Nightwood

Definitely different....in a good way! :)

Their menu changes constantly but here's what we had for brunch today....

Dungeness Crab & Soft Herb Quiche
with mornay sauce 

Breakfast Enchilada
with Braised Slagel Farm Beef Shoulder 

Wood-Grilled Galician Sardines
devil sauce, hard boiled egg, house pickles
fried lemons & baguette

Bagel Sandwich
Rushing waters smoked trout cream cheese
slaw, bacon, an over easy egg and tots

Bacon Butterscotch Donut

Chocolate Donut

Chocolate Bread Pudding
with Michigan cherries

Nightwood
2119 S. Halsted
Chicago
www.nightwoodrestaurant.com

Blue Cheese Bread

I'm not knocking the typical mozzarella-topped Italian cheesy bread.  In fact, I don't frown on any carbohydrate that's topped with cheese!   But blue cheese is my absolute favorite....so why shouldn't my cheese bread be BLUE?

The ingredients:
French Bread
Blue Cheese
Balsamic Vinaigrette (I used homemade - but a high quality store-bought type would work)
Red Onion
Mandarin Oranges
Walnuts

Start by toasting the walnuts in the oven
(350deg for about 12 minutes)
Let cool, then chop

Split the French bread horizontally

Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette.

Add caramelized red onion & mandarin oranges
(Red grapes would work really well in place of the oranges too!)

Top with blue cheese...

....lots of it

Ready for baking!
Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until cheese is thoroughly melted

Top with toasted walnuts

Enjoy!

Grahamwich, Goddess & Grocer, and Glen Prairie

A lot of G's this week...


Grahamwich
A few months old now, Grahamwich has gotten a lot of buzz in the foodie world.  Maybe my expectations were set a bit high because of all the hype or because I had high hopes from a chef who's self-named restaurant (Graham Elliott) earned a Michelin star, but his sandwich shop concept was a bit of a let down.


Don't get me wrong.  It wasn't bad.  It just wasn't great. 

Grilled Cheese

Wisconsin Cheddar, Shaved Prosciutto
Tomato Marmalade, Cheese Curds
on a Pullman Loaf

Pastrami Reuben
Rutabaga Sauerkraut, Toasted Caraway,
Gruyere Fondue, 1000 Island on Marbled Rye

Beef Shortrib
Baby Watercress, Shoestring Potatoes,
Pickled Shallots, Creamy Horseradish on a Pretzel Roll

Bahn Mi
Pork Belly, Roasted Pineapple, Daikon Slaw
Shiitake Mushrooms on a French Baguette

Jibarito Taco
Pork Shoulder, Green Mango,
Queso Fresco, Habanero Salsa
and Crispy Plaintains

The highlight of my meal....

Cinnamon Stick Ice Cream
Roasted Apple, Salted Caramel (a lot of it!!!)
and Pie Crust

Grahamwich
615 N State St.
Chicago, IL
www.grahamwich.com

Goddess & Grocer

Beet salad aside, I love everything about Goddess & Grocer (and its sister restaurant Feast).  It's the gold standard of what every takeout shop should be.  If Ward, Wally and the Beave weren't such needy guys, June Cleaver would probably have a shop like this.

There's a selection of prepared salads, sandwiches, artisanal cheeses, and small bites.  They have their classics as well as rotating menu items all served up in a casually elegant style.  


If you're ever looking for a quick bite or a little something for an impromptu picnic, this is the place to go!

Beef  Tenderloin on Toasted Baguette
with Red Onion Marmalade
and Horseradish Cream

  

Wild Mushroom Risotto Cakes
with Parmesan & Truffle Oil

Potstickers

Korean Spiced Chicken Wings

Roasted Beets
with Goat Cheese,
Orange Segments, Red Onions,
and  Red Wine  Vinaigrette

Coconut Chicken Fingers

Mustard & Rosemary Crusted
Lamb Chops

Grilled Vegetable Skewers
with Balsamic Glaze

Goddess & Grocer
25 E Delaware Place, Chicago
1646 N Damen Ave, Chicago
2222 N Elston, Chicago
www.goddessandgrocer.com



Glen Prairie
Everyone down to their own staff will tell you how hard this place is to find the first time around.  Half the problem is the address of Glen Prairie: 1250 Roosevelt Road, Glen Ellyn, IL.  GPS and Mapquest will point you in the wrong direction.  


Hell, even the towns of Glen Ellyn and Lombard are confused as to which town this restaurant belongs to!  Apparently, the restaurant (and the Crowne Plaza it's attached to) is right on the border of the two cities....and is serviced by the fire department on one city and public services of the other.


Aside from the bland exterior, the restaurant is really pretty enjoyable.  After my wild goose chase to get there, my nerves were completely frazzled.  But as soon as I entered, I was greeted by a genuinely friendly staff.  Everyone from the greeter to restaurant manager empathized with my plight and shared stories of their "first time."


Nerves settled, I was interested to learn about Glen Prairie's practice of sourcing all ingredients from local farms within 150-mile radius.

Caramelized Onion Soup
Herbed Croutons, Steiner Bros. Swiss & Gruyere

Organic Baby Spinach Salad with Chicken
Stickney Hill Goat Cheese, Toasted Almonds,
Dried Cranberries, Raspberry Viniagrette

Midwest Cuban
Nueske's Smoked Ham, Becker Lane Organic Pork,
Housemade Pickles, Swiss Cheese,
Whole Grain Mustard Sauce on a Sourdough Roll

Glen Prairie
1250 Roosevelt Rd
Glen Ellyn, IL
http://glenprairie.webs.com

Italiasian Weekend Eats

We did some eating this weekend.  Here's what we had at Zenwich & Vincitori's....

Zenwich: Asian flavors served up in a familiar western way....in a sandwich.

This small, unassuming sandwich shop in an Elmhurst strip mall is easy to overlook but I'm glad we discovered it!  

The assorted slaws, salads, and chips are all homemade, but what makes it really great is that the sauces, marinades and even the mayonnaises are made from scratch!

The owner and clientele are all very sweet too!  :)

My recommendation: Get the Mu Ping Sandwich!  It's really tasty!

Mu Ping Sandwich
Grilled caramelized pork, pickled carrot and dykon,
cucumber, red onion, jalapeno and cilatro with
homemade sweet mayonnaise

Crab Cake Sandwich
Japanese style panko crusted homemade crab cake
and baby greens topped with homemade creamy garlic sauce

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich
Grilled chicken with homemade buffalo sauce,
lettuce, mozzarella and ranch

Zenwich 
416B N York St
Elmhurst, IL 
www.eatmyzenwich.com


Vincitori
There's noting fancy about Vincitori.  It's really just pretty basic Italian food... done well.. 


There's a host of classics on the menu ranging from Braciola with Grilled Polenta to Veal Marsala to Clams & Linguine, but Tim really likes their pizza.


I had the grilled calamari appetizer as my meal.  The flash fried spinach reminded me of the kale chips at Cafe Spiaggia in the city.

Italian Beef & Giardiera Pizza

Grilled Calamari
Served over flash fried spinach
and topped with plum tomato relish

Vincitori
14 N Cass Ave
Westmont, IL
www.vincitori.com

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Happy St Patrick's Day!


I'm not Irish, but I'll celebrate any holiday that gives me the excuse to bake with booze!  

Irish Car Bomb Cupcake

So what is an Irish Car Bomb Cupcake?  


Well, an Irish Car Bomb drink is made with Guinness, Bailey's Irish cream, and Jameson Irish whiskey.  


So, I guess technically this isn't a true Irish Car Bomb cupcake.  My cupcakes consisted of Guinness chocolate cake, a Bailey's white chocolate ganache filling, and Bailey's buttercream frosting.  I suppose I could've made the ganache filling with Jameson....but Bailey's is just SOOO good!  


(Did I just invent a Filipino car bomb?)
.

Start by making Guinness chocolate cupcakes

Once cooled, hollow out the centers

Fill with white chocolate Baileys ganache

Top with Baileys buttercream frosting!

Raku Sushi

SLOWEST SERVICE E-V-E-R!  


We decided at the last minute to celebrate Mom's birthday at Raku.  I'd been there before and it was pretty decent sushi but, more importantly, on a Friday night, it was a convenient meeting place for the whole fam.


Because it was a cold day, I opted for a bowl of udon soup instead of sushi.  Mistake #1.  


My brother ordered both sushi and udon soup as well.  His sushi came out first.  OK.... no red flags there.  As he worked through his sushi (the rest of us watching with nothing but chopsticks in front of us), his shrimp tempura udon came out.

Since my brother's soup came out, mine wouldn't be too far behind..... right?  WRONG.


Tim's meal came out next.  And by "next", I mean about 15 minutes later.

Thank God Tim doesn't like ginger dressing... at least I had something to eat while waiting the next 15 minutes before getting my Seafood Udon.

Dad's order for Japanese-style Shrimp Curry came out next (after another 10 minutes).

The birthday girl sat anxiously awaiting her meal.....  A good 75 minutes after placing our orders, Mom finally got her food!


Despite the average food and terrible service, . Mom still left smiling.  What a trooper!  Happy Birthday, Mom!!!  =)