Tag: Chicago Restaurants

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Neighborhoods to Know and Go: Chicago's Andersonville (in Instagram)

Where: Clark Street [map], Chicago, IL, United States
December 13, 2011 at 12:38 PM | by | Comments (3)

We're going to give it to you straight. There once was a time—not too long ago at all—that the north side Chicago neighborhood of Andersonville was known as an area where girls who like girls settled down and raised their kids and altogether made the area a desirable and safe place to stay forever. We're happy to report that the spirit of inclusiveness prevails, but a bloom of craft beer bars and brunch-happy restaurants have brought in a more mixed crowd and—dare we say it—tourists way tired of the Michigan Avenue crap.

Andersonville is where to come if you want to leisurely stroll while window shopping, sipping some excellent coffee and reminiscing about college with a friend you haven't seen in years. There will be occasional breaks to coo at babies in their strollers, pet Dachshunds in quilted tartan coats and impulse buy entire pieces of vintage furniture. God it's just so great when you really need to be in or are already in a warm and fuzzy mood, no matter the season.

Without further ado, our personally picked top spots to hit in Andersonville:

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Three Restaurants for Finding Foie Gras: Chicago's Enduring Foodie Obsession

June 8, 2011 at 3:20 PM | by | Comments (0)


Foie Gras mousse and Cassis Gelee at Paris Club

For the last five or so years, Chicago has had the most tempestuous relationship with Foie Gras. This controversial foodie favorite has been lauded, officially banned, served in secret, officially unbanned, and again celebrated. What is Foie Gras? Well, Google it. We don't want to be the ones to potentially ruin your appetite, especially when there's so many Chicago restaurant serving up excellent appetizers featuring it, like these three...

· Paris Club
This place is newer to the scene, but with a huge dining room and lively bar scene, you shouldn't worry too much about snagging a table. Of our three recommended restaurants for Foie Gras, Paris Club offers the most affordable option, and the most easily shareable. It's a $9 Foie Gras Mousse with Cassis Gelee, and it's scrumptious. That's it in the photo above, being spooned onto little triangles of toast. This Foie Gras option is quite tasty, and there's plenty of it to lump a huge spoonful onto each toast bit. Ideal for first-foie-gras-timers.

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OMG. Lobster Roll.

Where: 531 North Wells Street [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60654
June 1, 2011 at 3:43 PM | by | Comments (0)

This is a call to action. Get your ass up and out to eat, and order the lobster roll, because it is on the menu and it is gooood. 'Tis the season and all that jazz, but for real: summer is the time of the year when you may get away with all sorts of usually outré things, like drinking Rosé before noon or paying $22 for a buttery roll stuffed with lobster salad.

Yesterday we bit into what will be the first of many lobster rolls of the next few months, and although we weren't anywhere near the Northeast, it was tasty as all get-out. The victim was the $22 "Lobster Roll and Fried Onions" at new Chicago seafood hipsterspot G.T. Fish and Oyster. The excitement the Windy City had for Big Star last summer has shifted, from tacos to oysters (although G.T. placed fish tacos on the menu).

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Beer That Tastes Like Pretzels, West African Miracle Berries and More at Chicago's iNG

May 3, 2011 at 11:37 AM | by | Comments (0)

Two words: PRETZEL BEER. Do we have your attention? Good. You see, there's a new restaurant in Chicago and from the moment you pick up your menu—an origamied cube stuck with a miso soup shooter—things are not what they seem. This is iNG Restaurant, the newest joint from the windy city's infamously creative chef Homaro Cantu. Now about that pretzel beer...

Just like with everything else on the menu, the drinks to accompany your baozi buns and pork belly la mien are something of experiments. Order the beer flight (we highly recommend it) and what golden samples appear in front of you purely depends on what's brewing downstairs in 5-gallon jugs—iNG's "nanobatch" beers. When we stopped by in March for a meal with friends, we sipped (from left to right, above):

· India pale ale with Indian spices
· Brown ale brewed with ingredients found in an old fashioned (the cocktail)
· Pale ale brewed with mustard seeds and pretzels
· Vienna lager from Chicago's Metropolitan brewery
· Belgian blonde ale with lemongrass, ginger and coconut

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Where to Go with Your Tax Refund: Chicago

April 14, 2011 at 10:50 AM | by | Comments (0)

Tax day is coming, and you are excited not because you look forward to sifting through receipts and credit card statements, but because you're getting a fat refund...probably. The economy may be on its way back up, but you should try to stretch that tax refund as far as you can.

You will need to scrape together every single dollar that Uncle Sam is giving you for your tax refund this year to hit up Chicago for a trip. Not because Chi-Town is super-expensive—though like any major U.S. city, it's certainly not cheap—but because you'll want to get into famed chef Grant Achatz's Next restaurant. Tickets to the molecular gastronomy expert's new eatery are going for as high as $3,000 a ticket.

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Three Restaurants for Ordering Bone Marrow, Chicago's Newest Foodie Obsession

March 30, 2011 at 4:19 PM | by | Comments (0)

It was about this time last year when we caught on to the fact that Chicago's foodies were all a-Twitter about nothing other than Queso Fundido, specifically as served at Big Star in the Wicker Park neighborhood. This year, the focus has decidedly shifted from cheese and hipster Mexican cuisine to a truly carnivorous focus. That's right; everyone is digging into bone marrow (also Welsh Rarebit, but that's for another day).

Chicago Magazine actually has little story about it this month, but we've been wanting to talk about this since we ate our way through some of the best bone marrow dishes a month ago. Here they are:

· Purple Pig:
"Roasted Bone Marrow with Herbs" $9.
This was our favorite (pictured above), and perhaps the least threatening of the bone marrows, if you're experiencing it for yourself the first time. Simply scoop the marrow out from the bones and onto the crostini, sprinkle some sea salt, and enjoy. No touching the bones required, but do know that one bone per person is probably necessary because they are so good.
500 North Michigan Avenue, around to the side of the building.

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Wish You Were Here: Logan Square, Chicago

March 11, 2011 at 5:02 PM | by | Comments (0)

Who needs a drink after this week? Well, we wish you were here with us, sitting at the bar of Longman & Eagle in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. We decamped to the Second City this week because once we called it home and it forever remains a favorite of all our international destinations.

To speak more of Logan Square, however, we must first say that there once was a book called The Hipster Handbook and in it was a character—the perfect hipster girl—and she resided in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. Well, that area has jumped the shark in its hipsterdom over the last few years, and now it's increasingly the dominion of what Chicagoans slangily call the "Trixies" and "Chads," or as everyone would call them, the Yuppies.

These days it's Logan Square's time to shine. The rents are still affordable, the restaurants are grabbing Michelin stars (just as Longman & Eagle did), and the music venues remain true to their indie cred...for now. Heck, Longman & Eagle has whiskey and bourbon lists longer than their food menu options, so you know it'll be a while before the area gives in to the J. Crew set. If you know what we mean.

[Photo: Jaunted]

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Another Week, Another New Restaurant Opening at Chicago-O'Hare

February 28, 2011 at 1:01 PM | by | Comments (0)

Last month we were pretty excited to hear about some of Chicago-O’Hare’s newest dining options. Chef Rick Bayless—famous in Chicago and beyond—is planning on bringing Tortas Frontera to the airport, and now it looks like another Windy City hotspot is opening up an outpost at the airport.

Stanley's Kitchen & Tap opened up in Terminal 2 over the weekend, and we’ll definitely be planning an extended layover in Chicago to try it out as soon as possible. The original Lincoln Park Stanley's location is famous for its Southern-style brunch offerings, as well as some of the city’s best fried chicken; KFC this is not.

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The Best Places in Chicago for Virgin America Flyers to Wine, Dine and Have a Good Time

February 25, 2011 at 5:30 PM | by | Comments (0)

So as we've already shouted all over town, Virgin America will finally fly to Chicago-O'Hare beginning May 25. The routes—from SFO and LAX—may feel like a long time away, but just think that by then the snow and icy cold winds will be but a memory.

We're assuming many travelers are booking their early summer travels now, and Virgin has some specials for the new flights. They're also soliciting tips on their Facebook page for the best stuff to do in Chicago, and we couldn't help ourselves...

We were compelled to write an entire guide to the hottest stuff in Chicago right now, with the sort of traveler who flies Virgin America in mind:

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Chicago 'Chef Week' is Like Chicago Restaurant Week Part Deux

February 24, 2011 at 9:16 AM | by | Comments (0)

Hold on just a sec. Isn't Chicago Restaurant Week about to end? Already it's time to consider booking tables for Chicago Chef Week, which, believe it or not, isn't the same thing as Restaurant Week. Instead of a whole slew of restaurants with discounted menus, Chef Week presents only about forty of the city's best restaurants, those with notable chefs and signature dishes, for the week of March 20-26.

Each meal, whether lunch ($22) or dinner ($33), will be three courses and surprisingly most of the options are dinners! Reservations are open to book now via OpenTable, but before you commit to a meal, we've got to slip in some recommendations. The choices are excellent, sure, but we most love The Publican, The Gage, Cibo Matto, Sable Kitchen & Bar and Blackbird. Oh snap, these Restaurant Weeks need to stop or else we're in danger of getting gout...or at least a drained bank account.

[Photo: Official Site]

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Five Places to Chow Down During Chicago Restaurant Week

February 4, 2011 at 9:36 AM | by | Comments (0)

While Chicagoans are coming out of hibernation after the crazy Chizzard earlier this week, Chicago Restaurant Week will get them—and the tourists—out and chowing down all over the city from February 18 to 27. More than 200 restaurants will participate, offering prix fixe lunches for $22 and dinners for $33 or $44.

See the full list of participating restaurants here, and get booking--reservations are open!

Check out our top five Restaurant Week picks this way:

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Fred's at Barneys: Our Secret Foodie Hotspot in Chicago

Where: 15 East Oak [map], Chicago, IL, United States
May 4, 2010 at 10:05 AM | by | Comments (0)


Our flourless chocolate cake with walnut ice cream

It's not every night that you get to sneak through a closed luxury department store after hours, to take a private elevator to its top floor for a sumptuous meal, but it is your night if you're heading to Fred's Restaurant at Barneys in Chicago. This gourmet eatery, perched about eight stories above the active Rush Street and just off of the luxury boutiques that line Oak Street, is the Chicago version of Manhattan's original Barneys and its Fred's, but the difference is that the Chicago one is newer, having just celebrated its one-year anniversary in a stunning building.

Fred's is a must-visit foodie destination in Chicago, and like all the best places, it seems a sweet secret, hidden away as it is on the top floor of the store, yet open later than shopping hours. We stopped in for a meal with friends recently and spent way too much money on way too many choices off the menu, but then how could we resist a filet mignon with lobster risotto and flourless chocolate cake with walnut ice cream? We couldn't!

Now, about that 'luxury pizza'...

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