Ditkas – food chicago
Posted: April 27, 2014 Filed under: Chicago, food, travel | Tags: chicagoland, creamed corn, dining, ditkas, food, restaurant, travel 11 CommentsIf you watch football you know of Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach. He has a namesake restaurant in Chicago and after losing a bet on my beloved Browns against the Bears we settled with lunch at the restaurant of “Da Coach.”
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the milieu was upscale with some memorabilia but it was tastefully presented, this place was about the food, comfort food with large portions.
We started with a glass of cab, the “Hall of Fame” red and it was quite good. The house brand is made out near Napa by Terlato wines.
We had our eye on the filet mignon sliders, but chose the pot roast nachos. They were great, the kind of snack that you just can’t leave unfinished. The delicate meat combined with the salty chips and a zesty but not too hot halipeno slices was just right.
The bread rolls were excellent, but not photogenic. For my entree I had a pork chop ( well done by request ) served with mashed sweet potatoes and apple chutney and cherry jus with a side of creamed corn. The chop was cooked perfectly, and I admit I gnawed a bit on the bone after the meat had been dispatched. The sauce was very good.
The creamed corn was not your traditional canned green-giant corn of my youth. This wasn’t sweet and had a hint of garlic but was smooth and rich to the taste. It was outstanding. My friend took the remaining corn home and they fed it to his very aged mother in law who had been off her feed. She finished every bite. I suppose that solidifies the cream corn as comfort food!
For dessert, just a little vanilla ice-cream with chocolate sauce. The perfect ending to an excellent meal.
Kappy’s in Skokie – food root beer
Posted: March 9, 2014 Filed under: Chicago, food, travel | Tags: chicagoland, food, premium root beer, restaurant, skokie, travel 22 CommentsIn the middle of the cold snap I dropped my wife and daughter off at the airport for a trip to Costa Rica. That left me frozen and forlorn by Skokie Illinois. I stopped at a friendly looking place place called Kappys. A family owned and run place for thirty years, the owner came out and greeted every customer, many by name.
Imagine my surprise when I saw they had a premium root beer on tap, Sprecher’s from Wisconsin.
Since it was early, I went the breakfast comfort route…. Biscuits and gravy, eggs over easy and sausage…. Chicago is a great place to eat, there’s great places at almost every corner.
cooper’s hawk – food
Posted: January 31, 2014 Filed under: food | Tags: chicagoland, cooper's hawk, fine dining, food, restaurant 25 CommentsMy dad enjoyed his cups. But every year for one month he would abstain from drink. Of course he always chose February, the shortest month. I suppose leap years were an extra trial. Therefore I will return in March to the blogging world. Hope to see you in a bit.
It’s funny how pecking order works at a business lunch. The waitress approaches the end of the table and asks the junior member what he prefers for a beverage. He hesitates, then blurts out iced tea. Around the seats she goes, and lemonade, Arnold Palmer ( a Chicago drink of 1/2 lemonade 1/2 iced tea ) , water, coke join the list until she comes to the leader. He looks around, says “I’ll have a glass of wine,” and immediately seven other orders get changed.
Restaurants grow and change, and this one continues to grow and gets better and better.
Cooper’s Hawk has a big wine list as they are a vintner, I took a taste of a Meritage ( a blend which should drink like a Bordeaux ), but it was a bit lite so I settled on a nice oakey chardonnay.
Of course a larger group means more appetizers — the Mexican egg rolls and calamari were fun, the potstickers outstanding. I even tried the crab-cake, and found it full of crab meat which retained the feel and light flavor crab is so famous for. This was a great warm up.
Then the cheese plate and pretzel bread. I suspect that if I were Super-man, pretzel bread might have qualities of kryptonite.
One thing I admire at Cooper’s Hawk is that they really offer good lunch selections with smaller portion size. I chose the pork medallions, mashed potatoes and asparagus. It was Estafee ( a reference to H. Beam Piper’s Fuzzy Papers for Sci-fi fans, which translates to essential and great )
Then it was time for dessert. I was up for something different, and tried their home-made ice-cream sandwich. Thin slices of banana, a wafer with a crisp toasted texture delicious ice-cream and a very light subtly sweep syrup. Each bite was a delight of texture, balanced flavor, subtly sweet wrapped around the richness of ice cream. This is one of the best desserts I have chanced across.
Of course then it’s the expresso ( the smallest amount of coffee possible ) to get through the afternoon.
Great meals are always enhanced by conversation and company. The people and sharing are what makes dining fine.
foie gras – food Chef Amaury at 33 West
Posted: January 20, 2014 Filed under: Chicago, food | Tags: chef amaury at 33 west, chicagoland, dining out, food, restaurant 26 CommentsHow to celebrate ? Call ahead to your favorite chef and ask them to do a foie gras. It’s not on the menu, but if you’re lucky….
Start with a sweet white, it adds perfectly to the rich taste of the foie gras.
Foie gras, on a roasted lady apple with mushrooms and a heavenly sauce.
Next the big red which opened up wonderfully as we dined.
The salad…
The soup…
For dessert, a cheese plate…
A wine infused fig, Amish blue cheese, Bellavitano with a wine rind, pistachios, local cheeses and a drizzle of caramel, organic honey, cranberry jam
Another great meal from Chef Amaury.
cheap and good – food
Posted: June 23, 2013 Filed under: cycling, food, naperville, travel | Tags: baklava, food, hummus, kebab, middle-eastern, naf-naf, Naperville, restaurant, schwarma 41 CommentsOne more day with my daughter, then she’s off to work and it’s just me, veggies and the juicer… Read the rest of this entry »
zapatista mexican restaurant – food
Posted: April 17, 2013 Filed under: Chicago, food, travel | Tags: Chicago, food, habenero salsa, mexican, Naperville, restaurant 11 CommentsSo Monster ( his cycling club nickname ) and I decided to try Mexican for lunch. Read the rest of this entry »
caravan of dreams
Posted: April 7, 2013 Filed under: food, NYC, travel | Tags: a caravan of dreams, new york city, nyc, restaurant, travel, vegan 12 CommentsWe hit the big apple for a day for ( country mouse, me ) to visit my sister ( city mouse ). Read the rest of this entry »
if elvis likes it….
Posted: April 2, 2013 Filed under: food, Philadelphia, travel | Tags: delicious, food, philadelphia, philly, restaurant, root beer, webers 24 CommentsAmong other things like truth and beauty, Read the rest of this entry »
one enchanted evening…
Posted: September 16, 2012 Filed under: Chicago, food, travel | Tags: anniversary dinner, Chef Amaury, Chicago, fine dining, food, french, restaurant, travel 28 CommentsA leisurely meal at Chef Amaury’s 33 West in downtown Aurora Illinois. A meal shared with the one you love always tastes better. Pictures complements of my wife’s iPad Read the rest of this entry »
delightful tapas
Posted: May 7, 2012 Filed under: food | Tags: delicious, manchego, meson sabika, Naperville, restaurant, tapas 4 CommentsI discovered tapas ( those delightful Spanish appetizers ) by accident. I happened to park in front a restaurant in Naperville, IL that served them, and strolled in to try one. I have been a fan ever since. Designed as finger food, tapas are best shared with friends, where you can each savor the variety of different tastes where each bite is accented with cheese or a sauce to help bring out the maximum flavor.
Read the rest of this entry »