InstaEats August 2014

August was another busy month. Now that I live in Chicago, I try to squeeze as much productivity (fun) out of my summer as possible! I didn't dine out as much, but the meals I had were just fantastic.

I kicked off the month with a night with one of my friends in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. This area is booming with new restaurants and it's a part of town I don't get to nearly enough. We started off the evening with some drinks and food at The Radler. I started with a grapefruit radler (a mix of beer and German-style lemonade) and my friend got the blood orange. Both were equally refreshing on the warm night.

There was a lot to drool over on the menu, but we kept things simple with the German onion pie with bacon, garlic puree, and marinated tomatoes and the grilled knockwurst with rice, bread and butter pickles, and herbs. Though both sounded rich, it was the perfect combination for a light summer meal.

We couldn't resist leaving without dessert (and another drink) so we got the chocolate mousse and I had an Americano (campari, vermouth, and soda)

We then trekked over to Parson's Chicken and Fish for negroni slushies. Read my rave here.

And finished the evening with old fashioneds and boozy grapefruit sodas at Billy Sunday.

I mentioned in my last post that I have lost some weight recently. Clearly, I'm not dieting, especially as evidenced by my frequent lunch favorite Hannah's Bretzel. I'm actually on an all-carb diet.

A few weeks ago, I finally made my first trip to the Ravinia festival to see ABBA! It was such a fun night of music, dancing, and food. I made peanut butter and jelly blondies to share with my friends and our spread was really fantastic, complete with Swedish fish and Swedish meatballs.

A couple of months ago, I made a reservation at The Girl and the Goat. It is still one of the most popular reservations in Chicago so I made a promise to myself to keep it. It was definitely worth the wait. Highlights for me were the grilled octopus salad with guanciale, fava beans, and pistachios, the best of three cocktail with Pimm's, cucumber, and vodka, and the bittersweet chocolate cake with thai basil gelato.

We finished the night with a few negroni sorbets at Lone Wolf...can you tell I love negronis?

Last week, I traveled to NY again for work. We had a couple of great meals out, but the first night at The Wayfarer was my favorite. The lobster roll is so great and worthy of recognition, as was the maple braised bacon.

 I'm excited about what is to come in September!

InstaEats July 2014

It's been another delicious month and especially so since I got to celebrate my birthday last week. I had a great time celebrating with friends and my mom and the tiny top hat party was a great success.

I mentioned last month that I love when friends come to visit. My friend Kris dragged me to Hot Doug's to wait for two hours in line for hot dogs. The store is closing in a few months so everyone is trying to get their last visit in before it's too late. This time I got the foie gras and sauternes duck sausage with truffle aioli, foie gras mousse and fleur de sel. It was a delight, but nothing is worth a two hour wait.

A few days later, more friends were in town. We kicked off the evening with a delicious spin on southern food at Carriage House, followed it up with some flaming drinks at Three Dots and a Dash, and completed the evening with chilaquiles and the amazing burger from Au Cheval. (Read my rave about my first meal at Au Cheval here)

The following week, I made a quick trip to NYC. Though I was there for work, I managed to sneak in some pretty great eats in just a few days. First up was dinner at Shake Shack. I'm excited they're coming to Chicago later this year!

Momofuku Milk Bar is dangerously close to my office. I love their weird, sometimes complicated recipes (Crack Pie, Compost Cookie). This time I got to try the blueberry and cream cookie and the cornflake marshmallow cookie. I actually saved these for later because I had more pressing desserts on my mind.

I hoofed it from midtown to Chelsea so I could stop by the Doughnut Plant. There was still a good selection that evening so I narrowed my choices to the creme brulee doughseed, the coconut lime doughseed, and the strawberry vanilla jam filled doughnut. The dough on all of these was a bit chewy, but I loved the coconut lime filling and strawberry vanilla jam. I would have picked up some jam to go if I wasn't traveling light.

After all that doughnut indulgence, I decided to burn some calories walking through the High Line and Chelsea Market. A couple of the restaurants I had bookmarked were totally full so I ended up at Bocca di Bacco for an extremely satisfying dinner of meatballs and caprese salad followed by a negroni nightcap at The Meatball Shop.

Back in Chicago, I went out for brunch at Waffles again and got to try their birthday cake wonut (waffle donut).

Last, my sweet friend took my mom and I out for my birthday at Ceres' Table. A feast of quattro formaggi pizza, porchetta, and salted caramel budino was a great way to celebrate the day.

Looking back at all these pictures, it's hard to believe I've been able to lose twenty pounds in the last few months. I'm looking forward to the next month of tastiness.

InstaEats May-June 2014

I'm a little late to the game, but I finally joined the fascinating, eye-catching world of Instagram earlier this year. I am a visual person and it is amazing to see the ways people capture the world on this social media tool. Instagram is where I am spending most of my social media time these days, but I thought it would be fun to highlight some of the stuff I share on there, particularly the meals out that don't make it on to the blog when I don't have my big, fancy camera on me. Here are some of the things I have shared and if you are so inclined, follow me on Instagram.

I traveled to California at the beginning of May and it was a week long of working out, eating out, and green juicing.

Lunch with my mom at In-N-Out Burger. I had the cheeseburger animal-style and well done fries. I miss this place all the time.

We had a pretty epic meal at BOA Steakhouse. We ended the meal with a selection of cronuts and now I finally understand the cronut craze.

Dinner at POT at the Line Hotel. Get thee there immediately.

An amazing brunch at Sqirl. The Malva pudding cake is pure sugar heaven and a good way to balance the perceived healthiness of the crispy brown rice bowl with egg.

Back in Chicago, I have had a steady social calendar the last few months. Waffles Cafe is the home of the wonut, but they also make a mean chicken and bacon waffles dish.

This recipe for Green Shakshuka from The Kitchn is to die for. Make it immediately and then make it again.

My take on Joy the Baker's strawberry chopped salad.

I love when friends come to visit, because I can try new places on my extremely long list of restaurants to try. H.C. and I visited Three Dots and a Dash for some tiki cocktails and followed it up with spicy miso ramen at Ramen-San.

The next night more friends were in town. We got the evening started right with cocktails and appetizers at Maude's Liquor Bar and RM Champagne Salon.

We chased those cocktails with incredible ramen from High Five Ramen. Get there early to avoid a long wait since there are only fifteen seats in the whole restaurant.

Work colleagues in town meant an extravagant dinner at Sunda. Definitely order the brussels sprouts salad if you go.

Breakfast mac and cheese with bacon and a fried egg from Taverna 750, one of my favorite brunch deals in Chicago.

After all the decadence, black bean and tomato quinoa salad will help right the ship. This time I doubled the black beans and lime zest, but reduced the oil to 1 1/2 teaspoons, the juice to 1/2 lime,  and left out the sugar.

Life is certainly pretty tasty right now, and I am enjoying all of it.

Parson's Chicken and Fish

It's been a while since I've been to a restaurant and felt the need to post about it immediately...or as immediately as I can with my packed schedule. When H.C. told me he was going to be in Chicago for a few days and we should get together, the first place that came to mind was Parson's Chicken & Fish. After all, it was our first visit to Longman & Eagle last year that solidified my love for Chicago as a major dining destination. I knew a restaurant by the same owners had to be just as good. Boy, was I right.







Located just a hop away from Longman & Eagle in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, Parson's is destined to become a rival for best patio this summer. As of a few days ago, they still aren't serving food outside, but bar service is alive and well. Pull up a seat, play some ping pong and indulge in a Negroni slushy (or two, $8 each). These slushies are perfect on a hot and humid day. Equally enjoyable is the Red Hook ($8) which is Parson's take on a Manhattan, or if you're feeling especially bold, a shot of Malort.





You better enjoy communal sitting when you visit Parson's because that is all they offer. Inside, are small booths so you get up close and personal with strangers. Hopefully you are seated next to people who are pleasant which was not the case with our first dining companions, but the second group ended up being much more calm. However we were attracted to the menu which distracted from the brashness of our neighbors. We started with a little light fish action in the form of Hirame ($10) which is marinated in ginger and mint and served with an avocado lime emulsion and radishes. The taste of the fish gets a little lost in the marinade, but I appreciated the bright and fresh flavors especially knowing what was in store for us with the rest of the dishes we chose.



Two pieces of fried chicken ($6) are one of the best investments you can ever make. The chicken is juicy and the flavor goes all the way through from the breading to the bone. Whatever formula they use on the (delicious) fried chicken from the chicken and waffles at L&E has gained major flavor points. It's the kind of chicken you want to keep eating when you get down to the bone.



Equally as flavorful is the beer battered fish. Three pieces ($8) are great to split between two people. Just try not to hog all of the tartar sauce.



The clam roll ($10) was a little less successful in my opinion. Red onions and pickled peppers perk up the fried clams, but the cornmeal breading could have been better seasoned.



H.C. insisted that as an alternative to all of the fried foods, we have the restaurant's grilled chicken ($6 for 2 pieces) as well. I was a little doubtful until the citrus and habenero marinated bird came to the table. This is basically the best grilled chicken you will ever have where once again the flavor goes all the way to the bone.



Stuffed as I was, we had to get dessert. Initially, I thought the last thing I would want after a fried dinner, was a fried dessert, but of course Parson's gets it right with their ridiculous funnel cake ($6). The funnel cake is served on top of a browned butter pastry cream and topped with a balsamic caramel and peppercorn brittle. The tartness of the caramel and spiciness of the brittle balance the crispy and sweet dough and sweet cream.



The best thing about Parson's is that even though you indulge in what is essentially a fried dinner, you don't leave feeling overly full and gluttonous. They have perfected whatever it is that makes fried food taste light and delicious and with excellent, exceptional service and a fun atmosphere it is easy to see why there are already lines of people crowding their doors every day.


Parson's Chicken & Fish
2952 W. Armitage Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 384-3333
Website