bellyQ

The last restaurant on the list was bellyQ in the West Loop. The food is redefined Asian barbeque. My friends, family and I actually returned here twice within a month because our first experience didn't go too well. The first visit started off with having to wait for an hour even though we made a reservation, they plainly overbooked and all reservations had to wait. While waiting, we enjoyed ourselves with their hand crafted cocktails. I had the Terrasueno, a sweet potato shochu, caramel dream Pu-erh tea, spiced syrup, ristretto and warmed water. Usually, I don't see warm cocktails on the menu, so this was a nice change. We finally got seated and we each ordered off the restaurant week menu. Unfortunately, some of us had to go with our second choices due to the restaurant running out. Some of the food was cold and didn't impress us much. I had the Pork Chop topped with salsa verde and green papaya settled on a bed of rice noodle. We started with the Thai style fried chicken, we thought anyone of us could make this because it was just fried chicken topped with the sweet and sour chili sauce we have in our house. Others had the Grilled bellyQ beef with pickled red onion and jasmine rice and Grilled duck breast. Then we ended with Vietnamese Cinnamon Donuts, which we compared to the Filipino fried sugar donuts. I wish I had better comments on our first visit, but it was below my expectations of Asian cuisine. My brother in law wrote a review on Yelp the next day and he received a response back from management and gave him a $100 credit on the next visit. So, we went again later in the month and fortunately, it was a better experience. We ordered different food from our first round. Our top picks were the baby back pork ribs and their lamb shank. Thanks to their management for listening and giving us another opportunity to try their food.
 

 

 

 

 

 

La Madia

Who doesn't like pizza, but wanted to be classy about it? The tripod headed out to La Madia in River North just for that. It was a busy Friday night, but hence it being Restaurant Week, we waited patiently. La Madia was featured on Check Please! and has received great reviews on its contemporary style of pizzas and its delicious Italian dishes with an urban twist. After patiently waiting for about an hour, we kicked off with a nice bottle of wine and wonderful appetizers of Seasonal Wild Mushrooms Bruschette with Whipped Ricotta & Marsala Glaze and Spinach and Taleggio Fondue with white truffle oil and pizza bread. We also had side salads of Romaine Lettuce with crisp pancetta, shaved parmesan and creamy mustard dressing and a Chipped Italian Lettuces with gorgonzola, spicy walnuts, shaved pear and balsamic vinaigrette. Our pizzas were soooo good! We all shared 3 pizzas of the Carbonara with guaniciale (pig cheeks), cracked organic egg and melted leeks, Shaved Articoke with reggiano parmesan and garlic, and housemade fennel sausage and sweet onions with red sauce. My fave was the carbonara because of that cracked egg! Yum yum! We then ended our filling meal with Pistachio gelato and a crostata. Delicioso! Our food was amazing and so comfy, but the service could have been better. Understood, it was in my words hella busy, you just can't let the service fall through. Our server was a short and snappy and we waited for about 25-30 minutes after apps and salads for our pizzas. We watched bigger parties around us, who were seated after us, with their foods coming out in a timely manner. We made comments to our server, but nothing was done, not even a manager to come by and check on us and apologize. I even wrote an email, but no response. Unfortunately, the service was horrible for that Friday night during Restaurant Week, but the delicious food did help make it better. The tripod agreed we would come back and hope for a better experience.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topolobampo

Next on the Restaurant Week list was lunch with my mom at Rick Bayless' Topolobampo. Last fall, my mom and I also had lunch at his more casual Frontera Grill restaurant right next door. Topolobampo is more sophisticated and authentic Mexican flavors in a classy atmosphere. I really enjoyed the food at Frontera and was as impressed at Topo.
 
Our lunch...
Topolo Margarita (not for my mom haha) and chips and guacamole...so good!
Ensalade de Betabel – a salad of roasted beets, mulberry infused jicama, creamy Clementine dressing, toasted peanuts, bulls blood beet greens
Frijol con Puerco de Lujo – a habanero black bean braised pork shoulder with knob onions, xnipec salsa, whole heirloom beans
Carne Asada “Brava” : spicy habanero-marinated, wood-grilled Creekstone Natural ribeye, spicy salsa huevona (hand-crushed, grill-roasted tomatoes, jalapeños). Grilled knob onions, sweet corn tamal (topped with homemade sour cream & fresh cheese).
Chocolate, Oaxaca: Warm chocolate mesquite cakes, Mexican vanilla bean ice cream (infused with aromatic rosita de cacao), sweet masa pudding (nicuatole), toasted almond, cocoa nibs, masa crisps Crepas con Cajeta – warm buttery crepes drenched in goat’s milk caramel with plantain ice cream and torched meringue

 

 

 

 

 

Sable Kitchen & Bar

To continue restaurant week, Mae and I dined at Sable Kitchen & Bar in River North adjacent to Hotel Palomar.  Reservations here are very hard to get and we were lucky to have found one during the week. Sable's head chef, Heather Terhune, competed on Bravo's Top Chef Season 9 and I was obviously excited to eat the tasty food. The food is described as American gastro pub of small plates perfect for sharing. Our food was delicious and rich, a good pairing for a cold night and the dessert was amazing! In addition to great food, their drinks were delightful, which reminds me of the speak easy style.

We started with Wisconsin Cheese Curds and Chicken Confit Poutine of house made fries, chicken gravy, fresh herbs, Wisconsin cheese curds in roasted shallot butter. Main plates of Veal meatballs in a gorgonzola walnut cream sauce; a Lobster roll; Short rib sliders in a root beer glaze and crispy onions; Grilled Pork Belly with smoked butternut squash puree, maple gastrique and crispy kale; and House made duck juniper and pistachio sausage with sweet potato-corn hash and foie gras butter. Then ended dinner with Dark chocolate soufflé cake with peanut butter sauce and salted caramel ice cream and Butterscotch Pot de crème with brown butter pecan shortbread and candied orange. The butterscotch was amazing, a must try!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jaded Thai

My mom and I dined in at Jaded Thai after many take out dinners from here because they're literally a 5 min drive in our neighborhood, plus I had a Groupon. The food is very very good, very authentic Thai flavors. We are lucky to have this in our area and the dining experience was pleasant. The owners are very warm and accommodating. We ordred Chicken Satay, Chicken Tom Yum soup, Beef Pad se ew and Chicken basil. One could never go wrong with the food from here. That's why we keep ordering!

 

 

Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar

Kicked off Chicago Restaurant Week 2013 with dinner at Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar in the River North neighborhood. I love the vibe of this place. A very modern way of dining with traditional Japanese cuisine with hip hop playing in the background. My friend and I enjoyed our first meal of restaurant week, you really can't go wrong with Japanese flavors and its cooking. I welcomed the twists the kitchen put on their plates.
Here are our menu choices: Miso Soup; Truffled Tuna with truffle oil, avocado, parmesan, chili fresco and wonton chips; Seared Cobia Carpaccio with orange, grapefruit, yuzu olive oil, dashi salt, ginger, sesame, onion and chive; Pork Loin in coconut milk, enoki mushrooms, fried onions, green onion and Japanese curry peanut sauce; Surf and Turf of filet of beef, jumbo shrimp, sweet potato cream and crispy potato; Killer Yuzu Pie with a coconut biscuit crust and fresh whipped cream; and Pumpkin Mochi cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asian Noodle House

If you want a good bowl of ramen or pho in the suburbs, Asian Noodle House in Hoffman Estates hits the spot. Ang and D have gone here a couple times and we finally went as a family. A family that eats noodle soups together, stays together haha. We each had own bowl. I ordered the pork bbq and shrimp wonton ramen. The flavors in this ramen were well balanced and I got that warm, fuzzy feeling while slurping away. Other menu items include your typical Chinese foods, which we tried in another returned trip and it was pretty good. They don't have a website, but look them on Yelp for reviews.

 

Del Seoul

Have been wanting to try Del Seoul for quite some time and in the past 6 months, I've been there three times already and you know what that means...can't wait to go back for my fourth and more! Yes, it's that good. Located in Lincoln Park, Del Seoul is Korean street bbq, where they put their own twists on it from the traditional to modern. I've heard their tacos and fries are delicious and what they are known for, so I had to get those in each of my visits. I've ordered the sesame-chili shrimp, kalbi and spicy bbq pork tacos topped with their own slaw; and their dumplings, which was ok. You must get their fries with their garlic aioli, so crispy! I really like their tacos especially the shrimp and spicy bbq pork. Plus, what's not to like when it's wrapped in a warm corn tortilla?  Another perk to eating here is walking down a couple doors and grabbing a delicious cupcake at Molly's for dessert, Boston Crème pie is my fave :-)

 

 

Hearty Boys

Started off 2013 with brunch with a couple of friends at Hearty Boys in Lakeview. The menu offered Southern style comfort foods, which I heart. Each of us enjoyed our plates along with the bottomless mimosas, cheers! I'd like to come back here during their dinner. I had the Chesapeake Bay Benedict with Maryland crab cakes. YUM.

 

A look at back 2012

I know it's a bit late, but better late than never.  2012 has been filled with many tasty adventures, but it's whom we share those food filled experiences with and for me that's none other than...*look up at the title of my blog* Thanks to another year for coming along on the adventure... where to next?