Month: January 2015

Categories
Restaurant Week

Chicago Restaurant Week 2015: It’s here!

If it’s your first time visiting my blog, welcome! This is the first in a series of posts about Chicago Restaurant Week 2015, held January 30–February 12. Check out recaps from 2014 and 2013, or browse all Restaurant Week coverage.

Restaurant Week dessert, Homestead on the Roof
Towering dessert from Homestead on the Roof, Restaurant Week 2014

It’s hard for me to believe that this is already my fourth year celebrating Restaurant Week in Chicago (and my third year blogging about it). I’m going bigger than ever, eager to sample as much fantastic food as possible across nine total reservations. My picks span a range of cuisines, from upscale Peruvian to classic Louisiana Mardi Gras fare (I’m totally ordering the gator). And like last year, I’ll be checking out Ada Street’s themed menu: all the dishes are inspired by the “last meal” requests of famous criminals. Just read through the choices, and then tell me you aren’t intrigued.

As always, I’m also excited about my dining companions, which include two dozen different people this year. I’m kicking things off tomorrow morning with my first-ever Restaurant Week brunch at Lincoln Park’s Knife & Tine. Check back in the coming days to hear how my nine meals went!

2015 Reservations: Knife & Tine // Ada Street // Michael Jordan’s Steak House // Coppervine // The Bedford // Big Jones // Fig & Olive // Tanta // TWO

Categories
Best Bites Chicago

This week’s Best Bite: Salted Carame’L’ concrete, Shake Shack

This Best Bite is one of the 20 foods and 15 drinks I’ve set out to taste and document in 2015. View the full list to see my plan and progress.

Salted Carame"L" concrete, Shake Shack
Concrete with vanilla custard, banana, and Glazed & Infused salted caramel old fashioned doughnut

Why it’s this week’s Best Bite: I’ve never had the wear-withal to stand in line at the original Shake Shack in New York’s Madison Square Park (or any other location, for that matter), so I was happy to finally make it to the 2-month-old Chicago outpost. On this visit, I had my eye on dessert; specifically, the creamy frozen custard that’s just as beloved as the burgers and fries. The Salted Carame”L” concrete was spun with sizable hunks of banana and salted caramel doughnut, but still kept the focus on the sublime vanilla custard base. As one of the Chicago-exclusive concrete flavors – which explains its punny name – the doughnuts are locally sourced from Glazed and Infused, and a portion of sales support the Greater Chicago Food Depository. My only regret is that I didn’t snag a few of Shake Shack’s crinkle-cut fries to dip into the custard, Wendy’s Frosty–style, for the ultimate in sweet and salty.

The details: Shake Shack, 66 E. Ohio St., Chicago.

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Categories
Best Bites

Best Bites: 2015 Roadmap

In the spirit of the new year, I’ve decided to do Best Bites a little bit differently in 2015. Instead of blogging about whichever bites I happen to come across over the next 11 months or so, I’m going to use this roadmap to guide my culinary adventures. I’ve intentionally kept each category fairly general, but still hope it will help ensure more variety, color, and creativity in my dining plans.

Dark and Stormy slushy, Parsons Chicken and Fish

And so I present, in no particular order, 20 foods and 15 drinks that I’ll be documenting in 2015:

20 foods…

1. ethnic food I’ve never tried before, northern hemisphere
2. ethnic food I’ve never tried before, southern hemisphere // South African cuisine, Nando’s Peri-Peri
3. something stuffed
4. savory dessert // Pecorino cake, Sink|Swim
5. vegetable I’ve never tasted
6. egg-centric // Beef tartare with quail egg and Cameo Kirby cocktail with egg white, Cherry Circle Room
7. dim sum
8. whole roast (meat or fish)
9. something pickled // Fried giardiniera, Parts and Labor
10. vegan entree
11. fried dough // Salted Carame’L’ concrete, Shake Shack
12. same ingredient, three ways
13. something smoked // Smoked fish sandwich, Fahlstrom’s Fresh Fish Market
14. something slimy (oysters don’t count)
15. single-bite stunner
16. unique bread and butter // Staff meal, Cellar Door Provisions
17. all-you-can-eat format
18. tongue as main protein // Wagyu beef tongue, Momotaro
19. something exceedingly spicy
20. home-cooked comfort food

…and 15 drinks:

1. spirit I’ve never tried before
2. over-the-top tiki drink // Ripples on an Evaporated Lake and Pool Rules cocktails, Lost Lake
3. green/plant-based beverage
4. creative coffee
5. something sour
6. beer cocktail // Alice Fay draft cocktail, Tippling Hall
7. fancy soda
8. liquid dessert // Mango lassi, Pub Royale
9. tea with a twist
10. party punch
11. cider
12. pickleback shot
13. perfect wine pairing
14. ice cream float
15. smoothie (most likely made with my new Magic Bullet!)

I’ll be updating this post throughout the year as I complete each item on the list, so keep checking back!