juuuliette's Profile
Dining companion(s) for Feb 6-10?
Hi everybody!
I know this isn't a personals site, and I'm not looking for a romantic date, but I hope my query is not completely irrelevant given the specifics...
I will be in Chicago by myself from Sunday Feb 5th, leaving Saturday the 11th... and I plan on eating as much as possible while there!! So I'm looking for any dining companion(s). I'm into anything from divey ethnic places to fine dining, and everything in between. A little about me: 28, from Minneapolis but now living in San Francisco, been cooking and baking professionally for over 10 years, mostly in fine dining. Right now I teach baking and pastry at a small school here in SF, and I'll be in Chicago to attend a class on chocolate. I'm a very outgoing, fun, funny and nice person, and obviously I love food but I don't think I'm pretentious about it. Other interests include art, music, film, triathlon, motorcycles and more. I'll be staying in the Logan Square area.
Some Chicago places I've enjoyed in past visits: Avec, Blackbird, Lula Cafe, Avenues, Takashi, Shui Wah, Lao Beijing, Lao Szechwan, and certainly others I'm forgetting.
This time I hope to check out some of these: Alinea or Next (especially slim chance on the latter, I know), Publican, Girl and the Goat, Taxim, Sun Wah, XOCO, Frontera, someplace for ribs (no really good BBQ in the Bay, boooo) and....??? And maybe finally hitting up some of the Chicago "classics" in a more organized way (deep dish, Italian beef). Also, I plan on seeing El Bulli: Cooking in Progress at the Gene Siskel Film Center on one of those nights.
All in all, I'm super easy to get along with and can hold a conversation over (and about) dinner!
Thanks a lot, Hounds :)
juliette
small plates & cozy atmosphere for a fri. solo diner?
thanks for the suggestions! a mano sounds nice, i hope to check it out :)
Best meal without a dress code?
for SF, i truly can't recommend incanto highly enough. also agree with margieco about canteen, it's a great little place. and how about A16? fairly casual and delicious. i can't wait to try SQPR on my next visit. bar tartine is also pretty casual and, in spite of the noise, i think a very pleasant room. and delicious, of course!
best innovative/creative plated desserts?
Hi all,
i'm looking for suggestions on restaurants that offer unique plated desserts. don't get me wrong, i'm not on the hunt for wacky shock value, but i'm definitely not on the hunt for the stickiest sugar-for-its-own-sake stuff. what i can say in so far: not at all interested in tru, was very disappointed in an all-dessert tasting at trotter's in april (has the pastry chef changed?? last september desserts were good), would love to go to alinea but i doubt they would agree to do only desserts, heard takashi's were good but i heard the pastry chef has left (?), have loved most of the desserts i've had at blackbird (and do plan to go back)........ what about graham elliot? my desserts at avenues in april were not very good, but i heard the pastry dept. there works for the whole peninsula hotel, not just avenues. although the current desserts (and whole menu) sound very interesting....?
thoughts? i'd also love to hear of any especially unique or good pastry/chocolate/ice cream shops as well.
thanks!!
small plates & cozy atmosphere for a fri. solo diner?
Hi hounds,
i'll be on my own in chicago next friday, and i'm looking for a fairly casual, welcoming enoteca type place where i'd feel comfortable by myself. i've loved what i've had at avec in the past, but it's a little loud and crazy for a lone diner.
any suggestions?
thanks!
MSP - El Meson's sister restaurant?
i went to cafe ena for fathers day, and thought the food was really great. service was very friendly, but pretty bad (no menus for a long time, our app got goofed and came out after our entrees, etc). a forgivable offense-- this time. everything was fresh, well-prepared and nicely presented-- and by the way, they do serve freshly made tortilla chips with the excellent ceviche. the room is also very pretty, giving no hint whatsoever that the place used to be a corner grocery. this is a slightly bizarro location, so let's hope we can make them stick around!
Saffron Anyone? -MSP
i had an insane dinner at saffron last night!! we had almost every single item on the menu, and even one item that was not on the menu (an extremely delicious plate of beef carpaccio topped with liberally spiced beef tartare, with a brown butter sauce and fried chickpeas). i must say i was fairly blown away by the quality of the food... everything was absolutely fresh, simply yet beautifully presented, always expertly cooked and with clear, balanced flavors. considering the sheer quantity of food we sampled, i find that this rate of success is pretty staggering. my favorites: the deviled eggs with olive oil tuna, capers and tarragon; the lively beef carpaccio/tartare; the rich housemade mirqaz with tender, sweet red pepper confit; the tender kubbeh with flavorful and not watery cucumber-yogurt; the delicate sweet-savory vegetable bisteeya. service was friendly, efficient and for the most part well-informed. i'm guessing that uninformed (minnesotan) diners may find the prices high for the portion size, but make no mistake: the quality and overall dining experience at saffron are very well worth the price. also, it was one of their 1/2 price wine nights, and we had a nice chablis followed by a tasty oregon pinot noir. now get out there and support them! See all my photos and review here.
hongkonger searching for chinese food in paris!
oh, also, my taiwanese friend told me there's a place in belleville with pretty good dim sum.... i'll get back to you on that... maybe we can organize an outing!
hongkonger searching for chinese food in paris!
weng zhou salon de the, on rue belleville, is fantastic! i just discovered it last week and went twice in one weekend. don't confuse it with another place a half block down also called weng zhou ("traiteur?" i don't remember the name exactly). all the "raviolis" are excellent (we know them in the US as potstickers or dumplings), especially the pork, ginger and celery ones. also, the soup with house made noodles and "viande sechee" was fantastic. mostly dirt cheap, and always packed with chinese as well as french and other foreigners. you must go!!
