Marmalade Restaurant

This past Friday, my dad drove to Chicago to spend the day with Jeremiah and myself (Unfortunately Brad was working). Another unfortunately, Jeremiah was crankier than...well, I don't even know what to compare it to. In the moment, we thought it was a teething issue but since then we've come to discover that he was fighting off some virus that he picked up somewhere.

My breakfast dates, neither ready for a picture

Nonetheless, we packed up the car and decided that we would try to go out for breakfast anyway since Jeremiah is normally much better when he is out and about than when we try to keep him at home. And really, what's a visit with my dad without trying something new?

So after browsing through Chicago Magazine's Best Breakfast Places, we decided to try out Marmalade. One of the draws of this place is that it was started by a former chef of m. henry which we fell in love with earlier in the year.

 

And I, for one, am so glad that we did. I mean really, they had me at "Nutella". I tried the Dolce Vita; Nutella filled crêpes with fresh seasonal fruit, drizzled with chocolate syrup, topped with hazelnut cream, and sprinkled with mixed nuts. I could have done without the nectarines or whatever one of the fruits was in there. It wasn't quite ripe yet hence the indistinguishable taste and it changed the whole texture a bit since it was harder than the strawberries and bananas that were already in it. But those nuts! Loved their crunchy addition to the plate. 

I have to admit, I forget what my dad ordered. I know that he was between the Artichoke Omelette and one of their specials for the day and I'm fairly certain he went for the special. He also substituted fruit for the original side.

 

We also ordered some sausage from the kids menu because, despite the same amount of pieces on both the adult and children's menu, it was a dollar cheaper to order it from the kids. And since it was mainly to supplement our meals for Jeremiah I figured it was okay. The sausage was pretty good though too. Something I would be willing to order again.

I'm happy to report that Jeremiah did well the entire time and also made a friend towards the end, another baby in a high chair behind him that wanted to share his spoon.

Cupcake Crawl 2012!

This past weekend, Courtney took one last trip to Chicago  as her year here in the states to raise support was coming to an end. She wanted to spend one last time with her Chicago gang before jetting away to Costa Rica.

So as I racked my brain to what we could do for our one on one time (Jeremiah's crankiness and eventual sickness had thwarted some plans the night before), it hit me....a Cupcake Crawl!

You see, the couple of times that she has been here, especially as of late, her and I have gone on a couple of cupcake escapades, usually in the name of free, fancy cupcakes.

And then a couple of those cupcakes made it back to Michigan, the most notable a Key Lime Cupcake from more.

But during her last visit I told her that when she came back for her "Goodbye Tour", we had to go to Sprinkles so that she could taste the ultimate S'more cupcake.

So Saturday morning, I googled, and yelped, plotted, and contemplated...and then there were 7. Yes, 7 bakeries that we were going to hit up.

A cupcake from each to be enjoyed and tasted later on that day. And so our journey began. We came across bachelor/bachelorette parties, parking woes, anxiously awaiting friends, whispers of "sizzling", tiny morsels of goodness, and gigantic mouthfuls of sweetness.

And then we raced back home to finish out the day. Courtney went on to each a brunch style lunch and relax in the park. I did some things around the apartment, hung out with my brother and sister-in-law during an impromptu visit and waited for the "festivities" to begin.

Not only did Courtney and I sit down for the "tastings" but Brad, Catie, Jacob, Tony, Angela, and JoAnna joined in on the fun as well.

As expected, there was a couple duds, though only one cupcake got a clear "thumbs down" from everyone (the Coconut Cupcake from Magnolia Bakery). But the funny thing was that there was no clear "winner". The two favorites were the Drumstick from Swirlz and the Chocolate Cheesecake from Twisted Baker (though it was definitely not a winner in everyone's book, in fact it was one of Courtney and my least favorite).

But the rest definitely stood their ground. The S'more I think will always be a top contender for me, and people were also impressed with More's blueberry cupcake, to hugeness of Crumbs PB Cup cupcake, and the peppermint/chocolate concoction of SugarBliss. Why yes, I do believe we've found a new tradition.

m. henry

Yes! My dad and Barb finally made it to Chicago for a day trip! My favorite tradition of course is trying out new restaurants and this time we traveled up to the northside to "chow for now" at m. henry.

Jeremiah trying out his menu options...literally

Tony and Angela beat us there and just so happened to walk in at the right now to secure a table for us right away despite the large amount of people who were gathering behind them. And luckily, we were able to get there before they gave the table away.

The decor and storefront was charming, as if the restaurant itself should be in France. But what impressed me more was that the waitress, without asking, brought Jeremiah a small bowl of cut bananas, strawberries, and candied cranberries. Granted, he isn't able to eat finger foods yet but the gesture was much appreciated anyway.

Rustic peasant quiche & mixed field greens

The menu was tempting. I think all of use had at least two menu options that we were debating on up to the last minute. And with the exception of my dad and Brad trading dishes (My dad's eyes lit up at the large amount of fresh mixed greens on the plate and Brad was surprised by the size of the quiche), everyone was very pleased with what they ordered (with Brad and my dad at no exception, both were very pleased with what they ended up with). Another win? The fresh squeezed orange juice. You know, the kind that transports you to a Florida orchard and tastes like you just bit into a freshly picked, ripe orange? Yep, it was that good.

fannie's killer fried egg sandwich

Unfortunately, not all the photos came out but I hope you get the gist. It was delicious and one that we would definitely recommend to others.

raspberry & rhubarb blisscakes with vanilla marscapone cream

The soft opening of Flirty Cupcake Dessert Garage

This Friday my mom took the train into Chicago to spend the weekend. The night before, I just happened to see on my newsfeed that Flirty's new storefront was getting set to debut the following day as their soft opening. What timing! I knew my mother would be more than willing and would love to go which made the excitement even greater!

We have been frequenting Flirty's vans for almost a year now. Well, perhaps frequent isn't the right term. It's more of whenever we were at the same food truck event as well as whenever they are in Bridgeport. I just love their flavor combos and their creative names for the cupcakes.

Another love? That I can get a cupcake essentially whenever I want now without having to track down the truck and that it's in our old neighborhood (Ah, Little Italy, how we miss you). Yeah, didn't take too many photos though since I was pretty excited about just being there. Whoops!

Flirty warned on their facebook that there might be a couple of hiccups but everything was perfect. The smell of cupcakes baking wafts in the air and their display cases were tantalizing. Everyone was super helpful and quite cheery for it being their first day of business at their garage and there being a steady stream of customers coming in and out.

We tried their limited Valentine's Day edition of "For the Love of Chocolate" which was a Nutella chocolate cupcake and a "It's so new it hasn't been named because it just came out of the oven" coconut cupcake. The Nutella cupcake was nice since it actually had a Nutella center, unlike other cupcake shops and my mom couldn't stop raving about the their coconut concoction.

Ahhh, cupcakes, you have stolen my heart.

Xoco- A restaurant by Rick Bayless

As you may know, I try to hit up as many new restaurants as I possibly can just so to experience what different chefs/places have to offer. Many times it can also give me ideas of new foods to make or variations of old favorites as well.

Peeking inside the "kitchen" while waiting to place our order

When my dad was visiting a couple of weeks ago, he, Barb, Brad and myself went to Xoco, a restaurant by Rick Bayless (for those who don't know who he is, he's a celebrity chef based in Chicago with his own cookbooks, tv shows, product line, etc..another claim to fame? He was invited by President Obama to cook at the White House when Mexico's president was visiting).

After the register is the prep space for your meal

According to Bayless, Xoco can be described as... "If Topolo pampers and Frontera dances, then XOCO rocks. Though the word is Mexican slang for “little sister” (from the ancient Aztec language), there’s nothing little about XOCO’s big, bold Mexican marketplace flavors. Open early, late and closed on Sundays and Mondays, this quick-service cafe from Rick and Deann Bayless proffers contemporary expressions of Mexico’s most beloved street food and snacks: hot-from-the-fryer churros and flaky empanadas; frothy Mexican hot chocolate (ground from Mexican cacao beans right in our front window!); warm, crusty tortas (Mexican submarine sandwiches); and made-to-order caldos (meal-in-a-bowl soups) that feature everything from roasted vegetables to seafood to pork belly."

The Woodburning Oven

Now unfortunately, we didn't try to churros because we were way to stuffed from the tortas so that is definitely on our "to do" list next time we are in that part of the loop. So anyway, there we were at Xoco. It's counter style service, where you go up and place your order (once given the "go ahead" by the server/hostess) and then wait to be seated by the hostess/server. Or, of course, if you are taking it to go, then there is no wait to order.

Placing their order at the counter

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous, being a "picky eater" and all but luckily for me, there on the "Today's Specials" menu was a Carne Asada torta. Granted, it came dressed with Chayote "coleslaw", blackbeans, and then a flavored crema...though I honestly can't remember what it was flavored with. I asked if I could get the crema on the side and hoped for the best!

Four flavors of Mexican "Aquas" to choose from if you so desire

As far as drinks go, all of us just ordered water though the had a vast selection of beers and Mexican favorites (i.e. Jamaica...). We also ordered a side of chips and salsa to help curb our appetites as well as get a chance to try some of their "homemade" salsas.

Quite tasty...though I preferred the green over the red

Once the food came, I decided to bite the bullet and just go for it, with the coleslaw on the sandwich though I was tempted to scrape it off and I am so glad that I did! I would have never tried it otherwise and it brought a new flavor to the torta. My only complaint was that because the bread was toasted so well, it roughed up the inside of my mouth a little, but not enough to make eating less enjoyable!

My Carne Asada torta with crema on the side and the Chayote slaw.

Overall I was pretty impressed with the place, and continued to be impressed and dream about my leftovers throughout the remainder of the day and then the next. My dad, on the other hand, thought it was okay but a couple hours after we left the restaurant, he began to reminisce about his lunch and how well developed the flavors were.

He's mentioned quite a few times to me now that he didn't realize how much he enjoyed his food until later on that day. Brad also liked it, but he doesn't appear to be dying to go back...that may have to do with the price though ;o)

Brad's order: Milanesa: Crispy Gunthorp chicken, black beans, artisan Jack cheese, pickled jalapenos, tomatillo-avocado salsa

Would I go back? Sure! Especially to get the churros and ice cream or even one of their specialty hot chocolates that I am dying to try. However, as I mentioned, it is a bit pricey so it's not somewhere I would frequent often. It did get me excited about trying some of the other Bayless restaurants that are right around the corner....

A view of the seating portion of the restaurant

Urban Belly

 

My mother and cousin Danielle came to visit for the day this past Friday. Every time my mother comes, we try to do something new. That day's adventure? Heading out to Urban Belly to try "The Best Thing [Art Smith] Ever Ate" as featured on the Food Network.

So I picked up my mom and Kris (aka. Danielle, Kristina, Dani...don't worry, I'm not confused, are you?) and headed out to the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago. I'm not sure exactly what I was looking for but I wasn't quite expecting to find Urban Belly in the middle of a strip mall. So it kind of crept up on me even with a GPS but a short detour later, we were there.

One of the first things we noticed was that it were the dark wooden and warm colors, minimal decorations and "communal dining". Otherwise, there were four long tables with wooden stools. There were only two other people there when we entered so we ended up sitting at our own table. The restaurant is also "counter service" which we didn't mind at all. According to my mother, Urban Belly is an eclectic mixture of Asian cuisine based on the ethnicities of the husband and wife that founded the restaurant.

Now according to Art, the best thing he ever ate were the Rice Noodles with Hominy, Kimchi, and Spicy Pork Broth. However, after looking at the menu, there were plenty of other things that looked pretty tasty.

My mother ordered the Urban Belly Ramen (Pork Belly, Shiitake, Pho Broth). My mom liked it and I took a couple bites of it. I thought it was okay, but I was liking other other two dishes better. I wish I could describe it a bit more but it just didn't wow me..plus I am not too experienced in Asian cuisine and flavors

Kris and I then shared the next two dishes;

 Pork and Cilantro Dumplings. These were better than I expected since I'm not normally a fan of dumplings.

 The pork and cilantro were pretty well blended so I couldn't really distinguish the two flavors separately but I would order them again.

 Rice Cake Noodles (Chicken, Mango and Korean Chili Sauce). Now this was quite interesting. The rice cake noodles are not your traditional noodles. They look like flat oval disks and were a bit chewy but both Krissy and I were kind of drawn to them.

The sauce was quite flavorful and had that spice to it but again, delicious. The chicken was cut into strips and had a crisp breading/coating. There weren't as many mangoes as I would have hoped, in fact, there were only a couple small cubes but again, we enjoyed the dish as a whole so it didn't bother me too much. We also found an extra ingredient that wasn't listed on the menu. Fish Cakes. This was another noodle (?) that was a seafood like taste to it. I ate one or two and then started to eat around them, as did Kristina.

(given to us at the end of the meal, soft ginger candies)

As far as food quantity goes, we came home with almost half of both noodle dishes and one dumpling. So there was quite a bit of food. I was sorry to find out though that when I went to reheat the Rice Noodles, the noodles stuck together and became mushy. Also, those fish cakes kind of infused the sauce a bit. With that said, I would be hesitant to recommend leftovers because reheating destroyed the quality of the dish. I ended up throwing it away because it was no longer enjoyable. Would I recommend the restaurant? Sure, why not! Do I think it was "The Best Thing I Ever Ate"? Um, not so much but would I go again if I had the option? Yes.