Happy Valentine's Day!

Have a great day everyone! Eat lots of chocolate!


XOXO -

Tiffany

Restaurant Spotlight: Next: Childhood Menu

If you live in Chicago and you have not heard of NEXT by now, you must be living under a rock! Chef Grant Achatz has created a restaurant unlike any other, where the menu changes every few months, focusing on a different time period and/or part of the world, and pre-priced tickets are sold in advance rather than diners calling in to make a reservation. And these tickets are not easy to come by! After stalking Next’s Facebook page incessantly, I was FINALLY able to score day of tickets to the Childhood menu! And what an exciting and playful menu it was! Chef Achatz and Chef de cuisine Dave Beran created a menu based on their 80's childhood in Michigan, where they both grew up. Of course, everyone has had a different childhood, but the 10 course menu was a progression of memory triggers for both T and I! The food was whimsical and delicious and the service was impeccable. It was hands down the most memorable food experience I have had to date! It was so fun to see what was coming next, and to see everyone else’s reactions when their food arrived! If I don’t get the pleasure of enjoying another menu at Next, I will still be a happy girl!

PB & J bite in a box: Love the present given to us. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. What is in here?! We were told to pop the entire tempura fried sphere of goodness in our mouths. If we were to bite into it, the hot “jelly” and peanut butter would probably explode all over our clothes. Instead, it exploded in our mouths in a good way. Ha! Sublime.

Chicken noodle soup: Move over Grandma, this is the best Chicken noodle soup ever! The noodles were actually made from chicken. Chicken! Not noodles. Such a fun play on words. Phenomenal!

Fish & chips: Art on a plate – drawn on stick-figure children fishing for a piece of walleye trapped in a woven potato net over cucumber waves, alongside a deconstructed tartar-sauce beach.Themed girl and boy plates for myself and T. Amazing.

Mac & cheese: The actual noodles were surrounded by a plethora of ingredients, as everyone has their own version of Mac & Cheese as a kid. These fun additions included ham, manchego custard, a "rock" that burst with concentrated hot-dog flavor, and tiny pasta tubes resembling the classic Kraft version. The manchego was my personal favorite.

Autumn in the woods: Presentation wise, this was the most dramatic. An array of smoked veggies, suspended over a torched piece of birch that brings with it the aroma of campfire. My hair smelled like I had been camping out too, but the veggies were scrumptious.

Hamburger: By far my favorite dish of the night. The deconstructed bun was actually a sauce. The meat was to die for. It seriously tasted like I was eating an In-N-Out burger. Want more now! This plate was pure genius!

Lunch box: Just like elementary school! What am I going to get today!? Served in vintage lunchboxes (mine was Pound Puppies,) a variety of fun items were served! The apple brandy fruit leather and the truffled oreo being my two standouts. There was also a sweet note from mom or dad in the box. So fun!

“Foie”sting and donuts: Yes, foie gras frosting was served on electric mixer beaters that you got to lick off, just like when you were a kid! (A very fond memory of mine!). Dipping the cider donuts in the foie was tasty as well. This is something that I will probably never be served again, so I savored it. But, it was super rich so I couldn’t finish it all. By this point in the meal, we were verging on sugar overload, but we kept on going…

Sweet potato pie: No.Room.Left! But I love sweet potatoes! And the addition of the bourbon caramel made it heavenly. Love the campfire presentation!

 Hot cocoa: Officially in a sugar induced coma, thus I forgot to take a picture. A sugar coma, just like when we were kids, right! How fitting.
 
We had so much fun throughout the course of our childhood adventure. It’s hard to describe the nostalgia I felt while pulling my pudding cup and fruit roll-up out of my lunch box. While my mom never gave me black-and-white truffle Oreos, she always packed a napkin and a snack in a plastic baggie! Well done Mr. Achatz! Excited to witness what is in store Next, (El Bulli menu) if I’m so lucky to score those coveted tickets!
 

953 W Fulton Market

http://www.nextrestaurant.com/

Date Night...

At Sushi Samba Rio. Delish special rolls!

504 N Wells St.

(312) 595-2300

http://www.sushisamba.com/ 

Restaurant Spotlight: Tavernita

Tavernita is already being touted as the next buzz worthy restaurant in Chicago (and they are just finishing up their soft opening phase!). Chef Ryan Poli and the team behind Mercadito have finally opened their homage to Spanish small plates. I met Chef Poli this past fall at a Spanish olive oil tasting class and his passion for Spanish cooking is clearly evident in the food he produces. I have to say, the meal we had this weekend lived up to the hype.

The ginormous space (the completely transformed Martini Park space) has been split up into a sit-down restaurant and Barcito, a stand-up and eat area inspired by San Sebastián’s pintxos bars, which opens later this month. The small plate menu is composed of three groups: crudos, en pan (think crostini/flatbreads) and platos.

Crudo Bar:

We started with the oyster special of the day. These are seriously the biggest oysters I have ever seen. Cut up Samish Bay oysters, poached shrimp and fresh mango salsa. TO.DIE.FOR! Definitely my favorite dish of the night. If only it was a menu staple. A girl can dream.

The hamachi with avocado, lime, jalapeno chile and cucumber is already a house fave and it is easy to see why. The flavors are so fresh and clean. I could eat 100 orders.

We ordered more oysters, “The Naked Cowboy” to be precise. These were served with a delicious homemade guajillo chile cocktail sauce. Yum!

En Pan:

For you non Spanish speakers, this translates to on bread. The pork belly bocadillos are served on a buttery brioche with apple jam and pickled red onions. This is another item that topped my list. Seriously, loving the jam with the pork. And the buns were so soft and tasty! I just realized that I had pork belly twice in one day (see 2 Sparrows post)... I need to get a grip!

We also tried the escalivada, a crostini topped with eggplant, red peppers, hazelnut romanesco and goat cheese. Give me bread and goat cheese and I am a happy girl! Great dish, lousy picture, but you get the idea!

 

 

Platos:

We had to order the croquetas, a traditional Spanish dish, fried and filled with iberico ham and served with a saffron aioli. The ideal comfort food!

Next up was the corn pudding. This was a favorite dish among us all! Baked with rock shrimp and poblano chiles, the unique dish had us wanting more. In fact we almost ordered more but decided to try the meatballs instead… which I forgot to take a picture of! But Greg’s meatballs are made with wagyu beef, pork and a hazelnut romesco sauce. At this point I think I was in an alcohol and food induced coma, so I am not sure I enjoyed them as much as I typically would. But they were cooked to perfection and super juicy!

We ended the meal with chocolate y pan… chocolate ganache topped with sea salt and olive oil on top of a toasted bread. Sea salt combined with chocolate is one of the best things ever! I would order this dessert again in a heartbeat!

Don’t forget to order a kegged cocktail! The Booty Collins was my fave!

Clearly, we ordered a lot and really enjoyed everything! Our server Miguel was well versed on the menu and the ingredients. We pretty much ordered all of his recommendations. Thanks Miguel! I only have one complaint… while we were finishing our cocktails (I don’t think we were lingering for long) a manager came up and asked how much longer we would be as they had people waiting for our table. After such a great meal (that was not cheap), this left a bad taste in our mouths. Since Tavernita is so new, hopefully management will be working out some of those kinks, but other than that, everything was phenomenal. I will be back to see!

151 W. Erie

312-274-1111

http://tavernita.com/

Brunch Hotspot: 2 Sparrows

As mentioned in my Fall Preview post (http://eatingchicago.blogspot.com/2011/09/fall-preview.html ) 2 Sparrows opened with a bang this Fall and has been dishing out seasonally driven breakfast, brunch and lunch ever since. They have certainly reached their goal of creating a “more elevated approach to the most important meals of the day in terms of quality, seasonality, service and price point.” And by adding handcrafted cocktails to the menu, they have created a winning combo!

We started with the maple and bacon doughnuts. Traditionally, they are made as full doughnuts but on this day, the chef decided to make doughnut holes. The saltiness of the bacon paired well with the sweetness of the glaze on top. Totally indulgent. Totally worth the splurge. 

Amanda and I decided to split the Belly sandwich and an order of the seasonal couscous. The freshly made biscuit sandwich had pork belly, a sunny side egg and pickled onions (with giant tots on the side!) Since we split this, chef was so kind to make a smaller version for each of us so it didn't need to be cut in half. How thoughtful!  And the home made ketchup?? It needs to be bottled up and sold. I'd buy it by the case! The seasonal couscous with roasted butternut squash, portabellos and brown butter was sooo good. I could eat it every day!

I didn't have room for everything on the menu, but what I did have was fresh and tasty. That only means I will have to come back for more! Perhaps the foie gras pop tarts next time...!

553 W Diversey

(773) 234-2320

http://2sparrowschicago.com/

Restaurant Spotlight: Brown Trout

My dear friend Eryn was in town for the holidays so T and I took her to Brown Trout to celebrate her recent engagement! Sadly her fiancée Kevin was stuck in California for work but we managed to celebrate just fine without him... sorry Kev! Located on Lincoln in North Center, Brown Trout focuses on sustainable, locally sourced and organic dishes. They create a rotating menu that's adapted to the ingredients available to them.

Congrats to the future Mrs. Schnitzler! 

For starters we ordered a meat and cheese plate. Shoot, I can't even remember what type of cheese (local Wisconsin I think) or meat, but it was pretty good... and I loved the pickled cranberries that came with! It added a festive touch for the holidays.

I'm a sucker for a good bowl of mussels. Before this, I don't think I ever had chorizo with mussels, but it was a welcome addition to this bowl of yumminess...chorizo, fennel, celery root, lime, parsley and a spiced chorizo broth. Delish!

T ordered Patty’s Melt…a seared ranch burger, local swiss, caramelized onions, smoked crispy onions, rye bun, & frites. He claims it is one of the best burgers he has ever had! Impressive!

I LOVE pappardelle, so I went with a small plate of the Mint Creek Lamb Pappardelle…shitake mushroom, swiss chard, rosemary, red wine smoked butter, & lamb jus. That red wine butter? Hello! So good! This is a lovely pasta dish, perfect on a cold winter night!

We ordered the Butterkase & Cheddar Mac & Cheese for the table. I’m a huge fan of Butterkase, but I feel like something was lacking. It wasn’t bad at all! Just something amiss for me personally…

The bride to be ordered the Slow-Roasted Cauliflower…roasted chestnuts & brussels sprouts, grilled matsutake, chestnut spaetzle, carrot ginger sauce, chestnut puree, arugula, & Sherry vinaigrette. What a gorgeous display of veggies! Everything was cooked perfectly and E thoroughly enjoyed her choice!

Overall, we had a solid, fresh and tasty meal at Brown Trout. It’s nice to come across places like this where you can get some serious quality food at a very reasonable price. They also have weekly specials like BYOB Thursday's! Looking forward to coming back for more! 

4111 N Lincoln Ave

(773) 472-4111

http://www.browntroutchicago.com/Default.html

  

Happy New Year

Happy 2012 everyone!

2011 was a fabulous year! I met the love of my life, traveled the world and dined at many of Chicago's best restaurants. I'm not sure if 2012 can beat that, but I'm eager to see what the future holds!

Looking forward to a new year full of good eats, love and happiness!

XOXO - Tiff

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a joyous Christmas and a very happy & healthy 2012!!!

I hope your bellies are full of delicious food today! Cheers! xoxo



Restaurant Spotlight: Bar Toma

As mentioned in my "Fall Preview" post (http://eatingchicago.blogspot.com/2011/09/fall-preview.html), Chef Tony Mantuano's latest venture finally opened! Since I love Spiaggia (but can't afford to dine there often), I was so excited to sample his delicious Italian food in a more casual and very much less expensive setting!

The menu focuses on small plates and covers everything from pizza, to sweet breads to a mozzarella bar. We ordered everything at once, and surprisingly everything came out around the same time. This was a bit overwhelming, but we managed just fine!

We wanted to start with an order from the mozzarella bar, so we went with the Tasting of Toma cheeses. My favorite was the one on the right, the seared toma cheese with lemon marmalade. The zing of the lemon paired perfectly with the fresh and mild cheese. Next time I am for sure ordering the whole burrata, served with olive oil and Sicilian sea salt. The table next to us ordered it and I was drooling with major food envy!

From the bar plates section, we ordered the charred carrots and rock shrimp polpette. The charred carrots were topped with goat cheese, almonds and balsamic. I might not want to eat carrots any other way from now on!

The rock shrimp polpette would be best described as a meatball of shrimp topped with crunchy shallots and bathed in a spicy tomato sauce (it had a serious kick!)

Moving on to the good stuff, the pizza, which is by far the most important thing about this place in my opinion. There are more than 15 different varieties, all with creative toppings and combinations. This place has its crust down! I was expecting a thin Neapolitan crust, but this crust was a bit more hefty and bubbly and chewy. I’m obsessed! We went with the “Lorenzo” which was topped with mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and basil and crispy pancetta. WANT.MORE.NOW!

And last but not least, we finished with an order of cannolis. The fresh ricotta stuffed pastry made this dessert a perfect ending to a delicious meal!

For this foodie with a penchant for shopping, Bar Toma is just what was needed on Michigan Ave. Cheers to that!

110 East Pearson St.

312-266-3110

http://www.bartomachicago.com/

I'm Back!

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind! With a break-in to my apartment, a trip to Ireland, a short stint in the hospital, and the madness known as granting wishes during the holidays, I haven’t been able to see straight lately! And with my computer being stolen, I have seriously neglected this blog! But I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, so I'm hoping to get my posts updated more frequently!

T and I had a blast in Ireland. It is such a gorgeous country and the people are beyond lovely. If you haven’t had a chance to get there, you have to go! Here are some culinary delights from our trip! More Chicago food posts to follow!

Veggie Soup & brown bread at the Guinness Storehouse

T ready to dig in to fish & chips (with peas of course) at The Brazenhead, the oldest pub in Ireland

Mussels!

My new favorite cider

Fig salad with rocket (otherwise known as Arugula to us Americans)

Seafood Chowder

Best ham and cheese I have ever eaten

Irish cheeses, brown bread and a dessert spread

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Cliff House hotel

Halibut laced with Irish pork fat (oh yes!) and black ink sauce

Beef tea (really) to accompany T's Black Angus

Apple Medley dessert

Souffle with Guinness and caramel sauce. Truly sinful!

Bloody Mary Oyster shooters at Temple Bar

We literally ate our way through Ireland. I can’t wait to do it again!