90 Miles Cuban

When Nick's parent's came into town they wanted to for sure hit up 90 Miles Cuban because they had seen it featured on Diners Drive ins and Dives.  We had eaten at this restaurant a few years ago right before we started the blog but we think it was before the DDD episode so we ordered differently this time based on what Guy Fieri ate.

Croquetas

We ordered croquetas as an appetizer. They were fried ham and bechamel balls that were packed full of flavor.

Puerco Rostizado

Puerco Rostizado - this was the main dish featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  It is a pork dish marinated and roasted over night with bacon guava and ham. So this dish was pretty amazing. Here is the funny thing Natalie tried the dish first and had the ropa vieja second and this dish made the ropa vieja kind of taste bland. Nick tried the ropa vieja first and then the pork and that was the proper order because he loved the beef and then loved the pork even more. The marinade really brought out great flavors in the pork.  This was definitely the best dish we had from both our visits to this restaurant.

Ropa Vieja

Ropa Vieja - slow cooked shredded beef with onions, peppers, garlic, in house creole sauce. The dish was good but not as good as ropa vieja we have had at other restaurants.  It was tasty but not nearly as dynamic a dish as the puerco rostizado.  Natalie wishes she had eaten the entrees in the different order because she would have been a lot happier.

Ceviche

Ceviche - Nick's dad chose to have this as an appetizer but it was so large that we got to try a taste of it later. It was a typical ceviche but such a great deal due to is overwhelming size.

Final thoughts on 90 Miles Cuban:
Food - The pork was amazing! Cuban food is known for its pork dishes so stick with them.  The last time we went we had a Cuban Sandwich which was also very good. We went there on a Tuesday night which is Paella night so lots of other tables were ordering that.

Service - The order and sequencing of bringing out the appetizers and the entrees was a bit weird. The croquetas came out first and then the ceviche a little later.  But then the entrees came out soon afterward so it was awkward with having the courses overlap and not having enough room at the table.

Atmosphere - the restaurant had a vibrant atmosphere and Tuesday night is also Flamenco night so there was live Flamenco music and dancing going on right near our table.  That was fun to experience the entertainment and the dancers were great.  It is quite dark inside the restaurant and we had to use flashlights on our phones to read the menu.

Nick's Fishmarket

We went to Nick's Fishmarket in Rosemont a few years ago for our anniversary before we started the blog.  They went over the top with lavishing us with stuff last time - they gave us a balloon, a picture and a comp'd dessert so we wanted to go back again to get the royal treatment.  But this time they had toned it down and just comp'd us a dessert, which was fine but less impressive. But we ate some good seafood so that made up for it.

Black and Blue Seared Ahi

Black and Blue seared Ahi tuna appetizer - Cajun dusted with soy mustard sauce - this was really good quality tuna.  The spices weren't too overwhelming. It had a very beautiful plating presentation with the sauce swirled around the tuna itself.

Lobster Bisque - pretty typical lobster bisque, but lobster bisque is good overall so that is always a winner for us.

Lobster Bisque 

Chopped Salad

Chopped Salad - arugala, currants, tomatoes, smoked salmon, pumpkin seeds, roasted corn, couscous, Asiago cheese, pesto buttermilk dressing.  Natalie likes salad that have a lot of things in them that are not lettuce so this is the perfect choice for her.  All the ingredients were great together and it was an elevated form of a chopped salad.  This is totally something that would be great to make at home and people could choose to add all the ingredients or not.

Chilean Sea Bass

Chilean Sea Bass - with Asian Slaw, sweet soy sauce and garlic mashed potatoes. Several years ago when we were in Las Vegas we had some amazing Chilean Sea Bass at Tao at the Venetian and we have been searching for similar sea bass ever since. This wasn't quite at that level but it was Chilean Sea Bass so once again how can you go wrong.  The fish itself was buttery and flavorful and surprisingly the stacked slaw, sauce and potatoes paired very well together.

Grouper - macadamia encrusted, with asparagus and saffron rice, Natalie would have preferred a bit more sauce with the grouper.  The grouper had a light crust of macadamia nuts so it wasn't too heavy and the rice was amazing. We usually love asparagus these large stalks were a bit woody.

Macadamia Crusted Grouper 

Meringue topped key lime pie - they gave us this dessert for free for our anniversary celebration. We're starting to get a little sick of key lime pies since ever since we had fantastic key lime pie in the Florida Keys.  The meringue made this one a little different but it otherwise it was pretty standard key lime pie.

Final thoughts on Nick's Fishmarket:
Food - Great seafood. A nice place to celebrate.

Service - It wasn't nearly as stellar as the previous visit. They didn't keep the water glasses filled promptly.  Even though there were lots of open tables they sat us next to a very loud set of people.  It took a long time before they took our order.

Atmosphere - there weren't nearly as many people dining there as the last time we went.  Maybe because of where it is located near O'Hare airport and Rosemont it is more of a lunch place. The chatter of the table next to us was quite distracting and took away from the romantic ambiance we were going for by picking this restaurant.

Key Lime Pie

Avec

Chorizo-stuffed bacon wrapped dates

We went to dinner at Avec in the West Loop. It is a related restaurant to Blackbird, which we ate at a couple of years ago. They are located right next to each other.  Avec is a little more casual than Blackbird and it doesn't accept reservations so we went there on an evening when we knew we could get there early enough not to wait. Avec has also been featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network.

Charred Cauliflower

Charred Cauliflower with tabbouleh, oranges, radish, green olive and tahini - really great dish and we liked that it was an amazing vegetarian option. The tabbouleh wasn't overly bitter like it can sometimes get and this was offset by the smokiness of the cauliflower. We would love to be able to make something like this at home.  Great combination of flavors.

Summer squash with shishito peppers

Charred Summer Squash with shishito peppers, almonds, mint and feta - we have very similar feelings about the squash dish as we did the cauliflower dish.  Another great vegetarian dish with unique flavors. The peppers weren't too hot so it was a mild dish.

Chorizo-stuffed medjool dates with bacon and piquillo pepper-tomato sauce - basically this is their version of bacon wrapped dates.  They are just a lot larger than regular bacon wrapped dates because they are stuffed with chorizo. Because of the chorizo and the pepper sauce these were quite spicy but super tasty.  They said this dish was their most popular and this is the dish that had been featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate.

Papardelle pasta

Pappardalle pasta with mushroom bolognese, pine nuts and cheese - another great option (and again vegetarian).  Although when we ate this, the mushroom were so "meaty" in texture they almost felt like meat but then we remembered they were mushrooms.

Parmesan pound cake with roasted apples and candied pine nuts - intriguing flavor with a cheesy touch to it. It was very good and seasonal but very dense as well. Perhaps a whipped cream could have offset the denseness a bit and warmed apples would have been nice.

Parmesan Pound Cake with apples and pine nuts

Gelato - we meant to order the sorbet but got the gelato instead.  Nothing overly exciting.

Cookies and cream gelato

Final thoughts on Avec:
Food - we loved all of the savory dishes.  Nick loved the dates and Natalie loved the squash and cauliflower.
Service - we sat at the bar and probably got faster service this way but it also caused us the mixup with the sorbet/gelato.

Atmosphere - another rustic yet modern restaurant (like Wood). All wood tables and bar area. It is smaller in size than you might expect and the tables are communal so you could be seated right next to people you don't know at busy times.

Wood

We went to dinner at Wood which was featured on Check Please last year. Its menu consists of fresh seasonal items with a section of small plates and of entrees. We ordered 4 small plates and 1 entree to be able to try more things.

Amuse bouche - juice

Before any food came they brought us a juice as an amuse bouche/palette cleanser. It was nice and refreshing.

Burrata - heirloom tomatoes, peaches, arugula.  This was a wonderful, fresh dish with seasonal ingredients that were well paired together.

Burrata with tomatoes

Scallops - cauliflower puree, cabbage, breadcrumbs. Natalie loves scallops so we had to have this dish. The scallops were delicate and tender with a lot of smoky flavor.

Tagliatelle - sausage, olives, tomatoes, basil, parmesan. This was a nice pasta dish and Nick liked it even though he doesn't love olives.

Scallops

Tagliatelle

Flatbread - Saxony cheese, bacon lardons, onions.  We both felt this was a little too salty.  It was not the best flatbread we've had but still tasty.

Roasted pork loin - corn, onion, pepper sauce, bacon and peppers. Another nice seasonal dish with fresh corn.

Flatbread

Final thoughts on Wood:

Food - the food was great.  We especially enjoyed the burrata, scallops and tagliatelle. The produce was all fresh and seasonal and all of the flavors were great together.

Service - They brought out our food in courses - 2 small plates, followed by 2 more small plates followed by the entree.  It seemed like there was a lot of time in between each of these courses but that was our only service issue.

Atmosphere - the interior is decorated in a lot of wood, hence the name of the restaurant.  It felt both rustic and modern at the same time.

Roasted Pork Loin

Hot Doug's

Hot Doug's is a restaurant in Chicago that has been featured on every local and national food show (and in fact when Nick was picking up the food the National Geographic Channel was filming a show). They are known for hot dogs and gourmet sausages. We have been to this restaurant a couple times before but Hot Doug's will be closing on October 4, 2014 so we wanted to go one last time before that time.

We love the fancy and interesting combinations at Hot Doug's and would have gone more often but they are located a bit far from us and they are only open from 10:30am to 4pm Monday through Saturday.  And to further complicate things they are cash only and always have a long line wrapped around the building.  Nick went on a weekday because a Saturday would have been crazy - and he still waited in line 1 1/2 hours.

Long line to get in

We ordered five sausages knowing that we would split them and we wanted to savor as many as possible this last time. Four of them were from the specials menu and one was from the regular menu.

From the weekly specials menu:
Baked ham sausage with prickly pear mustard, pineapple salsa and smoked Gouda cheese. This had a little more heat than we thought with the salsa. It was very complex, with a lot of tropical flavors but then the Gouda kind of throws it in a completely different direction.

Baked Ham Sausage with Pineapple

Bacon Cheeseburger Sausage with Coca-Cola BBQ Sauce, maple smoked cheddar cheese and smoked onion marmalade - this had a good smoky (from the onions) and sweet flavor (from the bbq sauce). It had more of a bacon flavor than cheeseburger flavor but we still enjoyed it.

BBQ Cheeseburger Sausage

Bison sausage

Game sausage of the week - Smoked bison Sausage with wild rice, Asiago cheese, bacon-garlic mayonnaise and corn relish. This was Nick's favorite of the bunch. He felt the smokiness and snap of the sausage were excellent and with the corn and Asiago it made him feel like he was eating at a five star restaurant.

Celebrity sausage - Basque-style smoked pork sausage with virtue cider mustard and Iberico cheese. This sausage didn't have as much going on with it just the sauce and the cheese but it had some interesting (Spanish) flavors.

Basque style smoked pork sausage

From the regular menu:
The George Mitterwald - Chicken sausage, zesty Santa Fe style - this was probably our least favorite, but it is really hard to compare to the fancier weekly specials which tend to have a bit more pizzazz to them. If we hadn't been eating this sausage in combination with everything else it would have been great.

Cheese fries plus sausages

Cheese Fries - Nick overheard people in line raving about the cheese fries so he ordered them.  They were okay but it is hard for any fries to impress Nick.  Hot Doug's does offer duck fat fries on Fridays and Saturdays and we were sad that we never went there on one of those days to try them because they are supposed to be great.

Final thoughts on Hot Doug's:
Food - we love the intricate and gourmet combinations that they come up with.  Natalie isn't a huge sausage person to begin with but she feels these are amazing. We are sad to see them close but there is another fancy sausage place in Lincoln Park (Frank N Dawgs) that will have to fill the void.

Chicken sausage 

Service - Once Nick got to the front of the line, Doug himself was at the counter like always.  He spends a lot of time with each person making sure they order what is best on each sausage.  Nick felt Doug may have been a little distracted on this day due to Nat Geo film crews filming.  After placing the order it only took a couple of minutes for the sausages to come out.

Doug himself

Atmosphere - it is a casual atmosphere inside with lots of sausage memorabilia and the bright colors of a classic hot dog cart.  It was a little chilly outside but good thing it was not too cold due to the long wait.  It may have been a slightly longer wait than normal for a weekday due to the film crew. But Nick was able to talk with the other patrons in line with him.

Devon

For Natalie's Birthday we went to a seafood restaurant called Devon in Oakbrook Terrace with Natalie's parents.  Devon used to be called Braxton's Seafood and was located in the Oak Brook mall but due to a leasing dispute had to leave and relinquish the name.

Shrimp Cocktail

Shrimp cocktail - jumbo shrimp cocktail, with Creole remoulade sauce and cocktail sauce.  Nice standard shrimp cocktail but kind of interesting that it is also served with a remoulade sauce.

Spring roll

Vietnamese crab spring rolls - with daikon, avocado, mint, basil, pea greens, carrots, sweet and sour dipping sauce. These were good but we only got a small bite of them so we wish we could have more.  Natalie's bit didn't have any avocado in it but it was still good and fresh.

Smoked Salmon Flatbread - garlic white sauce, red onion and watercress. Nick's favorite appetizer - crunchy, a little salty, good flavors.

Smoked Salmon Flatbread

Lobster Bisque - tasty, on par with other good lobster bisque we have eaten.

Lobster Bisque

Georges Bank scallops - with sweet potato corn hash, bacon, corn butter sauce. Good scallops with nice accompaniments that accentuated their flavor. The scallops were large and firm, but still tender.

Georges Bank Scallops

Monchong - wood grilled Hawaiian fish, with lobster mac n cheese, and whipped potatoes. Nick would have preferred it with a different preparation with a sauce on it (he felt it was a bit dry).  Otherwise the fish itself was good and a very large portion.  Natalie liked the smoky flavor.  The lobster mac was good but we almost always want more lobster.

Vanilla Creme Brulee - this was large serving of creme brulee (probably a little larger than normal due to the birthday celebration). A nice way to end the meal.

Final thoughts on Devon:

Monchong

Food - Nick was more impressed by the appetizers. He prefers Parker's Ocean Grille in Downers Grove or Catch 35 in Naperville.  He seems to remember liking Braxton's a little more so maybe there is a different chef than before.





Service - very good service.  They were super attentive to our needs with refilling drinks to making sure everything was just right.
Atmosphere - a little dark inside but a nice/fancy environment inside.  The new location isn't as nice as the mall and it is a bit difficult to find parking as a lot of the parking nearby is reserved specifically for the hotel next door.

Sushi House

Shrimp Tempura Roll

We went to dinner at the Sushi House in La Grange.  They have 6 locations all in the suburbs. We ordered a few traditional sushi rolls and few specialty rolls.

Alaskan & Unagi rolls

The 3 more traditional rolls were the unagi roll with bbq eel and cucumber, the Alaskan with salmon, avocado and cucumber and a shrimp tempura roll. These were pretty typical sushi rolls; they aren't as flashy or intricate as the more specialty rolls but they are also more affordable.

Sweet heart - spicy tuna, crunch crumbs avocado, tuna over top and served with a spicy honey sauce. This is definitely something we haven't seen before.  They took tuna and used it as the exterior of the sushi and shaped it into a heart and put all of the rice and other items inside of it.  It was fun to look at and actually a bit spicy to eat with both the spicy tuna and the spicy honey sauce.

Sweetheart

Dragon Roll

Dragon roll - bbq eel, cucumber and fish eggs with avocado outside. This is a bit more elaborate of a sushi roll (but not as unique as the sweetheart).  Natalie loves bbq eel and avocado so we tend to order things like this at most sushi restaurants we go to.

Crazy roll - Tuna, salmon, whitefish, avocado, deep fried.  The fried exterior of the roll is like the tempura batter on shrimp or veggies. These were large pieces of sushi that barely could fit in our mouths.

Final thoughts on Sushi House:
Food - excellent sushi.  The sweet heart roll was fun and creative.
Service - we ordered a few sushi to start and then wanted a couple more.  It took a long time for someone to come back to take that order we were almost ready just to get the check.
Atmosphere - typical Japanese style restaurant.  At some point we would like to sit in the pit style seating in the front (where you basically sit on the ground).

Crazy Roll

The Purple Pig

We went to dinner at The Purple Pig in Chicago. This restaurant has only been open a few years but has received lots of awards including James Beard awards.  It is located on Michigan Avenue, is very popular and doesn't take reservations so it can get very busy.  We saw reviews that talked about 1 1/2 to 2 hour waits.  We decided to go there on a day when we carpooled together to work so we could go straight to dinner.  That way we got there at 5pm.  This was on a Tuesday and we were able to walk right in and get a table. By the time we were leaving all the tables were full and there were a lot of groups waiting, so we lucked out.

Cheese Plate

The Purple Pig does have a lot of pork related dishes, but that is not all. Their menu is quite extensive and there are antipasti items, smears (to spread on bread), fried items, cheeses, paninis and a section called a la plancha (which literally means cooked on a griddle).  They claim that their dishes are more tapas/small plates style so they encourage you to order more than just a couple of things. We found that some of the dishes were indeed tapas size but others were more regular size and therefore we were pretty full by the end of it.

What we ordered:

Greek Cornbread with honey and cheese

Cheese plate with Hickory Kidde, Owl Creek and Chocolate Goat cheese. We started with a cheese plate with 3 different cheeses on it. There were 25 different cheese selections so we had to rely on the waitress to tell us about some of them because the descriptions were not listed and all of the names don't necessarily tell you much either. One of them was sort of Gouda-esque, another wasn't that memorable and the Chocolate Goat is what it sounds like, chocolate goat cheese.  This was really fun and interesting and almost could have been a dessert.

Bobota "Greek Cornbread" with feta, mizithra cheese (sheep and/or goat cheese) & honey - this was really good and unique; a play on cornbread with the traditional honey and then with a couple of Greek cheeses to make it more interesting.  It all tasted great together and it is something that could be done easily at home to jazz up cornbread. The creaminess of the cheese offset the sweet honey to find a perfect balance to complement the cornbread.

Eggplant Caponata with Goat Cheese

Eggplant caponata with goat cheese - this was one of the smears that you put over bread.  The bread was already covered in goat cheese and then the eggplant went on top. It was quite a large portion (larger than just tapas size).  It had a thick coating of cheese which was almost too much (although it is quite difficult to say that you ever have too much goat cheese). Because of all the cheese and the "smear" nature of the eggplant it did get a bit messy as well. We both really enjoyed all of the flavors but for a tapas style dish it was overwhelming for just 2 people.

Chorizo Stuffed Olives

Chorizo stuffed olives - just what they sound like these were olives stuffed with chorizo.  They came from the fried section of the menu so they were lightly fried and served with a creamy sauce to offset all of the robust flavors.  These were the perfect size and gave us just enough of a taste to leave us wanting more.

Pineapple Glazed Rib Tips

Pineapple glazed rib tips with grilled fava beans, green onion and fennel - we really enjoyed this dish but when it came out to the table we were taken aback because it was really not a tapas size at all; it was pretty much a full entree size so we were starting to get full.  The topical flavors were nice with rib tips.  We wished we could order it again without have ordered as many other things to fully enjoy it.

Pork secreto with roasted red pepper, leeks pickled watermelon rind - this dish sounds better than it actually was. The pickled watermelon rind was different and not what we expected.  But overall this dish just couldn't compare to the rib tips.

Pork Secreto

The dessert was a chocolate mouse tart with candied popcorn.  It was playful and reminiscent of something Graham Elliott would do.

Final thoughts on The Purple Pig:
Food - lots of options which could be overwhelming.  We enjoyed several of the items but there were a couple of misses as well. Also we are fairly adventurous eaters but there are some dishes we felt were a little scary including tripe, pig's feet and blood sausage.  So be aware when looking at the menu.

Chocolate Mousse dessert

Service - it was good to have a very knowledgeable server who was friendly and willing to answer all of our questions. Maybe if we had asked a few more questions we would have been steered into different (and maybe better?) dishes
Atmosphere - the interior of the restaurant is not very big.  Although they have seating outside during warmer months we opted to still eat inside because it was so hot outside. Inside there are a couple of long communal tables.  We were happy to have arrived early enough to get our own table. The restaurant is also known for wine which seemed to be quite plentiful so there are lots of wine racks making up the decore. They were playing rock music a little loud to somewhat drown out the noises of the exposed kitchen.  Overall we would consider going back if not for the potential long waits because they don't take reservations.