1333 Mornington Flinders Road

We were just looking for a lazy(ish) lunch where we could get a glass of a wine with a view of the vineyards the wine came from.  We're ultimately ok that our first choice was obnoxiously* full and we were forced back into the car for the what turned out to be a 2½ minute search to find this place. 

We almost didn't stop because the Restaurant part of the sign was down the bottom and it took us a bit to take it all in and decide it was worth a look - we had to turn around and go back...  A small awkward parking lot, an obvious front door and an old and well used (we assume) tractor make up the street view.  Can I guess that this is the tractor it took 10 minutes to get somewhere?

Inside there's a small tasting area and cash register.  Keep going past this and you get to the Restaurant part which overlooks the vineyards on the slightly sloping hill - an area they're happy for you to wonder around in [our case] after your meal and we even found their herb garden with some artichokes in full bloom.  Out the other door is the Patio area where there's not much of a view, but you do get the fresh air.  We opted for outside, but I suspect that was really our only option as we were dressed for touristing, not fancyish dining.  Also, it looked pretty full so maybe dress mattered less than having a reservation?  If you include bathroom amenities in your Restaurant Selection process, these are pretty nice, even before you realized you get real towels for hand drying.

Typical outside, mostly, with lots of green things, some offering shade some not, but all doing a pretty good job of keeping the highway out.  Rustic looking tables of varying sizes (I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some of the bigger ones help strangers become friends subject to the demands of the day) and a few umbrellas whose usefulness clearly varies as the day progresses.  The not so typical thing was the chef station where one chef was kept pretty busy the whole time we were there - he has a much more consistent umbrella arrangement...

One Server to keep an eye on all 20 or so of us.  She was busy, but not crazy and although it took a little bit to see her the first time there was nothing to bother us for the rest of our time here.  She chatted a little when we asked questions, but she's not an expert on the menu.  She's good enough to offer opinions of what you might like, but not good enough to clarify what all (most, just not all) the different components of our dish are - good thing the chef was working just behind us.

A nice outdoors type menu of salads and platters, and all pretty good for sharing.  I guess I could have asked, but I suspect the inside diners get a different menu to what we got.  The wine list has their own wines front and center and on a day where a glass each with lunch was all we sensibly should have we were always going to select one of their own by the glass.  But, the full list has a really good range of local and not so local things to choose from - if you really want to, you could drop a car payment on a good selection of bottles.

Our meal went a little like this:

• Ten Minutes by Tractor Sauvignon Blanc - a little bit of sweetness, a little bit of acid, ultimately nicely balanced.
• Ten Minutes by Tractor Rosé - light and fruity like you'd expect from most Rosés but also at the drier end of the scale.
• Smoked Chicken Salad, bacon, potato, green beans - a gentle dressing brought it all together nicely.
• Charcuterie Platter - if you're just after a light lunch this could easily work out for 2 people.  It's not really about the condiments, obviously, but they were there to help out when the urge was felt.  Not even a crumb was left behind...
  
  • Rabbit & Pistachio Terrine - to be fair, if you didn't tell me it was rabbit I probably wouldn't have known, but it was yummy with just the right amount of nutty crunch.
  • Rare Roasted Sirloin - didn't expect to see this on our platter, but pretty happy that we did.  A beautiful piece of meat that did not need anything to keep it company - just cut off a bite and enjoy
  • Smoked Ham - off the bone we're assuming based on appearance.  The lightest of all the meats provided.
  • Salami - a few peppercorns along for the ride.
  • Wagyu Braciola - quite strong flavors from a relatively delicate piece of meat.
  • Pancetta - a little bit of salt going on, as you'd expect.

Not our plan when we departed on our travels a couple of hours earlier, but we really enjoyed our sit in the sun, our meal and our wine!  A very pleasant surprise find, and absolutely totally un-obnoxious at all levels.

Stay JOLLY!
D 

* - just to be clear, our failed place was not obnoxious, on the contrary we really do want to go back and give them a try (although, we're not holding our breathe because of the whole Antipodean thing we have going on) not just because of the recomendation that sent us towards it, but also what we saw go whizzing by with the Servers looked and smelled great.  It was the crowd this day that was quite obnoxious.

Corner Cook & Wood

We're perhaps not proud, but certainly pleased with the result, for having stalked the chef after learning that he was no longer associated with the restaurant where we 'met' him last time we were back home.  We had learned that he was setting up shop down in Flinders and was aiming to be open a little before Christmas.

As we had plans to be in the general vicinity with the goal of a fine dining experience this seemed like a worthy goal.  A difficult goal, ultimately as the opening date turned out to be quite fluid, but we thank my brother for his perseverance in nailing down the opening date and a reservation (for the record we were in on day 2...).  Technically, this was another A Collection of Articles it-doesn't-matter-where-we-eat get together, but we really, really wanted to dine with Chef Pierre.

As part of a quite significant remodel / upgrade of the Flinders Hotel (which isn't quite finished) you could easily miss that there's a 'fancy' restaurant as part of the complex when you see the Bistro / Bar area spilling out onto the deck (a good sized one, that's for sure) and the I've-just-come-off-the-beach evening wear that is predominantly predominant.  But, once you find it, you know you're somewhere else.  All very modern in style, quite brightly lit there's what seems to be just one room, plus a patio area (which had the heat lamps on this night casting a sort of eerie orange glow).  But, we learned later that there's some moveable walls to give the option of expanding the room, or leaving as is for a private dining area.  It's good to have options, I guess.  There was some sort of gentle jazz type music playing, but subject to how much fun we were having there were times when we couldn't hear / didn't notice it.

We knew they'd only been open a couple of days so we were pretty calm when the Server who greeted us wasn't able to locate our Reservation with out the intervention of the Maître d' (for the record I think our Reservation had been left in the Bistro section) who just took a second to seat us with no dramas - although it was on a table more suited for 6 people, and probably could take 8.  The Servers it seems are still learning and they haven't gotten to the cross training part yet - our Wine Dude got a little flustered when we asked for some more bread; but we did get our bread.  I'd say a little nervous (no chit chat at all), but conscientious so I'm sure by the time you are reading this they are rock'n the joint. 

By no stretch of the imagination are we friends with The Chef, but we did think it appropriate to buy him a beer as a small thank you after a great dinner and also for actually being open.  I guess he was curious who did this because he came out to see us, and actually was able to put 2 and 2 together as to how we had once crossed paths before. He gave us a tour of the place (the kitchen has some pretty swish gadgets), sat with us for awhile and shared his vision for the restaurant.  Thanks Chef Pierre!

The Menu is short and to the point, with a Degustation (although technically correct, I'd prefer Tasting for a less snooty sounding description - but it's not just here as everywhere we went on this trip who offered such a thing went with snooty sounding...) option available.  Had it just been the two of us we almost certainly would have went this route, but with 4 excellent sharers at the table we ordered a unique dish each and passed plates around our [extra large] table.  We're lead to believe the menu will be extended once they've been open a bit longer giving the Kitchen & Serving teams a chance to master Chef Pierre's 'philosophy' and I suspect to see what the customers go for.  We could have gone with everything, given suitable belly space!  Strongly influenced in Morrocan styles there's lots of fun, occasionally in your face, type spices to keep you amused with a good mix of game and seafood in amongst your more common meat type dishes.

Our meal went a little like this:

• 2008 Elgee Park Viognier A Century Club Contributor (family reserve) - we liked it enough to get a second bottle.
• Stuffed Quail, cinnamon & buttermilk gnocchi, dried grape juice - the gnocchi may have been the best part, thanks for boning out the little guy.
• Flinders Golden Beetroot Carpaccio, crab & apple salad, fig & preserved lemon dressing - so so refreshing, beetroot definitely the star, the salad not far behind.
• Ocean Trout Terrine, prawns and preserved lime guacamole - prawns a nice treat, but the terrine with just a touch of guacamole was the best.
• Marinated Yellow Fin Tuna, oyster croquette, eggplant, argan oil - a tartar where all the bits were perhaps a bit yummier on their own.  Oyster probably the most memorable.
• Zucchini Flower & Saffron Risotto, fried ricotta - great risotto, creamy and just a tiny bit of crunch left.  I think there's more than just saffron in there?
• Rabbit with Scampi & Foie Gras Dumpling - quite a lot going on including some unlisted spices, all tasty and mostly quite rich.
• Slow Roasted Rack of Lamb, green tea & almond crust tagine - great piece of lamb and you absolutely should chew every bit off the bones.
• Roasted Duck Breast & Leg Confit, cardamom honey, orange sauce - tasty confit, wonderfully rare breast, both a little better with a little bit of the honey (you can't miss the cardamom) and sauce.
• Roasted Heirloom Carrots, with honey & thyme - a fun side, quite sweet.
• Selection of Cheeses - a brie, a blue, and an aged cheddar (the standard cheese board starting point, it seems).  All fine, interesting condiments.  No idea where they came from.
• Dark Chocolate Fondant, Which Chocolate Mousse, butternut sorbet - a quite rich end.
• Vanilla Flavoured Rhubarb, nectarine compote, creme fraiche ice cream - a refreshing end...
• Kahlua 
• Amaretto 

Clearly some early teething problems, but that's the price we have to pay for stalking The Chef I guess.  We wish Chef Pierre and his team nothing but awesomeness and we absolutely will be back when the opportunity presents - to see everything running with tip top smoothness as well as for the wonderful (and expanded) menu.  We thank Chef Pierre for visiting with us after dinner and for a wonderful meal.  We also thank our dear friends who introduced him to us a couple of years ago - the same friends that found us another dining treat A Previous Article just last week where we'll probably be stalking the chef if he also chooses to relocate....

Stay JOLLY!
DAndrew & Katrina

1952 N. Damen

Our To-Do List the List... includes a number of places we classify as 'save for a special occasion' and since we had an occasion that was special we had a readily accessible (and slightly longer than short) list to work with.  Although, we got to reduce the list pretty quick because we left too short a lead time for booking and therefore excluded ourselves from a couple - oh well...  We then decided we were in the mood for a Tasting Menu of some type, and had heard good things about Takashi's.  Off we went...

Not much from the outside, we almost walked right by it - but we didn't.  As I think is common for the neighborhood, it used to be a house and now it's not, but the building interior is the same because they still need walls to hold the roof up.  Therefore, inside you don't get one big space, but rather a number of fun shaped spaces.  It's not really that big with the host stand right in the door, the stairs up (to where we dined) right there too.  There's a small bar under the stairs and the kitchen is a little bit open in the back.  Upstairs there's a part where you're in the roof, so if you get the banquette side, watch your head if you jump up.  Decor throughout is simple, neat and tidy with low lighting and the music is there, but very understated, but also sort of soothing if you listened hard for it.

As part of our deciding where to go process we had peeked at the Tasting Menu on-line and the same one was offered this night so we didn't give the menu much more than a summarily once over.  It would not be hard to find a number of dishes to create a satisfying meal, and probably enough for multiple visits with no duplicates.  Seafood is clearly the focus, but there's lots of other fun things to amuse you with including (but not limited to) rabbit, pork belly and duck.

Our Server wasn't all that talkative and was perhaps a bit distracted / busy when we first sat down but he took care of us and he clearly knows the menu.  Also, he's either smart enough or well trained enough to understand the flow of the menu.  I note this because our cocktails arrived at about the same time we were telling him that the tasting with wine pairings was our choice.  Without hesitation he let us know that he wouldn't start the tasting until we had finished our cocktails so as not to get everything mixed up with the pairings.  We appreciate that he knew to do this!  We didn't have questions, but he was clear and sensible in his description of each dish as it arrived and he made sure our wines arrived at the same time, to which he also gave a quick description.

We did wine pairings with the tasting menu, so didn't spend much time with the Wine List either, but I did note, and enjoy the change, that the wines are classified by their oomph - Big Boys, Bubbles, Exotic & Aromatic...  It's a short compact list, and with the fun classifications it shouldn't be hard to get yourself pointed in the right direction.  I'm pretty certain your Server can get you to the 'right' bottle from within each grouping, as ours showed understanding of the wines we were being treated to as he delivered them which we would have to assume carries across the whole list.

Our meal went exactly like this:

• Honey Lavender Martini - tasty, not too strong, a change to have a gin martini.
• Whiskey Martini - it was yummy, and had more than Whiskey in there, but alas don't recall what. Sort of refreshing, certainly easy to enjoy.
• OMAKASE - the chef's tasting menu... Although we're not sure 'the' chef was out back... but we're hoping he was.
  
  • amuse bouche - tofu, of the soft squishy kind.  In general, not our favorite thing to see on a plate, but this was ok, especially with the rich sauce that came with it.
    • Avinyo Cava Brut NV - And, it's a full pour intended for the first course too, so don't get carried away...  A crisp, sort of appley thing going on.  Not to dry, worked well with both this and the crudo, but actually didn't need the food to be a comforting drink.
  • crudo of hamachi-yellowtail (Green Grapes, Fennel, Endive, Malden Sea Salt, Verjus) - eat the fish and nothing else and you'll be happy.  Get a little bit of everything on one bite and you'll be extra happy and a little bit excited about what is still to come.
    
    • Avinyo Cava Brut NV - did you get carried away and have nothing left for your crudo?
  • spicy octopus salad (Enoki Mushrooms, Garlic Chives, Frisee and Endive, Chili-Shansho Pepper Vinaigrette) - cooked just right, not too spicy.  Octopus clearly the star, but the Enoki are not far behind.  
    • Dopff Riesling 2007 - a great match, out of Alsace it's at the drier end of the Riesling scale.
  • sautéed maine scallops and soba gnocchi (Trumpet Royale, Celery Root-Parmesan Foam) - great scallops, but perhaps better gnocchi, certainly an awesome pair.  It ended too soon...
    
    • Champalou Vouvray 2009 - a nice and gentle acidity that worked really well with the dish.
  • soy-ginger caramel pork belly (Pickled Daikon Salad, Steamed Buns) - bring your fingers as you're encouraged to make an open sandwich...  Simple looking on the plate, but a lot going on in your mouth.  The best bite was the one with a little bit of everything, but if you gave me the pork belly or the salad all on their own I'd be happy.
    
    • Domaine Jean Parent Bourgogne 2008 - a Pinot Noir that I would have been equally happy sharing the scallops with, worked well at cutting through the caramel sweetness of the pork with a sort of earthiness you might expect in 'bigger' wines..
  • roasted indiana duck breast (Duck Rillette Roll, Baby Turnips, Green Bean Salad) - the roll may have been the best part, but not by much.  A nicely balanced dish overall, the Salad probably could have gone equally well with the pork (if it wasn't a sandwich...).
    • Vina Magana Dignus 2005 - a Tempranillo that played nicely with the duck.  A pleasant drinking wine, let the food still be the star of what was going on.
  • the egg (Milk Chocolate Crème Brulee, Caramel Custard Foam, Strawberry Macaroon) - a fun dish, both in presentation and in just general yummy-ness.  Sweet for dessert, but not overly so and wonderfully smooth in the mouth.
    
    • Vigneau-Chevreau, Vouvray Petillant Demi-Sec NV - if nothing else fun to get to try two different Vouvray styles as part of the same meal.  But, there was something else; sweet, but not too much, bubbly, but not too much and almost creamy in the mouth,

Success!  We had a wonderful dinner that suited our mood and our wants.  Nothing was complicated, everything was enjoyable, we left happy, relaxed and satiated.  We probably should get back and try order a couple of the non-Tasting dishes...

Stay JOLLY!
D

6545 N Clark

We found this place awhile ago thanks to the wonders of modern cable television, but it took us a little too long to actually get up and head over.  We're now glad that we finally did, but sad that we took so long - oops. 

It's another of our pesky neighborhood places that we're never going to get into the car to go to and falls perfectly in that walk over (and back) on a nice evening distance, but throw in the possibility of too hot, too cold, too wet, too white or too something else and we're not going to go for that walk.  What Taste of Peru has in it's favor, is that there's a bus we can hop pretty much door to door and it would have to be shut-down-Lake-Shore-Drive bad out there to be a fair reason not to go - that's some excellent pre-planning from when Cesar (yes, everyone gets to know him!) opened up shop about 10 years ago.

It's not a big place, just a storefront in an itty bitty strip mall type arrangement.  We had certainly seen it and discounted it as a potential dining venue (barely giving it any thought) many times prior to cable television stepping in because it doesn't look like much at all.  Oops!  Sorry!  Seriously, don't judge this book by it's cover!  Inside i'ts maybe 50 seats, but less people because almost all the tables are setup for 4 and end up with 2.  It's full, but we didn't feel cramped.  Simple tables, simple chairs, simple decor.  Lots of pictures / posters of Peru and Lima, and a few art type pieces that may or may not have been born of Peru but certainly help you get into the Taste of Peru.  There's also a wall of achievements / awards / exciting things that happened which was interesting to have a quick look at.

We certainly felt welcomed.  We turned up without a reservation and Cesar seemed almost embarassed to tell us the wait would be about 15 minutes.  We're not big waiters but 15-20 is ok.  Most of the waiting is done outside due to the overall smallness of the place, so we'll be making a reservation for when we go back in the height of winter.  The Servers aren't particualrly socialable, but answered all our questions and weren't far away when we needed them.  They work by committee and at least one is a daughter of Cesar.  If you like your Server to be socialble, you won't miss out though as Cesar visits everyone and doesn't mind being the center of attention as he puts on a little display or talks about some Peruivian history.  He's fun, but probably intrusive if you were looking for a 'true' date.

The menu is not hard to navigate, but even with the English descriptions you may need a little extra explanation from your Server to make sure you understand what you're really going to get.  You also get Cesar's story if you've got some time for some light reading.  No wine list as it's 100% BYO and there's no charge for doing so.  But, if you bring a bottle of wine, make sure you know how to open it because they provide the glasses and opener, not the opening.

Our meal went a little like this:

• Argentinian Malbec - didn't really know what to turn up with, saw the Malbec section in the store and was able to hunt down a South American from the small sampling provided.  Not a lot to it, pleasant enough and no reason not to get it again for this sort of meal.
• Ceviche de Corvina - a nice tang to the dressing, the fish is a great texture.  A great way to start!
• Papa Rellena - earlier this year we had a go at making these ourselves A Daring Kitchen Episode.  It's not hard to admit that ours weren't as good as these ones.  Soft and creamy mashed potato holds it altogether, lots of fun things on the inside including beef, olives, egg and more.  We'll have this again.
• Lomo Saltado - under the 'Traditional Peruvian' section of the menu, it's a combination (and I mean combination) of beef, fries, onion and tomato.
• Arroz con Mariscos (Seafood Paella) - a great mix of seafood, a great almost creamy rice, an interesting tang to it all.

That was a lot of food in just four dishes!  That was a lot of really good food!

Another place we're better off for having visited.  We're a little embarassed that it took a national TV show to find something so good in our neighborhood, but we'll get over it by going back and hanging with a guy (and his family) who absolutely positively loves what he does and is proud of it, but loves sharing it more with people like us.

Do yourself a favor and hop the #22!

Stay JOLLY!
D

601 S Wabash

Never actually had dinner here before (never considered it, really), but have had lightning quick lunches a couple of times due to my work being on the same block.  And, we only ended up here because our original plans A He Sipped / She Sipped Article were at best delayed and possibly postponed to the next day and we needed somewhere to wait while we decided if it was delay or postpone - and seeing we were doing a Wine Tasting, a Bar probably not the best solution.

It's a simple space built pretty much as you'd expect from a restaurant that is part of a hotel.  Some relatively simple decorations of the Thai variety and a Sushi Bar if you'd like to watch a couple of guys in action while you dine.  It's neat and tidy, not too cramped and set up to allow combining of tables for larger groups.

Certainly not chatty servers, not even all that talkative in explaining how the Friday Evening Deal worked, but it's not that complicated - choose from the special menu, don't be greedy, order more if you want, still don't be greedy, rinse and repeat...  But our drinks arrived prompty, they came by when we were ready to re-order and the food came mostly pretty speedily.

If you don't want to do the Friday Evening Deal they have a pretty extensive Thai menu that appears to have everything you'd expect at a Thai place, and also a pretty extensive Sushi menu too.

Our meal went a little like this:

• Sapporo Light
• All You Can Eat Maki & Sushi - they have rules, but they also have a very generous list to chose from.
  • Gyoza (chicken potstickers) - really tasty, almost got a second order as 'dessert'.
  • Shu-Mai (shrimp dumplings)
  • Sushi 
    • Hamachi (yellow tail)
    • Smoked Salmon - different in that it's not raw
    • Masago (smelt roe) - a fun texture of the crunch being the focus of the dish and not just a garnish on your maki
    • Red Tobiko (flying fish roe) - a different color, but to us tastes the same
  • Maki 
    • Sweet Potato - crunchy from the tempura
    • Shiitake - all about the mushroom
    • Soft Shell Crab
    • Ebi Tempura (shrimp) - crunchy like the sweet potato, but sweeter
    • Unagi -
  • Special Maki 
    • Rainbow (yellowtail, cucumber; wrapped with tuna, salmon, avocado; sesame seeds) - fun.  Looks and tastes great.
    • Pink Sundae (tempura shrimp, cream cheese, avocado, tobiko, chili sauce, scallions, sesame seeds; with tempura crumbs, strawberry mayo, unagi sauce) - the Cream cheese was kind of fun and kind of odd at the same time.  A lot going on that works out ok.
    • Fire Drop (boiled shrimp, masago, mayo, avocado, sesame seeds, touch of chili oil; wrapped with tuna, green onion sprinkles) - different texture without the tempura.  Not a lot of fire (phew!)

Our dinner was fine, we tried a couple of new things, ate well and still we managed to leave out a number of items we couldn't fit in this evening. 

Not what we'd planned on, and we were able to head on over to the Tasting for what turned out to be an awesome evening in Chicago by the lake.  I don't think we'd go rushing back, but if something comes up that keeps us in the neighborhood of my job and we need some dinner there's no reason not to head on back.

Stay JOLLY!
D

52 W. Elm

We see a lot of chefs on TV and quite often we get a feeling they're not really doing or staying true to what it was they were doing that allowed them to get their current TV gig even though they may be doing something useful at the time - I'm not sure that makes sense, but the point is if you go to an Iron Chef's restaurant, are you going to get the same as what you just saw him / her whip up?  We've seen Art Smith a couple of times on different shows in different roles and we didn't get that feeling.  Therefore, Table fifty-two made our To-Do List the List... and based on what we'd seen specifically of the Restaurant we thought this would be an excellent special event place.

Convenient to the 'el' for us (or the bus if you prefer), easy enough to find and close enough to, but not quite in the bustle of that whole Rush Street Neighborhood meaning we found a cab within seconds of walking out the door.  A simple, but well maintained building kind of looks like it got left behind somehow - or maybe it was purpose built to stand alone.  But either way, it's got an elegant sort of feel to it.

Inside it's a small tight, but not cramped space.  There's no official bar, but there is seating kind of like a bar in front of the big wood fired oven.  Somehow the bar tender type people do their thing in the same area as the oven guys.  I guess it works because our food arrived hot and our drinks cold...  There's maybe 40 seats, perhaps less, and when the place was full, it was also full of happy diner conversation noise.  We figured out there's an upstairs area which at first we assumed was for private parties (which it probably is used for?) but when we got to take a peek (the bathrooms are upstairs) it looked pretty much the same as downstairs apart from the oven.

Again, everything has that elegant feel / look to it, the colors, the curtains, the chairs, the center pieces, the ceiling, the wood wall paneling, the light fixtures.  But, when all put together the room also has a comforting I'm at home type thing going on.  I like it, even though it was quite noisy.  We were sat at their banquette and the tables on either side were close enough we could see what the others were having (and vice-versa, I'm sure) and we had some quick chats with them too, but not so close that when it was time to talk amongst ourselves we felt intruded upon.

Our Server was attentive, and the busers and food runners at least as attentive - some might argue a little to much so as empty dishes and glasses disappeared with lightning speed.  He wasn't chatty, but he was able to talk clearly with us to describe the specials - getting us to select one - and answered the couple of questions we had easily.  He didn't rush us and had no qualms about us ordering dishes to plonk down in the middle and share, even splitting our one 'main dish' onto two plates (which for the record was appreciated, but unnecessary).

The menu is easy enough to navigate and my interpretation suggests it is strongly influenced by what we see described as Southern Comfort Food.  I'm pretty certain that's fair based on what we've seen of the Chef on TV.  We were drawn a little more to the appetizer & pizza sections than the mains but that's not for one second saying we didn't like what we saw in the main section.    There's also a fun section of sides.  We only picked one, but based on what we saw from other tables, we think you could order all the sides (and nothing but the sides) and have a great and perhaps overly indulgent meal.

Our meal went a little like this (and yes, we may have had one dish too many...):

• Humdinger - Apparently Hum is a new Liquor from somewhere local that starts it's life as Hibiscus.  A tasty cocktail!  Didn't know what to expect, but it got the nod partly because it's first on the list, partly because the mix sounded good.  Don't need to go out of our way to find it again, but wouldn't avoid it if it was in our way.
• Kentucky Champagne - It's a celebration, how could I go wrong with Bubbles and Kentucky Whiskey?  A surprisingly refreshing way to get started.
• Goat Cheese & Chive Biscuit - this is your bread.  The best bread you will ever get to start your meal.  Perhaps not so good if you save your bread for soup - but we didn't have soup...  In an emergency I could eat 5 or 7 of these and call it a meal.
• Deviled Egg with Peach Salsa - a little treat from the chef (that everyone in the place gets...).  Creamy and rich and a fun topping.
• Juve & Camps, Brut Rosé Cava - made from Pinot Noir it was surprisingly dark for a Rosé.  Effervescent at the pour, but not all that spritzy on the palette.  Definitely a food wine as we enjoyed it with everything on the table.
• Farm to Crust - the Pizza of the evening.  Quite busy.  Really tasty, great crust.  Andouille & Mushrooms the featured items, but a yummy non-standard sauce includes Capers among the others.
• Crispy Pork Belly (white bean puree, apple-celeriac slaw, smoked cippolini onions) - yep, crispy.  But tender too.  Everything else was yummy and worked well together.
• Crab Cake (sweet corn, summer squash, heirloom tomato relish) - a nice crisp, yet soft crabby crab cake, but I think I preferred the relish.
• Shrimp & Grits (spicy tomato stew) - without doubt the best grits I've ever had, nicely cooked shrimp and a wonderful stew that could be a dish on it's own.
• Bisol Prosecco - perhaps a fuller wine than our Rosé.  Worked with the fish, probably not so much with the pork but by now the pork was long gone...  Looking hard, perhaps found some apple flavors in there.
• Special Fish (grouper, with red quinoa & couscous) - we're certainly glad we chose this.  A great piece of fish cooked wonderfully and the dish matched the description from our server.  The non-fish part would make an awesome side with just about any meal.
  
  • Cornbread (bacon, jalapeno-honey butter) - this is not the way I learned how to make corn bread.  How can I ever make my own again?  This was so good!
• Blueberry & Cream Cheese Ice Cream - from what we saw the deserts are built for sharing, which of course suits us, but we also saw that in most cases they can easily be shared 4 ways.  We went easy on our tummies and had a very refreshing and tasty dish to wind things up.

We were right, this was an excellent place to celebrate our Anniversary!  We were right, we got what Chef Art does and talks about and looks for while doing stuff on TV.  If we see him in a competition show again, we'll definitely root a little harder for him than we did last time!

Stay JOLLY!
D

5101 North Clark

They've started putting up their Christmas Decorations.  The question is, have they finished?  Apart from over the bar where there is a wreath the restaurant is decorated with brightly colored lights that in most cases could be mistaken for nothing but Christmas Decorations.  Here, it's not so cut and dry.  The mural covering all walls is bright and abstract and bright and colorful and bright and not unpleasant to be around.  The possible Christmas lights suit this style just fine and therefore, it's highly probably that the Christmas Decorations haven't made it passed the bar yet (but I would argue that still too much the week before Thanksgiving...) and it's the same lights no matter what your Decorations 'should' be.

We had been here once before and this night was a spur of the moment decision after driving past earlier in the day.  We almost didn't get to go due the the CTA forgetting how to provide a bus on time (or more than once an hour).  We did make it, found parking easily and close enough and had a pleasant low key dinner so we're glad we didn't let the CTA change our plans.

We were sitting within sight (and sound) of the host stand and he seemed a little frantic at times (perhaps giving us a booth that a reservation who came in just after us should have gotten?) on a night where we didn't have to wait for a table, but others did.  I don't think he shirked his hosting duties, but there was one, perhaps two tables he spent a lot of time 'loitering' around -  friends is my best guess.

We didn't really have much to do with our Server.  She was polite and friendly and never too far away, but the menu is so very self explanatory and the specials are typed up (equally easy to figure out), so no real need to chat with her. 

It's kinda funny how Tapas is our perfect meal type - lots of small things you can order as many or as few as you like at a time - but this night we weren't in a sit for an extended time type of mood.  We weren't in a rush either.  It's just the way it worked out considering the other things on our mind, I guess.  And the nature of Tapas is that even if you order things together the dishes come out as they are ready.  Having actually picked four items to start, it was mildly amusing that they came one at a time, but mere seconds apart from each other by 3 different runners - no drama, just mildly amusing.

Our meal went a little something like this:

• Cucumber / Ginger Mojito - Actually no evidence of cucumber and just a little ginger
• Pomegranate Mojito - Almost tart, but refreshing.
• Tuna Cannelloni - Our only cold dish.  Squishy in a good way
• Pumkin Raviolli - On the specials of the day and we'd vote for moving it to the 'real' menu if asked.
• Calamari - Advertised to be coated in Panco, and although tasty and moorish, not in the least bit crunch.
• Mussels - An excellent broth, perhaps one of the best ever?
• Raspberry Mojito - Lots of raspberries in evidence
• Pork Tenerloin - Really tender and juicy!
• Salmon, mango basil sauce - probably didn't need the sauce, perhaps cooked a little more than we'd prefer, but nothing to cry about.

There was definitely more we'd like to try.  Perhaps the perfect place to return with a table of 6 or 8 so that you can get more 'tastes' to come your way?

Stay JOLLY!
D!

Station Road

Our Evening in Mallaig didn't quite go to plan on a number of fronts, but ending up in the Tea Garden for Dinner worked out fine in the end.

Much larger inside than what we thought we could see from the road.  They have a large outside area, and although it was set you'd have to be pretty brave to have chosen to sit outside on this evening.  Actually, a couple of fireplaces were going at a comforting level - a table of 4 came in about the same time as us, ordered one course and then moved to the comfy chairs by a fire for their coffee. No idea how old the building is, but inside it's all pretty new and fresh and open and bright(ish).  So open that they could increase capacity by perhaps half again without having to cram people in.

There was music going all night and when we paid attention we're pretty sure it was all Gaelic of some form or another.  Actually, the first time I noticed it I said to my wife that they were playing Jig Music, which may have been true at the time, but really not fair as part of the overall theme.

As far as we could tell there were only 2 Servers and we saw both of them.  The place was full but we never noticed them rushing around in any sort of panic, but they also didn't stop and chat or check in on us all that often.  We weren't rushing off to a show and didn't want a great big meal so the Service levels suited us just fine.

The menu was seafood focused with most of it sourced from the surrounding waters.  Easy enough to navigate which was good because our Servers didn't offer any extra insights.  Something suggested there was a Specials Board, but we couldn't find it.

Our meal went a little something like this:

• FraΦch Heather Ale - our only bottled beer of the trip which let us read the label stating it was from a 4000 year old recipe.  A second bottle confirmed it as my wife's favorite beer of the trip.
• Red Cullin - not really all that red but malty and not too strong.
• Smoked Salmon, caper mayonnaise - this was an excellent piece of fish, perhaps the best single piece of Smoked Salmon I've ever had.  I almost ordered another...
• Mussels, creamy wine sauce - if you're keeping score, yes we ate a lot of mussels.  These had a really good 'soup' which we were given a spoon for.
• Char Grilled Salmon Steak, shellfish sauce - a few stray bones, the nature of a Salmon Steak but cooked just right.
• Lemon & Whiskey Syllabub - a funny name for a yummy mousse.

We turned up on a coolish night that pretty much meant that the Deck was closed.  We wonder how crazy it might have been with the limited Server Team if that area was also busy?  Not really relevant because we were able to enjoy the slow and pleasant evening we were looking for.

Stay JOLLY!
D

167 Canongate

We still weren't quite on Scotland time, so sleeping in a bit, being tourists and taking awhile to get hungry caused us to not be up for lunch until almost 3pm.  We just barely made it in the door with the kitchen still open but after agreeing we could still eat we weren't made to feel unwelcome as the only diners at that time.

Although still in the tourist section, we weren't in the jam packed souvenir trinket shop section of the Royal Mile.  This is a really old building - the menu says 1664 and the clock out front has 1884 on it.  It's on a couple of levels, smallish bar at the front with a few tables and then the restaurant section in the back. Relatively new furniture and furnishings, but in a style keeping with the old pub.  No doubt you're in a building made of big stone blocks.

We thought we'd just sit in the front but they 'encouraged' us to sit in the back saying it's easier - we boggled but whatever.  Actually, it became clearer when our food arrived.  Apparently the kitchen is in the basement (or lower?) and the food comes up in a wee little elevator which is right at the back of the restaurant section.  I guess walking from the elevator, down a half dozen steps and into the bar is hard work...

Our Server may have had enough of tourists already for the day so she wasn't initially very talkative but she opened up a little as we asked questions.  I jokingly asked if the chips were the best in Scotland and she said yes, but later came back and said maybe not in Scotland, but probably in Edinburgh.  They were pretty good.

Individually packaged condiments on the table included something called 'Salad Cream'.  It's in the mayonnaise family I guess, but definitely not mayonnaise.  Although we had no salad we cracked it open to sample - no need to open another...

Our meal went a little something like this:

• McEwan's Lager
• Pie & Chips - beef with an awesome beer gravy.
• Fish & Chips - a generous piece of haddock and lots of peas.

A 'Pub Food' meal was just what we were after so the Tollbooth Tavern was the perfect place to stop for our late lunch.

Stay JOLLY!
D

1655 N Sedgwick

We've been here a few times over the years, but it's been quite a few since our last visit and it did take a bunch of things conspiring together to get us back, even though we've never had a meal we didn't enjoy.  Twin Anchors does really well, both with locals and tourists and as such they work with a no reservations policy, which is of course totally fine.  But for us, the lottery of arriving with no reservation and maybe getting lucky with being told it's only a 30 minute wait (which is probably understated...) is not the way we want to start our evening.

The conspiracy that came together included a Gift Card from dear friends, a day in which we were kind of forced into a really early lunch and we were getting hungry again at 4ish, we had no other plans, and we had a hankering for ribs.  We figured we'd take a chance and arrive at possibly the earliest we've ever walked in to a restaurant for dinner, 5:45.  It paid off in that we got a table with a zero minute wait!

The place has history, more than 75 years.  The place has had a couple of movies shot there relatively recently.  The place has done a good job of attracting celebrities and there are posters celebrating the oldest (and apparently most frequent) of them.  The place has people who come to see one or more of these things.

It's actually a simple room with bar and some booths at the front and the 'restaurant' at the back.  The menu notes that there's a juke box but it seemed we were not the only people who didn't think to bring quarters - we're pretty sure not a tune sprang from it all night.  The posters are kinda fun to take in, but we're not sure why the Christmas lights are still up.  Apparently there's an outside area, but with no windows we didn't see it and forgot to look when we left - not a big deal because it was a little too humid for us to be outside when we arrived.

Our Server was happy and polite and available.  She didn't offer anything insightful regarding the menu because there are no specials and only a half dozen items in each section (actually, only 1 in the dessert section) - not hard to figure out at all.  Lots of beers to choose from, both bottled and draught, but with quite detailed descriptions we didn't feel we needed our Server's help.

Our Meal went a little something like this:

• New Holland Golden Cap
• Allagash White
• Mini Barbeque Pork Sandwiches - yummy, and really didn't need the 'zesty' barbeque sauce provided as a side.
• A Frosty Draught (something from Michigan)
• A Frosty Draught (something Belgian)
• OUR FAMOUS RIBS - I'm probably more a fan of the dry rub variety which these are, so are they enjoyable ribs? Yes. Are they the best ever? Probably not.
• 1960’s Style Fish Fry - tasty, but I'd be very surprised to learn they are made in house. I really liked the tartar sauce and so did my fries.

Yes, we ordered fish at a place known for it's barbeque.  Our logic turned out to be sound, we thought it a good way to not eat too much food.  We shared, so neither of us missed out on the ribs and two slabs of ribs, or a slab and half a chicken would have put us way into the glutenous end of the scale, and even with the fish we weren't that far off.  Having said that, had there been more than just cheese cake in the one item dessert list (although 2 varieties of cheesecake...) we probably would have picked something to share because, well, there's always room for dessert.... We thought we might stop for ice cream on the way back to the el but didn't bump into anything so ended up here A Related Article due to it's proximity to the el at the other end.

We'll probably return sooner rather than later now that it seems a pre-6:00 time gets you in quick, but we're not 100% convinced zero minutes will come our way again seeing that this night there was also the Taste of Chicago going on, and the Cubs v Sox evening game for which one or both may have played a part in our rapid seating...  Our return may involve trying to round up a posse of some sort so that we can get more on the table and literally be able to try everything offered.

Stay JOLLY!
D