monsterriffs

Any word on his next destination, or is he not going to be cooking anymore and headed for the "Bourdain Train of Fame" (rhyming intentional)?

From what I could tell, these appeared to be red beef patties. HOWEVER, I'm not discounting the possibility that they may very well have been a run of garden burgers and I was unable to truly distinguish them from beef patties in the dark light. Whatever the case, a further investigation by any Chicago locals would be well warranted.

CF Folks and Greek Deli are some ideas for one. CF Folks is right next to the Palm, and Greek Deli a bit further down 19th next to Nooshi.

Well, just so you know, I definitely saw what appeared to be frozen, pre-packaged burgers going on the grill, but I should note that I say sandwiches because you have the option of having a burger, grilled chicken breast, chicken tenders, or garden burger as the meat of the sandwich. I actually opted for grilled chicken because I was just not feeling a burger that night. You should still go to Kuma's though but clearly not at peak hours!

Here's the wrap-up on the weekend's Chicago trip. What a great town, I loved visiting there and hope to return soon. Friday: Arrived in Chicago and proceeded back to my gf's hotel in Greektown, and I was starving, so we stopped by local cafe Artopolis to get some food before we ran off to the Art Institute and dinner later that night. Artopolis had some nice single serving pitas that are reminiscent of the various pitas that you can get at any corner bakery in Greece. Had one with ham and cheese and the puff pastry was pretty good and fluffy, while the filling was perfectly decent but clearly nothing special. After our museum trip and a chance to catch my breath, we headed up to Kuma's Corner near Avondale (if Google Maps is right...). The primary reason I wanted to go to this place is because it's essentially a metal bar that serves sandwiches named after metal bands. I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm NOT going to go somewhere that celebrates eating and metal, two of my favorite things in the world. So, upon arriving, we were dismayed to see that it was packed, but we put our names down and went inside to get a beer. They have a pretty damn good selection, and actually quite reasonably priced, so thumbs up to that. While I was drinking my Fin Du Monde, the tattooed hostess told us that the wait would probably be a bit shorter than the initial 1+ hour she quoted because most people were either scared off by the wait time or they wanted to sit outside. However, because I wanted to sit inside and enjoy the awesome soundtrack, we were able to get a table quickly. However, it should be noted that Kuma's has a tiny kitchen, so we waited close to an hour to get our food. Br00tal. However, I ordered the High On Fire sandwich with chicken breast, partially because HoF is one of my favorite bands and also because the sandwich involved Sriracha, roasted repper, sweet chili paste, grilled pineapple, and prosciutto. Needless to say, it was hot, hot, hot. The sandwich was pretty good and was served on a pretzel roll, but it was basically above average pub food, with the exception of the lousy fries. However, the real reason to go is that Kuma's a really fun, non-pretentious pub and they actually played a song by my sandwich's namesake while I was eating. Totally moshing. Saturday: Quick bagel grab before a long day of running around the downtown loop area and catching the awesome architectural boat tour. Once we wrapped that up, we walked over to the Hancock building to head up to the lounge to grab a drink and a bite. This involved the world's most expensive crappy grilled cheese. You pay for the view. However, dinner totally made up for that. Dinner at Sola was truly excellent. A very Hawaiian and Pacific-influenced menu backed up by excellent service hit all the right notes. The lady and I's appetizers were a bacon & pineapple salad and artichoke fritters respectively, and the mains were pork, two ways and barramundi respectively. My main consisted of bacon-wrapped tenderloin and braised cheeks on a golden beet and pineapple puree (I think). This was pork worship that would make Eric D/ferment everything lose his mind. Truly great stuff, and the cooling Hawaiian flavors were really excellent for a warm summer night. The split dessert of a taffy apple pie was very nice, but nothing that was blowing minds. But overall, I loved Sola and I even spotted Dale from Top Chef Season 3 working there. Sunday: A quick brunch at Greektown local joint Meli Cafe was a great last bite with hyper-efficient service. We're talking super-quick turnover and an exceptonally fast line operation in the kitchen. A hearty turkey & scrambled egg sandwich on multi-grain toast was perfect for a tasty Sunday brunch to hold me over til I got back home.

I spent the weekend in Chicago so while this can eventually all get shuttled off to the Chicago thread, I'm posting here for now. Friday: Arrived in Chicago and proceeded back to my gf's hotel in Greektown, and I was starving, so we stopped by local cafe Artopolis to get some food before we ran off to the Art Institute and dinner later that night. Artopolis had some nice single serving pitas that are reminiscent of the various pitas that you can get at any corner bakery in Greece. Had one with ham and cheese and the puff pastry was pretty good and fluffy, while the filling was perfectly decent but clearly nothing special. After our museum trip and a chance to catch my breath, we headed up to Kuma's Corner near Avondale. The primary reason I wanted to go to this place is because it's essentially a metal bar that serves sandwiches named after metal bands. I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm NOT going to go somewhere that celebrates eating and metal, two of my favorite things in the world. So, upon arriving, we were dismayed to see that it was packed, but we put our names down and went inside to get a beer. They have a pretty damn good selection, and actually quite reasonably priced, so thumbs up to that. While I was drinking my Fin Du Monde, the tattooed hostess told us that the wait would probably be a bit shorter than the initial 1+ hour she quoted because most people were either scared off by the wait time or they wanted to sit outside. However, because I wanted to sit inside and enjoy the awesome soundtrack, we were able to get a table quickly. However, it should be noted that Kuma's has a tiny kitchen, so we waited close to an hour to get our food. Br00tal. However, I ordered the High On Fire sandwich with chicken breast, partially because HoF is one of my favorite bands and also because the sandwich involved Sriracha, roasted repper, sweet chili paste, grilled pineapple, and prosciutto. Needless to say, it was hot, hot, hot. The sandwich was pretty good and was served on a pretzel roll, but it was basically above average pub food, with the exception of the lousy fries. However, the real reason to go is that Kuma's a really fun, non-pretentious pub and they actually played a song by my sandwich's namesake. Saturday: Quick bagel grab before a long day of running around the downtown loop area and catching the awesome architectural boat tour. Once we wrapped that up, we walked over to the Hancock building to head up to the lounge to grab a drink and a bite. This involved the world's most expensive crappy grilled cheese. You pay for the view. However, dinner totally made up for that. Dinner at Sola was truly excellent. A very Hawaiian and Pacific-influenced menu backed up by excellent service hit all the right notes. The lady and I's appetizers were a bacon & pineapple salad and artichoke fritters respectively, and the mains were pork, two ways and barramundi respectively. My main consisted of bacon-wrapped tenderloin and braised cheeks on a golden beet and pineapple puree (I think). This was pork worship that would make Eric D. lose his mind. Truly great stuff, and the cooling Hawaiian flavors were really excellent for a warm summer night. The split dessert of a taffy apple pie was very nice, but nothing that was blowing minds. Today (Sunday): A quick brunch at Greektown local joint Meli Cafe was a great last bite with hyper-efficient service. We're talking super-quick turnover and an exceptonally fast line operation in the kitchen. A hearty turkey & scrambled egg sandwich on multi-grain toast was perfect for a tasty Sunday brunch to hold me over til I got back home today. Chicago really is a food town and I look forward to returning and continuing to explore at length.

Apparently, he's also quite influenced by Carol Wallack so it seems only fitting that he's working for her while he tries to get his own operation up and running. And even as I was writing that post, although it was early in the AM and the words just weren't coming, it was NEVER my intent to denigrate his choice to wait tables. Doing what he does probably takes far more school than anything I do on a daily basis...

Well, this is interesting - the lady and I went to Sola Restaurant last night in Chicago (great spot, btw) and I was surprised to see Dale from Season 3 working there as a waiter...unless this is old news. It's just kind of a bummer that all the top competitors from Top Chef or Project Runway for example haven't really been able to parlay their success on the show into something greater.

Well, we finalized the plans a while ago, so we're headed to Kuma's Corner for burgers and metal tonight and Sola for our "fancy" dinner tomorrow night.

My favorite typo on any menu I've seen (in this case, a Chinese delivery joint) has been one that proudly proclaimed at the top of the front page of the menu: WE DELIVERY

Summertime and the reporting is eeeeeeeeasy.

Does anyone know how much the bar menu is running these days and perhaps what dishes are featured currently?

The Simpsons speaketh the truth.

Can't really speak on taste, but texturally, it's got to be akin to a boiled peanut.

That is an acceptable result. Whew.

Yes! That was my first dim sum experience as a wee lad. I remember the space in there being rather huge though.

My gf and I are hashing out our options for Chicago next weekend, and she's gotten recommendations about a few places, but searches in this thread aren't turning up anything and it's making me nervous about whether or not these places are worthwhile. Any info about Coco Pazzo, Copper Blue, Saloon and Le Colonial would be greatly appreciated.

A bunch of us dined here on Friday evening and it's easy to see why 48 hours later, Mr. Ziebold would win this award! The lychee sorbet and mint jelly dessert bite was absolutely one of the best summer flavors I've ever had.

The fact that Lisa demanded congratulations for surviving elimination just shows how foul a human being she is and how insecure she really is in herself. Richard was spot on in saying that you don't really congratulate a bronze medalist. Feh.

How come no one really talks about this place? As far as desserts go, this is a reliable place to pick up a small cake or some macarons for assorted occasions and the individual sweets are great for a fix. I definitely dig their slight obsession with cassis.

I'm headed over here most likely with a friend tonight. What Eric D.-selected "breadsodas" can I expect to enjoy?

I think that he was referring to Tosca as posh.

From the WSJ Law Blog's interview with Justice Scalia: I wonder if Scalia can manage to get good service!

Eve, and Central and Beck's can be pretty tough some days.

Belated Mother's Day dinner at Hook last night, as mom returned from visiting family in Greece this weekend. Enjoyed the grilled calamari, which while tasty, brought up the question of whether we can get as good quality calamari here as in Greece. For my main, I had the bluefish as I had been inspired by the bluefish at Tackle Box. While the fish was still excellent, I actually somewhat preferred Tackle Box's version. However, the tomato risotto was really excellent. But the real standout for me aside from the risotto was the strawberry-rhubarb cobbler. The strawberry flavor hits you first and then fades away into rhubarby tanginess. Awesome. What I didn't realize is how LOUD the dining room at Hook gets, because I had dined at the bar my first time there. Tom Sietsema would not be pleased.