Yolk

This past week we have been on completely opposite schedules so we decided to meet up for breakfast at 6 am (after Nick got done working and before Natalie started working).  We went to Yolk in River North upon recommendation from a friend.  There are also 2 other locations in Chicago.

Eggs Benedict with fruit and potatoes

Eggs Benedict - they have a few variations on this but we went with the traditional (poached eggs, canadian bacon, english muffins, hollandaise sauce).  A good eat for Natalie but Nick likes his eggs thorougly cooked.  The small amount that Nick ate was enjoyable-perfectly poached  for those who like poached eggs. A very rich and decadant breakfast any time. 

Hey Ricky Omelet

Hey Ricky Omelet - included avocado, chorizo, jalapeno, onions, cheese, sour cream and salsa.  It came with fresh fruit and pancakes and we upgraded to the strawberry chocolate pancakes. A giant burrito sized omelet. Nick ordered it for its southwest flavor and it lived up to its hype. It was warm and had a kick from the chorizo and jalapenos but not enough to kill the flavor of the acocado.  It was large enough to share and have some left over for the next day and it reheated well unlike a lot of eggs. The pancakes were great and much larger than we figured for a side dish-warm and fuffy and a lot of sweetness. You could tell that they were the first ones off the griddle that day in that the outside was a little cruchy from the fresh oil on the griddle (we were the first customers in the restaurant).  But that is ok though because Nick likes the first ones from a batch at home.

Strawberry Chocolate pancakes

Final Thoughts on Yolk:

Food - Generous portions - lots of fruit on the side. Good and filling. (A breakfast place has to do something incredibly good or bad to really take note).  They did a good job with flavors that we don't readily have at home. Good - but not extraordinary.

Service - good - typical of a breakfast joint not in a hurry

Atmosphere - the space is huge.  Perhaps it gets filled up on a weekend but right when it opens on a weekday there were not that many people there.  Bright and clean, more modern with fun lighting.  Not your average diner or greasy spoon look.

The Clubhouse



Lobster Bisque

We ate at at The Clubhouse in Oak Brook at the mall for a group work event (we were part of a group of 11).  We have previously been to The Clubhouse for a birthday celebration.

What we ordered:

Cup of Lobster Bisque - we split a cup of the lobster bisque because we remember really liking it the last time we were here; it didn't taste quite as good as the previous time we had eaten at this restaurant.  But it was warm and creamy and still a nice cup of soup.

Tuscan Sliders

Tuscan Sliders - grilled filet medallions, mini herb focaccia, provolone cheese, oven roasted tomatoes, arugala, sun-dried tomato alioli, with fresh cut sweet potato fries.  The sliders were tasty; the meat was cooked really well and was tender.  There were 2 sliders so we each got to try one.  It would have been nice to have some sort of dipping sauce for the fries.  We didn't want to both order super large entrees because we knew we wanted to save room for dessert - so this was a good size knowing that. As to that point the clubhouse is known for it's large portion sizes, A dinner salad is large enough for two or three.

Lobster & Shrimp Risotto

Lobster and Shrimp Risotto - baked lobster tail, shrimp, roma tomatoes and asiago cheese.  The risotto was very creamy and not under cooked like some people like to prepare risotto. We purposely didn't order another "meat" dish so we could try a different category of the menu. 

"Massive" Chocolate Cake

The Everest of Chocolate Cake - with hot fudge on top. We ordered one for the entire table (of 11) so we could split it several others in the group.  It is pretty good cake, but not the best - the dessert is more of a novelty due to its massive size though. Natalie tried a bite of the other cake they serve (Chocolate Truffle Cake) and that one was even better tasting chocolate cake than the Everest. Even if you are stuffed to the brim ask to see the desert platter just to behold the EVEREST Cake.

Key Lime Tart - graham cracker crust, strawberry coulis, whipped cream, pretty large itself - could have been split among 4 people itself.  It was smoth and sweet not too tart.  We couldn't finish this so we had a lot of it to take home for the next night.

Key Lime Tart

Final Thoughts on The Clubhouse:

Food - overall really good.  Everyone in the group seemed to enjoy their dishes. The menu has typical American dishes (steak, seafood, other entrees, sandwiches, salads) so there was something for everyone

Service - Great. The drinks were always full (both water and pop).  They were able to accomodate the larger group with no problem.

Atmosphere - very large restaurant, spaces for small and large parties.  Can either dress up or be more casual - both would be acceptable.

Q BBQ

Some friends of ours who are moving out of state wanted to have Q BBQ in La Grange on their last night in Illinois.  We had been there once before over a year ago and enjoyed it (but have been too busy trying other new and different restaurants that we hadn't been back).  As a side note, Natalie's mom knows someone who judges BBQ and he thinks Q BBQ is the best in the area.



Texas Chopped Brisket Sandwich Q style

For dinner we ordered the Texas Chopped Brisket Sandwich and a half slab of ribs with pulled pork.  The brisket sandwich was topped with blue cheese and cole slaw (what they call Q style) and it comes with Q puppies (hush puppies/corn fritters) and another side (we chose baked beans).  Along with the ribs and pulled pork, we had a double portion of Q puppies and green beans.  Our friends love Q puppies so much they suggested ordering them as a side in addition to the Q puppies that are provided with the meal - we weren't disappointed. The meat on the ribs fell off the bone and was moist.  The brisket and pulled pork were also moist and tender; they had a smoky flavor without being dried out.  At each table there is a tray with 4 different bbq sauces to add to your meat - Memphis Sweet, Texas Spicy, South Carolina Mustard and North Carolina Vinegar. Natalie liked the sweet and the mustard.  The men at the table liked combining the sweet and spicy together. The sides of baked beans and green beans were pretty typical of most bbq joints. We also could have chosen from other sides of mac n cheese, corn bread, fries or cole slaw.

Ribs and Pulled Pork

Final thoughts on Q BBQ:

Food - everyone in the group liked their respective dishes, some had never been there before but they said they would like to return.  This was our first time trying the ribs and they did not disappoint. We have tried all of the meat except for the chicken and loved it all. Some of the others in our group tried Q's micro brewed root beer and enjoyed it immensely.  We also enjoy that Q is located near where we live.

Service - order at a counter and they bring the plates out to your table.  We had a large party so it was a little confusing but they were nice to let us tie up so many tables for a long time.

Atmosphere - fairly happening for a Tuesday night. However, we were able to push together several smaller tables to make room for all of the group.  We also saw a lot of people carrying food out.

Coast

We went to dinner at Coast in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago because we had been craving sushi lately. It had been featured a while ago on Check Please. It was a hip restaurant in a hip part of town.



Exotic Tempura

Before we got to the sushi we ordered an appetizer of Exotic Tempura.  It was a tempura dish with taro, lotus root, sweet corn, shisho leaf, squash blossom, asparagus and shiitake mushroom. All of the vegetables worked nicely with the light crunch tempura batter. The dish quenched our hunger as we waited for the hand crafted sushi rolls.

We ordered 4 different sushi rolls, which was a perfect size to pretty much fill us up.

Tuna on Top

Tuna on Top - a special sushi roll not found on the printed menu.  It included tuna in the middle, and tuna and a jalapeno slice on top of the rice.  It was spicy since each piece had a thin jalapeno slice on top - the spiciness was just right for Nick but a little too spicy for Natalie.

White Dragon - a sushi roll with shrimp tempura, cream cheese, avocado, scallion, spicy sauce, wasabi dressing, eel sauce and tempura crumb.  Despite having both wasabi and spicy sauce already in it, it was surprisingly sweet. It was our favorite sushi of the evening because it combined a lot of different flavors.

Una Avo - a sushi roll with eel, avocado and eel sauce.  We always have to order an eel roll when we eat sushi because it is one of Natalie's favorites.  The sweetness of the eel and eel sauce is refreshing and we haven't had it paired with avocado before.

Philly(on left)White Dragon(Center)Una Avo(right)

Philly - a sushi roll with salmon, avocado and cream cheese.  We ordered this because it had a different protein in it versus the other sushi rolls.  It was a fairly standard Philly roll but good none the less. It wasn't as peppy as some of other rolls but that is to be expected when you are comparing the more simple versus the more complex specialty rolls.

For dessert we had Ginger ice cream per Nick's request.  You could taste the ginger chunks in the ice cream.  It was refreshing and a nice ending point to our meal.

Ginger ice-cream

Final Thoughts on Coast:

Food - It wasn't necessarily any better or worse than other sushi restaurants in the area. Most sushi restaurants offer the same standard rolls and they differentiate themselves with their specialty rolls.  These specialty rolls were very good but we can find equally comparable rolls nearer to where we live.

Service - servers were attentive (but not too annoying) and willing to help and answer any questions

Atmosphere - fairly busy for a Monday night.  It probably gets super busy on the weekends. Clean modern style with an Asian flare. The clientele was young but that is reflective of the Bucktown neighborhood. It would be a good date spot with its intimate lighting.

Blackbird

Asparagus Custard Amuse Bouche

We ate dinner at Blackbird in the West Loop.  We had heard about it long ago from the Anthony Bourdain No Reservations show - he didn't actually eat there on the episode but referenced it because he ate dinner with the staff at someone's home.

For an amuse bouche we had an asparagus custard with mustard foam and pine nuts.  We are not used to savory custards, but it was very satisfying; clean tasting with a surprisingly tangy foam.

Appetizers:

Mussel Bisque

Mussel bisque - probably the best dish of the night; surprisingly strong flavors for a bisque.  Nice and creamy and tender mussels.

Confit of Suckling Pig

Confit of suckling pig - the presentation was a little confusing.  The dates, hazelnuts, shallots and dandelion were under a banket of pig.  We were expecting them to be on top.  The pork itself was thin and a little dry but the dates and other flavors made up for it.

Entrees:

Duck Breast with White Asparagus

Duck breast with white asparagus - we were a little disappointed with the duck.  Usually duck is very tender and flavorful but this was a little tough and chewy. The duck came with some fresh herbs on the side that were very tasty, but it was a bit difficult to get them in a bite with the duck together.  If the duck had been spread with an emulsion of the herbs it would have been a better dish for us.

Glazed lamb belly - this was our second favorite dish of the night.  The lamb was a little fatty (to be expected from the belly) but moist and captured all of the chicory glaze.

Chickory glazed lamb belly

The desserts were interesting but not tempting enough for us to order anything; although the cheese selections did inspire us to make a plate of our own for the next night for dinner.

Even though we didn't order any desserts we did get some small sweet bites before our bill came.  We each got a small caramel and chocolate bite that was a nice ending to the meal.

Final thoughts on Blackbird:

Small caramel and chocolate dessert bites

Food - good food but a little pricey.  We enjoyed the food at Publican (created by the same group as Blackbird) better.  Blackbird seemed like a big wine place; like Publican is to beer.  They seemed to be accommodating of food allergies.
Service - very good service; someone was constantly re-filling our water glasses.  They were very willing to explain the menu and they were very sharply dressed.
Atmosphere - There was a wide variety of clientele - people in designer jeans to women in cocktail dresses and men in sport coats (jacket not required). It has a clean and modern design; as if from the same designers of Apple.  The space is not that large, so you definitely need a reservation.  We booked the reservation way in advance but that was probably not necessary.

Interior - Bar and Kitchen in the background

Ras Dashen Ethiopian

We ate dinner at Ras Dashen in the Edgewater neighbourhood of Chicago.  We had heard about this place on Check please a while ago and thought we would try Ethiopian food in the city.  It is a communal dining experience unlike most types of food - it is an Ethiopian tradition to hand feed your close friends and family.  We have been once before to an Ethiopian restaurant in Michigan but it has been several years.

The surface of the moon-no just the injera bread

We each ordered an entree and three sides come with each table's order.  The entrees and the sides are served on a round of injera bread (spongy flat bread) and then you are given other rounds of injera bread as your "utensils".
Entrees:

Doro Wat - chicken and egg entree

Doro Wat - chicken and hard boiled egg cooked in a spicy sauce, the national dish of Ethiopia
Zilzil Alicha - strips of beef with onions, garlic and green peppers in a sauce that is not as spicy

Sides:
Qosta - spinach cooked with onion, garlic and spices
Ib - soft cheese made with cultured buttermilk
Diblik atkilt - green beans, zucchini and carrots stewed with tomatoes

Zilzil Alicha (beef entree) and Id (cheese side dish)

Qosta - spinach side dish

In the menu the explanations of the entrees were not that descriptive for people that are not very familiar with this type of food - fortunately we picked items that were pretty good.  Natalie really liked the three side dishes and perhaps would try a vegetarian entree the next time. Nick really liked the doro wat (spicy chicken) - it had bold flavors and a great aroma.  The doro wat was a bit too spicy for Natalie, but the Ib (cheese side) softened the spiciness a little.  The beef dish was hearty and full of flavor.  In reviews we read, people had commented on the "sourness" of the injera, but we didn't find it overly sour, just nice and spongy.

Diblik Atkilt - vegetable side dish

Final thoughts on Ras Dashen:
Food - good, since we haven't experienced Ethiopian food that much it is hard to make any sort of comparison to other places.  We enjoyed everything because we are adventurous.  The food itself wasn't that "adventerous" but the way you eat with your hands definitely is.  The food is not as visually appealing as other types of food - they bring out the entree in a bowl and then dump the contents onto a large platter of injera bread right at your table.
Service - well we went on a Monday night (do you sense a trend with this) so there were only 2 parties - including us - at the restaurant.  So we didn't have any problem with the service.  We did see a few people pick up orders for carry out as well.  The other table at the restaurant was a party of 7 people.  We were happy that it was just the 2 of us with the overly communal way of eating the food (with bread instead of utensils).  We made sure to wash our hands very well before and after the meal.
Atmosphere - the tables and decore showcased African styles.  On the weekends it sounds like there is live band that plays African music.  There wasn't much of an energy with just the 2 tables but if it were more full it could be fun.

Labriola Bakery Cafe

After such a rich breakfast we had planned on having a light dinner of salads. But 30 min after we ate our  salads we were still hungry. Lucky for us that along our route of doing errands for the evening is one of Natalie's family's favorite bakery places - Labriola Bakery Cafe in Oakbrook. It is set up like a Panera in that you order at a counter, are given a number, and the food is brought out to you. Where it is unique is that there is an Italian slant to the bakery and it has its own wood fire stone oven. We have been there before for breakfast and were wowed. We also saw it on Chicago's Best featuring their burgers, sandwiches and pizzas, so we wanted to try the lunch/dinner menu.

buffalo mozzarella pizza

We ordered a pizza and a burger.  We had the buffalo mozzarella pizza, a traditional Neapolitan style pizza made in the wood fired stone oven. We were seated where we could see all of the pizzas being made so we got to see them put large chunks of buffalo mozzarella over a fresh sauce and topped with basil.  We wondered why there were so many cheese pizzas being ordered. Then we realized that most of the pizzas were meatless because most of the Catholic faith was not eating meat on that day. Needless to say you don't need to be avoiding meat to enjoy the Pizza. The pizza is thin but chewy; it came out before our burger and didn't last very long in front of us.

Richie burger

The Burger came out next.  It is served on a pretzel bun (a signature bread of Labriola that is even available at Costco) and is topped off with white cheddar, lettuce and tomato. The Richie burger is served with a side of fries. The meat was cooked to a perfect medium.  The patty was warm, thick and jucy. The burger was great but was made much more special due to the pretzel bun.  What a great way to take the burger to another level.

Final thoughts on Labriola:
Food - very good, especially for a more casual place. In addition to the burgers and pizzas, there are salads, hot and cold sandwhiches
Service - Since we sat right near the kitchen we probably we're served our food faster than other groups. Servers bring your food to you and clear plates.  You are also given a plate of bread up sitting down.  But you are responsible for getting your own drinks.

Atmosphere - It seems like this place is alwasy busy and this Holiday Friday was no exception.  The lines didn't take too long to order, but it is a little crazy to manuever around some of the spaces.

Bongo Room

We went to breakfast at the Bongo Room in Wicker Park.  We had been given a few recommendations by friends to try it out.  They are open for both breakfast and lunch, but known more for the breakfast food.  They do not accept reservations so it can be difficult to be seated right away.  We went on a Friday holiday so we were expecting a little wait but it wasn't the wait that was the issue it was more the lack of a dedicated hostess. There were 2 parties that were seated before us (that arrived at the restaurant after us) because of the disorganization at the front end.

That aside, once we were seated the waitress was friendly.  We both ordered sweet breakfast dishes.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Pancakes

One was graham cracker crusted pumpkin flapjacks with chocolate chunks topped with warm vanilla bean cream.  The other dish was white chocolate and caramel covered pretzel pancakes.  Both were very rich and tasted more like baked cakes than griddle cakes.  In fact, the pumpkin pancakes tasted a lot like a recipe we have for pumpkin chocolate chip bread.  Both sets of pancakes were satisfying and filled us up until dinner. The pancakes were very dense, not airy and fluffy.  The sauces on both were in place of syrups and they were needed to tie the dishes together in a complete package.  When the pumpkin pancakes arrived at the table one of the people next to us commented that is smelled like Cinnabon. The pretzel pancakes were delectable and were exactly what we hoped for - the crumbled pretzel with its slight saltiness cut though the super sweet topping of white chocolate and caramel. The bottom pancake needed a bit of the topping or else it was a little dry to the taste; luckily there was plenty of the topping to be spread around.  Several people sitting around us had more of the savory breakfast items but we were more in mood for sweet that day.

Pretzel Pancakes

Final thoughts on Bongo Room:
Food - good and interesting combinations that people should try. But for us it will probably be a long time before we return - not because it is bad food but because we have so few mornings and so many other places to try. Sweet Maple Cafe  is still Nick's favorite pancake place in town.
Service - besides the whole waiting for our table experience that tainted our perception of the meal, the actual service once we got to our table was good, but not notable
Atmosphere - clean and bright faux painting an walls. Fun ceiling fans. The tables are very close together like at most breakfast places.

Interior with cool fans

Interior with "deer" heads

Girl & the Goat

We went to dinner with some friends at Girl and the Goat.  This is a newer trendy restaurant in the west loop area of Chicago.  It was opened less than 2 years ago by Stephanie Izard, the season 4 winner of Top Chef.  It has been very popular since it opened and you have to make reservations very far in advance; in fact we made reservations about 2 1/2 months ago for a Monday evening to enable us to eat a "normal" 7:30pm time.  During the week you probably can walk in when they open at 4:30pm and be okay, but who is ready and able to eat out at 4:30.  We also noticed a lounge and bar area where you could eat as well without reservations.

Inside the Restaurant

This restaurant is a small plates concept, much like a tapas restaurant, just with American dishes instead.  Since we went out to eat with another couple we got to sample even more of the small plates.  They had been to the restaurant before so we also were the beneficiaries of the previous experience.  One of our friends has a gluten allergy and this restaurant was more than willing to accommodate this issue.

Girl and the goat changes some of their dishes on a daily basis including their breads.  We ordered potato bread and pretzel bread and our friend ordered gluten free bread.  All of the breads were small round loaves (the size of a softball) and came with various butters and spreads.  We tasted the potato bread and the pretzel bread; the pretzel bread was the clear winner but all of the spreads that accompanied the breads were very good.

Potato Bread

Pretzel Bread

Grilled Broccoli

The main menu is broken into 3 sections - vegetables, meat and fish. For vegetables, we were able to sample 5 different dishes:
- Wood grilled Broccoli with smokey bleu cheese
- Roasted Cauliflower with pickled peppers, pine nuts and mint
- Artichoke heart sofrito with almond-goat cheese agnolotti (kind of like a ravioli)
- Pan fried Shishito peppers with parmesan, sesame and miso
- Warm marinated olives

Roasted Cauliflower

Artichoke with agnolotti

Pan Fried Shishito Peppers

Warm Olives

If we could eat vegetable dishes like this all of the time, we would definitely become vegetarians.  Probably our 2 favorites were the broccoli and the cauliflower.  They were both served with accompaniments that enhanced the dishes.  Nick enjoyed the smokey flavor of the broccoli and Natalie liked the interesting combination of the the cauliflower with the pine nuts and mint.  The peppers were a little spicy for the women at the table.  Nick doesn't normally like olives but he said if all olives could taste like the warm marinated olives he would be eating them more often.  The artichoke dish was good but there was a higher pasta to artichoke ratio than we anticipated.

Goat Empanadas

From the Meat and Fish categories we ordered the following:
- Goat empanadas, these were actually on the daily specials menu, but sometimes are on the regular menu
- Goat sausage pizza with ricotta cheese
- Scallops with asparagus and bok choy
- Skate with sunchokes, grapefruit, olive and crisp lentils

Scallops 

Goat Sausage Pizza

Skate

We were glad to order the goat dishes for the namesake of the restaurant and in fact Nick's favorite dish of the evening was the goat empanadas. They were warm and fluffy and he said "wow" when he took his first taste. The pizza was a traditional style small pizza with chunks of ricotta and a healthy portion of goat sausage. The scallops were very good, but just not as memorable as some of the other dishes.  We were a little reluctant to order skate with grapefruit as we didn't know how the combination would be, but the baking process brought out the natural sugars of the grapefruit and the citrus flavors enhanced the butteriness of the fish.

Goat Cheesecake

For dessert we ordered gingerbread cake and goat cheesecake.  The gingerbread cake came with cranberry-orange sorbet, caramel, orange creme and candied ginger. We're not super gingerbread fans in general but this combination of flavors was very intriguing. There were lots of strong flavors with the sorbet, the caramel and the ginger but they harmonized into an excellent dessert.  The ginger left your tongue tingling.  The goat cheesecake came with a hazelnut crunch, candied beets and cajeta (a caramelized milk sauce).  The beets may sound off-putting to some people, but if you didn't know they were beets they just tasted like sugared candy. The cheesecake was very smooth and creamy and it was a little sweeter being made with goat cheese instead of cream cheese.

Final thoughts on Girl and the Goat:

Gingerbread Cake

Food - all of the dishes were very good; there were no disappointing disappointments.  There are some dishes on the menu with ingredients that are unfamiliar sounding so just ask your server if you have questions. One of the dishes we did not order (but we know lots of people do) is called wood oven roasted pig face.  We didn't order it because it comes with a sunny side egg - which Nick has an aversion to. But all in all they vegetable dishes were the best.  We would love to return to this restaurant, but the popularity and reservation wait times make it inconvenient for last minute planning (plan way in advance).
Service - There was a little confusion when we were seated, because we were taken to a table for 6 and then we were told we had to get up and move (we think they thought we were the party of 6).  The wait staff was very good about clearing dishes and bringing fresh plates out.  There was a mishap with water being spilled in Natalie's lap but all of the staff showed a lot of concern (i.e. the restaurant manager came over) and we had one of the small plates comped.
Atmosphere - fun, energetic atmosphere; it can get a little loud due to loud music and a large open room.  It seemed like a very "metro cool" place to be. There was a large painting with a girl and a goat that reminded Nick of the Grateful Dead.