Very surprised by the broccoli and cheddar soup at panera on division in old town...one if the best soups I've ever had, and the baguette roll served with it paralleled bread from any of the best bakeries/restaurants in town. Planned on this being a filler, and it was unexpectedly incredible. Go panera!

Certain items at Panera--the vegetarian black bean soup and the grilled salmon on greens--part of their 'You Pick 2' promotion--are definitely better than adequate, and at the Clinton St. store just north of Roosevelt, those two items were excellent. When I worked near there a few years ago, that was my go-to lunch twice a week, and at under ten bucks it was a value as well. Since I moved, however, I've had Panera no more than twice, mediocre both times on other choices.

I'm a fan of the Greek salad and Sierra turkey sandwich at Panera, that combo is a nice Pick Two.

the Pimiento Cheese from Lillie Q's at the French Market. Just awesome.

I hope they are back soon after their fire!

Headed down to Maxwell St. Market for Rubi's first appearance of the year... those al pastor tacos were so worth it!

Roasted Duck Curry at The Elephant. I had no idea there were grapes in there, but it was a delicious surprise. It was so spicy it was a three-glasses-of-water affair, and I still wish I had more.

Chocolate-covered ginger from Blommer's. My friend brought a bag of these fantastic morsels to us as a hostess gift for Seder. Wow. Dark chocolate, spicy ginger, bracing and sweet at the same time. Addictive!

Don't judge...
mint brownie pie from Baker's Square. If you're a lover of mint, I bet you'll dig this pie.

Pie Lady wrote:Don't judge...
mint brownie pie from Baker's Square. If you're a lover of mint, I bet you'll dig this pie.

No judging here - I'm a fool for the French Silk.

I'm pretty much a sucker for anything that comes out of Baker's Square's pie oven, except that Celebration pie and Oreo.

zoid wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:Don't judge...
mint brownie pie from Baker's Square. If you're a lover of mint, I bet you'll dig this pie.

No judging here - I'm a fool for the French Silk.

I used to be a big fan, but their non-fruit pies just have vastly inferior crusts. Tender knocked out flaky in the first round.

I didn't notice a difference in the crusts, but the last time I had a fruit pie there was probably last year. I have yet to try the galettes.

I really dislike Bakers Square's pies. I find their crusts are cheap and of poor quality. I think their fillings are overly sweet, and the fillings in their fruit pies overly thickened. I was so happy when Hoosier Mama opened up - Paula really does things the right way and doesn't cut corners.

Sea scallops wrapped in bacon that I cooked last night, scallops from Soleman on Soledaridad and bacon from the local supermarket Aurera, a Wal Mart subsidiary. Just staring at the fridge yesterday, I thought, hm, why not? Wrapped the scallops and secured with toothpicks, sauteed them about three minutes a side, turned out great. Even Mrs. Trpt who swore she would have no part in the proceedings ate her share. From the Totally Trayfe Hall of Fame. I am just sad there are no leftovers. The scallops are big and juicy, come frozen at 200 pesos a kilo, about eight bucks a pound. You can get thirteen to the pound shrimp here for about the same, and eight to the pound for a little more.

The twice cooked pork at Lao Ma La on Saturday. I was debating between this or Mongolian beef so I asked our waitress which she would recommend and she didn't even have to think about it before suggesting the pork. I'm glad she did as this was very flavorful.

Normally, Tuesday night dinners settle a need. This otherwise mundane weeknight offered something special. Talk about finances can be dreary, draining; nourishment must be sought. During the banal discourse, my father and I decided to experiment with a neighborhood restaurant that has received little acknowledgement in this forum.

TWO restaurant resides in a microcosmic relic of Chicago's Near West Side Italy. An elegant shadow was cast over the space by the formally brilliant May Street Market (before it fettered into a cost-cutting shell of its supernova). Still, the innocuous newcomer has given a much needed dignity to the former destination spot.

Testa of porchetta was fine. Mussels adequately scratched an itch. Two dishes were remarkable and beckoned a return visit. Yet an unassuming pork chop on a pillow of mashed potatoes captivated our attention in a vacuum.

Sure, the house-made pork sausage with onions, roasted red peppers and cherry tomatoes stroked a level of comfort with any natural-born Chicagoan. The housemade duck egg pasta, perfectly al dente and improved by crispy flecks of duck cracklin', reached to a high-level of comfort food. But this simple pork chop surpassed a level one could reasonably anticipate when ordering a concept considered the pinnacle of fine dining in 1990.

I'd kill for this pork chop. And, assuming that Illinois specifically repealed its moratorium on capital punishment specifically for my hypothetical savagery, I'd order this exact same pork chop for my last meal. Marbled like your finest ribeye, smokey and tender like the sweetest ham hock: this is a superior pork product. The combination of sweet rich fat combined with the smoke imbued within before its finished on the grill challenges the diner to re-evaluate his/her understanding of what pork actually tastes like. Two components that normally the Chicago food cognoscenti wouldn't even consider took my world by storm by its lack or pretension and sheer ass kickery. The finest example of a pork chop I have ever come across...

wow

Whole roasted chicken breast stuffed with butter and brioche and served with morels, onions, marbled potatoes at The Lobby.

The steak tartare at Billy Sunday. Coarse chop with capers (or other pickley bits?), huge yolk, and served with mustard chips for scooping.

Prime rib with all the accoutrements at Lawry's this evening. Our server was "Miss Noel", and she was delightful. I told her I liked it MR and on the fatty side, so she went over to the carver and whispered something. He upgraded me to a bone in cut and gifted me with a side plate of fatty "scooby snacks" at no extra charge.

Rickshaw wings at Rickshaw Republic.
Meaty, spicy, crunchy, mmm.

Huge, fat, fresh, juicy gulf shrimp from Boston Fish Market--$9.99/lb--yup, you read that right. Marinated briefly with a purée of olive oil, garlic, parsley, ginger and shallot and sautéed for a few minutes with some mushrooms, asparagus and more shallots. Tossed with some spaghetti and a few squeezes of meyer lemon. Gorgeous. Can't wait to go back for more. Wow!

The Dong Po served on gua bao at Chef Ping in Rolling Meadows, off menu item. An 8x8 piece of pork belly is slow cooked in a flavored soy braise, brown sugar, 5 spice, bean paste, slash of cooking wine or maybe vinegar. The pork belly renders to the point that the underlying meat is almost confit cooked. A plate of condiments to garnish accompanies, dice Chinese green kimchee, spicy dressed cilantro, and chopped peanuts. So your server slices the Dong Po, you place a slice in your folded fluffy gua bao, and garnish. For a picture, look on wiki, red cooked, has a picture of this dish.

I read about this dish in a WSJ foodie article a few years ago, been babbling gua bao, gua bao? always on the lookout for it, someone visiting from china orders it, and there it was in front of me.

Went to a benefit for GLASA (Greater Lakes Adaptive Sports Association) in Lake Bluff the other day, and several area restaurants were there, including Froggy's, which I have never been to (I did not know they had a bakery!). The lobster bisque they brought was very good - I'm a sucker for a good lobster bisque! I don't know how getting this dish off-site compares to actually going to the restaurant and getting it right there, although I generally assume it's not as good if it wasn't made on-site just in terms of freshness and whatnot, but I enjoyed it immensely. I need to get out more...

P.S. I've been lurking, and this is my very first post to the site!

nukegirl wrote:Went to a benefit for GLASA (Greater Lakes Adaptive Sports Association) in Lake Bluff the other day, and several area restaurants were there, including Froggy's, which I have never been to (I did not know they had a bakery!). The lobster bisque they brought was very good - I'm a sucker for a good lobster bisque! I don't know how getting this dish off-site compares to actually going to the restaurant and getting it right there, although I generally assume it's not as good if it wasn't made on-site just in terms of freshness and whatnot, but I enjoyed it immensely. I need to get out more...

P.S. I've been lurking, and this is my very first post to the site!

Welcome, nukegirl!

Froggy's bakery -- The Gourmet Frog -- baked our wedding cake back in 1995. I still occasionally get yule logs from them around holiday time.

I imagine a soup or bisque would hold up fairly well for remote service -- certainly better than many other types of dishes, anyway.

=R=

The Gourmet Frog
316 Green Bay Rd
Highwood, IL 60040
(847) 433-7038

Autre Monde: Wild ramp, housemade fennel sausage and talleggio flatbread.

nickzen wrote:The Dong Po served on gua bao at Chef Ping in Rolling Meadows, off menu item. An 8x8 piece of pork belly is slow cooked in a flavored soy braise, brown sugar, 5 spice, bean paste, slash of cooking wine or maybe vinegar. The pork belly renders to the point that the underlying meat is almost confit cooked. A plate of condiments to garnish accompanies, dice Chinese green kimchee, spicy dressed cilantro, and chopped peanuts. So your server slices the Dong Po, you place a slice in your folded fluffy gua bao, and garnish. For a picture, look on wiki, red cooked, has a picture of this dish.

I read about this dish in a WSJ foodie article a few years ago, been babbling gua bao, gua bao? always on the lookout for it, someone visiting from china orders it, and there it was in front of me.

(bolding mine) I think this is very key at Chef Ping, I've been a few times & each time they try to talk me out of things (US people don't like - type comments), and even when I'm adamant, they still dumb the dishes down in a MAJOR way. Guess it is time to rope one of my Chinese friends into going and give Chef Ping one last try.

Double griddled Edzo's cheesburger with garlic aioli and hot giardinera accompanied by Lobster fries. Those would be French fries with Lobster on them.

Butcher and Larder's pig head carnitas tacos with a pigskin shell. Crunchy, spicy, fatty, salty.


apparently Danielle, one of the butchers, invented the shell method which is ingenious, but apparently quite hard, so they don't know when they are doing them again and she is leaving this summer

mgmcewen wrote:Butcher and Larder's pig head carnitas tacos with a pigskin shell. Crunchy, spicy, fatty, salty.

As was today's pig head tamale, Ms. Kaplan, aka Danielle, has a real talent.

Pig Head Tamale, Butcher & Larder