Habibi wrote:Fried up some fresh sheep's brain from Butcher and Larder this weekend in some bomb-ass Palestinian olive oil we get from family orchards in the West Bank.

Doesn't look like much, but this is the true manna.



Squeeze of lemon and a dash of salt was all it needed. Ethereal, fleeting, brainy.

That looks delicious. I've never cooked brains in the states. I need to do it sometime soon! Thank you for reminding me of this!

every dang thing I tried @ Lagomarcino's in Davenport, IA. (sister location of the James Beard recipient in Moline, IL.).

- egg cream
- rootbeer float
- strawberry sundae
- turtle sundae

All of the above cost a little over $11 before tip.

I loved the butter/fat content of their ice cream as well as the old tyme soda fountain.

Lagomarcino's
2132 E. 11th Street
Davenport, IL.

http://www.lagomarcinos.com

At Jimmy's in Forest Park, I love the meatballs, I love the dry spice inundated salad dressing; when I found the two combined in a special the other night, meatball salad, I found the best I've eaten lately

(Restaurant Edition - This time of year, nothing can compare to all the fresh produce driven dishes eaten at home)

Grilled Cheese on brioche at Floriole.

pairs4life wrote:Grilled Cheese on brioche at Floriole.

You better let NAV MAN know about that one!

Apricot Blueberry Pie from Hoosier Mama Pie Company.

This seasonal delight lasts perhaps two days in my house, the pecan crumb crust is our favorite, and this pie is simply the best! It is all the best flavors of mid-summer rolled into a single slice.

Zak's Burger from Zak's Place in Hinsdale. Unbelievably simple: 10 oz. of Black Angus expertly grilled and seasoned, nice char, juicy as all get out, grilled onion brioche bun, and perfect ratio of bread/meat/condiments.

This has to be up there with the absolute best I've had anywhere and reminds me of the very best homemade burgers. For $10 this was a steal.

This was my first trip and I will definitely be returning for another.

Last night, I had dinner at Restaurant Michael in Winnetka. The whole meal was excellent, but the highlight was the strudel that was one of the two foie gras preparations. A circle of thin, crisp filo dough was stuffed with a combination of foie gras, duck confit, mushrooms, truffle, and cream cheese. Oh, boy, was that good.

"Fig Thing" (their name, not mine) from Sprout's booth at the Taste of the Nation event last night.

I've had that duck/foie strudel a couple of times, and am was fortunate enough to work with Michael Lachowicz at the Botanic Garden a few years ago, where I obtained the recipe. And it's a damn good recipe - and he was a fine (if somewhat intimidating) teacher. He was the first food professional that I heard indict truffle oil as being a worthless, phony culinary Tool of Satan. He was ahead of the curve on this issue. . .

BTW, his new blog is extremely entertaining. Let's just say he does not suffer fools gladly.

A double dog with everything and fabulous fries at Gene and Jude's last night, after I picked up Evil Ronnie at O'hare.

Absolute Perfection!!

claypoolfan wrote:"Fig Thing" (their name, not mine) from Sprout's booth at the Taste of the Nation event last night.

This was one of my top five dishes I tasted, but I think my favorite of all was the Foie gras peach cobbler from Cafe des Architectes.

Most of my reviews this site are on places like Naha (probably my favorite), Les Nomades, and places of that nature.

However, I thought I would mention some good comfort food. My neighborhood (Streeterville) place is D4 on Grand, between McClurg and Fairbanks. The food obviously does not compare to places like Naha. I was in Wednesday of this week for a beer and a quick meal with my wife and our twins (the place is pretty child friendly for what is basically an Irish bar). I had the Shepherd's Pie and two different beers. The Shepherd's Pie really met my definition of comfort food. Basically, mashed potatoes, meat, and vegetables mixed on a plate. Is it Naha? No way. But it was very good and I thought worthy of mention.

One more note about the place -- it is one of the few places that really know how to pour a Guinness. It takes about five minutes and comes out right.

DML wrote:One more note about [D4] -- it is one of the few places that really know how to pour a Guinness. It takes about five minutes and comes out right.

I concur. I had a Guinness there a week after getting back from Dublin. It put a smile on my face.

It's the weekend of the Ginza festival at the Midwest Buddhist Temple in Old Town so I am living on their wonderful Teriyaki Chicken for dinner each night (and a son cone for dessert)
The chicken is simply so very tasty that I look forward to it every year.

Indulgent lunch at Joe's Stone Crab today to cure a foul mood. All of it was delicious but the coup de grace was the half-slice of Door County Cherries Jubilee pie that I took home and am slowly consuming. Delicious tart cherries with a delicately sweet brandy accented sauce, good tasting flaky pastry and a yummy crunchy top. It's been gently reheated with a generous spoonful of pale and rich Oberweis vanilla ice cream -- rich and cold against the heat of the cherries, somehow highlighting the cinnamony background of the pie filling.

Dear God...this is a fine pie. Joe's is a lot of things but they also know how to bake pies.

Kinda sad that I only took the half slice. This pie is worth it.

Roasted Bone Marrow at Gilt Bar. 3 huge bones - largest portion I've seen in Chicago.

Door County Cherries, brandy sauce and Oberweiss? Crunchy top? Great crust? OMG I'm dyin' over here!! And the warm and cold combined...I seriously have tears in my eyes.

Evil Ronnie and I have been trying to get to Edzo's for 2 years and finally we did today for lunch. OMG!!!
I had 8 oz char cheeseburger, garlic fries and a chocolate malt-best burger I've had in years! Cooked perfectly medium rare as ordered.

ER had a double griddled cheeseburger, garlic fries and he pronounced it "amazing"

A perfect lunch!

Went to a wedding reception pig roast catered by BBQ King Charcoal from Woodstock IL. They used all natural hardwood...great BBQ, excellent BBQ sauce (on the side), killer baked beans. Best catered meal I've ever had!
http://www.bbqkingcharcoal.com/index.html

Torta de chicharones at El Yugo on Camelinas in Morelia Michoacan. For about $1.25 you can't beat it, or any of their other tortas (jamon, pollo, mole, milanesia, etc.).

I love August.

Fresh roasted corn (Nichols Farms), then pan sauteed with chive, shallot, butter and parmesan cheese.

Scattered with dice of heirloom tomato in a lovely shade of orange...

Red Haven Peaches cut into large chunks and stirred into hot oatmeal with ground cinnamon, and a generous amount of brown sugar and butter.

All the more special because the Red Haven Peaches are in their final days.

Dried scallop egg custard and pork belly in shrimp paste from Grand Palace.

Salted peanut and malted vanilla gelati (separate trips) at Black Dog.

Hungarian Sausage & weisswurst from Ream's, wok seared with some onions and then steamed with some kraut from Norway Farms.

It's BBQ week at Vie, and truth be told, I like Vie; I like BBQ, but I'm not so sure about Vie and BBQ. Still, a midst a lot (lot) of food sampled, the best, and something worthy of this thread, was a brick-sized piece of cornbread. The secret ingredient, who knew! garlic. All other things considered, you might want to head out to Western Springs this week for a block of bread.

Slices of red haven peaches poached in a light sugar syrup spiked with Buffalo Trace and homemade vanilla extract (IIDSSM).

--Rich

RAB wrote:Slices of red haven peaches poached in a light sugar syrup spiked with Buffalo Trace and homemade vanilla extract (IIDSSM).

--Rich

I know what I'm having for dessert tonight. That sounds terrific! My homemade vanilla extract is itching to do something besides flavor baked goods.

RAB wrote:Slices of red haven peaches poached in a light sugar syrup spiked with Buffalo Trace and homemade vanilla extract (IIDSSM).

--Rich

Nice lunch