Hot Doug's

Aside from Alinea, Hot Doug's is probably the second most heard of restaurant in Chicago. Once upon a time, it was merely a secret among Chicagoland foodies until it started to make big waves serving the famous "foie gras dog" in the midst of Chicago's infamous foie gras ban. Then, it became featured on various food and travel shows, most notably, Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. Everyone knows about Hot Doug's now. Sometimes it's sad for Chicagoans that tourists are now flocking there, making the lines 2+ hours long just to get a hot dog or sausage, but at the same time, it's great to see one guy become so successful doing what he does 6 days a week with hours just from 10am-4pm.

I had meant to go to Hot Doug's for the last year and a half or so, but somehow whenever I planned to go, the place just happened to be closed either for regular holidays or random holidays that I feel like Doug makes up himself. Another thing about Hot Doug's aside from its inconvenient hours is that he likes to close on random days/"holidays". I FINALLY made it out there not once, but THREE times during my short and wonderful two week summer break in Chicago.

My first visit was with my brother on a Tuesday. Thinking that the line would already be really long, we showed up at 10:30 to a line probably only 15 minutes long. Doug always takes everyone's orders, and what struck me the most was how incredibly laidback and NICE he is. It's clear that the fame and success hasn't gotten to his head yet.


My first sausage was the Marty Allen: Thuringer (beef, pork, and garlic sausage) - $3.25, as was recommended by a friend from NYC who had visited Chicago a few months earlier for a big food adventure. Since this one is on the regular menu where the customer can choose how it's cooked and what it's topped with, I told Doug that I'd have it whichever way he recommended, so mine came out as char-grilled (always a must for me anyways) with carmelized onions, a pickle, mustard, and celery salt. I've never really been one for pickles, but it was definitely a good call to have it on my thuringer. Other than the foie gras dog, this was by far my favorite sausage. The flavor was absolutely perfect, and the sausage itself had just the right amount of snap and bite to it. It's also incredibly cheap, as is pretty much everything else on the menu. If anyone knows where I can buy a pack of thuringers, then please let me know. Gabe would also like to know where thuringers can be found in NYC. If I could go to Hot Doug's more often, then the thuringer would definitely be my go-to sausage.


For all three of my visits, I split the Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris - $9.00 with either my brother or Gabe. This one is the most expensive item on the menu, but considering the amount of foie gras mousse and presence of truffle oil, I'd say it's quite a value. I'll admit I was probably one of the few skeptics of the foie gras dog. I love foie gras, but I just couldn't imagine having it on a sausage in a hot dog bun. I was afraid it was just all gimmick, but after taking one bite of this, everything surprisingly came together so unbelievably perfectly. It was so decadent and rich, but not TOO rich. As strange as this might sound, but there was something about it that reminded me of Pepperidge Farm's cinnamon raisin bread...in a good way. Lastly, the sel gris added a nice contrast and bit of bite to the creaminess of the truffle aioli and foie gras mousse. Absolutely wonderful and a must get.

My brother ordered the The Salma Hayek - andouille - $4.00, char-grilled with everything. I also had this during my 3rd visit, and it was a great sausage with a good amount of spice and a ton of flavor. This one was Gabe's least favorite out of all the ones he had though, but that's not to say it wasn't good. The others were just outstanding.


Again on my first visit, my brother and I took the smoked portugese linguica with saffron rouille and 12-age manchego cheese - $7.50. Yet another great sausage. Good smoked flavor and spices. While I loved it, I have to say that there was a bit too much manchego cheese (and I LOVE manchego) that it masked the flavor of the saffron rouille that I would have liked to taste more. Gabe ordered this during our 3rd visit too. He doesn't like cheese, so he actually got this without the manchego. He's not one for mayo either, so it actually ended up being too much of the saffron rouille too, however he loved it. He and my mom actually ended up dipping their fries into the extra rouille that he scraped off, so at least it didn't go to waste!


I got the bleu cheese pork sausage with Sir William pear creme fraiche and roasted almonds - $6.50 during my 2nd visit. All the atypical ingredients for a pork sausage worked really well together, however out of all the sausages I tried, this was my least favorite. I didn't taste much of the bleu cheese, and the sausage itself didn't have quite as much flavor as all the other sausages I tried. I did, however, like the contrasting texture of the roasted almonds. Overall, pretty good, but my least favorite.


During my last visit to Hot Doug's, I got the The Paul Kelly - bratwurst - $3.50, char-grilled with mustard, saurkraut, and caramelized onions. I wouldn't say this was the best bratwurst I've ever had in my life, however it was pretty solid. It was juicy inside and had great flavor.


Since we went once on a Friday, we ordered the duck fat fries. I had a feeling they wouldn't actually taste like duck, but for $3.50 for a huge serving to feed the 4 of us pretty well, why not order it. And it's true, it didn't really taste like duck at all, but I think the duck fat made them perfectly crispy. We had regular fries on the following Tuesday, and there definitely was a difference. So again, duck fat fries are awesome, but don't expect them to taste like duck.

I think this is probably everything that we ordered over the course of three visits, however many if not all were repeated at some point. The thuringer and foie gras dog are, by far, my two favorite items on the menu, with one being simply flavorful and the other being incredibly decadent without being over-the-top crazy. You really can't go wrong with any of the items on Hot Dougs' menu, however don't hold me to that because I obviously haven't tried everything on the menu. It's pretty safe to say that Doug knows what he's doing, and he's doing it right.

MK Restaurant

For mine and Gabe's fancy dinner date during his visit to Chicago, we decided to go to MK, a contemporary American restaurant in the Near North Side. The restaurant is in a beautiful contemporary large space that combines subtle trendiness and elegance. We were seated on the second floor balcony in a large spacious booth. Service was very attentive without being intrusive. We decided to buy a bottle Shaya verdejo white wine which was very light and crisp.


The amuse bouche was a smoked salmon with pistachios and something else which I forgot. Nothing spectacular, but overall pretty solid.


My appetizer was the chilled spicy tomato and cucumber gazpacho with laughing bird shrimp and cilantro. This was an incredibly refreshing and light appetizer, which was totally appropriate for the summer time even though it was oddly chilly outside. It wasn't really spicy at all, but rather had just a bit of a kick to enhance the flavor. Unlike the typical Spanish gazpacho most people accustomed to, this one wasn't a pureed soup, but rather was almost like salsa in consistency - maybe more of the mashed rather than dicey kind of salsa. I can imagine some people criticizing this dish for that reason, however the flavors were wonderful.


Gabe's appetizer was the housemade fettucine with zucchini, opal basil, oven-dried tomatoes, and pecorino pepper. It was very light and fresh, and just a nice summer dish. Even though it was so simple with no crazy ingredients, everything came together perfectly.


One of our side dishes was the pomme frites with truffle cream sauce. This is one of the mainstay signature item on MK's menu, and certainly for good reason. The frites were done perfectly crispy and salted. The truffle cream was incredible, and not at all with much of that truffle pungency.


Gabe and I hadn't planned on ordering another side dish, however our waiter highly suggested this, convincing us that it's very fresh and completely in season. It's the charred fresh sweet corn with fresh coriander. I was completely in awe of how well the coriander went with fresh corn. The two flavors worked synergistically, really melded together and became one.


My main course was the lake erie whitefish - pan-roasted with poached Maine lobster, edamame, radish, scallions, and lobster and cilantro broth. This was a really incredible dish. The whitefish was so fresh, and the skin was perfectly crispy. The lobster was also very tender and complimented the fish nicely. I wasn't sure what to expect out of the brother and Asian accompaniments, however everything came together perfectly. The broth was also outstanding, as it enhanced the flavors of both the fish and lobster.


Gabe's dish was the grilled pork chop with peaches, onions, croutins, and a sauce which Gabe forgot. The peaches added a nice sweetness to the pork. The croutons were hard because they were pumpernickel, however they added a nice earthiness to the dish. The pork chop itself was very flavorful, and Gabe then realized why people praise Berkshire pork so much.


For dessert, we both shared the peachy keen: warm vanilla brioche doughnuts, peach compote, makers mark sabayon, pecan praline, sarsparilla caramel, and peach ice cream. I went with this one primarily because not only do I love peaches, but peaches were also very much in season at the time. I honestly didn't love it as much as I thought I would, but there's no doubt that it was still a solid dessert. The peach flavor could have been more full in the ice cream.

Overall, the food here was spectacular. This is a very solid casual fine dining spot serving seasonal contemporary American food. I can't even think of a single flaw with this place nor the food that we ate. In terms of consistency and quality, I would compare MK to Blackbird, however MK definitely has bigger and more perfectly sized portions for the amount that you spend. Fantastic restaurant.

MK
868 N. Frnaklin
Chicago, IL

avec

About a year ago, I ate at avec restaurant in Chicago and wrote about it. It's one of my favorite places in this city, so I wanted Gabe to try it. He spent about 5 days in Chicago during my short 2 week summer break, and Avec was among the many places we ate at.


This was my 3rd time trying Avec's famed chorizo-stuffed medjool dates with smoked bacon and a piquillo pepper-tomato sauce. It's just one of those dishes you MUST get during any visit to Avec. They are absolutely awesome as the different flavors stimulate all taste buds. If I were to be really picky, I would actually make them smaller so that the chorizo doesn't stand out more than the sweetness of the dates.


This is the whipped brandade with garlic bread and herbs ($9), which is the other Avec signature item that always stays on the menu. For those who don't know, brandade is a puree of salt cod, olive oil, and milk, although this was so rich that I wouldn't be surprised if butter were thrown in there too. For such a rich dish, Gabe and I absolutely loved this. It was extremely tasty and well-balanced as the salt cod did not overpower the creaminess.


The last dish that we shared was the wood-oven braised pork shoulder with garlic sausage, summer squash, fideos, and basil pistou ($21). This was a very hearty dish. The pork was so tender that it just fell apart at the touch of a fork. A knife was never needed for this. The garlic sausage was, well, garlicky, but it added a bold flavor to the dish. I personally didn't really care too much for the fideos, nor did I find them necessary. Overall, this was a great dish. I was afraid it would be more suitable for the winter since it's braised and a bit heavy, but Avec "summer-ed" it up a bit with the summer squash and basil pistou. However, the dish was still deceptively filling.

This was yet another fabulous meal at Avec. One of the things I love so much about Avec is that it's a great casual no-frills hangout spot that still serves excellent food and wine. This is something that is sometimes hard to come by, but all of Paul Kahan's joints fulfill this quite well. Avec (and all of Kahan's establishments, for that matter) change their menus so frequently that you can keep going back there again and again. It's great to see chefs constantly experimenting and stirring up new things.

Avec
avecrestaurant.com
615 W. Randolph St.
Chicago, IL

Sun Wah

Last Sunday, my family and I went to Sun Wah, the famous peking duck place in Uptown (Chicago). It's a good thing my mom made reservations (something you generally don't do at Chinese restaurants) because Sun Wah was featured in the Chicago Tribune a few days before, so non-followers soon caught wind of this place making it incredibly busy for a Sunday night. I'm no peking duck expert, but a lot of attention is paid to the way it is prepared and even carved, and supposedly Sun Wah has it down pretty well.


My family has been here several times, but this was my first. The peking duck was carved tableside. After carving the bulk of the duck, they took the scraps and used it for duck soup and duck fried rice, which came quickly soon after. Additionally, we were given pickled radishes and carrots, as well as buns to make duck buns. The duck was incredibly juicy and tender, and the skin was perfectly crisp. I honestly don't have much to compare to, so all I know is that this was some damn good peking duck. The buns are basically like Momofuku's pork belly buns, but I must say that the buns we constructed ourselves with the peking duck were a tad better, and significantly cheaper. A peking duck with duck fried rice, duck soup, veggies, and 6 buns costs $32, which is enough to feed 4 people pretty well.

Sun Wah has always been highly recommended, but I definitely recommend reservations and letting the waitress know ahead of time that you'll be getting the peking duck meal, especially if you're going to be there during peak hours.

Sun Wah
Near the corner of Argyle St. and Broadway

Spacca Napoli

For my last meal in Chicago before I headed back to Dominica, my parents and I went to Spacca Napoli in the Ravenswood neighborhood. Minus the big city pace, it does have a very authentic Italian feel with al fresco dining, Italian art and music, and a custom built stone (I think?) oven. They even serve wine in regular glasses, not wine glasses, just like in most casual places in Italy.


We started off with the prosciutto e bufala mozzarella antipasto. This was quite a generous portion, as they gave us an ENTIRE ball of bufala. The cheese was ridiculously amazing. I've been a huge bufala fan ever since my first trip to Italy, but for some reason, not many Italian places in the US use it, which is too bad. Spacca Napoli is quite liberal in their bufala servings, and that made me happy.


One of the pizzas we shared was the Salsiccia with Tomatoes, Fior Di Latte Mozzarella, Basil, Italian Sausage, Olive Oil. The pizzas are meant to be individual portions (like in Italy), but 2 pizzas and that big antipasto was good enough for my parents and I. This pizza was just like in Italy. It was very thing with a nicely charred 1" crust. The crust might be millimeters thicker than most pizzas I've had in Italy, but maybe that's being too picky. Either way, it was awesome. The pizzas here are VERY basic, so there aren't too many choices if you want meat on your pizza. This one was a great choice though.


The other pizza we got was the Bianca con Bufala, which was a Pizza Bianca with Mozzarella Di Bufala, Basil, Olive Oil. Even though this one was much more simple, I may have liked this one more only because the bufala and olive oil were brought out so well. They top the perfect amount of cheese, so the flavor of the bufala stood out. It really is one of my all-time favorite cheeses, so you can see why I'm a fan of Spacca Napoli.

When outsiders think of pizza in Chicago, they think deep dish, but honestly, most Chicagoans don't eat that kind of pizza, at least not on a regular basis. Spacca Napoli is one of the few great options for true, authentic Neopolitan pizza in Chicago (possibly even in the US), so I highly recommend it. Get there early or be prepared to wait. The restaurant is moderately-sized, and it was mostly full when we got there at 6:15 or 6:30pm, and that's early for a Friday night. By 7:15, a lot of people were waiting. Overall, fantastic Neopolitan pizza...just like in Naples!

Spacca Napoli Pizzeria
1769 W. Sunnyside
Chicago, IL

Kaze

Last night, my family and I dined at Kaze Sushi in Roscoe Village. We came here in order to try the Tuesday seasonal tasting menu which runs for $45 for 4 courses with wine/sake pairings. It's a great deal for awesome fusion sushi. This is very anti-traditional sushi, so it's definitely not for everyone. Just looking at the menu, even I was a little skeptical because I'm not used to having stuff like mushrooms with my sushi, but everything turned out to be great.


Appetizer: Whitefish wrapped around botan ebi, cheese & chives, served with wasabi custard & natural sparkling sake.

The first course was very beautiful in presentation. We were instructed to first dip the whitefish in the sparkling sake, which had a maraschino cherry, kumquat, and cucumber pieces in it, then to dip into the wasabi creme brulee custard, squeeze with lemon, then eat. This was very delicious, but what stood out to me was the wasabi creme brulee. It sounds bizarre, but it was pretty much amazing. The wasabi was not overpowering whatsoever, and there was a hint of sweetness from the burnt sugar that balanced things out. I could have had that wasabi custard on its own.


Nigiri Course:
White Tuna - East coast white tuna topped with banana-wasabi puree
Tuna - topped with butter sauteed dry mushrooms
Madai - Sea bream with steamed monkfish liver, ohba, fried tofu, pickled onions & chives
Kobe Beef - marinated in a pear & tomato puree torched with garlic butter & finished green onions & sesame seeds
Tako - octopus topped with foie gras sauce, pickled onions & chives

Clearly, there are a ton of flavors going on in here. Some ingredient pairings do sound strange, but everything really did go well together. I really enjoyed how my palette was surprised by many of these flavors. The kobe beef one was delicious and perfectly marinated. I also really loved the madai because the fried tofu provided a nice textural contrast to the softness of the fish. All of the nigiri pieces were great, and nothing came off as strange to me at all. The wine pairing was different than what was on the menu, so I honestly don't remember what the wine was other than it was white and dry. I didn't particularly love it.


Sashimi and Makimono Course:
Hotate - raw scallop with a creamy wasabi & cilantro dressing finished with a touch of yuzu
Shiitake Ebi - wrapped inside out topped a mixture of baked mushrooms in tomato-miso sauce, finished with boiled shrimp, caviar & microgreens

Even though this course was good too, it was probably my least favorite. I did enjoy the makimono because the mushroom was crunchy inside the rice. I didn't care for the boiled shrimp that much only because it didn't have a lot of taste. The raw scallop was surprisingly good with that cilantro puree though. I could have probably eaten 5 of those! The wine pairing for this was a pretty full-bodied cabernet. While I actually didn't think it paired well at all, I did enjoy the wine alone.


Entree: Crab cake - in a purple potato stew topped with uni cream & vegetable chips

This entree course was so good! The only thing is that it seemed really rich after all the other food we ate, but it was so delicious. The potato stew and uni cream was subtly sweet and provided a nice balance with the crab cake. I unfortunately couldn't even finish this course because I was so full of savory-ness by then, but if I had more room in my stomach for salt, then there's no doubt I would have happily finished that off. This was paired with sake, but I actually didn't like it. I've never been a sake fan, and this one was very dry, so I just couldn't drink it. I'm sure it's probably good for a sake lover, but it's just not for me.


Dessert: Asparagus Pudding - in strawberry puree with a touch of Hennessey cream and chocolate syrup, garnished with blackberries and whipped cream

Ok, I know asparagus pudding sounds absolutely disgusting, but this has to be one most standout desserts I've ever had. Supposedly the white asparagus is pureed in there solely for texture. I couldn't even taste the asparagus, so I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's almost like false advertising, but it doesn't even matter because the dessert was amazing. The pudding was firm and creamy without being rich at all. It was so NOT rich that I was able to finish it easily. As you can see, the strawberry chocolate sauce was presented in a beautiful design. I almost didn't want to mess it up.

I would recommend to anyone that they try Kaze's Tuesday $45 tasting menu because it's a great deal for a good amount of food and fresh fish. It's a very small restaurant with simple decor, but I really enjoyed the house/chillout music they played. If you are a sushi purist, you can still enjoy Kaze by ordering off the regular menu which of course has a good selection of raw sushi, sashimi, and nigiri. I would definitely return here again, but next time, probably just for the regular menu.

Feel free to check out more pictures here.

Kaze Sushi
2032 W. Roscoe St
Chicago, IL 60618

Sepia: Gabe's Pictures

Some of Gabe's pictures were way better than mine:


The baby octopus with tomato sauce and toasted baguette.


Gabe's skate wing(s) - you can see how large the portion was.


Our pistachio dessert. It felt like we were vertically slicing meat for a gyro.

Sepia

As the last dinner of Gabe's visit, we went to Sepia, another contemporary American restaurant in Chicago. We had so many other options for our dinner date during his visit, but apparently a ton of restaurants close for vacation in the beginning of January, which was a bit of a disappointment. We ended up having to settle with Sepia, however I am not disappointed by that choice at all. My attention was caught when I came across their beautiful website. The music and design had a certain allure about it that screamed romantic but casual and hip at the same time.

Upon entering the door at Sepia, the atmosphere felt cool, hip, and elegant all at the same time. The lighting is very warm (very "sepia"), and they have beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It's ideal for a date or even a group of friends. Our waitress was very kind, attentive but not intrusive, and extremely knowledgeable. She described the dishes so well and even knew where exactly some of the fishes came from.


It seems like most people order a flatbread as one appetizer, but since Gabe and I went to Avec right before Sepia just to eat the chorizo-stuffed bacon-wrapped dates, we were no longer starving. We decided to try the charred baby octopus with a toasted baguette and tomato sauce. The portion was quite generous for octopus, and while it wasn't as amazing as Babbo's octopus appetizer, this one was also wonderfully prepared. It was not overcooked, and I loved the charred taste.


My entree was the roasted cod with spaghetti squash, wild boar sausage, and paprika sauce. There were also carrots and cauliflower. The paprika sauce was a bechamel sauce, but it was not too thick or heavy by any means. I had never tried cobia before, which is partly why I wanted to try this entree. Cobia is quite rich in texture and body, but does not taste fishy at all. It's pretty meaty and firm, so the strong flavors of the accompaniments complimented the fish well. The portion was very generous. In fact, I could only eat half of the entree, so I think Sepia is ideal for people with big appetites. Believe it or not, I think I actually enjoyed this more as leftovers haha. Gabe ordered the skate wing with braised collard greens and a grape-pine nut sauce, which I know he really enjoyed.


Our dessert was the pistachio ice cream with pistachio financier with dark chocolate sauce. This was a good way to cap off the meal, however the dessert didn't stand out to me either. I actually really liked the very firm texture of the ice cream, but the pistachio taste didn't come out as strongly as most of the pistachio ice creams and gelatos I've had.

My drink of the night was a French 75, which I believe is Sepia's most popular cocktail, as it was one of Time Out Chicago's best 100 things they tried in 2008. It was tart and very easy to drink. Sepia is also known for it's cocktails and mixology, but I'm happy I settled with a simple classic drink.

Overall, I think Sepia is a wonderful restaurant. For contemporary American, it has not reached the refinement and creativity of Blackbird, but I would say it's pretty solid. It has a great atmosphere and generous portions, so I give it lots of points for that. The food is more simple without being too simple, and the service is very good.

Blackbird Restaurant

My family and I went to Blackbird Restaurant last summer to celebrate my 23rd birthday, but for some reason, I never got around to writing about it. We returned on New Year's Day to take Gabe out, and I think this visit was slightly better than the first. Probably the one major difference was that we had an early 6pm reservation this time, and since it was New Year's Day, hardly anyone was out. When we got there, there was only 2 other people there, which felt strange since our summer visit was bustling with a full house. I actually enjoy the loud, hip atmosphere that Blackbird normally has, but eventually the restaurant started to fill up, so Gabe got a taste of the normal atmosphere there.


Our amuse was a scallop tartare with avocado, caviar, and a lobster chip. This was probably one of the best amuse bouches I have ever had. The scallop was fresh, and the avocado complimented it well.


We got two orders of the crispy veal sweetbreads with golden raisins, red cabbage, banana, and pumpkin seeds. They change the preparation frequently, but this one certainly did not fail. Blackbird really cooks the thymus gland to perfection, making it taste and feel like a chicken McNugget.


Our other appetizer was the crispy confit of swan creek suckling pig with trumpet royale mushrooms, toasted walnut consomme, and pomegranate confit. I really wish they gave a bigger portion of this appetizer, but either way, it's also an amazing appetizer. The walnut consomme blew all of us away, as there was a perfect blend of sweet and savory in it.


My dish was the crispy swan creek farm duck breast with smoked cauliflower, salsify, fried chocolate and lovage. The duck was absolutely cooked to perfection, and the fried chocolate was a nice and interesting touch. One thing I noticed is that the portions seemed a lot larger this time around. I don't know if it's because a lot of people have complained about the small portions or if it's because it wasn't a full house that night, but my whole family did notice the larger portions for the entrees.


Even though Gabe and I ordered the pear cider doughnuts for our dessert, I'd prefer to comment on the kalamata olive cake with honeycrisp apples, toffee, and buttermilk ice cream. Out of all the desserts I've tried at Blackbird over my last two visits, the kalamata olive cake is by far my favorite, so I'm not surprised that it has stayed on the menu. It's not too olive-y and still maintains a certain sweetness that makes it perfectly appropriate for dessert.

My drink of the night was a Pisco Bravo. I decided on that one since I've been curious to taste Pisco. I know there was egg white and I believe nutmeg in it, but I honestly don't remember what else. It was a fabulous cocktail, and I loved how the egg white added a frothy texture to it without being thick or heavy.

We ordered plenty of other things, but I decided to just comment on the things I really tried during this visit. Blackbird's menu changes frequently. While some of the main ingredients stay (i.e. duck, lamb, sweetbreads, etc), the accompaniments and preparation changes every season. This is definitely a good way to maintain frequent customers. The service is exceptional, the atmosphere is hip without being pretentious or too trendy, and the food truly remarkable and innovative. This is really a place for foodies and anyone who's willing to try creative food. My favorite in Chicago!

Avec

Yes, I'm updating my blog 3 months too late. It's better late than never, right? I'm actually not gonna give the excuse that med school has taken up too much of my time because I definitely have had time to write about my last meals in Chicago and New York. I just never got around to it for some reason.

Anyways, I've chosen to write about Avec tonight because it was my last nice meal before I left for med school. It has a very hip but cool and laidback vibe that's inviting and not pretentious at all. It's very Momofuku-esque, if you will. It's headed by Chef Koren, who if any of you watch Top Chef, was the judge for the beer pairing quickfire last season. She uses inspiration from Spanish and Mediterranean food and puts her own contemporary spin on it without being too out there. Seriously, everything we had absolutely did not fail, and I think this restaurant does an amazing take on tapas slash "small plates." A lot of people call it tapas, but I prefer to just call them small plates because the food is not strictly Spanish by any means.


We started out with the Housemade Baccala, with red and yellow watermelon, cucumber, pickled watermelon rind, mint, aleppo pepper, and olive oil ($11). This was an ABSOLUTE winner. I personally love baccala, but this really was an interesting take on it, and it just worked so well. It was refreshing, and not a single ingredient overpowered another. This stands out in my mind as a perfect summer dish.


Next, we had Avec's oh-so-famous Chorizo-stuffed Medjool Dates, with smoked bacon and piquillo pepper sauce ($9). While Avec changes its menu quite frequently, this is the one item you can count on staying on the menu. It is one of their signature items, and certainly for good reason. Again, every flavor blended together perfectly well, and the strong taste of the chorizo, bacon, and sauce did not overpower the sweetness of the dates.


Next was the Wood-roasted Half Chicken "Panzanella" with bread, heirloom tomatoes, kalamatas, golden raisins and mint ($16). Normally, we probably wouldn't order chicken in a place like this, but my sister wanted chicken, and they didn't have a pork dish on the menu. Surprisingly, this has to have been one of the best non-fried chicken dishes I've ever had, if not the best. Even the white meat was ridiculously moist and tender. I'm usually not a raisins fan, but the raisins went surprisingly well with this dish.


The next "large plate" was the Trofle Puttanesca with albacore, picholine olives, caperberries, and thyme ($16). This was actually a pretty large portion of pasta, which I wasn't expecting. I think I remember being somewhat iffy about this dish. It was certainly good, but it didn't speak to me as well as the other dishes. I think the overall taste of the pasta was pretty strong in a way that wasn't very summer-y like the other dishes.


Our last dish was the Pan-roasted Hanger Steak with rapini, roasted corn, smoked paprika, lima beans, and herbed butter ($12). I actually don't remember too much about this one besides the fact that it was good and perfectly cooked medium rare to our liking.

We did have dessert, but I don't remember what it was. Also, my choice of drink for the evening was a Belgian wheat beer, Blanche de Bruxelles. It was very light and refreshing.

Overall, I HIGHLY recommend Avec. It's definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago in terms of food, service, and atmosphere. We didn't have to wait too long, but we went around 6:30pm on a Wednesday night. Expect longer waits if you go any later than that on any given night, and ESPECIALLY on the weekends.

Lou Malnati's

I went back to Chicago for a long weekend and ate a ton of good food. Since I was taking Gabe around, we had to go for some real Chicago deep dish pizza. First of all, the Uno's Chicago Grill chain around the U.S. is really awful compared to the real family-owned Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due's. I mean really awful. Basically, you can't find real deep dish pizza in NY.

In Chicago, a lot of people like to debate who has the best deep dish pizza. Pizzeria Uno/Due, Lou Malnati's, Gino's East, Pizano, and Giordano's are some of the big names. Lou Malnati's is my personal favorite, though I have to admit that I've never had Gino's, Pizano, or Giordano's before. I just prefer the crust/dough at Lou Malnati's, and that's why it's my favorite deep dish pizza. Since it's my favorite, we took Gabe to the original Lou Malnati's in Lincolnwood which is a suburb right outside Chicago proper.


We started off with the Calamari Fritta as an appetizer. This was surprisingly very good, perhaps one of the better calamari appetizers I've ever had. It was ridiculously tender - definitely the least chewy calamari ever. This is very surprising for a pizza joint in the midwest. So if you happen to go to Lou Malnati's in Chicago, this is what I recommend if you want an appetizer.


We got a large (14") deep dish pizza with sausage and mushrooms. Between the 3 of us, we only ate half the pizza. I was full after only one slice. Like I mentioned earlier, Malnati's crust is what stands out to me, and that's why I like it more than other places. It's buttery and flaky, but at the perfect level. It's not to the point where it's greasy. Overall, it just has a really great flavor. It stays crispy and crunchy even with all the sauce, cheese, and toppings on top of it. This is important because a really soggy deep dish pizza is disgusting. They also have actual chunks of tomato in their sauce. This made the pizza a little watery on top, but it wasn't to the point of it being gross or soggy at all.

I'll be honest and say that I don't even really love deep dish pizza, but I have to admit that Lou Malnati's is really good. If anyone is visiting Chicago and wants to try real deep dish pizza (and I do think it's worth it to try at least once even if you don't think you'll like the heaviness of it), this is the place I would recommend.

Lou Malnati's

6649 North Lincoln Ave

Lincolnwood, IL 60712