2011 N. Southport Ave (Finkl & Sons)

Nothing to do on a Saturday night?  Got a few bucks you'd like to send the way of Chicago Gateway Green?  Then get on over to the big top! 

Ok, it's not a big top, but it sure was a big tent in a big parking lot.  Actually, the event is so big it can't even all fit under the 'sure was a big tent', with the stage, dance floor, half a dozen bars, 10 or more food stops and a lot of people spilling out on just about all sides.  Well done to whoever figured out how to get it all in.  Well done to the dudes who actually built it.  And, well done to Finkl & Sons for having the space to do it!

It's a charity ball, so there's food, drink, silent auction, band (Dr Bombay), dj (someone from the Underground), dj #2 (someone from somewhere), speeches and lots of people - would 50,000 be an over estimate?  But considering the number of people, it didn't feel all that crowded no matter what you happened to be focused on at the time - although the deeper into the night we progressed, there was more dancing occurring in non-dance-sanctioned locals making it just a little harder to get your next adult beverage.

The chefs worked hard and often found time to be talkative about what they were 'selling' but couldn't really be chatty seeing their next 5 'customers' were standing right behind me.  Plenty of wait-staff type people around the place, the bartenders worked hard and poured generously.

The music was dialed in around 11 most of the time.  I really liked the band that opened the show, playing a fun mix of covers.  The first dj played music I mostly recognized but not in the way I 'learned' it, and the second dj played stuff I think was music (the dance floor was still hopp'n) but I really don't know what it was - I'm assuming it's for the young 'uns as it was borderline past my bedtime when he came on. 

Our meal went a little like this:

• Bubbles - no idea what it was, it was the first thing that came our way.  Nothing to complain about...
• Sauvignon Blanc - no idea what it was.  It filled the white choice admirably...
• Pinot Noir - no idea what it was.  It filled the red choice admirably...
• Food - There were 65 restaurants and 4 food trucks doing their thing. 
  
  • We didn't do them all, but we gave it a good shake...   
  • All bite size, most just needing 2 fingers and a napkin attached to your cocktail hand...
  • There was hot, cold, raw, frozen, liquid, sandwich, sciency...
  • There was old favorites, reinvented old favorites, restaurant signatures, very clever bites...
  • We definitely had a couple of favorites, a couple of pleasant surprises and a couple we'd really like to see the full size version of.

We had fun, we ate well, we drank just the right amount more than enough, we listened to some fun tunes   and at least one of us had a dance.  And it's all for a good cause!

Stay JOLLY!
D

1508 W. Jarvis

We've been before A Previous Article, with our previous visit perhaps being too long ago at almost a year to the day.  This visit was eerilly familiar to the previous one - a Saturday evening when we couldn't be bothered cooking or making a reservation and hopping on the bus to get to; warm, but not hot, but just a little too humid to enjoy the patio area out front; very quiet customer wise (probably the same reason as last year, but this time we heard the bar tender (manager?  owner?) talking to some of her regulars saying they weren't all that surprised to be so quiet seeing there were 6 or 10 neigborhood festivals on this weekend); if you discount the drinks, we ordered exactly the same menu as last time if you count Gelato & Sorbet as a fair match-up.  Eerie, right?

We so wanted this to be our neighborhood place, but it just doesn't quite work out and through no fault of theirs.  It's not out of our walk to distance (as long as it's not 100° or 30° or raining or snowing) but it's perhaps just over the edge of our walk home safely after a few cocktails distance.  We would love to get here more often, we really would.  We assume it was two locals we saw being taken care of and we're a bit jealous - phone rings, happy chatting, 2 place settings appear at the bar, wait a few minutes, drinks appear, wait a few more minutes, locals arrive, happy chatting, wait a few more minutes, food arrives.  Yeah, jealous we don't have that kind of place.

Our Server may have been a little bored this night, but she took care of us and settled into our not-sure-how-much-we're-going-to-order mode almost straight away.  She left us alone until we were ready and seemed happy when we wanted to chat a bit.

Our meal went a little something like this:

• Pomegranate Cosmopolitan - no doubt there's pomegranate going on.
• Hirter Privat Pils (Austrian) - I think what you'd expect of an Austrian Pils - not too heavy, not too light, not too hoppy.  Actually went really really well with the Pizza.
• Vegetale Pizza - we are sure you'll like it, we're double sure you'll look twice at the presentation.
• Sautee di Cozze (mussels) - we really like that they came with garlic toast for the sauce, but it's not enough so make sure you save some of that bread you get when you sit down.
• Potato Gnocchi with Mushroom Ragut - not too heavy and just the right amount of ragout.
• Sorbet - it wouldn't have been hard to talk us into a second helping...

We'll be back, for sure.  Not sure when, but hopevully before this time next year when the weather, festivals, mood and menu line up on a Saturday evening...  But we can't promise we won't end up ordering the same again, either.

Stay JOLLY!
D

809 W Randolph

The Girl & the Goat made our to-do list based on our friendship with Stephanie through Top Chef.  Alright, we haven't actually met her (and still haven't as we're pretty sure she was not on the line for us) but we were root'n for her from quite early in the season.  It's hard to think it wouldn't have made our to-do list anyway as by all accounts they've been putting out great food from the day they opened and every man and his dog wants to get in and be seen there.

Relatively simple from the outside.  The whole place is wood and some of it deliberately (I hope!) charred and I think the outside is all about that charred look.  It's a big space.  A bit squishy by the bar (but that's a side effect of the 'every man and his dog' thing they've got going) that we had to wait at while our table became available - apparently the other 3 or 4 empty two-tops weren't good enough for us.  I'm not sure if a couple of hundred seats is an over estimate but there were a lot of tables of varying sizes through out the place.

Right in front of the door is the host stand with perhaps 5 or 6 host / manager type people loitering.  Although polite enough my first impression was that they're a bit snooty, but they didn't lose our coats nor forget about us.  We arrived straight from work and after having no troubles with the cross down-town bus trips we had to make arrived more than 30 minutes early.  The place was already closer to packed than not and looked like it had been for hours.  They did get us to our table before our officially sanctioned time and when we joked with the host who insisted on carrying our drinks on a tray for us that she didn't trust us, she didn't laugh - snooty?

The room is divided up sort of kind of a little bit based on the shape and needs of the building and although overall lit fairly dimly our table and the ones close by were lit up just right. The kitchen is wide open with a very long pass area with at least 15 chefs cheffing away in plain view.  The music is cranked and although not specifically memorable was at the up tempo end of the scale.  It has to be cranked from all the noise coming from all the tables - all happy and enjoying themselves, I'm sure.  If you want to eavesdrop, this is not the place as it's more like Ball Park noise than Dinner Conversation noise - I'm not saying that's bad, just how it is.

There's no couples sitting on a four top here but they do something which I think is a great use of space and mostly fun (only mostly because on a true date night this might not be quite how you imagined your dining experience).  Let me explain my understanding...  They have a couple of tables built to seat 12 or 14 (more?) people which are 'real' tables with no partitions or flaps or other ways to change the shape.  I'm sure they do see lots of parties of this size but not always (and not while we were visiting).  If we remember back to the 'every man and his dog' thing again, they can't afford to have such a great table empty so what they do is offer it up to Walk-Ins when available.  You don't have to accept the offer, but you could choose to make a reservation for months in advance or 4:30 the next day if you prefer.  You may or may not make friends with the other Walk-Ins you get to share the table with.  Fun, mostly, right?  They also have 2 VERY fun tables (but I have no idea what you have to do to get one!) which are built right into the Kitchen's pass area, meaning you get to see the whole show and probably chat to whichever chef is closest.  A very fun play on the chef's table, right?

Our Server was great.  She knows the menu, she knows the kitchen, she was bubbly, she was available, she was chatty (when we wanted to chat) and she was not intrusive. She spent a few minutes explaining how the menus (there's what appears to be a mainly stable menu and a more fluid one with the breads, oysters and specials) worked and how many dishes we should sort of aim for - we ignored this recommendation but we rarely order the way the Server suggests (or insists).  She sort of kind of wanted us to order everything at once and she would have it come out one at a time.  We ordered in batches and this mostly worked until the Shank which we were told takes much longer to prepare (seemed reasonable) so we ordered it 'early' with a couple of other things and they all came pretty much at the same time.  Oh well.

We definitely over ordered (meaning we could barely look at the Dessert Menu and took some home with us) so our meal went a little like this:

• Girl and the Goat - blended but not made by the boss, apparently.
• A Beer - not your Ball Park Variety...
• Lady Grey Bread, Black Tea Butter, Orange-Thyme Marmalade - Onlyonce A Previous Date Night Article before we've had to pay for bread, but this was way different. Great quality bread with thoughtful and fun condiments.
• Goat Carpaccio, Tongue-Olive Vinaigrette, Salsify Chips - I wouldn't have known it was Goat without being told, but a great piece of meat and a double great dressing.
• Medoza Malbec - we recently attended a tasting A Wine Club Event that was all Malbec all the time and it seemed acceptable to put our new found knowledge to the test.  I think we did ok, this was at the lighter end of the scale and although arguably much better with the Shank was not unpleasant with the lighter dishes we selected.
• Wood Fired Port Norris Oysters, Spinach, Bacon - I think more smoke from the oven than the bacon.
• Culture Club Bread, House Cultured Buter, Beer-Cheese Compote - we didn't really 'need' more bread but we wanted it as a tool to get all the yummy sauces.
• Seared Scallops, Goat Sausage, Shitake, Winter Squash - a lot going on, but the Scallops definitely the star.
• Escargot Ravioli, Tamarind Miso Sauce - not quite the same when you don't get the itty bitty fork for shell extraction (but not a bad not quite the same!).  The sauce may have been the star.
• Roasted Pork Shank, Spaghetti Squash, Truffled Apples - we ordered this because we saw it go by our table a couple of times.  It tasted even better than it looked 'walking' around the restaurant.
• Goat, Pork and Veal Sugo, Pappardelle, Ground Cherries - I guess it's the combination of meats with the slow cooking that make this a luscious rich get-me-some-more dish
• Ham Frites, Smoked Tomato Aoili, Cheddar Beer Sauce - not so good reheated at home the next day but easily the best fries I've ever had when they were fresh out of the kitchen.

Easily the Sugo was our favorite, the Shank the most fun and the Frites the surprise treat.  But there's nothing we're sorry we chose (and plenty we're sad we didn't...)

I'm torn.  I loved the food and I double love that the menu is designed for you to share and have as many courses as your belly can deal with.  It is, however, big and busy.  And right now it's a place people want to be seen at meaning getting a Reservation is only easy if you want to come in at 4:30 on a Wednesday afternoon - of course that's great for Stephanie and her team!  As of right now we won't be hurrying back but if a friend offers it as a suggestion no arm-twisting will be required.

Stay JOLLY!
D

On the River, under the Arch!

We aren't spring chickens by any stretch of the imagination (although one of us does still get carded from time to time...) but we were aware quite quickly that we may be the youngest non-children on the boat.  Ultimately, we probably weren't, but not by much.  It's actually irrelevant to how our afternoon worked out, but we noticed...

It's a boat, and decked out very much in the style of the Riverboats of 'olden times' - the paddle on the back is just there for looks and no smoke comes out of the smoke stacks.  A couple of decks inside and plenty of room up on the roof, but if you want to just sit at your table with a cocktail you won't miss out on anything.  The buffet is on the lower level, and we assume that's where the dance floor is for the evening cruises. 

There's a 2 man band playing 'Riverboat Tunes' pretty much the whole time and although it's not unpleasant to have in the background, for me (and I'm not making any assumptions as to anyone else's take on this) I kind of felt like I needed to listen to some really heavy metal for a bit after we left the boat to undo what had been going on for just on 2 hours.

Not that it's relevant to the service we got, but boy did our Server look like one of the cousins.  Just say'n...  For what she had to do she took care of us - got our drinks, didn't lose my credit card security deposit (I think they prefer cash?), came and got us when the buffet opened up and collected our used plates promptly enough.  We did go back for seconds, and one of us would have had thirds had they not brought some cakes up to our level.

The site seeing part of the tour is not really the highlight and had this been our introduction to St Louis, we may have been a little disappointed, but seeing we'd completed our site seeing for the weekend by the time we stepped on the boat (and past the very annoying photo takers!) it wasn't the end of the world.  We expected a commentary of some sort and were a little surprised to only here the Captain chatting when he told us where to find a life vest - we didn't need one.

Our Meal went a little something like this:

• Screwdriver
• Chardonnay
• Brunch Buffet
  • French Toast
  • Blintzes
  • Scrambled Eggs (2 ways)
  • Sausage
  • Prime Rib
  • Shrimp
  • Stuffed Chicken Breast
  • Wild Rice Salad
  • Pasta Shells (2 ways)
  • Salad Salad
  • Fruit Salad
  • Cheese Cake
  • Chocolate Cake

We were relaxed, we got to take some fun tourist photos and we ate maybe one shrimp too many.  A very pleasant afternoon and end to our stay in St Louis.

Stay JOLLY!
D

3535 North Clark Street

It's a bar.  It's in Wrigleyville.  It was a Cubs game - stupid Cubs.  It was busy - but not insanely busy.  There were very very drunk people around at noon...  One of us was pleased to be carded... 

Generally we avoid the bars around Wrigley pre-game, but we chose Goose Island as our meeting place with friends from way out of town.  It worked out ok, but our friends spent their 'lunch' time stuck in traffic while we got to listen to some obnoxious drunks over a couple of frosty brews.

It's a big place and they're definitely ready for the pre-game rush.  There were plenty of tables to be had and plenty of staff to take care of everyone. If there was music we couldn't hear it or if any of the TVs actually had the sound on, we couldn't hear that either.

Our Server was polite and helpful, but clearly was past being social.  We don't blame her and we hold no grudge!  We ultimately had plenty of time and the lunch snacks we ordered arrived in an ok time and were tasty and satisfying enough for what we were after.

Our meal went a little something like this:

• Spinach and Artichoke Dip - We actually didn't run out of chips and got to eat the bowl.
• 312
• Wrigley White
• Basket of Fries - Real fries!  Not crispy, but not the end of the world considering.

Overall better than we'd prepared ourselves for, but the Cubs aren't at their best right now so the pre-game crowd may have been down a bit.  If we must meet at a bar before a game we'd give Goose Island another go.

Stay JOLLY!
D

1508 W. Jarvis

If ever a restaurant summed up "neighborhood restaurant" Gruppo is about as close as you could get.  It's been around for somewhere around 5 years, it's on a quiet residential street amongst just a couple of other stores / restaurants, it's clear that locals (we'd class ourselves borderline local because if it was raining we wouldn't walk - sorry!) stop in for a drink or a quick meal (we rarely rush, but a couple of tables were in after we came in and out before we'd decided on our second course), carry out is an option, it has an easily navigated menu and the TV over the bar (which from just about every table you cannot see) had the Cubs on with no sound.  And the name, apparently, loosely translated means "circle of friends".

We almost sat outside, but chose inside with some air over the gentle gentle breeze and some humidity.  Inside there is the rustic color scheme with some wall and ceiling covers added to enhance the rustic feel, but over all it just feels like a nice pleasant not overly crowded room with the bar at the front and a nice sized wood fired oven prominently displayed (and used!) in the back.

We are big fans of thin crust and cheese-less pizza, no matter where from but the ones here at Gruppo are consistently up at the top of our favorite list and we always have at least one, and more than once they've made up our whole meal.  We're sure the oven plays apart, but thoughtful combining of ingredients has to be part of it too.

Not a particularly busy night our Server took great care of us.  She did a good job of reciting the specials (including a couple of drinks) and she almost got us on the seafood dish.  She was polite and let us order in our now customary very slow way, although we kind of felt she was nervous on when to come back and ask if we were ready to continue, but maybe not.

Our meal went a little something like this:

• Silver Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon - perhaps a little toasty, but smooth and probably cherries?
• Vegetale Pizza - we are sure you'll like it, we're double sure you'll look twice at the presentation.
• Sautee di Cozze - for some reason we've had a lot of mussels lately and these didn't disapoint.  We really like that they came with garlic toast for the sauce.
• Potato Gnocchi with Mushroom Ragut - not too heavy and just the right amount of ragout.
• Gelato -Yum!

We'll be back, no doubt.  Not sure when, but probably on a Saturday evening when pizza feels like the right thing to dine on, but not a pizza that comes in a cardboard box.

Stay JOLLY!
D

217 W Huron St

For so close to 'downtown' a quite quiet street and not once did we hear the el that has a Brown Line stop perfectly close enough to be useful for us.  Easy enough to see once you turn the corner on to Huron, but nothing overly memorable in terms of the building.  Up a couple of steps to the Host Station and inside to the Bar while we waited for our table.  A nice selection of cocktails to choose from.

Music is unashamedly louder that you might expect, but not intrusive and a quite enjoyable selection when you take the time to actually acknowledge what is playing.  Our fellow Diners often drowning out the music to a degree, probably can be attributed to the open brick walls of a Warehouse Building, but nothing to complain about.  Somehow, our request for a window seat was provided at the only window seat in the place.  Busy all night, and only occasionally an empty table.

Our Server was chatty and informative and knowledgeable and available and unobtrusive - just about what you need most times you Dine Out.  She explained the menu set up clearly and made sure we understood that we could add to either the Tasting (5 course) or Experience Menus (10 course) - we did.  We added a shared appetizer to the Tasting Menu.  As with Tastings, you all have the same meal but we're totally ok with that. 

Our meal went someting like this:

• Popcorn - the white truffle adds a little something...
• Foiellipop - an interesting texture to come to terms with, especially with the pop rocks
• Caesar Salad - the stuffed 'crouton' very interesting
• Potato Bisque - who would have a thought a melted marshmallow could add so much more
• Bouillabaisse Risotto (our added dish) - so so glad we added this in, it all played so well together
• Scallop Almondine - light and fluffy
• Pot Roast - melt in your mouth goodness
• Chocolate Torte - just enough ice cream to end everything wonderfully
• A bottle of Pouilly Fuissé

Everytime a dish arrived, regardless of who brought it to us we got a complete description of what we were about to enjoy.  Our Server took our Wine order and the Sommelier (Manager?) came flying by with it.  He spoke politely, knowledgeably, sensibly and with a good dose of reality, but he clearly had other tables who needed him too.  He did stop by later while less frantic (if that's fair) to check on our experience.  Although clearly not a one off deal, he offered us a tour in to the kitchen which we accepted and enjoyed - admittedly not a lot to see (but our guide had a nicely practiced spiel), and absolutely worth the time before heading out - we were happily surprised that the chefs not only acknowledged us, but made eye contact too.

And fortuantely we spent such a small part of our Event with the Hosts that it doesn't matter at all how snooty they are...

Stay JOLLY!
D