Exploring Chicago: Lincoln Square

Last night I met up with Becky and Nina for some dinner in Lincoln Square, which is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Chicago and also really close to where I live. It's heavily influenced by its German roots and features a lot German bars, restaurants, and shops and has a couple German festivals a year, which are a lot of fun. We went to one of my favorite restaurants in the city, Cafe Selmarie, which is located right on Giddings Square, which is the center of the Lincoln Square business district.

When we arrived the band, The Stingers, was already playing.

Cafe Selmarie has great dinner but serves the best brunch in the city on the weekends. If you ever go there for brunch I highly recommend ordering their chilaquiles (which is a Mexican egg and tortilla casserole) or their corned beef hash. You really can't go wrong no matter what.

There's a bakery at the front of the restaurant packed with goodies. My favorite treat is their cherry streusel pie, which, unfortunately, they didn't have last night.

Every Thursday night they feature a prix fixe three course menu for $22.

   

We started with the goat cheese, which was different from how I've normally had it there. It had sundried tomatoes, caramelized red onion, mushroom, red pepper, and goat cheese in it. My friends and I are huge fans of goat cheese so we were a little underwhelmed by the amount of goat cheese but the flavors were still really good.

I ordered the mixed green salad to start.

Nina and Becky ordered the special - Salmon Oscar - which came with crab, asparagus, and mashed potatoes, with a dill cream sauce on top. I tasted it and the salmon was a little overcooked but the dill sauce was not overtly dilly and the mashed potatoes were heavenly - I am pretty sure they use Yukon golds.

I ordered the chicken pot pie, which I pretty much always order for dinner when I am there. It comes with this giant pastry crust on top that flakes into a million pieces when you crush it.

The anchor of the neighborhood, Chicago Brauhaus, which is an old German restaurant, sets up a food booth on Thursday nights. You can order their freshly made Bavarian pretzels, brats and sausages, and German beer like Hofbrauhaus. I came to the Brauhaus for my 28th birthday with my family and my friends and we had a blast. They have a dance floor and a polka band that plays every single night of the week. It's like a time warp in there.

Since Cafe Selmarie didn't have the desserts we wanted we decided to walk across the square to have gelato at Paciugo.

They have so many different flavors but are eager to let you try however many you want. I tried the olive oil and black pepper because it sounded intriguing, but it didn't really taste like olive oil or black pepper! I also tried the chocolate jalapeno and I could definitely taste the jalapeno.

Their coffee gelato is very strong, almost espresso like, but it is the closest thing to coffee I've ever had in an ice cream or gelato.

There's seating outside Paciugo, so we relaxed for a little bit and enjoyed the band, which played covers of rock and roll classics. Kids were running amok everywhere.

At the edge of the square next to Lincoln is the Giddings Plaza Fountain - dedicated in 1999 by Mayor Daley.

Open Books

About to share my love of books with Chicago volunteering nights and weekends at the Open Books used bookstore at Chicago and Franklin. I volunteered as a high school student mentor here in 2009 but haven't found a program that works with my hours until now.  Pretty stoked about it because I share their passion in spreading the power of reading and books.

"Open Books is a nonprofit social venture that operates an extraordinary bookstore, provides community programs, and mobilizes passionate volunteers to promote literacy in Chicago and beyond."

Skinnygirl Cocktail Party

My friend Brittany joined the Junior League of Chicago a couple years ago and ever since she joined I have been teetering on the edge of joining myself. She has met some really cool people and has really gotten a lot out of it. In May, at Brittany's birthday party, I met one of her JLC friends, Jamie. Jamie is so down-to-earth and welcoming she immediately invited me to her Skinnygirl Cocktail Party in July. 

Fast forward to July, the task at hand for all of the guests was to bring different bottles of Skinnygirl liquor. What is Skinnygirl, you might ask? If you have heard of The Real Housewives of New York City, you might have heard of Bethenny Frankel. She is a real housewife and founder of the Skinnygirl Cocktails company (which she has since sold, in 2011). It's a line of cocktails that includes everything from white wine and red wine, margarita and sangria, to flavored vodkas (but, alas, no beer), while remaining naturally sweetened and low on calories. Basically, drinking without the weight gain.

Nothing like a party with a table full of booze.

There were only 7 of us so we had an awful lot of drinking to do!

Brittany's sister, Stephanie, made Skinnygirl taco dip to accompany our libations.

Jamie got that platter from Dominick's, of all places. It had marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, mini hye rollers, roasted red pepper hummus, cucumber dip, olives, and pita chips. She was the perfect host - totally laid back, letting everyone enjoy her home, and making everyone feel completely comfortable.

Jamie lives in Lake Point Tower and this is her view. At night, the lights from the Ferris wheel and the boats make the lake glow.

In the end this cocktail line just wasn't for me. I'm not a big fan of hard liquor - or should I say sugary drinks because I'll drink straight Patron any day, but I am ultimately a beer drinker. I much prefer an Allagash White or even a Tecate with a twist of lime and a salted rim over these kinds of drinks. The only one I could even finish was the White Cranberry Cosmo - everything else was cloying to the point that a lot of it resembled cough syrup.

That's Brittany. I adore her

The Aviary

Last night, my pal Lauren and I went to The Aviary for drinks. It's a Grant Achatz production - the only one I can afford at this point (his other restaurants are Next and Alinea). The drinks are, in a word, life-changing. No tiny detail is overlooked and the service is impeccable while still remaining down to earth and friendly. At one point, Grant Achatz himself walked by our table quite a few times. I got breathless and turned beet red and Lauren wanted to know if I was okay. Then, a few minutes later, both Grant Achatz AND Thomas Keller (of French Laundry, Per Se, Ad Hoc, and Bouchon; and also the first and only chef to ever be awarded simultaneous three star Michelin ratings for two separate restaurants) walked by our table. I got pretty giddy about it, lost control of my 20 foot arms, and knocked over a brand new drink. The servers were so nice about it and immediately cleaned it up and replaced it. Our servers were so cool I would've enjoyed hanging out with them outside of this place - one of them works at Barrelhouse Flat in Lincoln Park and gave us some info about going there. At the end, we were offered a cab by one of our servers (we had 2), which I thought was pretty stellar service, considering their job is to get you drunk!

We arrived about 10 to 6 for our 6:00 reservations and they really do not open their doors until 6 on the dot. They have an outdoor seating area to lounge in until called in to be seated.

Upon being seated, we were brought an amuse bouche of Rooibos tea, lemon juice, orange juice, and coconut water. This was ice cold and very refreshing.

We ordered off the prix fixe menu.

I started with the Cucumber, which was cucumber, gin, tonic, and rosewater ice cubes. This is the kind of drink you need to sip slowly because by the bottom of the glass (as the rosewater cubes melt), the drink's flavors transform into something different.

Lauren ordered the Lychee, which was a fizzy concoction of muddled basil, rum, maraschino, and lychee juice.

The place grew darker as the night went on so the pictures also got darker. Lauren ordered the Peach for her second course, which was scotch based and came in a French Press (!) with fresh fruit. The second course was more of a production than the first course - while explaining the drink to Lauren, our server pressed the fruit at the bottom and strained the liquid into Lauren's glass. 

For my second course, I ordered the Bitter. I wish I had been able to take a picture of it when it arrived. The drink itself arrived in a small decanter with the glass flipped over on top of a piece of oak from a whiskey barrel with smoke trapped inside. While explaining my drink to me, the server flipped over the glass, wafted the smoke near our faces so we could smell it, and then poured the drink. It smelled like a campfire, with roasting marshmallows and the drink did take on a very subtle smoky flavor. With both tequila and cognac in this drink it was very strong but never tasted like straight liquor - very smooth.

Lauren had the Horchata for her third course. We were very excited that they put it in a styrofoam cup. The taste was incredible - first you get the rum and then it turns into creamy cinnamon and the slight heat of the cayenne on your tongue.

For my third course, I ordered the Flip, which had sweet corn in it. The entire drink tasted like sweet corn and was deliciously sweet. The server had informed us the chef had decided "recently" to remove the egg from this drink. When he left, I turned to Lauren and said, "Just how recent do you think that egg was banished? Five minutes ago?" When our server came back to our table I asked him and he said the drink had been on the menu for a couple weeks and the chef had decided oh about two hours ago that the egg was not doing anything for the drink. I certainly didn't miss it and that foam tasted like a sweet corn milkshake. I really enjoyed this one, but by the end it became sweet to the point of cloying and I longed for that first course drink, Cucumber.

This is near the entrance so when you walk in, to your right, behind this "cage" is where all the chefs and mixologists do their work.

This is the view of the kitchen in the window from the outside.

La Colombe

I've been hearing a lot about La Colombe lately. It's a fair trade coffee shop with one location in Chicago and other locations in Philadelphia, New York City, and Seoul. There has been a lot of buzz about their cold-press coffee so I decided to try it prior to meeting Lauren for our adventure at The Aviary (more on that in the next post). The coffee shop itself is not really set up for long-term sitting - the seating is not comfortable and the decor is minimalist - natural woods and shapes. I'll have to admit I didn't know what I was doing and took my drink before it was finished being made (the guy alerted me after I'd already added cream and sugar). They cold-press the coffee right in front of you so now I know perfection takes time. A real lesson in patience! The coffee was a little on the strong, bitter side for me so I did not leave a fan.  I am, however, interested in trying their bottled cold-pressed coffee as I have heard excellent things about it.

People really enjoy their cell phones.

Brunch at Nightwood

On Sunday, Nina and Jessie and I went out to brunch at Nightwood. Nina and I dined there for the first time during Restaurant Week 2012 in the winter. It was nothing short of spectacular - a meal we wouldn't soon forget - so we knew we wanted to get back here for brunch. Service for brunch was decidedly casual (for dinner, silverware used for the first course is replaced; for brunch, silverware used for your first course - in this case bacon butterscotch donuts - is left on the table when the plate is cleared).

Nightwood's menu changes on a whim, or more accurately, with the changing crops. Every week or so the menu is reconceptualized based on what the farm is currently growing and everything is locally grown or sourced. This was the menu for our brunch.

Nightwood serves Intelligentsia coffee (local!), which happens to be my very favorite coffee. The flavors are always slightly nuanced depending on where you get it because they make special blends for just about everyone who carries their coffee.

We knew we were ordering whatever donut they were featuring to begin the meal. It just so happened to be a bacon butterscotch donut. The bacon was chewy and salty and the donut itself was barely sweet. This tasted more savory than sweet and it was really good.

Nina and Jessie ordered the bagel sandwich with Rushing Waters smoked trout, cream cheese, slaw, bacon, and an overeasy egg. I tasted it and it was otherworldly. I would order this in a second if it was featured on the menu when I return. The tots were shredded taters rolled in a ball and deep-fried. Holy greasy goodness, Batman!

I ordered the "Never Eat This Again." It was equally as delicious. New potato, spring onion, 8 year cheddar, foie gras fat (!), house cured bacon, overeasy egg, and maple syrup. The flavors were confetti in my mouth.

When Nina poked a hole in her egg it made a little yolky swimming pool. I would gladly swim in this pool if it were human sized. Runny egg yolks are God's personal gift to me, you know.

I had to get the inside of that sandwich.

And of course the inside of this tot.