Shredding the remaining pork shoulder from Paulina Meat Market. #notcomplaining
Locally sourced, equally delicious.
Acre Restaurant took over Charlie’s Ale House awhile ago, and good thing it did. The owners of Anteprima, a few storefronts down, opened this gem about a year ago (they also own Ombra next door), serving midwestern, american cuisine all brought from local midwestern farms. Unique pairings, excellent draft beer list, and sharing their front door with OMBRA Bar is a damn good start.
I’ve never had a salad that included mint, octopus, and artichokes - and it was amazing. It was a dish that comprised the garden and sea equally well. This was after I started sipping on my local Metropolitan Krankshaft lager. We shared a plate of squeaky Wisconsin cheese curs, lightly fried with an almost-ranch like sauce. They were a first for everyone at the table, and they disappeared fast.
A chunky, juicy pork burger with house-made jam and house-cured bacon elevated this plate to heavenly pork status…it was so good I downed it before tasting anyone else’s dish (i did share a bite of mine though=spread the love). Meyer ranch skirt steak and Slagel farms pork chop were high pleasers; a little smokey, grilled, filling. Tastes that reminded me of summer. We rounded out with desserts that I sadly cannot remember….why? My mouth was still savoring the porky goodness of my sandwich :)
Acre offers a very reasonable fixed price menu Sun-Thurs - very high quality local food, simply prepared with a uniqueness that surpasses other restaurants in the neighborhood (3 courses = $29).
Plus, how nice is it when you can fill yourself silly at Acre, then stumble next door to OMBRA to finish the night? Yea, quite nice.
Lemon Meringue Cloudiness
This slice of Lemon Meringue pie is from Hugo’s Frog Bar in the Gold Coast of Chicago. They have massive desserts and this is obviously no exception. There is an inch of lemon custard, topped by the ultimate billowy-ness of 8-9 inches of white meringue. It was like the Leaning Tower of Pisa meets Mt. Everest. Yes it tasted good. Yes it had an altitude that surpassed every other dessert. How many egg whites you think they used to reach this height???
Ah yes…an italian grinder @grahmwich means it’s lunchtime!!
HOT CHOCOLATE! (and it will probably get hotter post-James Beard!)
I am reminded how much I love this place, after hearing that pastry chef Mindy Segal won a James Beard award for Outstanding Pastry. Even more amazing?…the fact that Hot Chocolate even has an amazing dinner menu as well. This is an easy go-to spot for dinner, a date, breakfast, or if you’re craving the world’s best made cup of hot chocolate. AND world’s best homemade marshmallow.
Been here numerous times, got in for a Sunday brunch. We gulped down Brioche french toast with house-made sausage, an extremely fluffy side of scrambled eggs; a giant Buttermilk pancake w/honey butter and blueberries; veggie scramble with rapini & kale; warm doughnuts and coffee.
The doughnuts are enough to make a trip alone - dusted with cinnamon sugar - these were constantly streaming out of the kitchen. Even better was the house-made raspberry jam for dipping. After a few of these, Mexican hot chocolate laced with cinnamon, and your own personal hand-pressed coffee - there are few things better on a Sunday morning in Chitown.
I’ve never had bad service here, nor a bad meal. They are serving a very high quality product, one that requires patience, so you just need to be prepared to wait a bit - it’s a popular place for the right reasons, and honestly, good things come to those who wait - like homemade doughnuts.
Get yourself to the Slurping Turtle now…located in River North!
Finally the touristy section of River North gets something authentic and original. And it’s a gorgeous space…something you don’t often see in Chicago…a brick-exposed classy eatery that is offering unbelievably good Japanese food. And Asian beers on tap to boot! Chef Takashi is simply killing it.
What to eat? Everything! And be adventurous and open-minded, you’ll be rewarded for such actions. The Octopus salad involved chunky, tender pieces of octopus, cucumber, in a savory dressing. I ordered a Bento Box lunch special, featuring sashimi & tapas of the day, shrimp tempura, steamed rice, green salad, & miso all for $15! It was a great deal for the superb quality of the fish. Silky smooth slices of raw tuna, fluke, and salmon; followed by light and flaky fried green beans, shrimp, a savory bite of short rib, and a cleansing green salad. This was an absolute steal for $15.
My wife got the Tonkotu noodle lunch comprised of egg noodle, pork broth, and braised pork shoulder. This was a gigantic bowl topped with eggy noodles that even satisfied our 1yr old daughter. The broth was fresh and clean, not overwhelmingly-reminiscent of fat. The noodles reminded me of the amazing hand-made noodles I found at the superior ramen eatery Kintaro in Vancouver, B.C.
We finished our entire meal with an interesting black sesame ice cream. It’s hard to describe. Nutty, with small black specs of those sesame seeds. I will say after one bite, I wanted another and another after that.
Service was punctual, friendly and very well versed in the menu items. The host went out of their way to get us seated quickly, with a child, with a stroller. Extra thank yous to them.
This is finally what I’ve been waiting for. River North is extremely lucky to have this gem. I just hope all the tourists don’t flock here from Cheesecake Factory. Then again, I know it would be good for them.
Another delicious meal at West Town Tavern…in none other than West Town. This is potato-crusted tilapia with rice pilaf, grilled asparagus and a herb-mustard cream sauce. Good service, great easy atmosphere, tasty dinner. Have never had a bad meal/experience here. Ever. I just need to go on Monday night for Fried Chx dinner!
Quite possibly one of the best and most affordable taquerias in town can be found just beyond the West Loop at a spot known as La Lagartija (“the lizard”). Chef Luis Perea, also owner of BomBon Bakery a few blocks north, has made a place that is clean, inviting, artistic, and serving the most authentic mexican street food I’ve found. It’s hard to get all those qualities in one place, and he’s done it.
We’ve been here numerous times, and have fallen in love with the tacos camarones, or shrimp tacos. Huge pieces of shrimp, fried and served in steamed corn tortillas with shredded lettuce and a couple cool sauces. Complimentary freshly-cut limes are on the table, and with a juicy squeeze, these tacos remind me of sitting on the beach in Zihuatanejo. At around $3 each, the tacos are easily delicious, as well as the quesadillas. We each got a couple shrimp tacos, shared a quesadilla, and split arroz con leche for dessert. Total? Around $20. Nuff said.
They just received their liquor license, so no more BYOB is allowed. But have no worry - they are serving up margs and palomas now. My advice - get here! Order a number of tacos to share, skip dessert, maybe have a beer, and be on your way.
There are other great places in the city for authentic mexican, but nowhere has the combo of this place = clean, cheap, and yummy. That’s enough to have me as a return customer! (and free parking in back!)
Few places have made me so happy. Maude’s Liquor Bar is the most recent. Having no reservation on a Saturday night and arriving at 7pm, the host graciously gave us a table with an hour and half eating time, which we were happy to accommodate. We got very lucky. :)
With an unbelievable drink, the sazerac started us off. What an amazing mixture of absinthe, cognac, and rye. We also got the St Germain Fizz, the lighter of the two. We downed the Lyonnaise Salad, crisp with a soft-boiled egg and a hefty piece of lardon. This was quite possibly the best salad I’ve eaten in years.
The bone marrow? The great part is they cut the bones horizontally, so you have ample room to scoop out every last bit. With perfectly toasted bread, and red onion jam, this marrow competes quite easily with Longman & Eagle’s. This marrow had scores of flavor while not being so fatty/greasy. Unbelievable quality for the price.
Lastly we munched on the blackened brussels sprouts and the house-made pork/beef sausage with grilled savoy cabbage and whole-grain mustard. A very good finish, but certainly our first two courses out-did the rest.
When you combine the drinks, the setting, the food (and yes, the price too), Maude’s Liquor Bar is simply one of the best additions to the Chicago food scene in a while. Aside from the food, Maude’s lack of pretension exalted it from hyped-up foodie restaurant to a welcoming, delicious affair. We were lucky to get that table, and Chitown is lucky to have Maude’s.
