Noodle Time

I am a BIG soup fan. Surprised? For as much as I love eating big meals with lots of substance, there really is nothing that replaces the comfort of soup and noodles. I feel as though this applies to so many different cultures. You've got ramen, wonton soup, chicken noodle soup, matzah ball soup. See, we're all just the same =) and the list goes on and on. And it's getting cold out so what better time?

Recently I've paid visits to Oiistar, the Bucktown newbie, Cocoro Sushi, the loop spot frequented by Japanese businessmen, Arami, West Town's favorite sushi spot and last, but not least Michelin winner Takashi's Slurping Turtle, which started as a Sunday noodle dinner special at his restaurant Takashi and is now a full blown River North ramen hot spot.

Slurp up!

 

The interior at Oiistar

Katsu bun

The "Oiimen" ramen

The menu at Cocoro

Champon, a Nagasaki-region special seafood noodle

One of my besties from out of town enjoys Arami

XOXO, IN LOVE WITH CHICAGO

Mott St

Hellooooooo Mott St. I thought it was cute that Mott St., named after a street in New York, is indeed quite like a restaurant that you would see in New York. Small tables squished together, communal eating spaces, and of course, delicious. Ruxbin (see my old school post here), named one of the best new restaurants in America in 2011 by Bon Appetit, finally has expanded their family in Mott St. I actually went to the French/Vietnamese restaurant that Mott St. replaced and thank goodness they shut that old place down.

Mott St., unlike Ruxbin, is centered around Asian Street food, so more of a casual, hands-on, small plates experience, vs. a more intimate sit-down full-on entree experience. The tastes of Ruxbin are definitely apparent in the food but I thought everything at Mott St. was crazy spicy and crazy unique. The Korean exec chef Edward Kim, takes kimchi to the next level as it shows up in a large number of the dishes. Take the "stuffed cabbage" below, which took me by surprise as it came out looking like a lasagna dish. And the "egg drop soup", which we literally dropped the egg in to poach while we waited. I also noticed the mentaiko on the menu, which is roe of cod, and used in many Japanese dishes, so tons of other unique dishes to try in the future as well! We didn't get a chance to sit outside to have drinks, but also a super cute area to have drinks with friends.

We arrived around 6:30pm on a Friday and didn't have to wait, but if I had to guess since Mott St. has only been open for a month and a half, it's only a matter of time before it's right where Ruxbin is now in terms of at least an hour wait on any given weekend night. Yay to more Asian food in the city!

Kimchi and Oaxaca Spring Rolls  deep fried and served with chimichurri crème-fraiche

Everything Wings  crispy wings glazed with soy, jaggery and dried chilis, tossed with sesame, poppy seed, fried shallots and served with tzatziki

Oyster Mushrooms  pan seared and roasted with thyme and miso butter

Stuffed Cabbage  napa kimchi cabbage rolls stuffed with pork butt and sticky rice, pan seared and boiled in kimchi broth

Spicy Egg Drop  korean chili broth, chopped beef, snap peas and mussels

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

Birthday Love/Restaurant Roundup

Last year on my birthday I was working, mid-week, in Cleveland, Ohio. Needless to say any event in Chicago could have passed up last years' celebration-by LEAPS and BOUNDS. My birthday fell on a Friday this year, so I took the opportunity to start the celebrations on Thursday and drag them out throughout the entire weekend. Nobody seemed to mind! Here's a roundup of the events and restaurant goodness. 

Kai Zan Japanese restaurant was where I made my original birthday restaurant, but I ended up changing it to a larger spot as Kai Zan is a pretty intimate setting with only 22 seats in house. I found Kai Zan via one of my daily Tasting Table emails and immediately put it in my "to try" email folder. It's a charming, Japanese tapas, West Town, establishment, run by twin brothers who have been working in the Japanese food industry in the city for over 20 years. I'm always the biggest critic when it comes to Japanese food, but I was pleasantly surprised. We were greeted with a free seared tuna sushi appetizer and continued to order a ton of little plates-seafood salad, miso cauliflower, home made tofu with okra, karaage (fried chicken) and beef skewers. Very reasonably priced, good service by the chefs and best of all-in my neighborhood. 

Seadog Sushi is your typical Americanized sushi restaurant, but hey I'm definitely not above a BYOB, centrally located, reasonably priced restaurant. I spent my actual birthday here with a few bottles of wine deep, and in good company. Couldn't ask for more!

The Bedford is a bar that I've visited before, but a second look always validates whether or not you like a place. The vault concept of the bar is really cool and we enjoyed all the picture opportunities!

Last but not least, Honky Tonk, is a Pilsen BBQ restaurant, and came highly recommended by friends. We had a group of 6 or 7 on a Saturday night and were able to sit down with no reservation and no problems. I like it. And boy did I leave wishing I wore the stretchiest of stretchy pants. Sean and I shared the sample platter and it was the perfect serving to get a little taste of each of the meats they have to offer.

Oh wait! One last event! Sunday funday (excuse the cliche, but what else is it?) was at my girlfriends' pool and a group of my friends surprised me as I walked into the apartment to them singing Happy Birthday-with a tray of delicious Sweet Mandy B cupcakes. A great end to a very long and eventful birthday weekend!