Lao Sze Chaun



The 2 sides to our hot pot (yes red is spicy)

Ok so this is going to be our last experience going to Chinatown for a while.  It really is just kind of a pain for us to get there and find parking at a reasonable cost. But we ventured there this time for Lao Sze Chaun.

Plate of veggies, tofu and seafood

Now Natalie didn't tell Nick until we were there that this place is affiliated with Lao Beijing where we went in January (because we really didn't have good service there). The reason Natalie wanted to come to Lao Sze Chaun is because they offer hot pot.

Crab Rangoon

Hot pot is pretty much a Chinese version of fondue where you have raw meats, fishes and vegetables and you cook them in hot liquid until they are ready.  Then you eat the cooked items with various dipping sauces.  It was a neat experience (and since they brought out all of the food at once we didn't have a weird service issue either like we had at Lao Beijing).  The pot had 2 sides to it - one side had non-spicy liquid and the other side had spicy liquid.  We stuck more with the non-spicy side but did try the spicy one a few times. 

We did the deluxe package ($18.95 per person) so we could try a lot of items.  It came with a huge plate of beef. Then there was another plate with 4 kinds of seafood, tofu, and veggies and then another bowl with noodles. (We didn't know what all of the seafood was but we were adventurous and tried it all.) We had 7 different dipping sauces to come up with quite unique flavors. It was a fun experience and we definitely felt like we got our money's worth.

Plate of beef - so much we couldn't quite finish it all

Various dipping sauces, noodles, seafood and veggies

We had also ordered a crab rangoon appetizer just in case we weren't going to like any of the food.  Although hot pot was fun and unique we probably don't need to do this again because it is a pain to get to or park in Chinatown.  Also if we want a similar type of experience we'll just go to a fondue restaurant where there is a much more subdued/romantic atmosphere.  But Natalie has wanted to do this for a while.  When she was in Beijing many years ago she didn't get to try it there.

We were glad service wasn't too much of an issue like at Lao Beijing, but we did have to wait 25 minutes to get a table (even at 2pm on a Friday). The restaurant has a relatively small interior. 

If we were to go back to Chinatown we would probably go to Triple Crown for Dim Sum - the only problem is that dim sum is only available until about 2pm every day so it would be difficult for us to find a time to get there together.

Lao Sze Chaun has a location in the suburbs so we could go there if we really wanted to - but that location doesn't have hot pot so that is why we went to Chinatown for it.


Final thoughts on Lao Sze Chaun:
Food - the hot pot was a different experience for a Chinese restaurant.  A lot of people walked by our table staring because they didn't know what it was
Service - aside from the wait to get a table, the service was good.  But remember once all the hot pot items were on the table we were pretty self sufficient for a long time.
Atmosphere - it is in the heart of Chinatown. The space inside the restaurant is very small so fortunately it was an okay day outside because that is where we waited until a table was ready.





Doughnut Vault



Menu listed on their wall outside

Tiny interior space

We made it to the Doughnut Vault after finally finding a place in our schedule that would work.  We had seen this featured on the Layover with Anthony Bourdain and had heard about it from some other sources, so on a rare weekday off together we ventured to get doughnuts.

The Doughnut Vault has been open 2 years and has a different business model - they only make a certain amount of doughnuts everyday and then close when they have sold out for day.  It is a cash only establishment and there is often a line out and around the corner. Every day they make vanilla, chocolate and chestnut glazed, buttermilk old fashioned, and gingerbread doughnuts.  There is a a different jelly filled everyday and a different special every day.  On the day we went the specials were grape jelly filled and pistachio.

Vanilla & Chocolate Glazed, Buttermilk Old Fashioned

Because we heard that the lines get long and sometimes they sell out of everything within about 1 1/2 hours, we wanted to get there super early.  To be safe we were there 1 hour early because this was pretty much our only day to do this together. We probably only needed to have been there 1/2 hour early.  We ended up sitting in our car for the time before that and watched until others arrived. Then finally people started getting out of their cars and standing up outside at 20 minutes to opening.  We were the third party in line and when we left there was truly a line out and around the corner.



Grape Jelly Filled, Pistachio and Chestnut Glazed

They have a twitter feed that they update every 1/2 hour or so saying how many doughnuts they have left and how many people are in line.  The day we went they sold out in 2 hours and 20 minutes. 

These doughnuts are not cheap either - they are $3 each, except for the buttermilk old fashioned which is $2 each.  So for the 1 dozen doughnuts we bought it was $34.  We ordered 2 of each of the vanilla, chocolate, chesnut, jelly filled, pistachio and buttermilk old fashioned.  We were a bit upset that they didn't have gingerbread for us - it wasn't going to be ready for another 20 minutes (i know what is the point of getting there when it opens up). We were a bit concerned about what the grape filled would taste like, but it was awesome.

Line out the door as we were leaving

Honestly all of the doughnuts were great and it is going to spoil eating doughnuts anywhere else. They are large in size, but quite light tasting.  Natalie's favorites were the buttermilk old fashioned and the jelly filled.

 

We later saw online that they may cap people at 1/2 dozen per person (which we were correct in getting 1 dozen then).

This is definitely an experience.  Sadly, we won't really be able to do this with any sort of regularity.  We were afraid it wouldn't live up to all the hype (and the waiting) but it really did.

Final thoughts on Doughnut Vault:

Food - the doughnuts were amazing; it is worth waiting for

Service - The service is pretty quick (but we were the third party in line).  But it really can't take too long when there are only 7 different options, plus coffee and they are cash only.

Atmosphere - It really is a super small interior space.  There is only enough room for a few people so everyone else is going to be waiting outside. The had a cold weather vestibule right outside their door but only a few other people can wait there.  We're glad we weren't there on the coldest day of the year - that would have been unpleasant. The doughnuts are worth the wait but we were super happy we didn't have to wait forever in line having arrived really early. You really have to plan a visit to make it work. 



Interior - yes as small as a vault

Union Sushi & BBQ

We saw Union Sushi and BBQ featured on Check Please a couple of months ago. Despite having gone to a similar restaurant back in December, we thought we would give this place a try because it looked really fun from the tv feature.

Buffalo Duck Wing

We ordered a bunch of small items so we could try a lot more. We had a combination of appetizers, sushi rolls and robata grill items.

Buffalo duck wing - sweet chili and hot sauce butter, napa cabbage slaw, yuzu blue cheese dressing. Fortunately a duck wing is much larger than a chicken wing so a single wing does give way to several bites to enjoy. (In fact a week after we ate at Union Sushi, they were going to have duck wing eating contest.) The meat fell off the bone and had a crispy exterior but warm and tender on the inside.  The flavors of the hot sauce, slaw and blue cheese were a more sophisticated play on the buffalo wing.

Truffled Tuna

Truffled Tuna - truffle oil, Parmesan  avocado, chili fresco, wonton chips. Basically this was a tuna tartare dish.  Although tasty, we've enjoyed similar combinations better at other establishments.

Squash and Scallop

Cauliflower

Robata Grill, bbq items - bacon wrapped scallop - wasabi avocado puree, sweet plum sauce and ginger, squash - sweet miso, sesame and chive, cauliflower - cheddar spice.  This was our second foray into Robata grill cooking and once again we loved it. The 3 items we tried here were all fantastic.  There was just enough for us to get a little taste of each.  The were all unique flavor combinations.  Natalie's favorite was the sweet miso on the squash and Nick's favorite was the cauliflower. (Interestingly, we enjoyed the veggies the most at the other Robata grill restaurant as well.) The Robata grill lends itself to sweet and smoky flavors from all of the dishes.

We tried 4 different sushi rolls.  For all of them, we only ordered half rolls each (4 pieces) so we could try more combinations.  They had a few traditional sushi rolls but also had lots of unique variations.
Dragon roll with black rice - shrimp, eel, avocado, masago, green onion, eel sauce. Black rice has a firm texture and boasts less carbs and calories than white rice.  The black rice made the presentation much more dramatic.  It was a firmer, dryer rice than white rice, while still holding the vinegary taste of sushi rice.

Dragon Roll with black rice

Shrimp tempura roll - avocado, eel sauce, caramelized onion, masago mayo. We thought the tempura aspect of this roll would just be the shrimp, but the entire roll was fried tempura style, which gave the roll and extra layer of crunchiness.

Shrimp Tempura Roll

Bay Street california roll (with crabcake instead of crab alone), crabcake, cucumber, masago, spicy mayo. This was a twist on the traditional California roll with small bits of crab cake instead of crab (or krab) meat.

Soft shell crab roll - what made this sushi roll different was that it was wrapped in cucumber instead of rice. Therefore it was crunchier and the cucumber also gave it a "springy" type of feel.

We had some unique combinations.  There were small enough portions of everything that we didn't feel overstuffed and really got to try a lot, but the items are kind of pricey considering the size of the portions.

California roll (L) and Soft Shell Crab Roll (R)

Final thoughts on Union Sushi and BBQ:
Food - we loved the duck wing and Robata items. The sushi was unique but not as exciting as the grilled items.


I Pad menu display

Service - so the interesting thing about the wait staff is that they all have I pads which they carry to each table and leave for a few minutes so you can see the pictures of the specials for the day. It would have been neat if the entire menu were on the Ipad, but it gave us a good idea of what to expect. The items were brought to our table as they were prepared. We ordered everything in 2 batches.

Interior

Atmosphere - it was very industrial looking with metal mesh netting and exposed steel. There were also graffiti style Japanese animation on the walls. This is a hip and trendy place were a lot of younger  (yuppie types) were prepping for nights out.

Honey One BBQ

We went to dinner at Honey One BBQ in Chicago.  We had heard about this place from watching $24 in 24 on the Food Network.  But they have also been featured on Chicago's Best and Check Please.

Chicken wings

Chicken wings - some of the best Nick has every had.  They had enough meat on them to make it worth eating. They came with fries, bbq sauce and 2 slices of bread. The sauce on the wings was tangy yet sweet.  Unlike other bbq sauces, we couldn't classify it to a particular style or region. It was unique on its own.

Pulled Pork Sandwich - The sandwich came with coleslaw on it and fries on the side.  We wish there was more meat on the sandwich.
Both of the entrees came with fries; we didn't know that for sure when we ordered them (the menu doesn't really specify it) so we got from fried okra as well.  The okra was pretty typical; nothing super special.

Pulled Pork Sandwich

Final thoughts on Honey One BBQ:
Food - The wings were great.  They had a lot of rib options on the menu so that must be a popular item. We could smell the smoky bbq flavor from blocks away.
Service - You order your food at a counter and then the food is either brought to you to dine in or you can carry out. It seemed like the food took a long time to get out to us - and there were really only 2 other tables full of people there at the time. Apparently quality and freshness doesn't go with speed.
Atmosphere - Casual atmosphere.  There are several tables where you can dine in. There is a tv in the dining area so we were able to watch part of a NCAA tournament game while we were waiting.

fried okra 

Hofbrauhaus

Maypole

We have both been to the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany, so we wanted to try the Hofbrauhaus at its newest location in Rosemont.  We have driven past over the past few months and have seen they it was close to opening.  Their soft opening was January 21 (and their grand opening will be March 18).  You could tell they were still figuring out the kinks in some places - especially at the hostess stand.  Otherwise the service was attentive.

Inside the restaurant is a super large space with plenty of large tables to accommodate large groups.  There are communal tables just like in Munich.  Be advised this is not the place for a quiet, intimate dinner.

Weisswurste

Munchner Weisswurste - 2 of Munich's famous white sausages (veal and pork) grilled with freshly baked pretzel and sweet mustard imported from Munich.  The sausages had a good snap and were a nice and smooth texture.  They were juicy and packed with flavor.

Jagerschnitzel

Jagerschnitzel - pork cutlet topped with creamy mushroom sauce, bacon, onions and served with spaetzle and cranberries.  It was tender enough to cut with a fork - moist and tasty.  A good balance of a schnitzel with some other fun stuff.  The sauce and spaetzle (German noodles) were tasty accompaniments to the schnitzel.

We also ordered a side of spaetzle so Nick could have his own.  Nick felt the spaetzle were a little dry but tasty none the less.

Apple strudel - traditional homemade Bavarian Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce, a la mode.  It was nice and warm.  We didn't need the ice cream; it was definitely better with the vanilla sauce.   

Apple Strudel

Final thoughts on Hofbrauhaus:
Food - The food was tastier than some of the other recent German fare we have had.  It was probably not as good as in Germany but definitely a closer distance.

Service - Because they hadn't been open that long, you could tell they were still figuring out the kinks in some places - especially at the hostess stand.  Otherwise the service was attentive.

Atmosphere - fun atmosphere with a live polka/southern German music style. The crowd wasn't getting into it that much with the songs and cheers, but it was reminiscent of the way they do it in Munich.