kwe730's Profile
Good Dining Near Sony Center
SB...This looks right up our alley. We're fine in nice jeans?
Good Dining Near Sony Center
Hi All,
My son and I will be in Berlin next month for a few days. This is our second visit to the city and we're very excited about the opportunity to explore again. We'll be staying near the Sony Center and I would love some restaurant recs with great food, relatively casual dress, but price is not an issue.
Thanks for your help Hounds!
Dinner Near Queen's Gate Around Embassy Row in London
Hi all,
Going to be visiting my son in London next month. He's new to the area and lives in Queen's Gate right near Embassy Row. Would love some dining recommendations. Don't want to have to dress up, but at the same time, price is not an issue.
Thanks!
Casual Dinner In Northbrook Area
Don, I appreciate the recs that you and the other posters gave me. I'm definitely not interested in red sauce Italian, but open to most everything else. The location of the J. Alexanders would be great, but the last time I ate at one (in another city), everything I wore that night had to be sent to the cleaners because of a very poor ventilation system. Casual is a big plus...as in nice jeans.
Thanks!
Casual Dinner In Northbrook Area
A friend of mine that I have not seen in a long time is coming to town for business and I'm trying to think of a place that we can meet for dinner. Looking for something casual with good food where the staff won't mind if we keep the pace slow so we can chat and catch up. From reading the Chowhound board, the first place that comes to mind is Charlie Beinlich's, but wondered if anyone else had any other ideas. Thanks!
Recs Near Omni and Chinatown
We will be in San Francisco soon and would love some recommendations within walking distance of the Omni Hotel. I know there are a lot of great restaurants in the city, but by the time we're done with our sightseeing for the day, what we're really going to want is some good food that we can walk to. There will be a night that we'll definitely want to head to Chinatown...any thoughts there?
Thanks much!
Catering advice
We hosted a work-related party at our house during the holidays and I was looking for something different as well. I searched through Angie's List and came across An Apple A Day catering in Glencoe. Amy was wonderful. She was very responsive, professional and was interested in providing exactly what I wanted. We had them deliver the food to our house the evening of the party and everything arrived looking beautiful. Our guests raved all night.
Here's a link to their web site, but if you don't see what you want, just ask.
http://chicagocorporatecatering.com/
Cafe Santa Fe, Todos Santos
Marianna,
We are a few months away from our annual trip to Los Cabos. Just by chance I was surfing through the board and happened to see this thread. My husband and I are still talking about our meal at Cafe Santa Fe. I'm not sure if we'll be back to Todos Santos this year, but just thinking about being there brings back some wonderful memories of a lovely afternoon. Thank you again!
Chicago-related Cookbooks
I have a friend in Florida who really enjoys cookbooks from around the country. For Christmas, I would like very much to get her one that is related to Chicago, but is a little different than the "Rick Bayless/Alinea" variety. Any suggestions?
Thanks much!
Sunday Lunch Near Midway
I appreciate the pizza recommendations, but pizza is not what we're looking for although I appreciate the "not being rushed" part. I had mentioned burgers in my post and I think that's more what we're looking for. I think we'll have about 2 1/2 hours.
Sunday Lunch Near Midway
A dear friend of ours will be flying in to Midway this weekend . He has a layover of several hours and the plan is to go for lunch, but I don't think we want to go very far. We'd love a place where we can sit down, have some beers and burgers and catch up on life without being rushed out the door. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Need Recs For Catered Cocktail Party Food in North/Northwest Burbs
Hi all!
Panicking just a bit here. My husband and I are hosting a Christmas cocktail party for about 20 people that work for him. We held a similar party a couple of years ago, used a dynamite place that I had planned on using again, but much to my horror now find that they are not taking orders until after January. I'm not looking for anything fancy, just "grab and go" type food...cheese, salume, smoked salmon, etc. I also don't need servers or to have it delivered, just a place that can assemble some high-quality food in a very presentable way for people who have rather sophisticated palates.
Thanks much!
Lunch In Milwaukee, Dinner In Sheboygan Area
Living, We've had dinner at Coquette and thought it was wonderful. Anything else in the Third Ward?
Lunch In Milwaukee, Dinner In Sheboygan Area
On Friday, the husband and I will be driving north from the Chicago area into Wisconsin to spend the weekend at the American Club. We already have our reservations for Saturday night in the Immigrant Room. However, on our drive up, we wanted to stop in Milwaukee for lunch, then continue north to Kohler, check in and vist Sheboygan for dinner Friday night. I'd love to get some ideas for both lunch and dinner places in our respective destinations. Since we're doing something upscale Saturday, we'd prefer to keep it low key Friday night.
Thanks!
Fish or Shrimp Tacos on the Grill
Guac I can do with no problem. I was hoping for some fish suggestions, marinades and any other accompaniments I might have been missing. Ideally, I was looking for a very simple olive oil, lemon/lime juice marinade that would let the good quality of whatever fish I had chosen come through.
Masha, I had checked out that BA recipe and it looked pretty good to me. Glad you liked it as well!
Fish or Shrimp Tacos on the Grill
Once a year DH and I head down to Los Cabos and absolutely love the fish and shrimp tacos made off the grill down there. Every time I come across a recipe for them however, they are the battered and fried version. What I'm looking for most likely consists of a simple marinade, some wonderful crema and good fresh guacamole. Can anyone help me out here? Thanks much!
Cafe Santa Fe, Todos Santos
First of all, a huge thank you to Mariana in Baja who pointed ( well, more like shoved...lol) me towards this place. We were there last Sunday with our friends and had possibly one of the best meals ever. Like all meals that fall into that category, it wasn't just the incredible food, but the gracious service and the lovely atmosphere.
At first glance of the menu, it really does seem to be northern Italian, but as Mariana pointed out to me, it has to do with so much more than that. Our server explained that they had several fresh catches of the day...tuna, Spanish mackerel and yellowtail. My friend and I had tuna carpaccio and our DHs had the Spanish mackerel which was a simple grill preparation. We all shared the Insalata Mista with fresh Baja tomatoes and all the lettuces coming out the restaurant's garden. Even better, the only dressing supplied are cruets of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Simple perfection.
As we waited for our fish, I could see the woman in the kitchen slicing the tuna for the carpaccio. I could also see another woman kneading dough for foccacia (that is served when you sit down) and pizza. This once again reminded us that this was all about letting the freshest ingredients being prepared in a way that would show them off to their best advantage.
When our tuna arrived, it was served drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with capers and slivered onion. It absolutely melted in your mouth. The mackerel did not disappoint either. With that we got a couple of plates of grilled vegetables to share.
We drifted out of there in a blissful state and back to the warm, sunny day.
Thank you again, Marianna! I/we are most grateful!
Sunday Lunch in Todos Santos
Ok, Mariana! You sold me on Santa Fe! Again, many thanks, This will be our 6th trip to Los Cabos and I can't wait to get there and enjoy the warmth, sun and sea.
Sunday Lunch in Todos Santos
Mariana...What about Los Adobes? Yes, I've seen that most places are cash only, but I do appreciate the caveat.
Sunday Lunch in Todos Santos
Sorry to bother you all again, but here I go. Based on the recommendations I got from you all regarding lunch in Todos Santos, the husband and I were all set to take our friends to Restaurante el Zaguan for lunch on Sunday. However, upon further research, we found out that the place is closed that day. Back to square one! I know that Cafe Santa Fe had been recommended, but we really don't care to eat Northern Italian. We'd like a place where we can sit down, order some drinks and have a casual lunch. No taco stands. Any other suggestions? Thank you so much!
Lunch in Todos Santos
Thanks, Mariana, this helps us lots! Looking forward to our visit.
Lunch in Todos Santos
I appreciate the help, but on this occasion we're looking for something that is more than just a few picnic tables and something that is more than a "stand" type of place. Not that we have any objection if it's just us, but not on this particular outing.
Beach Chick...I saw your rec of Cafe Santa Fe, but we'd prefer to stick to Mexican. Any other ideas?
We've also had Hotel California suggested to us? What's the story on that place?
Again, many thanks for the help!
Lunch in Todos Santos
Next weekend I will be in Los Cabos. My husband, myself and another couple plan to head up to Todos Santos for the day and are looking for a terrific place to have lunch. I've seen a few ideas, any more? Thanks!
Help! Roast Chicken has rested and is not done!
Carbear, neither DH or I are fans of "blush" chicken or pork. Call me crazy, but I want my chicken or pork done, but still moist. I have found that a lot of the roasting times in recipes do not get the bird as done as we'd like it and only to this "blush" stage. I've gotten to the point that I pretty much discount the cooking time called for in most recipes and go solely by my meat thermometer. I have a very basic one, but it works every time.
Stuffing from a box -- best brand and how to spruce up?
I agree with the Pepperidge Farm or Brownberry stuffing, sauteed onions, celery and sausage. I also use a little bit of chopped Granny Smith apple. Just really love the flavor and it works so well with the sausage.
standard cooking tasks that you just won't do......
Add me to the list of those who do not bake. I'll cook at the drop of a hat, but have no interest in baking. It always seems like such a pain to me. I'd probably enjoy it more if my family had more of a sweet toothe, but even my teen-age sons don't. Last year I didn't even bake Christmas cookies because 1) we were going to be away for part of the holiday and 2) I threw away a bunch the year before.
I'm also not a big fan of sauteeing meat or poultry. I have a black stovetop and the slightest spatters become a mess.
Potatoe Salad using Tzatziki Sauce and a Drop of????
This recipe appeared in Food & Wine this past spring. I have not tried it yet, but a friend of mine whose opinions I always trust on food test drove it and said it was awesome.
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/tzatziki-potato-salad
sushi in Lincolnshire, Il
Pugman and MD...I appreciate your "taking one for the team" and giving RT Lounge another try. My husband and I have been wanting to get over there and try it since we'd love to find a good sushi place in the area. I know a lot of people love Sushi Kushi, but every time we've been there the enjoyment of their great sushi is dampened by the fact that it's been crowded and very loud. I also wish the room was ventilated a bit better as the air tends to feel stuffy to me.
I look forward to more reports on RT Lounge after their new chef has settled in.
Which vegetable oil to use?
Last year I had the interesting experience of meeting someone who had graduated from the CIA and worked for Thomas Keller at the French Laundry for two years. Given those credentials I decided to seize the moment and quiz him on as many things as possible. He told me that canola is almost always his "go to" oil because of it's high smoke point.
