Al Bawadi Grill

See the "tents" in the background

Pickled Vegetables & Pita Chips

Pita Bread

We went to eat dinner at Al Bawadi Grill in Bridgeview, after hearing about it a while ago on Check Please. It serves Mediterranean/Middle Eastern Food in a very interesting setting.  We were seated at a booth that was surrounded by blankets with Arabic designs to evoke a feeling of sitting in Bedouin tent.  Most of the employees were dressed in Bedouin style clothing.  At first we thought this might be a little kitschy and meant to tailor to an American stereotype of the Middle East (i.e. the Middle Eastern restaurant equivalent of an Olive Garden).  But this was a fleeting thought because the food was so authentic.

They brought out a plate of complimentary appetizers which included some hot pickled vegetables and pita chips. It was a good way to start the meal as we perused the large menu. Also as we were choosing what to order the head waiter wanted to give us some Arabic coffee but we politely declined since we are not coffee drinkers.

Hummus

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Falafel

For appetizers we ordered hummus and stuffed grape leaves. The hummus was garnished with whole chickpeas and olive oil and was served with pita bread. The hummus was nice and smooth, better than our attempts at home.  The grape leaves were stuffed with rice, garlic, tomato, parsley and other spices.  They tasted good, but Nick was disappointed that they were not served warm.
For entrees we ordered falafel and the Al Bawadi Mixed grill plate. The falafel was served warm with a tahini dip.  They were not dried out and the crust was still pliable.  But the real winner of what we ate was the mixed grill items.  The dinner included 3 meat kabobs - a lamb shish kabob, a kafta (lamb/beef) kabob and a chicken shish tawook - a grilled tomato and onions, rice and a side of babaganouj.  The kabobs were mesquite grilled which gave them all a great flavor. They were even moist and tender the next day as leftovers. Surprisingly our favorite was the kafta kabob.  Since it was made from ground meats they were able to incorporate more spices into the mixture before cooking. We also both loved the babaganouj - a similar dish to hummus, but the base is grilled eggplant instead of chickpeas.  The eggplant is pureed with olive oil, garlic, tahini and lemon juice.  It was so good, it may become our new favorite Middle Eastern appetizer.

Mixed Grill Plate with 3 kabobs and rice

Final thoughts on Al Bawadi Grill:

Babaganouj in the middle

Food - definitely exceeded our expectations. It reminded us of our favorite Middle Eastern places in Dearborn, Michigan.  Right across the street was an entire strip mall of Arabic restaurants and grocery stores, so this is definitely the authentic area to be in for this type of food.

Service - excellent! They held the door open as we entered the restaurant.  They were very attentive to our needs and explained the dishes.  The food was served very quickly and it was a great value for the amount of food.  It looked like they had a large take out business so we might try that next time as well.

Atmosphere - once we were seated we felt like there would be good food because most of the other customers were of Middle Eastern descent.  The decore and attire of the staff enhanced the experience and made it feel like you weren't in a suburb of Chicago.  Because this place is relatively easy for us to get to from home or work we will return.

Ballydoyle

Went to eat at Ballydoyle in Downers Grove, an English/Irish Pub.  It was a late celebration of St. Patrick's Day for us.

 


Corned Beef Bites

As an appetizer we had Corned beef bites - they were corned beef and cream cheese shaped into balls and fried. It filled Nick's need for corned beef for St Patty's day. They were warm and freshly fried. We were a little apprehensive about the cream cheese but it went together well with the corned beef.  They were served with a cocktail sauce, but it really was not the best sauce to pair them with as it was too tangy and strong.  The cocktail sauce over powered the corned beef; maybe a honey mustard or mild mustard sauce would have been better.

For entrees we ordered a Steak Boxty and Bangers and Mash.  In Irish, a Boxty means "poor house bread".  The menu described the boxty as a homemade potato pancake cooked on a griddle and wrapped around a filling.  The potato pancake was actually thin and crepe-looking; not exactly what we expected  from a potato pancake (i.e. not like a Jewish/Polish pancake).  But it was very delicate and nicely wrapped around tender well flavored steak.  Nick wishes he could have tried the corned beef boxty.

Inside a corned beef bite

The Bangers and Mash were several links of Irish sausages with a mountain of mashed potatoes.  The bangers were well balanced in the spice arena and served in a light gravy. Natalie was hoping that they would be sweet like the bangers we ate at Chequers in La Grange but they were still delicious.

Final thoughts on Ballydoyle:
Food - tasty, would like to try their corned beef in a more traditional presentation.  Otherwise standard bar fare.
Service - when we walked in there was a sign that said to seat yourself, which seemed a little odd. Then we felt like we waited a long time to get menus and water.  After that everything was served very quickly.


Steak Boxty

Atmosphere - most people probably come here for the pub atmosphere so eating here on a Monday night doesn't really exude the same feeling as on a weekend.  But in the bar area they do have a stage for band performances to take place at night. Something else we noticed is that the waitresses are dressed in kilts and t-shirts - maybe trying to be like Tilted kilt, just a little more subdued an not overtly sexual.

Bangers & Mash

Pizzeria Uno

You must understand that before Nick met Natalie that he knew very little about Chicago - just Bull's Basketball, the Magnificient Mile, and Deep Dish Pizza.  And of course the deep dish pizza that he had heard of was Pizzeria UNO's (mostly because it had become a nationwide franchise). He now knows there are many more deep dish pizza places and all of them claim to be the best.  But ever since we moved to Chicago, Nick has wanted to go to the original (flagship) location of Pizzeria Uno - even though there are a couple of suburban Chicago locations.

From this view you can see 80% of the restaurant 

We were warned when we tried to call ahead that it can be a long wait. They do not take reservations and instead once you arrive at the restaurant you can order your deep dish pizza with the hostess when you put your name on the wait list so that you have less of a wait for food once you get seated. We went to dinner at Uno's on a busy (but not too busy) Monday Night.  It was super warm spring weather so the wait was enjoyable. It was also torture as Uno had opened up its patio seating and the delicious smells of pizza were wafting our way and making our mouths water.

There isn't alot of space to wait in and it apears that this particular UNO location can't handle very large groups. (However, there is a Pizzeria Due that is located just a block away that looks like it is a bigger space.)  As a matter of fact with them opening up the patio seating it appears that they gained 30% more seating. We placed our deep dish pizza order with the hostess and were seated within 15 min - because it was just the two of us we jumped ahead of some groups of 3 and 4.

 Pizzeria Due just down the street

Nick decided that he couldn't wait until the pizza came and ordered a salad, and waited patiently, and waited and waited. Then we saw a table close to us that had been seated after us get their appetizers and salads. I guess the waiter forgot, which is weird because this is the only order he actually took from us - remember we placed the pizza order with the hostess, not him.  So by this time Nick was extremely hungry - so when the pizza did arrive we started eating before taking the blog photos (but we do have pictures of the already partially consumed pizza pie). We orderd a Numero Uno deep dish pizza, which included cheese, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers and onions.  It was good, but considering the weird service we can go elsewhere for deep dish that is just as good.  There are at least 3 other deep dish pizza establishments within 10 minutes of where we live.

 Numero Uno deep dish 

Final thoughts on Pizzeria Uno:
Food - Good, traditional Chicago style deep dish pizza.  If you are in the River North/Magnificient Mile section of Chicago it is a good option.  But other places you could consider would be Ginos' East, Lou Malnati's, Bacino's, and many others.
Service - Well this was a downer for us. I guess forgetting the salad made our bill lower, but it was very disappointing.  Considering Nick had waited so long to go to this specific location it was a let down. 
Atmosphere - the interior of the restaurant was much smaller than we had anticipated. We were kind of put in a tight corner, but that was fine with just the 2 of us.  For a larger space (and maybe less of a wait) you could try the affiliated Pizzeria Due just down the street.  It was great that it was a nice weather night to be able to wait outside on the sidewalk.  If it were cold, it would be really tight quarters trying to wait inside their entry area.

Parrot Cage

In another south side of Chicago adventure we went to eat at Parrot Cage, a restaurant we heard about from Check Please. The restaurant is located in the South Shore Cultural Center, a beautiful building right on Lake Michigan; in fact this building is where the Obama's wedding reception was held.  We had no idea that there was anything like this near that location.  The grounds also house a 9 hole golf course.



View outside with Lake Michigan in background

The South Shore Cultural Center is home to the Washburne Culinary Institute, and the Parrot Cage Restaurant serves as a training ground for the culinary students.  The students staff the restaurant in cooking, hosting and waiting on tables. They serve mostly American dishes with a French flair. They are known for their Sunday brunches, especially their themed Jazz Brunches where you can dine in the Cultural Center's Solarium.



The actual restaurant area is not that big but the space is beautiful.  There are windows looking out at the lake and golf course.  The decore is art deco and very colorful.  You could not ask for a better scene.

Lobster Tart

The setting made for some high expectations of how the food would taste.  Here is what we ordered:  As appetizers we ordered the crab salad and the lobster tart.  The lobster tart was baked with red peppers, onions and smoked Gouda cheese and was served with baby greens and a balsamic reduction.  It was super tasty and something different that we hadn't eaten before. We would have enjoyed it more if it had been heated evenly; some spots we colder than others.

Crab Salad

The crab salad came with avocado, tomatoes and baby greens and was served with a crispy wonton, balsamic vinaigrette and basil oil.  The crab, avocado and tomatoes were molded into a round shape.  The presentation was quite impressive but the dish lacked a little seasoning.  We're not sure what it was missing, they offered cracked pepper over it but we turned it down thinking it might be too strong of a flavor.  Maybe by tossing the crab, avocado and tomatoes in oil and vinegar before plating them it would have tasted a little better.  All of the ingredients were good and fresh tasting but it didn't quite hit the bulls eye.

Chicken Cassoulet

For entrees we ordered Chicken Cassoulet and a Maple Glazed Pork Chop. The chicken was served with wilted spinach and diced sweet potato in a veal glace.  This dish had good flavors but wasn't exactly what we were expecting. The menu mentioned andouille sausage and beans and we just didn't see them.  Maybe they were cooked into the sauce somehow but we're just not sure.  We have been to an authentic French restaurant where we ordered Cassoulet and the dish included several different meats served in a bowl of beans.  So we were expecting sausage and beans to be part of the dish, especially after seeing the menu description. This was the only chicken dish on the menu so it wasn't supposed to be something else.  It was just a little odd.  We did find the chicken to be moist and tender and the glace and spinach were good accompaniments.

Pork Chop and Corn Fritters

The pork chop was served with collard greens and corn fritters.  The greens and fritters were very tasty but the pork chop just missed the mark.  From the description on the menu we were expecting a maple/sweet taste to them from some kind of sauce, but honestly it tasted like a plain pork chop - like the glaze was entirely missing. It was unfortunate and made it so that half of the pork chop became leftovers so we could jazz it up at home.  The pork chop was cooked well; it just was very bland. The best part of this dish was definitely the corn fritters - they were sweet and moist and had flavor that the pork chop was lacking.

Hallway to Ballroom

Final thoughts on Parrot Cage:
Food - 50/50 hit or miss. We had high hopes that despite the restaurant being connected to a culinary school it would be great.  Natalie has been to other cooking school restaurants around the nation that were outstanding for a great price. The food was fairly reasonably priced and a lot of the clientele were elderly so they could stretch their fixed incomes.  We could have ignored the crab salad seasoning and even the cassoulet confusion, but the pork chop just soured the experience. We wanted to like this restaurant so much to support the budding chefs; maybe Sunday brunch or just a different semester with different chefs would make the difference.
Service - The service was great.  The students were very attentive to every need. They kept refilling water and bread.  They were even concerned when Nick went outside (just to take pictures) to make sure everything was okay.

Entrance to Cultural Center

Atmosphere - This is a very picturesque location.  If it were on the north side of Chicago people would be flocking to it in droves.  One weird thing is that we had to pay for parking despite plentiful parking spots at the Cultural Center (probably to prohibit the neighborhood from parking there for free).  It was a beautiful setting to have a meal and too bad most restaurant's can't offer that. As far as locations go, probably North Pond has been the only other restaurant we have been to have such beautiful scenery.

Goose Island

We went to dinner at Goose Island, a restaurant and brewery on Clybourn in Lincoln Park in Chicago.  We have had Goose Island Root Beer at home so that intrigued us.  We passed by it many months ago and made a note to try it someday.

Vanilla Creme & Spicy Ginger Sodas

You might think why in the world would 2 non-drinkers want to go eat at a brewery, but not only do they offer craft beers they also make there own line of soda pop.  There are 5 sodas to choose from - root beer, spicy ginger, vanilla creme, orange creme and grape.  We ordered the spicy ginger and the vanilla creme.  Both were really good, the spicy ginger was extremely unique.  We have seen all of their soda pop flavors for sale at our local grocery store so we will definitely be buying it sometime soon.

Jalapeno Appetizer

As an appetizer we ordered Stuffed Smoked Jalapenos with aged cheddar, cilantro and tomato creme fraiche. This take on a jalapeno popper was way more upscale than we were expecting.  The cheese wasn't too globby like most poppers  and it wasn't over breaded so you could still taste the jalapeno.  The jalapenos were served over bean sprouts and diced tomatoes to make it a lighter dish.

Black Earth Burger

One of the entrees we ordered was called a Black Earth Burger.  It was a hamburger with all natural beef, a goat cheese croquette, onion marmalade and spinach and it came with fries (these fries only came with ketchup not the truffle alioli like you can order as a side dish).  We were a bit apprehensive to order a burger thinking that it might just be standard bar food, but it really proved to be otherwise.  The burger was cooked to a perfect medium; it was tender and juicy.  The goat cheese was really great, especially served as a croquette because it was a great vessel to ensure the cheese didn't melt too much before being served.

Duck Reuben with homemade chips

The entree we ordered was called a Duck Reuben.  The sandwich included thinly sliced duck, baby swiss cheese, cherry sauerkraut, and house mustard all served on marble rye bread.  If you didn't know it was duck you never guess that it was. The duck meat was very moist.  This sandwich had a very unique taste, the cherry sauerkraut binds it all together kind of like Russian dressing does for a regular Reuben. The sandwich was served with homemade seasoned chips, which were great.  Definitely choose the chips over the fries as a side. They were unique in that they combined both salty and sweet tastes.

The menu descriptions here really undersell the quality of the food.  The food is all locally sourced so the food seems fresher and more flavorful. We came in with low expectations of the bar food but we were blown out of the water at the quality. Goose Island is an actual brewery and you can see the fermenting tanks by the entrance.  Nick first learned about this restaurant when we parked nearby to go on a ghost tour.  Something nice about this restaurant for the neighborhood is that they have their own free parking lot.

Final thoughts on Goose Island:

Food - high end bar food for a good price.  We would take people who appreciated this type of atmosphere in a heartbeat.
Service - We ate here on a Monday night so the restaurant was not very full.  We felt that the server actually cared about our experience.
Atmosphere -  We probably didn't get the full experience of this place coming early on a Monday evening.  But it looks like a nice place to hang out with friends. One thing to keep in mind is that there are 2 entrances to the restaurant so it can be a little confusing to find the hostess stand to be seated - but there are signs to direct you.

Brewery area

Pappadeaux

We went out to dinner at Pappadeaux in Westmont. Natalie had eaten at a Pappadeux many years ago but not this particular location.  It is a chain restaurant with locations in 7 states and this location opened in 1999.  We drive past this location all of the time and we finally decided to go inside. Pappadeaux is mainly a seafood restaurant with a Cajun flair - its headquarters are in Houston.

Coconut Shrimp

As an appetizer we ordered coconut Shrimp with a cajun slaw and a spicy sweet dipping sauce.  The shrimp were good but weren't anything unique or special.  In fact the dipping sauce sure looked just like a Thai chili sauce that you buy at the grocery store.

Crawfish Etoufee

For entrees we both decided to go with items from the New Orleans specialties section of the menu since for us that is the unique appeal of this restauarant.  We had Crawfish Etoufee with white rice. The sauce is thicker than a gumbo and has a base of an onion roux.  Etouffee means smothered - and in this dish the crawfish was smothered in a sauce that had a little heat to it.  Because the sauce is smothered over rice it is not a very beautiful presentation but it is tasty.  Live crawfish resemble small lobsters, but the cracked crawfish in this dish looked & tasted like small shrimps because only the tail portion is served in an etouffee.

Shrimp & Grits

The other entree we ordered was Shrimp Creole with creamy Andouille cheese grits and tomato sauce. The sauce had a little more spice/kick to it than the etoufee. There were lots of shrimp - enough dinner and lunch the next day.  The cheese grits were a bit bland, but did their job to offset the spiciness of the sauce.



Another favorite local Cajun restaurant is called Heaven on Seven.  So we will have to go there for a comparison.

Final thoughts on Pappadeaux:
Food - food seemed a little pricey but we did have enough leftovers for both of us to have a full lunch the next day.
Service - nothing special; we knew there was a crawfish special going on and although we wouldn't have ordered it anyway the server she did not even mention it to us. They took care of us but it wasn't a real personal experience.

Giant Lobster (and regular size lobsters)

Atmosphere - really busy for a weeknight (probably because of the crawfish special going on).  Good thing we had a reservation otherwise there was a 20 minute wait to be seated.  The parking lot is always filled when we drive by so this wasn't too much of a surprise.  It is a casual seafood restaurant with a Cajun flare.  Probably the most interesting thing we saw was a giant 9 pound lobster in lobster tank - its claws were the same size as a normal sized lobster.

Tank Noodle

We went to dinner at a Vietnamese place called Tank Noodle in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago (4953 N Broadway). We had heard about this restaurant a long time ago on Check Please. We had eaten up in this neighborhood twice before at BaLe (we loved their Bahn Mi sandwiches) and Thai Pastry.  There are also lots of other Asian restaurants and groceries very close by.

What we ordered:

 Spring rolls with shrimp

As an appetizer we ordered the spring rolls with shrimp,  They were very fresh tasting; like a salad in roll shape.  The "wrap" part of them was so thin you could see through it and see the pink and white shrimp, but at the same time it was sturdy enough to hold all of the ingredients inside. The spring rolls came with a nice dipping sauce that had just enough heat.  We wished we could have had more of the sauce for the rest of the meal.

Watermelon smoothie

As a drink before our meal we had a watermelon smoothie with tapioca pearls,  It was surprising to have such good tasting watermelon this time of year.  The taste felt like it was beckoning the warm spring weather.

 Beef Pho

For one of our entrees we ordered Pho, a traditional Vietnamese beef noodle soup with sliced beef, and fresh vegetables.  Peppers, bean sprouts, and mint leaves were brought out to accompany the soup and we could add them as we desired.  It was a huge bowl that probably could have served 4 people if we were making soup ourselves.  Besides the bahn mi's we ate last summer, this was our first foray into traditional Vietnamese food.  We enjoyed this hearty noodle soup.  Nick especially liked having the bean sprouts to give it a snappy taste.  The seasonings were good, but you could add hot peppers if you wanted more spiciness.  The mint leaves really added something to the dish as well. Natalie felt it was a a little hard to eat as a soup because all of the large pieces of vegetables and meat and thick, long noodles.  But overall we liked the dish and would order it again.

 Peppers, bean sprouts, and mint leaves

As our other entree we ordered stir fried egg noodles with shrimp, beef, pork, chicken and vegetables.  This dish had a more general Asian food feel to it than just Vietnamese.  It was a little bland tasting on its own, but they brought out some sauces that helped a lot.  We had read some reviews where it said stick to the pho at this restaurant - we just didn't want to order 2 pho's in case we didn't like it.

Stir fried egg noodles

Final thoughts on Tank Noodle:
Food - good food, all of the pho is a really good price for the large portion size, it is pretty far to go from where we live but this is definitely the right neighborhood to find this type of food.
Service - the menu is huge so we had to take our time looking at it before we were ready to order.  We were there on a Monday night and it was very busy so it sometimes took a little while to get water refilled. It seems to be a family run establishment.  There are 2 entrances because the restaurant is on a corner so seating people in general felt a little awkward.
Atmosphere - judging by how busy it was it definitely is a popular spot.  The tables kind of remind you of being in a diner because they have laminate counters.  You may get seated at long table with other people and all of the utensils and napkins are in caddy on the table with other condiments.  As non-Asians, we didn't feel out of place because there were a variety of ethnicities represented.