Saturday Night at Girl and the Goat

As part of our dining tour with Z's dad a couple of weekends ago, we spent Saturday night at Girl and the Goat. Our friends Alicia and Chris had made reservations months ago and were kind enough to invite us to share their table. Yes, that's still what it takes to get into GATG, unless you have a small table or want to wait for hours.

Even with a 9:15 p.m. reservation, we still had to wait a few minutes before we were seated. And like Nellcote, just down Randolph Street where we had eaten the night before, the dining room of GATG was loud. Very loud.

It's no secret that the food at GATG is excellent. Even then, a few dishes stood out during our experience. Because the menu changes so frequently and you may have a completely different selection to choose from, I'll mention our favorites very briefly.

The goat liver mousse was excellent, as were the roasted beets. Our server was doing us a favor when she recommended the sauteed green beans topped with cashews; they were crunchy and flavorful. The grilled baby octopus with a pistachio-lemon vinaigrette was perfectly cooked and lacked any of the chewiness that can come with octopus. The scallops that night came with short ribs. Yum!

The only thing I didn't care for was the dessert. It was some sort of cobbler with an overly-crunchy, flavorless topping.

Needless to say, we'll be back to GATG, whenever we can get in. 

This Horse Knows How to Cook!

Back in March, during an unseasonably warm stretch of weather in Chicago, I went to Au Cheval twice in one week. I was inspired to be out-of-doors exploring the new haunts in the West Loop, but realized I didn't need to go farther than the corner of Randolph and Halsted streets.

Occupying a long, narrow, dimly lit space, Au Cheval didn't look like much when I first stepped inside. The long bar and open kitchen give it the ambiance of a 1950s diner. It's charming and approachable. The staff is friendly and the patrons range from hipsters, to neighborhood yuppies, to hard-core foodies, to all of the above.

Salad at Au Cheval

On my first visit to Au Cheval, I went with my friend Vicky. She resisted the temptation of rich food and stuck with a salad (herbes and sherry vinaigrette). I, on the other hand, caved and indulged in the toasted open-faced ham and cheese fondue with fried egg. Oh, was it rich! But also delicious. I balanced out my meat and cheese with a side of bread and butter pickles, similar to my mom's recipe. I washed everything down with a pint of wheat beer. Vicky opted for a cocktail.

Open-faced sandwich

Bread and butter pickles

On my second visit to Au Cheval with Z and friends Andrea and Javier, Andrea and I split the foie gras terrine with tart cherry jam. This particular preparation of foie gras was better than the preparation I had Maude's a couple of months ago. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

Foie gras terrine with tart cherry jam

BYOB Asian Bistro in the West Loop

The Lake Street corridor, just under the Green and Pink Line El train tracks, can be dicey. Businesses that aren't in the meat packing industry seem to come and go frequently. At any given time, about 25% of store fronts are empty and the roar of the train passing overhead blocks daylight and masks neighborhood sounds of bird chirping, children playing and even cars driving by.

While Lake Street may not be the most scenic street in the city for a stroll, it and nearby Randolph Street offers excellent dining options, including the recent addition of Anna's Bistro.

Anna's emphasizes its take out and delivery business, but if you eat at the restaurant, Anna's menu resembles a constitutional law book. It's filled with a wide variety of Asian cuisine--Thai, sushi, Laoatian, Vietnamese, Indian and more. I'm wary of dining at restaurants that seem to be a jack-of-all-trades, and Z and I were initially overwhelmed by the options when we dined on a busy Friday night. We took our time with the menu and eventually decided on a variety of dishes representing nearly all of the ethnicities that Anna's menu covers.

Z loves shumai, so we started with that. While it is difficult to disappoint with shumai, we were genuinely impressed with Anna's. Our other favorite dishes on the menu included the Peking Duck Bun, The Samurai sushi roll and the Filipino Pansit Noodles. The best part about Anna's: our delicious meal was about $50, thanks to the affordable food prices and BYOB liquor policy. We'll definitely be back to Anna's.

You probably won't need it, but you can make a reservation at Anna's on Open Table.

Awesome Aviary

Mike ordered the classic "In the Rocks"

I thank my super-foodie friends Andrea and Javier for introducing me to Aviary last summer. They don't even live in Chicago and know all of the hippest spots! Aviary is perfect for a special occasion, a birthday or other celebration or just a fun night on the town. What makes Aviary such a great place to take out-of-town guests is the unique presentation and careful detail in each and every drink. It represents some of the most innovative culinary presentation the city has to offer. When Betsy and Mike were in town a few weekends ago and we wanted to grab drinks before dinner, we knew just where to take them.

Betsy's drink

Aviary accepts reservations if you email them in advance. Seating times are 6 p.m., 8 p.m. or 10 p.m. I recommend making a reservation to avoid waiting an hour or more on a typical Friday night. Guests dining at Next, which is adjacent to Aviary, have preference at Aviary.

My drink--"The Ginger". Seems better suited for Mike.

Don't come to Aviary expecting to eat a full meal with your drinks. The menu features delectable bite-sized portions, but you'd have to eat the entire meal at least twice to get a decent meal.

Pina Colada--My favorite drink of the evening

Magnificent Maude's

Tenderloin steak tartare and chicken liver mousse at Maude's

A few weekends ago, we had some celebrating to do. My sister Betsy and her fiance Mike were in town to celebrate their engagement and spend some time in the big city. We took a (calculated) risk and took them to, Maude's Liquor Bar.  

The happy couple at Maude's

A week in advance, the earliest reservation for four on a Friday night was 9:30 p.m. Now I understand why. 

Walking into Maude's, I felt like I had stepped into a quaint roadside bar in Europe. The interior, down to the soap and towels in the restrooms, is tastefully done and appropriately French. Maude's food is refreshingly pure and simple, yet rich and flavorful. We started out with a platter of oysters, carefully comparing East Coast and West Coast. We ended up with a two-two split on the winner. 

Z and me and the oysters

Then came our small plates. The tenderloin steak tartare was one of the best preparations of tartare I've tasted in Chicago. The chicken liver mousse had a lovely flavor, not too pungent and appropriately creamy. I've been on a foie gras kick recently and I found the foie gras pate a bit plain, but that's only in relation to the other fabulous dishes on the menu. I could have skipped the Traditional Cassoulet, too. I felt guilty eating all of that meat without some veggies, so we ordered the Brussels Sprouts. They were good, but the 'sprouts at The Gage still have my heart. Smothered with brie and bacon, they're the best I've found in the city. 

Although Maude's full name is "Maude's Liquor Bar", go to Maude's for the food. The drinks are good, but they pale in comparison to the food.

Closing Time

 Just Grapes retail store

Two of my favorite brick-and-mortar retail businesses have closed over the past few weeks. Just Grapes, a lovely, personable wine shop in the West Loop moved out of its space around the end of January. I loved going into the store to check out new wines and sample a few at the tasting bar. According to an email I got from the owner, the company had difficulty negotiating its lease. The company will continue to sell wine on its website.

This past weekend I learned my favorite coffee shop had closed. Signs on the door over the past few weeks said the store had been struggling with plumbing problems. Still, I was optimistic that doors would reopen once the pipes were up and running. Noble Tree had delicious cappuccinos and some pretty tasty-looking baked goods.  Not to mention a comfortable, old-school coffee shop ambiance and friendly baristas behind the counter. I learned to recognize a cappuccino by the barista who made it.

Although I will miss Noble Tree, I was happy to learn that the Noble Tree crew has plans in the works for a new coffee roasting and education company, Bow & Truss and free-standing cafes, P.O.C. For more information about the new venture, click here. Sounds like a really cool concept. And I know of quite a few neighborhoods in the city that are deprived of quality coffee!

Lunching in the West Loop-ish area

Today my friend Devin, who has been hounding me about writing a blog since I first told him I was thinking about starting a blog, asked me for lunch recommendations in the Randolph/Halsted area. Devin, you have given me the perfect topic for my second blog post!

I consider myself an emerging foodie. I don't think I have the appetite to be a full-fledged foodie. Frankly, I still like to fit into my skinny jeans. But I enjoy and appreciate food. Even if that means sampling rather than devouring the foie gras in front of me.

In no particular order, here is where I would want to lunch in the West Loop/Fulton Market District area:

Blackbird. Always a classic. Delicious at lunch, too. Blackbird changes its menu from time-to-time, so there's always a new reason to go back.

Sepia. Another Michelin star winner. More affordable at lunch. It's truly one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago and I'm consistently amazed by how easy it is to get a reservation here. Now that I've let the cat out of the bag, go show them some love.

For a more casual option, try Haymarket.

Dragonfly Mandarin also has a lunch menu. A solid Chinese option if that's what you're in the mood for.
De Cero offers yummy tacos. And a lunch menu, but March-August only.

Saigon Sisters is ultra-yummy Vietnamese food. I don't recommend the pho, but the sandwiches are to die for. The Porky is my favorite. My boyfriend will walk half-a-mile from his office in the Loop in 20-degree weather to pick up a sandwich.

Saigon Sisters also has a location in the nearby French Market. Pick up a Vietnamese sandwich at Saigon Sisters or an artisan sandwich at Pastoral. Sinfully Healthy is my favorite. Don't forget to save room for dessert at the French Market. You'll find plenty of artisan candy makers and bakers, including Sweet Miss Givings. Try the red velvet cupcake. AH-MAZ-ING!! Sweet Miss Givings is a social enterprise bakery offering employment opportunities and training to needy Chicagoans.