Boka (licious) - Chicago
It is great to go to a restaurant that combines great service and great food! Boka lives up to its Michelin 1 star. Only negatives on a night of positives:
Butter arrived frozen solid. We could barely cut it with a knife and it was not spreadable to eat with the incredible bread. The second round of butter was soft
like it should be. One of the appetizers had an inedible piece of sashimi. It was hidden by other items on the plate and only found after cutting into the
piece. Shame on the chefs for trying to pass that one off. Complaint registered and taken off the bill.
Butter arrived frozen solid. We could barely cut it with a knife and it was not spreadable to eat with the incredible bread. The second round of butter was soft
like it should be. One of the appetizers had an inedible piece of sashimi. It was hidden by other items on the plate and only found after cutting into the
piece. Shame on the chefs for trying to pass that one off. Complaint registered and taken off the bill.
Joy Yee - Evanston
Green Curry and Mushroom Tofu dish. Best green curry I have ever had. The mushroom tofu dish is also great.
Chili U - Libertyville Chili, with a twist
Great bar or is it a restaurant? They have both a bar area and restaurant seating area. We went with our good friends, the Mayworm's, and sat in the bar area. Nice, eclectic, decor. Choose your chili, choose a foundation (pasta (two types), hash browns, green beans, white, brown, sticky rice, do not recommend mashed potatoes) and the toppings (a dozen or so). The core chili choices are $9, with a couple of more expensive ones (shrimp). Really good comfort food and a great place to socialize. I had the Almost Texas Chili, almost a stew. Tender beef and very flavorful.
Pork Chop - Near West
I advise a company that is across the street. For lunch they asked me if I would like to try the fried rib appetizer. Talk about unique. TripleD worthy and a filling lunch. http://www.chicagoporkchop.com/menu2.html 941 West Randolph St. 312-733-9333
Tank Noodles - Chicago North
Enough is said about Tank for me not to spend much time writing about it. Just go... There is likely to be a line. Closes at 10pm during the week, 9 on Sunday. Remember #59? and # . BYOB!
http://www.tank-noodle.com/index.php 4953 N. Broadway St. 773 878 2253
http://www.tank-noodle.com/index.php 4953 N. Broadway St. 773 878 2253
Purple Pig - Mag Mile (just off Mich Ave.) Chicago
Although pork is the primary focus of Purple Pig, my favorite dish was not pork. The turkey leg confit was by far the best turkey leg that I have ever tasted (and I love turkey legs). As the name implies, the turkey leg was slow cooked in pork fat. Couple the melt in the mouth leg with crispy lentils and agro dulce (sweet and sour sauce) and I was in heaven. Don't order the house cured Lardo Iberico. It was salty to the point of being inedible. These two contrasts are consistent with our overall meal. Several top notch items, a couple of mediocre to horrible dishes and some above average items. http://thepurplepigchicago.com/index.html
Slurping Turtle - Chicago
My buddy, Lou (he and I went to Purple Pig, which was his follow-up to my introducing him to Slurping Turtle) and I had a great lunch. Followup dinner with out of town guests on a Tuesday. Perfect for conversation. Handled this more like a tasting menu. Go with what you like. We just ordered until full.
http://slurpingturtle.com/home.php
http://slurpingturtle.com/home.php
Italian in Old Town Chicago @ a Discount
Anyone that knows me understands my love of a deal. A last minute dinner date with our dear friends Greg and Suzan, got me looking on Restaurant.com and OpenTable for a deal. Found Trattoria Roma on R.com with Saturday usable. Packed, very busy. Why accept the discount? No complaints from me though. Started with beef carpaccio, done right. Unlike many places that put lemon wedges on the plate, they added it before it arrived. Perfect. Enough for the four of us to share. We each chose a different entree. The best dish was the pasta with mushrooms. Overall an okay but not great meal, great value when we got the $50 discount from the Restaurant.com coupon. If you can get the discount, go. If not, it's a toss-up. http://trattoriaroma.com/ 1535 N. Wells St. Chicago 312-664-7907
Blue Frog - A surprise great Hamburger and Mac & Cheese Balls - River North
We had a last minute evening out with some friends and I wanted to find a deal. Selected restaurant.com for a quick $25 off and found the Blue Frog Local 22. Friends were not picky and burgers sounded good. What a surprise. Burgers are really good. Ask for medium rare (okay, some of you will ask for medium). We had three different types and all were delicious. Sides include a tomato pasta salad that is very good, home made chips, also good. We ordered the appetizer, at the waitresses suggestion, of homemade Mac&Cheese balls (fried with Panko crust). Love em and the honey mustard dipping sauce is perfect with them. Liked the place so much that we gave our middle guy, Garrett, another certificate for lunch. I got to join him and we tried two other burgers. Both juicy and full of flavor. Highly recommend for a nice casual bite. Oh yeah, they served a sample of their gumbo, chicken and sausage. Excellent. 22 E. Hubbard, Chicago, IL http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Frog-22/113473162016362 312-527-1200
Chicago Cut Steakhouse
Oct. 20, 2011 - Had a board pre-meeting dinner at Cut. Not my first choice for a dinner and low on my list of steakhouses. Crowded, prime real estate combined with prime steaks, means tables are real close to each other and it is loud. If you want to be "one of the boys," by all means go, but you have a lot of other choices in the area to choose from. Not worth my posting their info...
Iliana Regan - Underground Restaurant
Sept. 7, 2011 - Iliana Regan has an incredible gig. She serves 15 courses out of a kitchen that can't even fit 15 plates. What a treat! She would like to open a restaurant soon. Catch her before she does, she is that impressive! onesisterinc@gmail.com or one sister inc. on Facebook. Oh BTW, she has a foraging trip in October. Hunt for mushrooms, breakfast and lunch provided, $125.
Urban Belly - Chicago
Sept. 9, 2011 - A group of us went to Urban Belly for a wedding anniversary and birthday celebration. With the communal tables and BYOB, great choice! With 6-8 people, assuming you don't mind passing dishes around, order almost one of every item on the menu (all 5 dumplings, the short rib and pork belly rice dishes, 4 to 6 of the noodle dishes, and a couple of the sides). We ordered them all, but I am the cleanup guy with our groups. Four to six bottles of wine, some specialty beers and your golden. Because they want to turn over the table, we suggest doing this on a weeknight to avoid feeling uncomfortable due to a line of people waiting. Then again, after a bottle of wine, each, I don't think you care as much what other people are thinking. 3053 N California Ave, Chicago http://urbanbellychicago.com/
San Soo Gab San - Chicago
Sept. 7, 2011 - I almost don't want to tell you about some of my favorite restaurants. Why, because they get too crowded. A lot of people know about San Soo, but then again, a lot don't. Talk about really good Korean BBQ. We have tried almost all of the choices for grilling at the table (must have two order the grill at table dishes) and with real charcoal, it beats the natural gas grills by a mile. Baby octopus, Kalbi, Chicken - spicy or mild marinade. You also get roughly 20 to 25 side dishes. Wow! Oh yeah, for those who know me, one of the few times I drink beer. For some reason beer and Korean BBQ go together. Open very late... I have been reading some of the other reviews of the restaurant, I guess I have a greater tolerance for service. Is it great service, no. That is not why we go there. Enjoy the time you get to spend with your friends. Hovering waiters at times makes me feel like I am being pushed out. For that matter, take the position I do, be a bit more loud when asking for assistance, but smile. It gets the job done. 5251 N Western Ave., Chicago
Closed Unfortunately Chi-Zakaya - Japanese Comfort/Pub Food
Dec. 2, 2011 - A great find in the Lakeview Chicaog area. Walking into this japanese restaurant/pub, we were first struck with the energy (it was packed) and then astounded by a menu filled with rich sounding but not pretentious dishes. From a variety of Kushi yaki - Wagyu cheek, Quail eggs, Shishito peppers and bonito; Noodles including House ramen - braised pork, slow poached egg, fish ball; Mentaiko spaghetti - spicy cod roe with noodles; Appetizers - Takoyaki (dough ball stuffed with octopus), Crispy pork (sublime) and an outstanding Hamachi kama (broiled yellowtail collar)! The chef owner is a relatively young man who works the front and back. He explained that he was not looking to create a trendy, flash-in-the-pan restaurant, rather a neighborhood joint that continues to draw both locals and visitors. I think he hit the right formula. BTW, I thought he had a unnecessarily limited the seating area. However, he created a side area (hidden from the main room) that has full view of the kitchen. Great for modest groups. 3056 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60657 http://chizakaya.com/ 773-697-4725 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 773-697-4725 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
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