Fox and Obel (401 E. Illinois St.)
Butterfly (1156 W Grand Avenue)
Quartino (626 N State Street)So I really wasn't kidding when I said that I enjoyed many fabulous culinary delights this past weekend. I was totally spoiled with the most amazing foods and drinks. I enjoyed some newbies, as well as some oldies but goodies. I love trying new restaurants, especially in new cities. There's no better way to live it up and enjoy the flavor and culture of a new place. If you live, or ever go play in Chicago, I would highly recommend each of the following:
Fox and Obel Cafe- This place is one of my most treasured Chicago finds. I go there multiple times for breakfast each time I visit the city. Fox and Obel was most notably brought to prominence in 2005 when their signature oatmeal raisin cookie dough was featured on Oprah's famed list of holiday "favorite things". Located downtown near Michigan Avenue, Fox and Obel is mostly known for its market of upscale specialty foods, as well as it's excellent catering offerings. Most people don't even realize that there's a little cafe in the back serving up great gourmet meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is my favorite, particularly for breakfast. I went there with Anne and Royce, and enjoyed the Cobb Omelet, which was filled with diced chicken, tomato, scallion, avocado, applewood-smoked bacon and blue cheese.
Butterfly Sushi Bar and Thai Cuisine-Royce was craving sushi over the weekend, and Anne recommended this sushi bar on Grand Avenue. We started out with the Tom Kar soup, which was a coconut soup with shrimp, straw mushroom and tomatoes spiced with galanga roots, citrus leaves, and fresh lime juice. It's was a little spicy, and made me tear up a bit, but had incredible flavor. I think Tom Kar is my new favorite soup. We then had a spicy tuna roll, a dragon roll, another roll that escapes me, and pieces of fresh (raw) salmon. Hell, I'll try anything. All in all, it was a pretty good meal. The only things I didn't care for were the poor lighting (I could barely read my menu) and the BYOB policy (because we didn't bring any, not that I needed it).
Quartino- "where the wine is cheaper than water and the pizza is the finest." I went to Quartino with Seif and KJ on Saturday night. Seif (whose real first name, by the way, is Katie) is a huge fan and highly recommended this restaurant. And Seif would know. She's like the ultimate food critic. We had reservations for 8 p.m., and arrived early (7:15 p.m.), but still waited until 8 p.m. for a table. The place was extremely packed, and we opted for a table in the bar while waiting, where we enjoyed our first carafe of wine. The food was excellent, but the service was awful. We waited way too long in between courses, and they seemed to not have enough staff to handle their large volume of customers.
We started with a salumeria platter with various cheeses, vegetables, breads, and meats. After that, we had Italian artisan blend fondue with calabrese bread and crudites. Then we all shared two small plates--one was linguine with clams and white sauce and the other was Tuscan sausage risotto. For dessert, we had zeppole, which was hot Italian doughnuts with chocolate sauce. Delicious. I'd recommend going on a weeknight, however, or sometime when you can get better service.
Butterfly Sushi Bar and Thai Cuisine-Royce was craving sushi over the weekend, and Anne recommended this sushi bar on Grand Avenue. We started out with the Tom Kar soup, which was a coconut soup with shrimp, straw mushroom and tomatoes spiced with galanga roots, citrus leaves, and fresh lime juice. It's was a little spicy, and made me tear up a bit, but had incredible flavor. I think Tom Kar is my new favorite soup. We then had a spicy tuna roll, a dragon roll, another roll that escapes me, and pieces of fresh (raw) salmon. Hell, I'll try anything. All in all, it was a pretty good meal. The only things I didn't care for were the poor lighting (I could barely read my menu) and the BYOB policy (because we didn't bring any, not that I needed it).
Quartino- "where the wine is cheaper than water and the pizza is the finest." I went to Quartino with Seif and KJ on Saturday night. Seif (whose real first name, by the way, is Katie) is a huge fan and highly recommended this restaurant. And Seif would know. She's like the ultimate food critic. We had reservations for 8 p.m., and arrived early (7:15 p.m.), but still waited until 8 p.m. for a table. The place was extremely packed, and we opted for a table in the bar while waiting, where we enjoyed our first carafe of wine. The food was excellent, but the service was awful. We waited way too long in between courses, and they seemed to not have enough staff to handle their large volume of customers.
We started with a salumeria platter with various cheeses, vegetables, breads, and meats. After that, we had Italian artisan blend fondue with calabrese bread and crudites. Then we all shared two small plates--one was linguine with clams and white sauce and the other was Tuscan sausage risotto. For dessert, we had zeppole, which was hot Italian doughnuts with chocolate sauce. Delicious. I'd recommend going on a weeknight, however, or sometime when you can get better service.
1 comment:
it's all about the Matzo Ball Soup come Passover at Fox & Obel
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