Old Fashioned Vanilla Caramels by Route 29. They are so rich and buttery and contain only corn syrup, half and half, sugar, butter, brown sugar, and natural vanilla.

A couple items from this weekend stood out as great:

1) The roasted pig @ Toons on Saturday. This pig was magnificent, porky, tender, juicy, and a crisp skin that was out fo this world.

2) Fried shrimp @ Redhot Ranch. Really nicely done, & perfectly fried

3) Roasted marrow bones, red onion jam, sea salt, sourdough crustini. A buttery, flavorfull small plate. For $9 a steal

A few weeks ago I had the Puerto Vallarta Scramble at Over Easy Cafe in Ravenswood. It was probably the best scrambled egg dish I have ever had. Nicely spicy with tortilla chips ground into the egg with chorizo and covered with a red sauce. Just great.

Over Easy Cafe
4943 Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

Sardine crostini at Cafe Spiaggia: gorgeous sardine filets over a slice of raisin-fennel toast with a pistachio pesto and fried capers. My fiancee and I are hosting our wedding reception at the private dining room, and one of the perks that comes with the package is a lunch at the cafe with Chef Mantuano and his wife. The meal was excellent and they couldn't have been nicer.

Braised Swan Creek pork shoulder with farro, radish greens, fried lemon, fresh fennel and aioli last night at Rootstock. Just really well executed all around and very soulful. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Rootstock's strip steak.

Cumin Lamb and Szechuan Green Beans at Lao Sze Chuan in Downer's Grove.

Wow.

Pound of fried Gizzards w/mashed potatoes and gravy from Hienie's McCarthy's Chicken in Orland Park.

Hienie's McCarthy's
9869 West 143rd Street
Orland Park, IL 60462
708 349-0390 ‎
http://www.mccarthyscatering.net/

Fresh Spring Pea Soup at LM in the French Market.

I asked the woman behind the counter what kind of seasonings were in it and she said - 'very little' - a woman was sitting at the counter having it and I said, 'How is it?' and she said 'Good. Tastes like peas'.

So I got it, and it was very fresh tasting, delicious, and simple..and tasted like...peas. Really good.

Duck and Spring Onion Yakitori at a Japanese restaurant on Goodge St. and Tottenham Court Road in London. I don't even know the name of the place and not sure it has one. Great care and precision was taken to grill this little stick of duck. And it showed. Really really tender and tasty. Semi sweet from the quick dip in teriyaki during the grilling. The Chicken Skin Yakitori wasn't too shabby either.

Also, every bacon sandwich on a baguette with brown sauce I had the last couple weeks. Gotta love the bacon over here.

In response to Jimwdavis's post about Bari's Beef (food supplier South Elgin). Bari's (food supplier South Elgin) spicy Italian Sausage is also really tasty. Probably would make a great combo with the beef. A buddy's dad gets me 5 lb boxes of it. It's a trade for when I bring him Polish Sausage and Kabanos from the city.

Gnocci in brown butter and sage at Antico in bucktown.

Pork Tenderloin Sandwich with Mashed from Skrine Chops, from the downtown location. The spices left a pleasant burning feelings on lips and tongue for the entire afternoon. Four of us had that sandwich and all agreed it was great.

grilled pork tenderloin sandwich at Hog Wild, with grilled onions, tomotoes, and mozzarella cheese......
mmmmmm......

Dinner at a friends house last night. Really good 21 yr old scotch, prime strip steaks from Zier's, and 13 yr old cheddar among other things. I had never heard of a cheddar being aged that long. It was creamy and crumbly and had crystals like a parmigiano.

A few drinks in and this beautiful cheese ended up on a paper plate!

Jay,
That cheddar looks awesome. Any idea where your friends bought it?

annak wrote:Jay,
That cheddar looks awesome. Any idea where your friends bought it?

It was awesome. They bought it at a dairy during a trip to WI, but I don't recall the name.

Was at the French Market yesterday....they had their first annual exhibition from cheese and sausage makers from all over the midwest....had a cheese called prairie breeze made by Milton Farms in Wisconsin....really really wonderful....it's sold by the cheese place to the left of Fumare...good stuff..........also got a cheese from the same place called Brun-uusto......Brunkow's Baked Cheese....this stuff is kind of addictive.....if you like cheeses....

pnking wrote:. . . it's sold by the cheese place to the left of Fumare...

FYI, that's Pastoral, who was responsible for putting yesterday's event together.

=R=

The Workingman Burger at Revolution Brewing was top notch the other night. The burger was cooked exactly as I like (med-rare), and was rare enough that meat juices were dripping down my arm. The goopey beer onions and crispy bacon were excellent toppings. Fries just okay, but the numerous Stiegl's were a perfect complement.

Speaking of which, a really great event Pastoral put on at the French Market, and best of all it was free. Some wonderful cheese producers, such as Prairie Fruit Farms (great Little Bloom on the Prairie), Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Coop (their Tulum was fantastic), Zingerman's (their Manchester, a Camembert-like washed rind was nice), and they showcased some nice Michigan wines as well as some local beers. By the way, Brunkow grills their Brun-uusto cheese at the Green City Market in the summer almost every weekend.

Siggi's vanilla skyr. It's not very sweet and has sure-enough vanilla bean flecks in it! It's a bit expensive ($1.69 per cup or so) and more watery than I remember (I just pour that off) but it's worth it.

I have gotten into the habit of saving the fat when I roast a leg of lamb. I don't strain it or anything, so it is riddled with bits of drippings and char. Last night, I made a bowl of Japanese oat noodles, then instead of putting butter on them, I put a scoop of the lamb fat with drippings, and tossed it. Mighty tasty.

Blue crab with jalepeno crostini and lamb meatball sliders at Locanda Verde in the Greenwich Hotel (NYC). Someone with some dough should contact Carmellini and see if you can convince him to open up a shop in Chicago; preferably in Bucktown so I can go a couple times a week.

Moleche (soft shell crab) at Cafe Spiaggia - served atop a lighter-than-air white polenta with asparagus, tarragon, lemon and spring onion blossoms as a garnish. Heavenly. I'm so glad I had a chance to try this seasonal speciality, since our waitress said they'll likely only have it through this weekend.

and 13 yr old cheddar among other things. I had never heard of a cheddar being aged that long. It was creamy and crumbly and had crystals like a parmigiano.

That cheddar looks awesome. Any idea where your friends bought it?

Laack Brothers, in Wisconsin, has a double digit aged cheddar (can't remember if it's 13 years), you can get it at the Great American Cheese Collection - usually a wholesaler, but they open their warehouse on Saturdays. http://www.greatamericancheese.com/warehouse.php

Dinner at alinea.

-black truffle explosion
-hot potato, cold potato
-part 2 of 3 on the rabbit course, blood sausage and rabbit rillette

Tacos Al Pastor from Tierra Caliente. Wish I lived closer!

Rembrandt gouda from Marion Street Cheese Market.

Found this descripton:

Taste: Honey, caramel, butterscotch - with a slight, spicy finish of aged whiskey

Spot on.

Soft-shell crab special at Antico in Bucktown. Garlic, hot red chili flakes, parsley and chives flavored the oil in which it was pan seared; cooked to perfection (and given a close second by the ethereal gnocchi in brown butter).

A morel tarte at Balsan last night. Lots of morels with asparagus and other spring vegetables served on puff pastry. A standout dish among many good ones.

A jerk chicken from Uncle Joe's, torn to shreds and devoured by four hungry cyclists, while sitting on the sidewalk along Cottage Grove, Ting in hand.

-Dan