Delish Dish A foodie's journal.

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Last night, two of my best girl friends got a craving for Moroccan and asked me if I wanted to come with.  I’ve never had Moroccan (one of the joys of growing up in a small town: very limited “ethnic food” options), so I was game.  Ashley had heard good things about Andalous, and it always taunted her when she was riding by on the El (I know, right?  That’s how I feel about Ethiopian Diamond!).  We looked for a few different Moroccan options before deciding that was our best bet.

The restaurant is pretty small, with room for only a few tables in the front of the house.  However, it didn’t feel cramped (except for the lack of waiting space - we got shoved by the bathroom for five or ten minutes).

I liked the simplicity of the place.  But I have to admit, it was a little loud, so I was really happy that we got seated on the patio.  It’s covered in case of rain, but we lucked and had a perfectly temperate evening.  The patio is very hippie-ish, with painted murals.  I loved it.

The same server took everyone’s orders, and there were only some busboys taking plates and filling water.  Our server was nice enough, and he accomodated us quickly when a lot of people came in at once.  He also made great recommendations for food.  Unfortunately, he did one thing that is on my major list of service don’ts: he hit on my friend when he brought our entrees.  The service lost major points with that, along with the huge delay in service.  We were at the restaurant for over two hours, and we probably waited an hour for our entrees (thank goodness we ordered an appetizer).  My friends also ordered Diet Cokes, and those weren’t brought out until after our appetizer had been taken away.

I’d like to say the food was just so good that it made up for the delay, but it was.  It was definitely really good, but not good enough to negate the wait.  For our appetizer, we got chicken and vegetable briwate.  Briwate are little egg rolls covered in powdered sugar.

They also brought out complimentary pita bread and a white bean…dip?  I’m not sure how to describe it.  We spooned it into our pita bread and gourged.  The briwate was much better.  Powdered sugar gave the dish a nice sweetness.  I preferred the vegetable briwate, but the chicken was good, too.

For the entrees, we each opted for different types of dishes.  Ashley got a chicken pastille, a chicken pastry with powdered sugar.  Mallory opted for the famous couscous, an enormous dish with lamb on the bone and thick cuts of vegetables.

I tried Mallory’s because I had never had lamb before, and I don’t know how I felt about it.  The lamb was a little fatty for me, but I really want to try it again.  The chicken pastille was delicious, and I wish I had gotten that instead of my tagine.

The couscous was very good, but I didn’t really love the spices on my vegetables.  It was certainly good enough when I was eating it, but after tasting the pastille I realized there was a more suitable dish for my palate.  I did like the melted provolone over my veggies, though.

Overall, it was a nice foray into new territory.  I definitely enjoy Moroccan food, but I think I won’t go to Andalous on a Saturday night again.  I should note that it is BYOB, and the other tables around us brought wine - that probably helped the time pass faster.

Zagat scores:
Food: 19
Decor: 19
Service: 14

The boyfriend and I went to Opera this past Tuesday. It’s been a fairly stressful quarter for both of us, and we were eager to have a relaxing, stress-free date night in Chicago instead of frantically trying to grab a nice meal close to home. We narrowed down our options to a few places I had found with OpenTable: Cuatro, Opera, and Le Colonial. I really want to go to the two other places at some point, but I’m really glad we selected Opera. We were able to get the prix fixe deal, which Opera offers on Tuesdays and Sundays. I’ll go into that more a little later.

The restaurant caters to all kinds - I saw older people, families, and young couples enjoying dinner together. I was initially a little concerned because the restaurant is so colorful and vivacious - I got used to it after we walked to our table, but it was a little shocking to have so much color when most restaurants stick to a more neutral theme.

I was also a bit worried that the hostess was going to seat us in the open dining area, which I thought was a bit loud for my tastes. However, she took us back to one of the vault areas.

These little rooms are curtained off from the main dining room and contain two tables, with an open corridor through the middle so the servers can walk to and from tables and the kitchen. Our vault was just us for a while, but right before we got our main dish another couple was seated in our room. Luckily, we got the table at the back of the vault and they were closer to the main dining room.

Our waitress was amazing - easily one of the best servers I’ve ever had, hands-down. She gave us great recommendations for the menu and did a great job explaining the specials (which were very complex). The boyfriend and I both opted for the prix fixe dinner - an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. Our waitress told us that specials could be included in the prix fixe option, so I decided to get the soup, a creamy corn chowder with crabmeat and lime juice. The boyfriend got the Crab & Chopsticks, a jumbo lump crabcake and two “chopsticks” (think really thin, long crab eggroll). I loved my soup - I’m such a fan of it in the summer, which makes no sense because I’ve always been stuck in humidity. The crabcake and the chopsticks were also really good.

For dinner, our server recommended I get the Black Tiger Prawn Singapore Noodles and the boyfriend get Beef & Broccoli. We both tried each other’s dish, and found both to be excellent. My prawns were perfectly cooked and unseasoned, which I loved in contrast to the spicy noodles. The boyfriend’s dish was also really, really good. I’m not much of a beef eater so I only sampled a very tiny bite, but I can say that the sauce had a nice zing to it.

The dessert menus reappeared, and there was much debate over what to get. We both wanted the chocolate dish (The Tao of Chocolate), but we didn’t want to get the same thing. In the end, I got the chocolate and the boyfriend got the sorbet selection. That night it was Meyer lemon, raspberry, and almond sherbert. The sorbet plate was light and refreshing, but we both preferred the chocolate. It was moist and absolutely delicious.

Overall, it was a great restaurant that I will definitely visit again. I highly recommend it for anyone in the Chicago area.

Zagat scores:
Food: 25
Decor: 20
Service: 25

Better late than never, huh?

For spring formal, we went to Rhapsody. Now, I know it’s a little uncouth to write a review based on banquet dining, but bear with me. Rhapsody is attached to the Symphony Center in Chicago, so it’s the perfect place for dinner and a show. I was pleased with the sectioning of the restaurant - there’s a bar and lounge area for more casual dining, the main dining area, and a patio.

The patio was certainly my favorite area, although I thought the back room/wine display area was a nice, intimate touch.

The service was pleasant enough. Our waiter quickly resolved any issues we had with the meal preparation, and was prompt bringing out the salad and main dish. Dessert was passed around in the patio after dinner by separate servers, who made great recommendations. I found the salad and dessert to be quite good, but my chicken was undercooked and didn’t sit well with me. I would like to go back to try something different on the menu - I’m not the biggest fan of Amish chicken, but whatever.

Overall, it was a fun dinner and made for a nice formal location - and that’s all one can ask for, right?

Zagat scores:
Food: 16
Decor: 19
Service: 19

This past Saturday, some friends and I went out for dinner and dessert.  We heard there was a new Hawaiian place in town, and I was eager to try it since I’ve never had Hawaiian food.  I’ve realized lately that I’m more and more willing to try new and slightly crazy things - the idea of eating things like foie gras and pork belly doesn’t faze me anymore.  Hawaiian food, I have to say, doesn’t really have anything crazy.  Well, except for all the spam.

Big Ka Hoo Na is so new that it doesn’t have a website up yet.  In fact, it was only the third day opening.  They’re still serving everything in styrofoam take-out containers, which they’ll hopefully replace with something much more environmentally-friendly.  The restaurant is in the process of a soft opening for two weeks.  I give places credit for taking the soft opening route and getting everything under control.  Grand openings for smaller places scare me a lot - most times, they’re owned by people who have never been in the food industry business before and really have no idea what they’re doing.  Read Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential - the restaurant business is one of the worst markets to get into, with a huge failure rate (something like 60%).  I’d much rather see people act smart and logical about getting their shit together than having a miserable grand opening and suffering from the bad buzz.

I was sad to see that the lomi lomi salmon wasn’t available yet, which pretty much guarantees that I’ll be back at Big Ka Hoo Na again.  I also really wanted to try the spam musubi since I’d heard so much about it.  I wanted to try it with other people, but no one really felt up for having their first spam experience.  Instead, I got the Hawaiian pulled pork sandwich, which was served with a slice of pineapple on the sandwich, french fries, and macaroni salad.  I, for one, was more worried about the macaroni salad than spam.  It was seasoned nicely, but it just doesn’t suit my palate.  I loved the pulled pork sandwich and fries, and I will definitely recommend them to a friend.

After testing out the Hawaiian place, we went to get the drinks and dessert at The Celtic Knot.  I got a raspberry lemon cupcake, the cupcake of the month.  It was really delicious, but I am sad that I missed out on the strawberry shortcake cupcake.  I’m still hearing raves about it.

Blu Sushi Lounge replaced a family favorite, Narra, this past fall.  I love sushi like no one else, so I was eager to finally get a chance to go with a group of friends.

I’m really partial to the warm colors on cream decor theme, but I hate the blue accents.  It makes things feel like an upscale Fourth of July barbecue.  I do love those light fixtures, though.

The restaurant wasn’t very busy when we got there, and our server was pleasant enough.  We didn’t have any problems with the timing of food, and she gave great recommendations for drinks and desserts.  For dinner, I got the spicy tuna roll and a spciy crawfish roll.  What can I say - I love spicy, bold flavors.  I preferred the crawfish to the tuna - it was definitely different, in a good way.  Plus I have weird Southern tastes in that I will always choose crawfish over tuna any day.

For dessert, my friends and I ordered a cappuccino cake and warm chocolate cake.  The chocolate was a lot better, even though I enjoyed the caramel drizzle over the cappuccino.  I imagine that the warm chocolate cake tastes like the muk muk cake at PGC, which makes me want to go back there even more.  Sad.

Overall, Blu is a great upscale sushi option.  I doubt it replace my usual sushi places simply it’s so much more expensive.

Zagat scores:
Food: 20
Decor: 17
Service: 18

I am absolutely in love with Jacky’s Bistro now.

The location is close by (less than a ten minute drive), the dress code is casual, and the food is amazing.  I was a little turned off by our waitress showing up five minutes after we were seated, but the restaurant was incredibly busy and she was very attentive and  friendly thereafter.

I loved the simple yellows, browns, and reds of the decor.  There was nothing overly modern or elaborate about it - just classic and comfortable.

For dinner, I started with the Asparagus Salad with Artisanal Cheese, Shaved Fennel and Mustard Vinaigrette.  I enjoyed the flavor combinations and the acidic citrus pieces in the salad.  For my main dish, I ordered the Sautéed Fresh Gnocchi with Pesto Sauce.  The gnocchi was firm, and the pesto was perfect.  For dessert, there was a sampler with some mousse, a fruit tart, chocolate cake, and other sweet treats.

I was really impressed with Jacky’s Bistro, and I eagerly anticipate my next meal there to try some of the things I couldn’t try this time around!

Zagat score:
Food - 24
Decor - 20
Service - 20