West Loop/Town Neighborhood Roundup

A few new casual eateries in the neighborhood have opened up and I'm always happy to hear about the expansion of our neighborhood. And dessert. Always happy with dessert. Cone is an Irish-themed ice-cream shop on Madison & Shaman, a Mexican small plates BYOB, restaurant on Chicago Ave. 

Shaman is owned by Chilam Balam, who actually greeted us as soon as we walked in the door. Cute as a button. I vividly remembered the distinct taste of her tamale at Dose Market a few months ago and was just as satisfied with a full-on meal. She partners with local farmers, which are all listed on their website and the freshness of the food is Ah-Ma-Zing. And BYOB. Don't ever forget BYOB.

As for Cone, a friend and I were just strollin' along Madison and saw that every person walking by us had a cone of some colorful concoction and then we came across Cone. We both ordered a "soft serve",which as you can see from the photo below is nothing like the US version of it. The Cookie Monster ice cream is a blue-hued cookies and cream flavored treat and we brought it home for a little extra lovin'. Lots of flavors and lots of hot days left in summer to enjoy them! 

Chicken Sopes

Pork belly tacos

Mmmm mole

 

XOXO, IN LOVE WITH CHICAGO

Fun

Went to the Taste of Chicago for the first time since I moved to the city and to be quite honest I was a little disappointed by the food options. I have to say that being so spoiled with all of the restaurants and other food festivals in the city has jaded my tastes quite a bit. Don't get me wrong; I did my due diligence and found that the N.C. Style Hot Dog from Wishbone was the winner out of all the food that the 35 local restaurants were selling. Had a few licks of ice-cream from the Original Rainbow Cone and I was a happy camper. For a school night out I can't really complain. For $8 I got 12 tickets, which bought me the hot dog and an adult beverage, and Fun, was playing a free concert in the park. Suuuuummer Lovin' at it's best.

XOXO, IN LOVE WITH CHICAGO

Trencherman

Finally got the chance to try brothers and co-owners, Patrick and Michael Sheerin's Trencherman. On paper it's your typical small plates, new American comfort food dining experience; a dime a dozen in the city if you will. In real life though, it's much much much more than that. I literally was blown away by a few of their plates.

For starters, the design takes it to the next level from the minute you walk in the door. Kevin Heisner, the design guru who has been the mastermind behind Bar DeVille, Nightwood, Banger and Lace, The Anthem, Publican, Big Star, Violet Hour (wow!) really out did himself with the romantic, but rustic interior of the converted bath house space. The details are really what set them apart.

Now the food. Pickle Tots.Yeahhhh, those other new American comfort food copy-cat restaurants don't have Pickle Tots. Fried pickles with red onion yogurt and the most delicately shaved chicken bresaloa to accent. Bomb.com. Patrick and Michael have really taken their previous posts at Blackbird and the Signature Room and created a monster in the dishes that they prepare. And again, it comes down to the details. We also ordered an array of equally delicious appetizers, greens and proteins and of course left room for dessert. There's always room for dessert and this was no exception as the donuts and ice cream simply melted in my mouth. I even have good things to comment on the service, which is rare, because I personally value good food over good service any day. Anyway, I told our waiter that my guests were from out of town so he treated us with a taster of Malort, which is a bask brannvin, a distilled drink made by Jeppson's of Chicago, and is the only brand made in the US. Not my cup of tea, but a great gesture for sure.

Trencherman is one of the best new spots in the city and if you don't believe me let the press speak for itself! I can't wait to head back there as the menu changes seasonally, as most places do.

And don't forget that it's super easy to get to by El, cab, car, foot, scooter, Uber, bike. Spitting distance from the Damen blue line stop and located in the best food city in the country. That's right.

The. Best.

White anchovies with manchego, celery, citrus, focaccia

Kale salad, edamame dressing, carrot-quinoa bread

Pickle tots, chicken breast bresaola, red onion yogurt, scallion

Beef shank with truffle vinaigrette; Fried chicken with grits

Donuts, obviously

 

 

 

 

 

 

The waiter wrote down Malort for me after I asked him one too many times what he was talking about

 

XOXO, IN LOVE WITH CHICAGO

Wanderlust Wednesday

I've been reading a ton of articles about new hotels opening up in Chicago and I am excited to continue to welcome guests to our awesome city.

The first is the Langham, which is slated to open today, and is located inside a Ludwig Mies van der Rohe building in the heart of the city. Sure we have the Four Seasons, Peninsula Hotels alike, but considering the Langham group only comprises of 19 properties in countries around the world, I think this particular property is pretty unique. The rooms start at a pretty generous 516 sq. ft, have impeccable design throughout, and of course the property has your standard spa and swimming pool. It even has a casual Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, Travelle, located downstairs and I have a feeling this won't be your typical "hotel" restaurant as we have a Lettuce Entertain you veteran running the show.

The other news that I am pretty excited about are the hotels that are speculated to be built in the West Loop neighborhood. The only one actually in the process of being built is the Soho House, located on Green St, in between Randolph and Washington St., and will have a rooftop pool and bar, 40 rooms and three restaurants. Swanky swanks. Robert De Niro's Nobu and Blue Ribbon Brooklyn Bowl openings are chatter at this point as developers are making their pitches and working around city restrictions. All in all, pretty exciting stuff considering there are no hotels worth mentioning that are located in the West Loop; now foodies can stay AND eat in the West Loop and never leave!

via Architectural Digest

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via Crain's

Fourth of July

Hope you had a great Fourth of July weekend!

We kept it pretty mellow with a bike ride downtown to Little Market  for lunch on the fourth and then watched fireworks go off from all over the city on our rooftop. I was surprised to see so many retail shops open so we did sneak into Barney's and Intermix to check out some summer sale action after lunch. 

As for our lunch-the Little Market Brasserie is a cute restaurant located in and on the sidewalk of The Talbott Hotel. Ryan Poli, the Chef/Partner, formerly of The French Laundry and Le Francais (and currently of Tavernita), puts together a pretty standard, but quite delicious lunch menu. I would say the burger and the lobster roll are probably the best things on the menu, and of course, that's what we stuffed our faces with. A perfect brunch/lunch/dinner spot if Gold Coast perusing is on the agenda. 

Any time is a good time for Lobster

Always a tourist

XOXO, IN LOVE WITH CHICAGO