el nuevo vs. el mariachi

i've recently become addicted to mexican food. i can't get enough tacos, black beans, rice and pico de gallo. i have a favorite mexican joint in my hood called el mariachi (http://www.elmariachitequilabar.com/). my old roommate and i got take out from there once and now i can't get enough. the bf and i go there all the time. one of my old coworkers told me that el nuevo (http://www.elnuevomexicano.net/) beat the pants off el mariachi so i had to try it. the bf and i went over the weekend and compared and contrasted every little aspect of our meals.


atmosphere
el mariachi has two locations - one is further north from me and fairly large but we go to the one around the corner from my apartment that has about 6 tables, twinkle lights and large open windows in the summer. i love how teeny tiny this place is and it's pretty romantic.


el nuevo is larger than our el mariachi and had cool chairs and a nice vibe. they had a tv with a soccer game on which kind of made it less romantic.


service
both places have good, efficient service and the meal goes by quickly at both spots.

chips & salsa
el mariachi has the most delicious homemade chips that come out with 2 different types of homemade salsa. the salsa is always a little different which is fun and they are they are never stingy with bringing out as many chips as we'd like.


el nuevo does not have homemade chips but they have a fun seasoning on theirs that adds a little kick. they brought out one type of salsa that was just ok. they brought out some more chips with our meal too.


entrees
at el mariachi i always get the chicken tacos with beans and rice. they're soft shell tacos are insanely greasy, they shred the chicken themselves and toss it in some amazing sauce and put just the right amount of lettuce and cheese on the tacos. i'm obsessed with their beans and rice and love to dip their chips in both. i always leave the meal feeling like i'm going to fall over because i can't help but clean my plate!


at el nuevo i decided to get a combo platter with one beef taco, one beef tostada and one cheese enchilada with beans and rice. it was plated beautifully and it looked way fancier than el mariachi. i started with the cheese enchilada in mole sauce. i usually don't like mole but this was really good. then i went to the taco. unfortunately it had been lying in mole sauce and the shell was totally destroyed so it made it impossible to eat! the part that did get to my mouth was good though. then i had a bit of the tostada. i've never known how to eat these properly so i just cut up some pieces. their rice and beans were fine but it didn't wow me.

overall, el nuevo was good and fine but el mariachi has my heart. i'm glad i checked out a decent contender but el mariachi will always be my favorite!

blackbird review.

last week was chicago's chef week which is very similiar to restaurant week. several chicago restaurants offer 30$ 3 course dinners and 20$ 3 course lunches. after a bit of a disappointment from restaurant week, i decided to go for the big dogs and make a reservation at blackbird for chef's week. i figure at a place with entrees priced around 35$, a 30$ 3-course dinner is a steal.

i arrived a bit early, odd for me, and the hostess led me to my seat. the tables are so crammed together she had to pull the table out so i could get my seat on the other side. on the left there was a german mod squad and on the right hipsters on a date. i sat and looked at the menu, placed my napkin on my lap and texted my friend that was coming to join me. within 5 seconds one of the servers came over to straighten my knife that i apparently had knocked out of place. this annoyed me. then i read on the menu that no cell phones are allowed and the serveres clothing is provided by a designer. this annoyed me more. i got a beer and waited patiently.

my friend arrived and they brought out tasty bread slices for each of us with herbed butter. probably the most filling thing of the evening. then they brought out these ginormous bowls with an itty bitty amuse bouche of some mushroom thing over a little citrus salad. it tasted good but was just a very silly presentation. then my salad came - in a totally ridiculous tower stack of potatoes with the salad on top and a poached egg on top of that. they cut it for me. hilarious. i've never been one for warm lettuce so i shoved the egg off to the side and ate the rest. my friend got the ahi tuna which she enjoyed but wished there was more. then she got the sweet potato agnolotti with saffron ricotta, crispy kale and spicy peanuts. we weren't too sure what agnolotti was but we figured it was raviolli-esque and when it came out we found that we were right. it was very tasty and it reminded me of fall. i got Aged pekin duck breast and sausage with sauerkraut dusted yukons, black raisin and savoy cabbage. honestly i don't remember any sausage or raisins and there was only like 4 things on the plate so i think it would be hard to miss. the duck and potatoes were truly divine and i could eat them all the time but again, there just wasn't enough! i loved the salty flavor of the duck and the fluffy potatoes. the waiter tried to get us to order two different desserts but we went for the chocolate - manjari chocolate pave with tonka bean ice cream and candied cocoa nibs. it was delicious. then the best part was a plate with two little caramels on it at the end of the meal.

so i give blackbird an A for obnoxiousness, a C for atmosphere and a B for food. there's no doubt in my mind that the food is really outstanding but i'm a hearty eater and 2 sad little slivers of duck is not going to cut it. not when i'm used to going to czech restaurants and eating the whole damn duck!

glad i went but i will not be returning.

Five Guys

I've just experienced life-changing cuisine.  It was my first time at . . . FIVE GUYS!!!!! How did I live so long without it?!?

It reminded me of a Portillo's with better french fries (I would choose the Five Guys original seasoning over Cajun).  The ingredients are fresh, the portions are huge, and the price is right.  Love all five of you guys.

French Cuisine

I had my 1st tastings of French Cuisine just a couple weeks ago in Paris. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect, but now having had it - I understand why people rave about it! Talk about rich flavours that still taste light, and make your tastebuds pop, your mouth water while you're eating, and saying 'mmm' after every bite. amazing really.

Our first night in Paris, we really lucked out on dinner. We arrived relatively late into the city and with nothing prepared we decided just to wing it and try and find somewhere nearby. We ate at Cafe Constant www.cafeconstant.com . They only had 1 type of entree left for the both of us as the rest they were out and the kitchen was about to close, but luckily we still were able to get plenty of wine and our pick of dessert.

entree -
Croustillant de crevettes au basilic (shrimps in a crispy wrapper with basil and mashed potatoes


desserts -
Quenelles au chocolat noir with crème anglaise


Assiette de fromages


Really it was just heaven. Much more than I could've ever expected - especially thinking that we would have to eat fast food bc of how late it was :)

Saturday evening we ate at Le Perraudin www.restaurant-perraudin.com (a recommendation from the Rick Steves Guide Book) Definitely was a great pick! We all opted for the set menus, starter - entree - dessert. Best idea ever.

The pictures of my starter and entree didn't turn out so well, but the dessert.. you can see how delicious it was from the photo.

Foie Gras from the House:


Duck Confit with Roasted Potatoes and Salad


Profiteroles (homemade filled with Ice Cream and topped with Chocolate Sauce)


One of the more memorable parts besides these dinners - were the Crepe snacks throughout the day! absolutely delish.

All in all French Cuisine gets 2 thumbs up in my book. Can't wait to go back and eat my little heart out.

dinner date at opera.

last night me and my man used up my groupon (groupon.com) for opera (http://www.opera-chicago.com/). opera is a kdk restaurant (marche, gioco, redlight & opera) and all the kdk restaurants have really fun interior decor so it makes the dining experience even more enjoyable! on sundays and tuesdays opera offers a fixed prixe menu of $28.95 for 3 courses. my groupon covered $50 of the meal so we went for it! i started with their "golden shrimp" which was tempura shrimp with a chili glaze to give it a little kick. rob had "chicken soong" which were basically chicken lettuce wraps. YUM! i couldn't finish my shrimp because they came in this really rich sauce so i decided to bring half of them home.

for my entree i selected their version of "beef & broccoli" which was a grilled NY strip steak with broccoli in a ginger and sweet soy sauce. i really liked the flavor of the sauce and the beef was very good. it was a little too charred on the outside for my liking and it would have been really nice to have white rice on the side. i saw rice being passed around at other tables so i thought for sure i would get some and when i didn't i was sad. very good nonetheless! rob selected the "kamikazi burger" which was a 9 oz American Kobe beef burger with Wasabi Cheddar, House Made Pickles, Secret Sauce and a Fried Egg. it came out and was ginormous and it also came with sweet potato fries which was a nice surprise. he loved it! no complaints there.

then for dessert we both had the "tao of chocolate" which had a little chocolate lava cake, cherries and cherry ice cream on top of a little white chocolate cake. the chocolate lava cake was certainly the best part!

overall it was one of the best meals i've had in awhile. the atmosphere in the restaurant, good food, hip music played and great service made it a very enjoyable experience!

Time Out Dining & Libation Society

Time Out always comes through with the best dining, music, and weekend advice and now they've added another facet to their repertoire: The Dining & Libation Society. Led by food editor, David Tamarkin, the society will offer a variety of culinary learning experiences and amazing cuisine.

I recently went to one of the first gatherings called, "Butcher Block and Brew" at The Bristol (www.thebristolchicago.com). The night promised a nine-course dinner with Goose Island pairings, after a butchering tutorial by chef Chris Pandel. About 50 guests sat at a large banquet table, sipping bacon (YES, bacon) infused Manhattans, waiting for the lesson to begin. The chef walked in with a fifty pound pig and set it on a side table. He, then, in a process that reminded me quite a bit of freshman year biology, proceeded to cut, slice, and dice until the entire pig lay in a tidy pile of ribs, pork shoulder, and ham hocks. While I found it interesting, I would definitely not recommend watching the bone sawing to the faint of heart!

The first course was porchetta di testa, pork rellettes with an apple mostarda, and smoked ham biscuits paired with Goose Island Sophie. The porchetta is literally the face of the pig, rolled and pickled, then sliced very fine. WAIT! I know this blog isn't supposed to make you LOSE your appetite. The descriptions get better; I promise (and it was actually delicious)! The pork rellettes were a thinly ground and salted pork that paired perfectly with the sweetness of the apple mostarda. The smoked ham biscuits were buttermilk, parmesan, and massive with warm ham and scallions inside. I was full after the first course! The Goose Island pairing, Sophie, is by and large my new favorite beer. This Belgian beer is light and bubbly, not unlike champagne, and is barreled with orange zests for a little ZING at the end (I was told that you can find it at Binny's).

The second course followed with fried pork bones accompanied by a chiles, garlic, and herb reduction - the meat was so tender it literally fell off the bone. Next came a pork loin and endive salad served warm and lightly dressed. The pairing was Goose Island Matilda, which was a darker stout, that I imagine beer lovers everywhere would die for . . . I'm just more of a PBR kind of girl (a trait which the woman next to me kindly pointed out that all the famous chefs share!)

The third (and most mouth-watering) course was slow-roast pork shoulder, smoked ham hock braised greens, and roman gnocchi paired with Goose Island Juliet. Pork is my favorite meat and pork shoulder is probably my favorite cut. This succulent entree lived up to and surpassed my high expectations. The braised greens had exactly the right amount of crunch with the tender meat to make a perfect fork-full. I had never heard of roman gnocchi before and fell in love with the fist-sized, polenta-esque, dumplings. Goose Island Juliet is a red, tangy, fruity beer that seems to be closer to a spritzer than a beer, so of course I thought it was fantastic.

I have never been a huge fan of dessert, or maybe I just have never learned to save enough room, and this dessert was no exception. However, everyone else at the table seemed to be in heaven with the bacon-laced fudge and sugar cookies. We were served Goose Bourbon County Stout in a brandy sifter, which one never would have guessed was a beer and not a liqueur.

All-in-all an amazing experience and one that makes me want to go to many more Dining & Libation Society gatherings. They are full of interesting people, excellent food and drinks, and the chance to learn something new. You can sign up here for mailings: www.dlschicago.com.

"mama's chicken"

so i have this recipe my mom passed along to me.. we make this almost every other week... so easy to make w/ simple ingredients.

ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts
2 cans of cream of chicken
croutons
butter

optional:
carrots
onions
peeled and diced potatoes

1. pam corningware
2. place chicken in it
3. top it off w/ potatoes and cut up veggies of your liking (carrots, onions etc)
4. mix in cream of chicken
5. lightly butter croutons and sprinkle them on the top
6. place in 375 degree oven for about 50 minutes
7. let cool and enjoy!

original recipe included just chicken, cream of chicken and croutons.. also very yummy.