Yard House

To celebrate my brother’s birthday my family went to Yard House in Glenview. I’d never been though my brother and nephews were familiar with the menu. The space was huge, very modern and sleek. Moreover, it was very loud. Lots of people chatting up a storm in a way that was merry rather than annoying. Yet this is not the spot when you want or need to converse in depth.

We started by sharing cheese curds, which I’d never had, even though this Wisconsin treat has made its way to Illinois and beyond and has sort of become a favorite of nerdy foodies. I had a watermelon margarita, which was fine, though it didn’t taste all that much like watermelon.

I had a ahi tuna sandwich, which consisted of seared ahi, caramelized onions, aioli sauce, lettuce on rye bread with sweet potato fries. I was delighted and brought half home for lunch the next day. The French dips, chicken sandwiches, salads and burgers all satisfied the other guests and everyone took doggie bags home.

I do tend to enjoy conversation at dinner. It doesn’t have to be super philosophical, but I want to be able to hear the stories my friends and family are sharing so the noise was a strike. I think eating outside might solve that problem. When the weather’s warm, you can eat outside on the sidewalk.

Rabanitos Restaurante and Taqueria

For great Mexican food at a good price, head to Rabanitos Restaurant & Taqueria. Located in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. Rabanitos offers flavorful, authentic food and warm hospitality. Before going to the National Museum of Mexican Art (just two blocks away) and taking a walking tour of the area’s vivid murals, my friend and I had lunch here.

We both got tortas, i.e. sandwiches. She ordered the Carnitas and I had the Cubana. Great bread, wonderfully spiced meats and fillings. I also got a drink, the Jamaica, which was a not too sweet juice. I’m not sure what fruit it’s made of, but it tasted like it had some grape.

The host was all smiles and genuine hospitality. The decor is colorful and cheery. At one point a guitarist came in and played. We think the made the rounds of the nearby restaurants, playing for tips. I’m not 100% sure. Perhaps the restaurants also pay him something.

The sandwiches were huge and could feed 3. If there were more of us, I’d have suggested getting several items and sharing them. We wound up getting doggie bags and were glad to have more tortas later.

Our sandwiches were $10 each and the drink was $2.50. I’ll definitely be back.

Address: 1758 W. 18th St. One block west of the Pink Line’s 18th St. stop.

Ewa’s Pierogi

Last week I tried Ewa’s Pierogi in Glenview for lunch. My friend who knows Polish food suggested Ewa’s which is near the public library on Glenview Road.

The small restaurant is cheery and light. They offer all you’d expect from a Polish restaurant, beet soup, chicken soup, fried and steamed pirogies filled with spinach, mushrooms, meat or potatoes. We ordered a plate consisting of a mix of flavors. They were quite flexible to get the variety we wanted. The pirogies were delicious and the portions generous.

Cherry pierogi with strawberry garnish and sour cream

We also had cucumber salad in a yogurt sauce, which something I liked and had had before in other cuisines.

For dessert, we tried the cherry pirogies, which were a change of pace. I thought they’d be better with a lighter wrap or perhaps fried.

You can order wine or beer as well as soft drinks. The service was attentive and I liked trying something new. I’d definitely return.

Michael Jordan’s Steak House

NY Strip Steak with Bone Marrow Gravy and Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

It’s Chicago Restaurant Week till February 7. Today a friend drove down from Milwaukee and I planned to have lunch at the Peninsula Hotel, but didn’t have a reservation and there were no tables. That was disappointing but okay because Michael Jordan’s Steak House is nearby and I’d viewed their menu.

Participating restaurants offer $24 three course lunches and dinners for either $36 or $48. It’s a time when you can get a good deal at a pricey eatery.

Caesar Salad

We both ordered the Caesar salad, which was huge. Then I got the N.Y. Strip Steak while my friend got a fancy cheeseburger made with chuck, brisket and short ribs. My steak came with a lovely sauce and mashed potatoes. Her burger came with fires. I’m not a big meat eater, but this steak was divine.  For dessert I had the chocolate parfait, while Maryanne got the banana pudding. Again we were both delighted.

CRW Burger

Banana Pudding

Bittersweet Chocolate Parfait

The service was attentive and friendly. Both our waiter and the maitre’d were attentive and welcoming.

Beverages are extra.

Looking back I think we should have tried the blue cheese fondue as a starter. We didn’t need it, but I’m curious.

You can see Michael Jordan’s Steak House Restaurant Week lunch and dinner menus here.

Mon Ami Gabi

French restaurant, Mon Ami Gabi has a terrific menu for Chicago Restaurant Week 2018. For $22 you can get a three course meal. I was torn between a salad and French onion soup, then I figured I can make the salad, but when am I going to make French onion soup. This was a delightful choice. Every spoonful of the soup, cheese and bread was heavenly.

For the entree, I followed a similar thought process. The quiche looked tempting, but when would I make steak and pomme frites? I got the steak and it was so tender and delicious.

To top this all off, the meal finished with petite servings of creme bruelé, chocolate mousse and profiteroles. Ahh, these were so cute, so decadent, but yet small enough that the guilt was manageable. If Oakbrook weren’t so far, I’d go back tomorrow.

Our server was attentive, except for forgetting to bring the condiment my cousin requested. However, it was a small thing and he apologized for the small slip.

Goddess and the Baker

I tried Goddess and the Baker  last week for an inexpensive, pre-theater dinner with my friend. Goddess and the Baker offers a wide selection of sandwiches, soups and salads. They have a lot of drinks including fancy juices, coffee drinks, liquid chocolate, soda, wine, and beers.  I enjoyed my turkey sandwich, but it was too big. I wish you could order half a sandwich.

I would have gotten a cookie or brownie, but they were over $3. At $2.50 or a little more, that’s a splurge. These treats were priced higher than I’d pay. It’s for the best as when the sandwich came, I saw it was more than I needed. I just got a Coke™ but they had a lot of fancy drinks that looked beautiful and probably were tasty.

The space is cheerful, but fills up quickly. I imagine at lunch time’s best to get there early. One more warning. I tried to pay with cash. Guess what? They don’t accept it. Go figure.

Brunch at Pinstripes

Desserts

Caesar Salad

Bagles

I’ve been to Pinstripes for lunch and dinner numerous times and have always been pleased with the food and service. When my sister suggested we go to brunch this weekend, I said I thought Pinstripes offered brunch.

When I got there I was amazed at what was offered. They had a stand for omelettes, one for bagels, one for waffles that you could have topped with cinnamon apples, Bananas Foster, whipped Nutella™, and more. There were buffets with pizza, salads, hot dishes, fries, pasta, yogurt parfaits, fruit, pastries. Mimosas are $4 and Bloody Mary’s are $7. Coffee and tea are available for $4 too.

The place was hopping and it was hard to take pictures, but I’ll return and try to get a few more.

It’s $25 for adults, $12 for kids 6-12 and kids under 6 are free.

 

Floriole

On Webster Street near DePaul, Floriole offers a beautiful setting for its coffee, bakery goods and food. The decor is warm and modern.

I was prepared to love this spot, which was new to me. However, my quiche was so disappointing. In fact, it was the worst I’d ever had. The Starbucks in China offer consistently good quiche for less. How I missed it. This quiche was very custardy or gooey in a way that didn’t appeal to me at all. I ate about half and didn’t enjoy the egg part at all. The price was more than double Starbucks. Also, it’s a place where there’s no table service.

The Unappealing Quiche

I should have gone up to complain, but I didn’t want to make a fuss. My introversion got in the way. It’s a shame they don’t have employees asking if everything’s alright. I probably would have mentioned the quiche and given them a chance to make me more satisfied.

hot cider

Their hot apple cider was good, but smaller than I expected for the price.

I might go back, but I’d order something different.

 

Shake Shack

Since I’d seen the 60 Minutes feature on Shake Shack, it seemed high time that I visit this high caloric eatery. Ordering was efficient and the man who took our orders was polite. Even though

I soon got my ShakeBurger and chocolate shake. The shake was decadently delicious, while the burger was good, but nothing exceptional. My friend had the same sandwich and a salted caramel shake, which she said was very good.

I’d say the burger isn’t on par with what we’d get a Hackney’s, a legendary Chicago-area spot, and it’s not as good as what people make themselves at home, but you’d pay a few dollars more at a better spot.

If you look at the calorie count, you’ll see that Shake Shack is an indulgence. I’d have tried a holiday shake, but those were over 800 calories!

The interior was a step up from a Wendy’s or even the nicest McDonalds.

Shake Shack started in New York and is moving across the country.

Vie Restaurant

Salmon Amuse-Bouche

In October I visited the award winning Vie Restaurant twice – once for my aunt’s 80th birthday party and last night after attending a wake for my father’s best friend.

The food at the birthday party was terrific. Perhaps I just chose really well. The salad, gnocchi and beef with mashed potatoes and squash I had were terrific. The appetizer selection of cheeses and sausages was also superb.

But last night’s meal, which I went to with my parents and their friends wasn’t as on the mark. Part of the problem was sticker shock. We probably should have expected high prices given the awards the chef has won, but we didn’t. We probably should have figured that the grey book on the table was the drink menu, but we didn’t look at it. So we were shocked to see that the chardonnay my mother ordered was $20 and my red wine, which I didn’t love, was $16 for a glass.

The menu showed the entree prices and described the artistic offerings. The problem was each item had something that needed an explanation. Will I like “sweet potato-tofu hash”? Probably not. What is blueberry aigre doux or pickled ramp remoulade or tatsoi? It took our party a long time to order because the menu was so gourmet.

It’s not like we’re bumpkins, but none of us was up on all the trends.

After our drinks arrived we were given some bread, which was a lovely sour dough and butter. Then we got an amuse-bouche, salmon with a tomato mayonnaise.

I played it safe and ordered the shaved asian pears, mesclun, pancetta, giardiniera vinaigrette, crispy sauerkraut salad and the hamburger.

It took quite a while for our food to come. The pacing this night was off.

If I’d known my wine would be so pricey, I would not have ordered the salad, which for all the flowery description, wasn’t as good as what I can make myself. The pears sure were shaved, so much so that they didn’t add much flavor. The grilled sauerkraut sounded exotic, but tasted like just thinly julienned fried anything. The salad wasn’t bad and the portion was big enough to share, but I wasn’t blown away.

 

The hamburger was fine too. Not the best I’ve had, but not the worst. It was alright, but for $19, I expect wonderful. The french fries weren’t at all good. They were shorter than usual, greasier and too salty. A lot of fast food establishments do better with fries. I just ate half the burger and fewer than half the fries and the doggy bag is stored in the fridge. Typically, a good burger will be my first choice for lunch the next day, but I figured I can wait as it wasn’t spectacular. I’ll probably throw out the fries.

The other members of the party had the white fish or the black fish. They were satisfied but not blown away.

The service was fine, but nothing special. I think the waitress was tentative because she got off to a poor start by asking, “Are you celebrating anything tonight?” We let her know we’d just come from a wake.  She was nice, but a bit aloof. My father asked for recommendations and hers seemed contrived.