Man have I seen a lot of gift bags in my day. After years of covering events and openings, I’ve amassed an obscene amount of booty, from logo-laden drink cozies to airplane-drink-cart bottles of booze stuffed inside flimsy tote bags. But never has a gift bag, or box, I should say, been as amazing and delicious as the one we received at North Pond’s 10th anniversary event last Sunday night. Chef Bruce Sherman’s been touting locally grown, sustainable products since he started at the Lincoln Park restaurant in 1999, and has always been a huge supporter of the Green City Market. He’s also maintained long term relationships with local farms like Shooting Star in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, Kinnikinnick Farm in Caledonia, Illinois and Mick Klug Farm in Michigan. Everything on the table at North Pond (right down to the impossibly creamy Minn.-based Hope Creamery salted cultured butter served with Red Hen bread) is fresh, seasonal and locally sourced if possible. I wrote about chef Sherman’s commitment to sustainable and green practices for CNN Traveller magazine in September, and have continued to follow his efforts to bring local sustainable produce, meats and seafood to the restaurant (including herbs grown in an onsite garden). Anyway, so this gift box. After sampling great wines and the food stations which flaunted everything from candied red, gold, white and chioggia beets to a Fuji apple slaw, we got to take some fresh product with us for the road. The contents, along with recipes, included a red kuri squash from Indiana-based Green Acres Farm; Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese from Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville, Wisconsin; red globe radishes from Shooting Star Farm; Cameo, Ida red and Fuji apples from Mick Klug Farm, heirloom vegetable seeds from Seed Savers exchange, and a block of small-batch butter from Hope, which, if armed with more pumpernickel-raisin bread from Red Hen, I might just polish off within the week. 2610 N. Cannon Dr., 773.477.5845
Category Archives: I like to eats
North Pond anniversary
Filed under I like to eats
The Bristol
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As I mentioned in a previous post, restaurants with bar hooks score major points in my book. But hooks are just the beginning of everything I loved about The Bristol in Bucktown. The formerly weird ll Covo space has been completely transformed and brightened up with long wooden communal dining tables and a menu of pub/gastropub/lots of fried-but-delish stuff. The word is out and the place is going off most nights, so when we checked it out on a Thursday, we were sent to the bar for immediate seating (hence the hook discovery). Our server was still attentive and patient with us as we perused the menus both on paper and written on the back “chalkboard” wall. Chalkboard menus (like the ones also at Chalkboard in Lincoln Square and Bucktown’s Mado) are an eco-friendly trend I’m seeing a lot of and am definitely into. At The Bristol, the entire back wall, we learned, is a floor-to-ceiling, curved chalkboard, as are the signs affixed to the men’s and women’s bathroom doors which feature a different famous couple nightly (we had Yoko and John). Anyway, the food. So chef Chris Pandel’s menu offers snacks, salads, fish, meat and a section called ETC..there is a lot to choose from not including the chalkboard specials which are seasonal and change out daily. It’s all conducive to sharing (hence the communal dining), even the Caesar salad with Romaine, grilled mackerel and one large crispy crouton.
Caesar with grilled mackerel
From the snacks menu we ordered Monkey Bread, served in the hot Staub pot it’s baked in with rich dill butter and sea salt. The soft pull-apart bread is savory and tasted like a cross between the dill rolls at Zealous and fresh-baked challah bread.
Monkey bread with dill butter
For other snacks, I wanted the duck fat fries, I really did. But held back in eager anticipation of an impending trip to Hot Doug’s (watch for this post), and got my fry on with smokey fritters and scallion mustard sauce instead. Savory doughnut holes of sorts, these are fried hush puppies with a sweet and slightly crunchy outside but soft, almost cake-like inside with a savory mustard sauce on the side.
Smokey fritters
For the larger plates, we loved the sound of roasted half chicken (with its talon, our server described) with stone fruit panzanella, but ordered delicious steamed mussels in orange, guaciale and white ale (good, but they’re no Hopleaf) and the Raviolo, one large fresh ravioli stuffed with melt-in-your-mouth ricotta and egg yolk with brown butter, it’s a large portion, but not overly decadent and I could’ve scarfed down two a little too easily. We were intrigued by the chalkboard menu of daily specials like grilled pork belly with Brussels sprouts and salsify and the roast fall squash with cranberry. We turned to dessert instead and tried cheesecake with gooey and delicious caramel apple sauce and that crumbly sweet graham cracker crust that definitely isn’t made from those perforated graham crackers we were forced to eat at snack time. And through it all, our steadfast server kept our glasses full of crisp Riesling and spoke loudly when the place got too noisy (as it tends to). We were too full to go into some of the other interesting items on the very unique menu from an ELT (eel, heirlooom tomato with spicy aïoli) to chicken wings stuffed with chorizo (weakness) and blue cheese and a pistachio tart with poached Bosc pears, but I’ll be back to the Bristol as the seasonal specials (and the bathroom doors) change. 2152 N. Damen Ave., 773.862.5555. photos: Toki Collection.
Filed under I like to eats, new restaurants
Vosges skulls
Halloween might be over, but Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead Nov 1-2 with candy, amaranth and sugar skulls (among other treats like atole, a sweet, hot drink). Vosges Chocolate’s new Day of the Dead Skulls are solid chocolate with black sea salt eyes in varieties like the Barcelona (hickory smoked almond with grey sea salt and deep milk chocolate), the Blanca (Venezuelan white chocolate) and the Red Fire (ancho and chipotle chilies, ceylon, cinnamon and dark chocolate). I spotted these sweet skulls in a very cool display in the Lincoln Park store (951 W. Armitage, 773.296.9866).
Filed under ..and more, I like to eats, random spottings
The search for scones
I think it was my father who recently asked me what a scone was. My initial reaction was a smug, “Um it’s like, you know,… a scone. Duh.” But when I tried to actually describe one, it wasn’t as easy as I initially thought. They aren’t cupcakes or muffins, nor are they quite cake, bread, a cookie, biscotti or even a biscuit—but they sort of combine textures, flavors and ingredients from all of the aforementioned carbs into one delicious tea-dunkin’ treat that gets you in touch with your British side. And clotted-cream-filled or not, whenever I see a homemade scone on a brunch menu (as I did at Lula Cafe over the weekend), I always try to convince the table to order one to share. We let the bread basket fill us up before every other meal, so why should breakfast be an exception? Lula changes up their brunch scones, and ours was a warm milk chocolate chip (covered with those large, crunchy granules of sugar I could just eat all their own) with homemade strawberry preserves. Restaurants like Sepia and Gioco offer homemade scones on their brunch menus, and there’s got to be more. Or at least there should be. Anyone know of any others?
Milk chocolate chip scone with strawberry preserves at Lula Cafe
Filed under cheap, tasty brunch, I like to eats
Le Bar at Le Bouchon
A (mystery) sign behind the bar at Le Bouchon, photo by Tonia Kim
If you’ve never been to Bucktown’s French bistro, Le Bouchon, you’re missing out on one of Chicago’s best neighborhood restaurants. Truly. I know, I know, to some extent, every casual restaurant can be considered a neighborhood restaurant of sorts. They’re in a neighborhood, indeed, but are they the kind of place you crave on a weekly basis? A place you know is going to be so solid, so not pretentious, so homey and warm and softly lit that you literally go through withdrawal if you haven’t been there in a while? You can be there at 10:30PM on a Thursday and it’s still crowded with bustling waiters and late-night diners, yet you feel right at home and aren’t ready to call it a night? You just want to stay there in the casual bistro setting and chat with your friends over another bottle of wine? Yeah, OK, maybe you found a place like that in your ‘hood, but the best one I’ve found is Le Bouchon. But I’m not the only one as the restaurant is usually packed, especially on the weekends, and if you walk in on a Saturday night around 7PM, prepare to wait for a table or be booted to the bar, (which we discovered last Saturday night isn’t a bad thing). Our bartender (like the entire staff) was friendly and attentive, our barmates (regulars, no less) were chatty and entertaining. One declared to us that he knew we were just starting our night when he was heading home after dinner (ironically, everyone in my party was heading on home too). And the food, still delicious sans table-space, my regular order is white wine, salad Lyonnaise, steak frites with garlic butter sauce and profiteroles for dessert (like a cream puff stuffed with vanilla ice cream and topped with warm, decadent chocolate sauce). My dining companions got mussels, French onion soup and crème brûlée. Truth is, you should all know about this place, and most of you probably do. Guys, take your dates here, everyone else, take your parents/friends/business associates here, or just sit at the bar by yourself and enjoy. 1958 N. Damen Ave., 773.862.6600
Le bar at Le Bouchon (photo by Tonia Kim)
Filed under I like to eats
Friendship Chinese Restaurant
I knew the Chinese food from Friendship restaurant was going to be good when they handed me my take-out order in a cardboard cake box rather than a grease-spotted lunch bag. I was even more surprised when I found the fluffy white rice packed in a round, microwavable container, my orange chicken in a separate plastic box and the lightly fried, almost flaky egg rolls in a hot dog container rather than half falling out of a greasy wax paper bag. I’ve heard that Friendship was a great spot for years, and was reminded once again when chef Shawn McClain of Spring restaurant mentioned it as one of his favorite local restaurants in the Q & A posted last week. It’s always been a struggle for me to find good Chinese food ever since the Milwaukee-based China Palace closed last year, much to the dismay of my siblings and I (15 years of Sunday night dinners!). In Chicago, I had to either schlep out to Chinatown or reluctantly settle on River North’s Yu Choy (I’ve been ordering from this place for years like a bad date that I just kept saying yes to for no good reason). But, the Chinese food mystery has been solved now that I’ve found Friendship. Of course, I drove by about 5 times on Friday before I finally spotted it, and had to battle a doorway-full of waiting customers to pick up my take-out, but it was all worth it for lightly fried and fresh egg rolls with pork, shrimp and vegetables with sweet and sour sauce, and the spicy, sweet and tangy honey orange all-white meat chicken tossed in Grand Marnier and Szechwan red chili with orange slices. Although more contemporary than a classic Chinese restaurant, the rest of the menu was right up my alley with tasty-sounding items like curried basil chicken, honey walnut shrimp and spicy merlot beef. And with their delivery zone ending two measly blocks from my house, I’ll definitely be back for more take-out or to experience the restaurant (which was the only thing going off on a sleepy strip of N. Milwaukee Ave.). Don’t get me wrong, I still loves me a Chinatown feast (at Lao or Joy Yee), but if I’m looking for something closer, I’ll opt for a newfound Friendship. 2830 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773.227.0970 (be ready for a busy signal during dinner)
Filed under I like to eats
Oreo report
Is it too soon for Halloween Oreos? The fall chill in the air and my favorite holiday inspired me to pick up a box for the first time in years, only to discover that Oreo has actually come a long way from the Double Stuff and classic Halloween orange. There’s a slew of new fillings out there now like chocolate cream, peanut butter creme, mint chip creme, and reduced fat. I’ve also heard rumblings of a strawberry milkshake Oreo, but have yet to see them on the shelves, anyone know of any other new flavors?
Filed under ..and more, I like to eats
Green tea ginger ale at Wow Bao
Ah Wow Bao. Why do you have to be so damn hard to get to? I’m forced to brave Michigan Avenue crowds to enjoy the soft, steamed bao filled with teriyaki chicken, bbq pork or spicy Mongolian beef and served up on the cheap at this Asian take-out spot located on the ground floor of Water Tower Place. There’s a second location in the Loop, but I consider that just as much, if not more of a schlep. But, on my latest trip to the Bao I discovered a tasty menu addition that might get me to make the trek downtown a little more often: fresh green tea ginger ale. I already loved the pomegranate ginger ale, but found it a little on the sweet side. The new ginger tea is the perfect combo of pungent ginger and green tea served over ice. It comes in a plastic cup (and not served in a glass with lemon as this counter sign might have you believe) but it’s just as refreshing. 
Filed under I like to eats
ELIZABITES 