

I'm also a little bit excited about TimeOut Chicago's food truck guide online.  I'm definitely going to start reading it regularly for news about great eats all around town.

More on my food truck adventures in the days to come...

Best seat in the house...
Or was it?

Bar Toma.

Well this is sort of awkward. I feel like I went on a really bad first date after dining at this restaurant. It's a newer spot in Chicago. Took over where Bistro 110 left off. Jen and I had high hopes for this recent adventure and I'm afraid they might have been dashed.

The menu is impressive, and I hear they've got a killer cocktail list. Though, coming into an Italian restaurant it's almost a given that I'm going to order a good glass of wine. Seated at the window overlooking the Pearson Street it was the perfect place to sip our wine and people watch. We perused the menu a bit and decided on a couple of appetizers, the hand rolled & stuffed mozzarella with tomato and basil (small slices...but definitely delicious) and the Manzo (two skewers of marinated skirt steak, always a fav, drizzled with balsamico. Totally tasty.). They apparently don't provide a bread basket at the table pre-dinner, so we asked our absent waiter (don't even get me started here) for some bread. He said he's see what he could do. A while later he came back and dropped a plate of crispy (don't break a tooth!) butter soaked crostini on the table muttering "that's all we've got" and walked away. Really?! In an Italian joint that's ALL you could rustle up? Must be said that the lovely waitress for the large group next to us brought out a plate of bread slices...maybe they got the last loaf???

We then decided on two of the Artisan Pizzas from their wood burning stove. We had the Uova e Funghi (mushrooms with a yummy runny egg on top!) and the Lorenzo (mozzarella, pancetta, basil and tomato). Again, high high hopes. Somewhat dashed when we tasted these two pies and discovered they needed a little zing, excitement, somethin'-somethin'. So we sat there flagging our waiter down (where was he!?) and asked for a dish of pizza sauce so we could at least dip our crusts. I know this is probably not the "cool kid" thing to do, but we like what we like! Eventually he brings us two bowls of red sauce, drops them off with the same utterance "it's all we've got" and walks away. Problem solved...until you try it. The sauce is so darn hot it felt like it might have been a prank! Were they trying to scald my taste buds? No plain pizza or marinara sauce? This might be amazing on a spicy dish, but it certainly killed it for us.

Ahhhh eggy pizza!

HOT sauce...coming through.

Jen tasted the sauce...

And finally we notice the case of gelato across the room. Yes! I can so wrap my arms around a dish of gelato. Maybe a couple of flavors. But wait. There is one size dish. And there is what amounts to a convenience fee associated with more than one flavor. One flavor was something like $4. It was $6 for two flavors in the same size dish and $8 for three...in the same size dish. Is it really worth $2 more to have the guy scoop one chocolate and one honey orange? Or should I just got with two scoops of chocolate for $4 and save myself the mathematical quandary? You be the judge.

At any rate, we had the good (wine and apps...and at least the gelato was yummy, though pricey) the questionable...and the experience enough for one night. I am sure there have been people who really enjoyed this place. It was not for me. I'll try my luck elsewhere.

Best Seat in Bistro Margot

The best nights are often the nights you least expect.  Not complicated.  Not necessarily a reason to dress to impress.  Spur of the moment moments, perhaps?  Absolutely filled with laughter.

After a long day at work Tina had the brilliant thought that we might need a warm meal and some entertaining conversation.  Off we went, driving in after work traffic, hunting for the perfect meal.  What we found was Bistro Margot.

Recipe For a Fun Night

Good friend

Scrumptious French food

Half price red wine

Laughter

Stir and let simmer for at least an hour. 

Bon appetite!

French onion soup!!!

Herbed butter on my Steak Frites.  Oo la la!

Best Seat in the House and it's Goat

Many profound apologies...again, for not writing more frequently.  I have a bank of amazing restaurant stories and photographs saved up on my laptop that are just itching to be shared.  Since I'm roughly 2 months behind in my writing I thought I'd at least start with one of the most amazing evenings in a long while.  Let me set the evening up for you.

My friend George, knowing of my desire to eat at Girl and the Goat, pulled some strings and was able to offer me my choice of reservation times at prime dining hours (next to impossible to get for mere mortals like myself).  All I had to do was pick the date and find three friends to join me. 

I was able to round up my three friends, Lynn, Jen & Tina G.  It wasn't too challenging after I dangled dinner at Girl & the Goat in front of them.  What great bait!

We started the evening waiting in G&TG's very cool lounge area.

Then came dinner.  Oh did we ever eat.  We had the warm olives, bread and butter (it sounds simple and silly to note...but let me tell you I wanted to take the warm loaf of bread and little pot of heavenly butter home with me), we tried the skate and beef spare ribs.  Trust me when I say this...you MUST try the chick pea fritters.  Delicious!

Sadly we ate our apps and main courses far too fast for pictures.  I was able to stave off my hungry dinner companions long enough to snap some pictures of our desserts and the last glass of red wine that evening.  We ordered ALL four desserts.  How decadent!

Mid way through dinner our server came over to the table.  She asked which one of us knew George.  When she found out it was me, she said happy belated (6 months!) birthday to me and dropped the doozy on us that George was taking care of our evening and hoped that we were enjoying ourselves!  I am fairly certain not a one of us knew what to say at that point except for "Oh my god.  Holy cow.  That is the nicest thing anyone could have done!" 

Needless to say we all thanked George profusely as we inhaled the end of our meal with glee.  I learned later that the server originally gave that same speech to another table in her area...only to learn it wasn't the correct table, however the guests happened to actually know George!  I'm sure they were quite amused.  I certainly got a laugh out of that foible.

Since this blog focuses on restaurant restrooms I would be remiss if I omitted the very cool individual restrooms in G&TG's lower level.  Enjoy!

Mon Ami...Henri!

It is with great sadness in my key strokes that I say this post will be quite restroom centric, as I did not manage to photograph the rest of the interiors or the mouthwatering food!  I know.  You're probably thinking, "how could a food blogger worth her fork do something like that?" I honestly have no idea.  On that note, let's begin...

Many weeks ago I was invited to dinner and the symphony with my friend George.  And to my great excitement, we went to Henri for dinner.  For those of you who aren't aware of this great restaurant, let me attempt to describe.  From the outside, it's a very nondescript exterior.  Simple, classic facade covering for the elegant, sophisticated interior.  Intimate tables below chic crystal chandeliers, and dark upholstered walls.  The contrast of chocolaty fabric covered walls and the crisp white painted molding details is at the same time modern and fresh and also timeless.  The tables were filled with a fun range of people from the downtown crowd to the symphony goers, like George and myself. 

After sitting at our table for a bit, catching up with George, I let him know about my little project here.  And had to get up to photograph the restrooms.  What a treat that was!  Check out the luxurious embossed wallpaper and stylish wall sconces.  Not your typical restroom at all...



I just love the alligator!



Of course after I spent time enjoying the restrooms I did come back to the table and ordered the Dover Sole and sat back to enjoy the company, a great glass of wine and wait for my food.

I highly recommend you go to Henri if you haven't.  It was a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. 

Bon Appetite!

Just Dance!

Yes...you are watching a gummy bear dance party in action.  This is what has caused the serious delay in my blog these past several weeks.  The Bears apologize for monopolizing my time and attention and are eager for my few and lovely readers to learn about the truly amazing restaurants I've experienced since my Summer Shack adventure in January. 

Bon Appetite!

Best Seat in the House - Summer Shack Restauran

Let's start this journey with the the Summer Shack Restaurant in Boston's Back Bay area.

I was recently in the Boston area for work and got a recommendation for dinner one evening. It turned out to be a pretty amazing night. I hadn't planned on anything other than a quiet night of eating lobster and having a good glass of wine. But it turned into so much more.

First of all...this restaurant is a fairly casual establishment. The bathrooms are basic, clean and fit the bill. They "jazzed" up the space a bit by installing the classic 3x6 white subway tile in a vertical pattern around the room. Kudos to the designer for changing it up a bit.

 

After scoping out the restrooms I took up my post at the restaurant's bar to start my feast. I started my dining experience with a delicious plate of fried clams, a glass of Pinot Noir and a basket of bread. My bartender that evening was pretty amazing. She knew I was torn between the clams (so worth it!) and the clam chowder, so she even went the extra mile to bring me a tiny tasting bowl of chowder. Yum!

Now that's normally enough to send a girl into a food coma. Not me! I'm fearless and I sprinted onward to my main course, chef Jasper's Pan Roasted 1.5 lb lobster. Oh yes people, I went there. Wouldn't you? It's covered in bourbon, chervil & chives and comes complete with a bib and a bucket so you can dig in and get dirty. Which is exactly what I did. But first I started up a conversation with a woman just a couple seats away. After finding out I am from Chicago she proclaimed me her Chicago sister and before leaving paid for my entire meal! What a wonderful treat while in a strange town. She just wanted me to have a good impression of Boston. And all I know is her name, Julie, and that she lives somewhere around Boston. I hope you contact me Boston Julie! You're generosity continues to touch me.

Hands dripping with lobster and sauce I sat on my bar stool stunned, mouth wide open.  After such a generous happening I had to order a slice of coconut cream pie to complete wonderful night. I enjoyed my pie and drove the world's cutest car (a new Fiat!) back to my hotel room. To this day I am still in awe of my stranger in Boston.

I hope the next time you're in Boston you check out the Summer Shack Restaurant. It was a delicious meal. Though, you may not have my lobster benefactor sitting a couple seats away.

Enjoy!

Best Seat in the House

For those of you who know me well, you know I love nothing more than a good meal. It could be home made, at a Michelin starred restaurant or at a total dive. As long as it's complete with good food and great friends I am content.

All last year my friend, Jen, and I talked about the need to write about our food-tastic journey's in Chicago, and beyond. It's January in 2012 (Yes, I realize it's the very end of January. Don't be so picky!) and it's time for me to put my food adventures to blog post.

The food portion of my blog will have a slightly different twist. I'm a designer and lover of all things interior. I eagerly check out restaurant bathrooms everywhere I go. A restaurant's bathroom typically leaves an impression on diners and should be the best seat in the house! In this blog we'll take a deeper dive into the bathroom styles of some pretty great places. Plus you'll see the amazing meal pairings that complement those restaurant restrooms.



(Not sure where this little gem came from.  It was sent to me by a friend who thought I'd find it funny.  If you know, let me know.)

Stay tuned for my first restaurant of many.