Chicago 2015: Day 3

Our last few days in Chicago didn't include a lot of sightseeing. I was at the convention center from nine to five and Howard chilled at the hotel and ventured out to walk the city. Sure, I had booth snacks like Garrett's popcorn to munch on, but my lunch that day included a small bowl of soup and a salad (trying to be healthy, especially when we're eating out so much!) from the McCormick Place food court. Pretty sad compared to Howard's lunch at Portillo's. He was actually on his way to Slurping Turtle for lunch when he saw a traffic jam and realized it was a line up for the drive-through! Curious, he went inside and decided to line up among the crowds to try the hot dog (with mustard, relish, freshly chopped onions, sliced red ripe tomatoes, kosher pickle, and sport peppers piled onto a steamed poppy seed bun) and sample their famous Italian beef sandwich. Mmm Mmm good was his mockery because he obviously won in lunch that day.

For dinner, we put our name down at the Purple Pig and went back to our hotel to wait for the call. It was roughly at an hour and a half wait, which was an accurate estimate giving to us by the hostess. We were seated at the banquet table by the bar among many other couples and groups having their dinner. The place is loud and crowded, the aisles are narrow and there are others waiting for their name to be called standing anywhere there's space.

This cheese, swine, and wine place has a large menu and our server helped us navigate with her favourites and recommendations.

To begin, we tried the roasted bone marrow with herbs. It also comes with toast for you to smear the bone marrow on and garnish with herbs yourself. I found the herbs the star of the dish, helping balance the buttery and oily bone marrow.

Next up, recommended by Howard's sister-in-law, the pig's ear with crispy kale, pickled cherry peppers, and fried egg.

We give it a good toss and mix. The pig ears are crunchy and addictive and the kale add another layer of crispiness. It's a bit salty overall but as a shared dish, it's manageable to finish with a glass of water.

Squid stuffed with prosciutto and bread crumbs with a santorini fava purée and charmoula. I found this dish tasty, but Howard did not like it one bit, which surprised me because he loves proscuitto!

The Wagyu sirloin tip with fingerling potatoes, cippolini onions, olives, and a bone marrow vinaigrette. Now this was a dish I found nothing special with (compared to the squid above), but Howard enjoyed it. Just goes to show, you can't please everyone.

While our meal was good, I can't say I would recommend friends to eat here. My experience was also  dampened because of how crowded it was. I was sitting in one of the aisle seats and every time a server, waiting staff, busser, hostess, or guest walked by, I would be jolted in my seat. Not the best way to eat a meal when you're getting jostled every few minutes. This is a high-traffic area or I should just say the entire restaurant has high traffic but not everyone was getting bumped into. Curious, I tucked my seat in some more and looked behind to see if there was enough space. There was, except a couple was standing by the bar waiting for their table, making the aisle even more narrow. We informed our server who noted our discomfort, but then proceeded to do nothing. She didn't kindly ask the man to not stand in the aisle or wait elsewhere by the entrance. Shrug. Since no one cared enough, I didn't feel like staying for dessert even though I intended to try the bread pudding.

That night, it snowed and snowed in Chicago . . .

Lotus of Siam

Lotus of Siam

953 East Sahara Avenue, Suite A5

Las Vegas, NV 89104

(702) 735-3033

We've heard such good things about this place that we knew that it had to be one of our destinations this trip. Commonly listed as one of the best restaurants in Vegas and best Thai restaurants in the United States, Lotus of Siam is a popular spot. We went after work and as the taxi was dropping us off, my heart sank a little. There was a line about 30 customers long. How many tables were inside? How big is this place? How long will the wait be? Fortunately, we were all here for the first seating as dinner service wasn't open yet. So once the doors opened, we waited about five minutes for the hostess to seat us. Not too bad!

The menu is quite extensive and for our first time here, we had our waitress recommend dishes to us. We wanted to know what the favourites and popular plates were. First up, we had the Nam Kao Tod. A crispy rice mixed with sour minced pork sausages, green onions, fresh chilies, ginger, peanuts, and lime juice.

Oh my goodness this was so delicious! Flavours everywhere and yet so refreshing despite the heat it gave. I've been trying to find a version of this in Toronto lately, but nothing compares.

Next up, the crispy duck with drunken noodles (pan fried flat rice noodles) topped with fresh homemade chili and Thai basils.

The braised short rib with panang, a Thai style red cream curry sauce with cognac.

Howard was still feeling hungry so our waitress recommended this last dish for us. Sadly, we didn't catch the name of it, but it was delicious just the same.

I wish I could have eaten more, I wasn't feeling in tip top shape that night, but couldn't deny how great the food was. I was so jealous seeing the large tables around us because they got to sample so many more bites.

We can unanimously agree that this was our favourite meal of our trip. We highly recommend you visit Lotus of Siam!

Chayo: Mexican Kitchen + Tequila Bar

Chayo

Mexican Kitchen + Tequila Bar

3545 Las Vegas Blvd South, Suite 4,

Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

(702) 691-3773

 

There's a new little strip in Vegas known as the Linq. There's shops, bars, restaurants and an observation wheel! This was our new favourite place to explore and we wandered in looking for lunch. Chayo caught my eye because I can always eat tacos. The space is pretty neat, the bar closest to the patio and indoor seating around a mechanical bull.

We ordered the avocado corn chopped salad with romaine lettuce, hearts of palm, cactus, avocado, corn, pomegranate, and spicy pumpkin seeds tossed in a citrus vinaigrette. Can you tell we're trying to stay healthy on vacation? Salad! This rarely happens. Must be the desert heat, we were constantly thirsty there. With all those ingredients, we just thought the salad would be tastier. But it wasn't. :(

The tacos didn't fare better. The beer battered fish tacos with red cabbage and cilantro mayo in flour tortillas were pretty basic and bland. Howard commented that we made better fish tacos at home.

A little bit better, the slow roasted rib eye with spring onions, radish, lettuce, and cascabel sauce in corn tortillas.

We would recommend eating elsewhere in the Linq or even venturing further for better tacos.

Cook the Cover: Canadian Living May 2014

Happy spring everyone! Although it still doesn't feel like spring here in Toronto, we're still getting bouts of cool temperature and snow flurries. It'll truly be spring when I can wear my ballet flats and spring jacket to work. For now, I'm still rocking the boots and wool coat.

This month, we were given a salad recipe to try. For me, this was an adventurous one to try. I love a good salad, but I like them green! Iceberg lettuce, arugula, or even spring mix, those are my favourite leafy greens. But cabbage, let alone red cabbage? Fennel? These two ingredients were out of my comfort zone. I do have to acknowledge that I like that Canadian Living is challenging me, it's the reason I signed up to cook the covers in the first place! I want to learn about new things that I normally wouldn't pick up and expand my tastebuds, so to speak.

Sesame Chicken with Fennel and Orange Salad
Shopping List: boneless skinless chicken breasts, salt and pepper, sesame seeds, liquid honey, lime juice, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, fennel, red cabbage, cilantro, and orange.

I whisked together the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, mustard, and garlic.

Sob! I really dislike mayonnaise. It is not a staple in my pantry and I never use it on sandwiches or anything else. But, I wanted to give this recipe a true test so I could report back to you, so I bought mayo. Even Howard cringed when it went into our shopping basket. Another condiment I dislike is mustard - Howard's not with me on this one though - and we had this in the fridge. I was starting to wonder if I would like this salad dressing. So far it included two ingredients that I normally don't eat.

I had to take a photograph of the first fennel I ever purchased. It looks pretty cute, like a little heart in some ways. I had no idea how to prepare it so I may have watched a YouTube video to find out. If you're trying it out for the first time too, this is how you core and slice fennel:

1. Slice the bottom of the bulb (the line on the left of the top photograph).
2. Remove the outer white layer.
3. No stalks in this recipe, so slice those off as well (the line on the right of the top photograph).
4. Cut the bulb in half. To core it, make two cuts (the green lines on the top photograph) on the bottom half.
5. You're finished coring it! Thinly slice the fennel. It'll smell like licorice.

I also took a photo of the first red cabbage I bought. It's such a deep purple and felt like shiny leather. It was pretty tough too, I wonder if there's a way to soften up the cabbage?

Mixing in the fennel and cilantro with the salad dressing.

For the chicken, mix the honey, sesame seeds, and lime juice together. Sorry that I don't have a photo of the grilling chicken. I'm not able to work carefully with heat and my camera yet. Plus, the instructions told me to cover the chicken with a lid!

While the chicken is cooking, slice the orange, this should go on the salad last. Once the chicken is done, slice and top it on the fennel and orange salad, serve right away!

What can I say about this recipe? The chicken I would add to my repertoire for future use. I like eating honey glazed chicken and the sesame seeds were a nice touch. Orange slices in my salad? I like that too.

But . . . this salad isn't something I would want to eat again. It includes a lot of strong flavours - fennel, red cabbage, and cilantro. It also includes things I personally don't like - mayonnaise, mustard, and fennel. But that's just me. Howard didn't seem to mind it, his only comment being that the dressing was really creamy. That surprised me too because the image on the cover doesn't show the creamy dressing. However, if I were to make the salad again, I would probably slice the fennel even smaller. And I would use a mandolin for the red cabbage.

See what other bloggers thought about the recipe here.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Canadian Living and I received compensation for it. There was no requirement to produce a positive review of this recipe. All opinions are our own.

ABC Cocina

ABC Cocina

38 East 19th Street 

New York City, NY 10003

(212) 677-2233

For our next day in the city, I had made lunch reservations at ABC Cocina. Originally, I wanted ABC Kitchen, but I couldn't get a reservation because it was fully booked! This probably worked out for the best and it didn't matter in the end because we really enjoyed the atmosphere in the adjacent restaurant and the food was great.

We walked in and told the group of hostesses that we had reservations and were welcomed to wait at the bar as they set up our table. The dining room was quite full as we wondered where we would be seated. The back of the restaurant was divided with what we presumed to be ABC Kitchen on the other side. Sitting at the bar also allowed you a glimpse of the open kitchen in the corner.

I was really looking forward to this meal since it was our first experience at a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant. We've tried some of his recipes at home before and I like how he has light preparations and incorporates Asian flavours into his food. But, we were here for Latin inspired food!

These are one of those times that I wished that my descriptions matched those of the great food writers out there so that I could properly praise the dishes we tried.

To start, we had peekytoe crab and corn fritters with chipotle mayo.

I cannot get enough of tacos and ordered the crispy fish tacos with aioli and cabbage-chili pickle. Howard's parents make great pickled cabbages but we would have never thought to use it in a fish taco! Loved the idea and also noted that they did not go easy on the heat, we liked the spiciness of it.

This crispy chicken salad with summer vegetables and spicy mustard vinaigrette was surprisingly good! Popcorn-sized chicken tossed in fresh greens, the perfect summer salad!

This deceptively simple dish was the star of our meal. Sweet corn with queso de mano cheese and lime. It was so good.

Finally, we tried the chipotle chicken tacos with grilled jalapeno salsa. Also spicy, this taco helped end our delicious meal.

I have to say, we look forward to returning some day or trying another Jean-George restaurant! Or better yet, open up a place in Toronto!!!

Summerlicious: Böhmer

Böhmer

93 Ossington Avenue

Toronto, ON M6J 2Z2

(416) 531-3800

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Summerlicious! I cannot believe that it's been a decade already! If you're not familiar, the program features participating restaurants in Toronto, each restaurant offers a three-course prix fixe menu - an appetizer, main, and dessert.

The main draw for diners is that you get to dine at a restaurant you might not normally eat at. Or you might discover a new restaurant you didn't notice before. Restaurants benefit from this program as it brings in new customers - who if impressed - may become regulars. That's the hope, right?

So there's a lot to be said about first impressions . . .

The first Summerlicious dinner we choose was at Böhmer. In the past year, I had noticed this restaurant on our way to pho on Ossington Avenue, the decor looked pretty interesting, so when I saw it on the Summerlicious restaurant list, we made reservations.

The hostess was very friendly and took our party of four to the back of the restaurant. I was secretly hoping for the front to take advantage of the natural lightning, but the back had another advantage.

Above: The busy bar.

Above: Private dining behind the divider.

Seated at the back, we got to watch Paul Böhmer, the chefs, and the front of the house team work the pass.

Our waitress was friendly and upbeat. She slid our wrapped utensils off the plate and took our order. She was mindful and we never had to ask for a refill or find another staff member to help us. Oddly enough, the food runners were not paying attention to detail and kept presenting the dishes to the wrong person.

Howard and I tried the Lord Bergamot. A pear infused vodka with earl grey syrup, Dubonnet Rouge, and white pepper. This I quite enjoyed! There was even a slice of pear for garnish.

To start, Howard tried the forest mushroom soup with herbed crème fraîche. Served piping hot, the soup was fragrant and hearty. It was amusing to watch Howard take tiny sips.

I tried the potato rosti with frisée, arugula, soft quail egg, and bacon lardon. This one fell flat for us. The rosti, which should have been the star of the dish, was hidden under the salad. Perhaps, due to being buried under the arugula, the rosti felt a bit soggy. The rosti was also difficult to eat if you wanted to cut it into smaller pieces.

I predicted that Howard would order this, the grilled hanger steak with frites, onion rings, and chipotle jus. Cute presentation of the frites and we wished there were more! Build a bigger frites cabin! Medium rare, the steak itself wasn't as tender as we would have liked it, but the jus was good.

I debated between the pan roasted white fish and the chive gnocchi. The gnocchi won out, but seeing the fish at the table beside us, I wanted to steal a bite. The dumplings were served with cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, roasted garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. Was the gnocchi soft and pillowy? Yes, but surprisingly, my favourite bites were of the cherry tomatoes - loved that burst of juicy roasted flavour.

Dessert time! To satisfy Howard's love of face-puckering sour, he had the lemon semifreddo with blueberry compote and crunchy meringue.

I should have ordered the devil's chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and pecan crunch.

The banana bread pudding with butterscotch and coconut cream was the most disappointing dish. I love desserts, but this one did not sit well with me. The bread pudding was dense, heavy, and hard. I actually had trouble getting my fork to cut all the way through for small bites. To me, it was simply a poorly made banana muffin. However, the butterscotch and the coconut cream were quite delicious.

The atmosphere and decor was pretty cool, there's a large communal table in the middle and a lounge off to the side. We had really high hopes for the food though. The restaurant was on a few top Summerlicious restaurant picks. Overall, the dishes didn't shine and our party of four would unlikely find ourselves returning.

Lüke

Lüke

333 St. Charles Avenue

New Orleans, LA 70130

(504) 378-2840

Happy hour at Lüke! Actually, it was our dinner after a long day at work. =) We were seated in the second (back) section where the open kitchen was visible to the diners. Along the way, we saw many good looking dishes on the tables - lots of seafood and meat!

You can see our waitress getting menus in the photo. She was bubbly and energetic, giving us great food and drink recommendations. Again, we found the hospitality in New Orleans to be top notch!

To start, we had “Le Plateau” of Gulf oysters. The oysters were fresh and the taste was clean. I was never a raw shellfish kind of girl, but these ones were good! Plus, when you're in a city known for seafood, you have to at least try it!

To fulfill my oyster craving, I also had the fried oyster, bacon, romaine, and avocado salad. It was light enough to help me save room for dessert. =)

By now, you can probably guess that Howard is a meat and potato kind of guy. He tried the entrecôte grillée au frites, a grilled rib-eye with maître d’hôtel butter, sauce béarnaise, and a jumbo lump of crab-meat. So neat that it was served on a cutting board and the fries were in a tin pail!

I told you I saved room for dessert. Brendan’s bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream and hot buttered pecan sauce. Ridiculously amazing!