Little Goat

Stephanie Izzard's first restaurant, Girl & The Goat, is probably one of the hottest tickets in town since it opened in 2010.  Reservations are still hard to come by and sometimes can't be snagged even months in advance.  I dined here some time ago and was very pleased with my meal here, though I feel like there are plenty of other restaurants in Chicago that are just as tasty, if not tastier, and a lot easier to eat at.  Anyways, Triple F and I needed a place to brunch at and even though Chicago had many other stellar offerings and Buff Bear only gave it a lukewarm recommendation, we were intrigued by Little Goat, mostly because of our good experiences at Girl & The Goat.

Little Goat is more like a diner, which means more typical American fare like burgers, sandwiches, eggs/bacon, pancakes, biscuits/gravy.  But, this is Stephanie Izzard here right?  Everything's got a twist.

Breakfast Spaghetti 'N Clams 'N Crabs eggs, parmesan, pork guanciale, bok choy
We were intrigued by the possibilities of this dish but SEVERELY let down.  Don't order this.  It's frankly BAD.  I guess they took spaghetti and fried or baked it with cheese to make this giant carb conglomerate sitting in a pool of clam broth? topped with all that stuff above.  It was difficult and messy to eat.  It tasted fishy.  I didn't understand what was going on here.  FAILURE.

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Grace

Grace came highly recommended by Buff Bear, who has been living in Chicago for the past 2 years.  He said it was better than Alinea.  Dems strong words there Buff Bear!  So of course I had to try the place out, on my now third visit to Chicago.  Triple F never heard of the place, I guess because it hasn't been open for even a year!  It definitely falls under the category of fine dining, with a tasting menu costing $185.  Yes, I know, really steep, buuuut you only live once right??  After the wine pairing, tax, tip, oh god, it was a killer to the wallet to say the least.  Buuut, it was good.  Modern, innovative, tasty.  Better than Alinea?  I guess we'll see...

Amuse Bouche
Alaskan king crab, encapsulated butter
The plating here is so beautiful, I almost didn't want to eat this but it was a delicious, more elevated version of steamed crab legs dipper in butter.  The buttery sphere burst in your mouth with an intense butteriness.  It was a tad too salty overall but still good.

Black pepper melon juice, caviar, mint

This was another ball that exploded in your mouth.  This may be the first time where I didn't find the caviar too salty.

Plum sodaTriple F didn't seem to like this refreshing palate cleanser as much as I did.  It wasn't that sweet, it was more tart and watery.  I like the little seed pulps swimming in my mouth.

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The Purple Pig

I can't express how much I love this place.  My first visit with Ho Bag left an indelible impression on me.  It simply is everything I love in food, flavor that packs a punch, no frills, great ingredients, and a strong focus on charcuterie.  I normally don't go to a restaurant twice, but I wanted Dumpling Man to try this place because if you visit Chicago, and you don't go to the Purple Pig, well, you really haven't visited to Chicago, at least your stomach hasn't.

While this is a bit heavy for lunch, it was the only time we could squeeze in a visit.  See Fat Gwai spent the night at our hotel after we karaoked late into the wee hours of the night.  We woke up and rolled on over to the Purple Pig, which fortunately was a short walk away from our hotel.

Broccolli roasted garlic, anchovy vinaigrette
To my dismay, this was a warm salad.  I wish they had mentioned that in the description.  Still though, it was pretty good, maybe a bit heavy on the dressing.  Really not fishy at all, but left my mouth with a pucker from the acidity.

Roasted Corn mushrooms, walnuts, fried rosemary
Dumpling Man loves anything with corn, while See Fat Gwai loves anything with mushrooms.  This was the perfect dish to please everyone!  It had a similar flavor profile to the previous salad, so again a bit heavy on the dressing and pretty tart.  I was still a fan.  These are salads you definitely need to eat with something on the side or its just too overwhelming.  I didn't like the fried rosemary at all though.

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Girl & The Goat

I don't think any other restaurant has as much hype as this place.  I don't think any other restaurant has as crazy a waitlist as this place either!  Yelpers say you need to snag a reservation at least 2-3 months in advance, which is what I managed to.  Buff Bear, now a Chicago resident, said my 8:45 Monday night reservation was a great achievement.  I think he's only been able to eat there even later.  I guess being the restaurant of Top Chef season 4 winner, Stephanie Izard, has a lot to do with all the hype.  I personally was pretty bummed that she beat out Richard Blais to win, but good thing he ended up winning the All Stars season.  

Anyways, the space is pretty large with darks and neutrals coloring the interior.  This large painting really stands out, obviously, and brightens up the joint.  The large googly eyes kinda creeps me out but I love the vibrant colors.  See Fat Gwai, a poor student, took an hour train to meet us here, in the rain no less, so Dumpling Man and I treated him to a dinner here.  After all those years of being poor and having others pay my way, it's nice to do the same for someone else now.

Kohlrabi Salad fennel, evalon, pears, roasted shiitakes, toasted almonds, ginger dressing 
I love eating salads when I go out because someone it's always so much more interesting than the sh*t you get at the local salad bar.  Kohlrabi and pears were definite flavor and textural highlights here.  The almonds added nice crunch too.

Mushroom Ragout sweet potato agnolotti, shroom creme fraiche, capers
Triple F thought the food here was a bit heavy handed with the salt.  The 3 of us argued about the salt level of this dish.  I thought it was on the saltier side, but Dumpling Man thought the salt level was off the chart.  Aside from that, I was intrigued by the flavor profile, which I can't really pin down.  It had a creaminess and tomatoey-ness that reminded me of chicken tikka masala.  The capers didn't help with the salt level.  The dish packed a punch of flavor, but maybe too much so?

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Next: Kyoto

Our last trip to Chicago was really highlighted by some of the most delicious food I've eaten in a long time.  This trip back was no exception.  Alinea was probably the stand out restaurant last time for its sheer creativity.  It's sister restaurant, Next, managed to wow us again.  Now if you haven't heard, both restaurants now work on a ticketing system, sort of like buying tickets to a musical or a concert.  You buy them, and then you're stuck with them.  NO REFUNDS.  I guess restaurants lose money on last minute cancelled reservations, no shows, and having to staff someone to and take phone calls and manage the reservations.  I'll admit, I am guilty of making last minute cancellations but I'm a customer and I can do as I please, right?  Grant Achatz (chef/owner) says, "screw you."  I didn't actually think I was going to get a spot at Next, but tickets for Kyoto opened up just a day or two before my trip and BOOM, I was so there!  It helps to be friends with Next on Facebook!

I think I'm too dumb to really appreciate the cerebral experience Grant Achatz is trying to create in all his restaurants.  There was this teeny scroll explaining the theme of the dinner.  All I got from it was fall, Kyoto, tradition, experience.  The rest of it was just too many words.  These days, I can only communicate in abbreviations (CAD, HTN, SDH, ARF, etc).

Kaiseki traditional multicourse Japanese dinner (12 to be exact!)

Corn Husk 

We started off very gently with some simple corn stock.  It was very sweet, very clean tasting corn.  Imagine the juice that comes with canned corn.  It tasted just like that!

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Portillo's

So on my last trip to Chicago, the city's famous hot dogs and pizza didn't make it to eating itinerary.  I'm proud to say that despite having every meal planned, I still managed to fit in a tasting of Portillo's and Lou Malnati's.  

I really wanted to try Hot Doug's or Franks 'n Dawgs but they were just too far and Portillo's happened to be a few blocks away while I was out with Dumpling Man and his old high school buddy, See Fut Gwai.  Even though it was just 2 hours before our dinner reservations at Next, Dumpling Man and I wanted to see what all the rage was with Chicago and it's hot dogs.

Hot Dog relish, mustard, onions, tomatoes, pickle, sport peppers

I'm not so sure I understand what the big deal is about the hot dogs here.  It was good, but not great.  The noticeable absence of ketchup bothered me.  I just LOVE piling on the red stuff, but I guess that's considered criminal in Chicago.  Dumpling Man was giving me the evil eye as I chowed down on the hot dog since dinner was so soon.  He can be such a dictator sometimes.

Anyways, I'm glad I finally tried a true Chicago hot dog.  I can honestly say I'm quite content with just a good ole Costco hot dog.  I don't need pickles, peppers, and tomatoes on my dogs, just everything else AND lots of ketchup!

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Alinea

Alinea is a place that, to most food aficionados, needs no introduction.  As of the 2012 Chicago Micheline Guide, it is the ONLY restaurant to garner 3 stars.  As of today, its number 7 on San Pellegrino World's Best Restaurant List, only trumped by places like Noma and Per Se.  It is known for its modern twist on classic flavors, with a heavy emphasis on whimsy and creativity.  One might say its chef/owner, Grant Achatz, is a bit of a "molecular gastronomist."  Reservations can be pretty tight.  I actually called 3 months in advance!  Two or three weeks later, when I tried to increase the party size from 2 to 3 to accomodate Ho Bag, there was no budging.  Fortunately the day before our reservation, I got the phone call, and Ho Bag was set to join us.

For the whopping price tag of $210 per person, you will be served 19 courses.  While some courses are just a single bite and other courses are more whimsy than nutritive substance, I can guarantee you will be so full by the end of it all.  I was head over heels excited to get the chance to eat here.  It seems like you haven't really made it in the foodie world until you've eaten a place like Alinea.

Steelhead Roe carrot, coconut, curry
I've never really been able to see how roe makes anything better.  It's just salty and fishy.  The sweet curry sauce and carrots were a nice contrast.  The meaty coconut flesh was also an interesting textural contrast.

The next series of course was presented as a "tasting of the ocean" and was presented on a piece of driftwood draped in real seaweed, the real ugly kind that floats in the ocean.

Oyster Leaf mignonette
Don't be fooled.  There's no oyster here, just a leaf that was supposed to taste like an oyster coated in a traditional mignonette.  Ehh, I didn't really get much of that here.  I was moving on to the next bite, I mean course, hoping for something better.

King Crab passionfruit, heart of palm, allspice
Now we're talking.  A succulent piece of crab, with some fruity accompaniments.  It was tasty for sure.

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Molly's Cupcakes

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for sweets.  If you didn't know that, you do now.  Lately I've been on an ice cream binge, but I'll only eat the good stuff, the artisanal stuff, hand made, small batches, interesting flavors.  Unfortunately, Chicago didn't have anything like that.  They most popular ice cream shop is some parlor/diner old fashioned type of place.  PASS.  So in the end, I didn't have any plans to hunt down dessert on this trip.  It just so happened that Del Seoul was just up the street from Molly's Cupcakes.  Cupcakes really don't do it for me, but I couldn't pass up the fortuitous coincidence.

Cookies 'n Cream
The consistent theme with all the cupcakes here are that they are SUPER DUPER moist.  I was just in sheer disbelief at how soft, fluffy, and moist they all were.  The flavors were pretty good, not overly sweet.  I avoid eating all the frosting just to bypass the sugar dump, but it really wasn't so overwhelming like it can be at some other bakeries. 

Coconut Cream
I'm not a big fan of coconut things, but this was pretty good.

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Del Seoul

Almost all the Chicago restaurants I tried were recommended to me by various friends and family.  Del Seoul was a place I found on Yelp.  It looked pretty delicious and reminiscent of Kogi.  It was a bit far from our hotel but we cabbed it pretty easily.  Seriously, we spent so much in cab fare in the short 5 days we were in Chicago.  Buff Bear and Mega Man joined us once again for a casual lunch at this order-and-take-a-number type of joint.

Seoul Style Street Dumplings

Meh, pretty average.  I have better frozen store bought dumplings at home.

Kimchi Fries kimchi, onions, pork belly, scallions, melted cheddar and jack cheese, sour cream
Buff Bear was a big fan of these. While they were pretty tasty, they were kind of a gut buster.  Surprisingly, the cheese and kimchi went together and wasn't too overwhelming.  I could have skipped them though.

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The Purple Pig

It's been a long time since I last met up with Ho Bag for some grubbin'.  After all these years, she's still one of the funnest people to hang out with.  Now that she's become quite the foodie, we can really bond.  As sad as it is to say, you simply cannot be my friend if you do not like to eat.  It's just that plain and simple.  Fortunately, there isn't a line of people trying to be friends with me, so I ain't breakin' any hearts here with my "foodie only" friend policy.

Anyways, after many meals with Dumpling Man, I decided to break apart for the evening.  Not because I got sick of his ugly mug but because he chose to eat at some chain sushi/roll place with his buddies that I knew would totally NOT be good.  The exact words that came to mind were "generic and average."  So it was just me on a hot date with Ho Bag.  How could the night get any better??

Purple Pig, like Publican, had a huge menu including cured meats, cheeses, smears, antipasti, larger entrees.  I wished dearly that there were more people in our party to try more food because EVERYTHING looked amazing.  The upside of being a small party was that it was probably easier to get seated.  This damn place does NOT take reservations, a true tragedy because the wait can easily be an hour.  Lucky for us it was maybe 40 minutes?  It went by quite fast because we were just sipping some wine and catching up on the good ole days.

If there is just ONE thing I could change about Dumpling Man, it's that he loved charcuterie as much as I did.  I never get to eat this stuff because it's just too much to enjoy alone.  Anyways, lucky for me Ho Bag loves this stuff.  We almost went so far as to order the charcuterie platter/sampler but our better judgement kicked in and we had just 2 selections from the cured meats section.

Lingua Agrodolce (right)
For the life of me, I cannot remember what the other cured meat was.  The bartender recommended the lingua, or tongue, but I preferred our other selection, whatever that may be.  The tongue was very tender, but had a slight organ meat aftertaste.  I believe it was also cured with vinegar or sugar? because it had a subtle tart sweetness.  Overall, both were delicious.

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Xoco

With 5 restaurants, including 1 at O'Hare International Airport and the Macy's flagship store off the Magnificent Mile, in addition to the title of "Top Chef Master," Rick Bayless is a Chicago based chef with quite the empire on his hands.  Who knew a guy from the Midwest could master Mexican cuisine and elevate it to the next level.  Granted, I didn't get to try that "next level," which I imagine is what Topolobampo represents given the $$$$ price rating on Yelp.  Xoco actually represents the other end of the dining spectrum, being a casual joint focused on tortas and caldos, or sandwiches and soups/stews.  It made the perfect lunch spot!

La Prive and Dumpling Man were able to step away from their educational endeavors to meet me at Xoco for lunch.  Lucky for us the line was only up to the door instead of out the door.  We probably waited a good 15-20 minutes before getting to order and get a table.

Chips, Guacamole, Salsa tomatillo and 3 chile salsa
Nothing too special here, but you can't have a Mexican lunch without this.

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The Publican

So after our disappointing dinner at Blackbird, we tried to scale it down a notch and take on some more casual fare at Publican.  I only just found out now that they are restaurants from the same chef, Paul Kahan.  I was surprised to find this out since the food could not have been more different.  Blackbird was modern, innovative, and frankly disappointing.  Publican was comforting, unpretentious, new American food that knocked our (Dumpling Man, Buff Bear, Mega Man aka Bruin Bear, and I) socks off.  The place is pretty spacious and loud so it may not have been the best place to catch up with old friends, but the food was impeccable.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Burrata  shaved parmesan, red onions, lemon shallot vinaigrette
Wow, who knew you could shave brussels sprouts into a salad??  This is definitely one recipe I shall be trying very soon.  Lucky me for finding it online!  It was really a tart, creamy dressing that was nicely smoothed out by the delicious burrata.

Hamachi Crudo
A good refreshing little niblet.  I loved the fresh sweet peas accompanying the hamachi.

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Crisp

Knowing this trip to Chicago would have a heavy focus on eating, I wanted to make sure we didn't feel overwhelmed and weighed down by food.  I didn't want eating to turn into a burden.  So I tried hard to find "lighter" more casual fare for our lunches.  Crisp offered a variety of rice bowls, burritos, sandwiches, and DAMN DELICIOUS wings.  We really should have skipped the rest and stuck to the wings, but I'm not usually one who can eat just a bunch of wings, that is until I had the ones at Crisp!

Seoul Sassy Chicken Wings

I don't know what sort of mutant chickens Crisp gets their wings from, but these guys were huge!  I guess I was expecting something along the size of buffalo wings.  These had the perfect balance of sugar and soy sauce with kicked up flavors from garlic, onions, and whatever other aromatics used.  They were crispy and just a little spicy.  My mouth is watering just remembering them.

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Blackbird

Chicago turned out to be one of the best gastrotourism trips I've ever had.  Granted it was actually supposed to be an educational trip because of the conference Dumpling Man was attending, I made it my mission to make sure we ate only the very best for our sorta of mini vacation.  I did my research and with the help of many recommendations from foodie friends, I was able to plan out a really great line up for eateries.  I'll have to admit that every place we ate at thoroughly satisfied our hunger for the delicious, creative, and inspiring, EXCEPT Blackbird.

Why oh why did you have to disappoint me so?  Blackbird came so highly recommended by Triple F and many others.  It was also one of the more expensive meals of the trip, and it completely fell flat.  Interestingly, it happened to be Restaurant Week in Chicago, and Blackbird was offering up a special 5 course pre fixe for the night.  Could that be the reason it was so disappointing?  We didn't know about this until after we went ahead with the chef's tasting menu of 10 courses, which came at a hefty price tag

Smoke Sable Fish salsify custard, marcona almonds

A smooth custard paired with some pretty smoky fishy fish.  The theme of the night was not understanding how a lot of the components played together.  The almonds?  Not a clue.

Confit Baby Octopus fennel, chestnut, lime, chili
The waiter really made a big deal about the octopus, so of course we were intrigued.  It definitely didn't have the expected snappy texture, which I guess was the whole point.  It was tender without being mushy, but I think I prefer my octopus the normal way.  It had a nice bit of saltiness to it, but again I didn't see how the other components highlighted anything.

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