Beatrix

Location: 519 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60654

A Quick Word:
Because we dined at La Madia a few times in the past couple of months, we continued to see Beatrix's popularity grow.  At first, it seemed like walk-ins could get a table, but now, reservations are highly recommended.  Eventually, we decided to find out what the huge hype of Beatrix was.  Being part of the Lettuce Entertain You group, we expected the quality of service to be great and the food to be above average.  And, we didn't leave disappointed.  Their concept seems to be home-cooked foods with a twist.  They offer a complex meatloaf, a classic pot roast, and even deviled eggs!  This sure reminds me of dishes I can make at home, but then I realize the speciality ingredients involved.  At Beatrix, we had a very attentive waiter that fixed a cold food problem without a hassle.  We had great food and drinks that missed on some parts, but were great in other aspects.  The location is wonderful, but the valet parking is expensive.  I know their restaurant is still very new so they are working out those kinks.  But with those kinks, I thought a 3.5-mile rating would be fair.  Plenty of room for improvement.

What We Ate:

Ahi Crudo

It was difficult for me to turn down deviled eggs, but in its place, we decided on the Ahi Crudo appetizer.  It is made with thinly sliced sushi-grade ahi tuna that is topped with a yuzo dressing, thin slices of apple, chili oil, and crispy brown rice noodles. A small micro-green salad acts as both a garnish and in my opinion a much needed pepperiness.  There was probably five or six slices of the tuna so the appetizer is small and barely large enough for two.  I suggest rolling the tuna with some of the salad and a little bit of all the other ingredients.  Together, the different flavors makes for a complex flavor scheme with contrasting textures with the smooth fish, yet crispy apple and noodles.  Delicious, but dainty!

Straight "A" Salad

My girlfriend and I decided to split a salad and share an entree.  They describe their salads as "entree-sized," so we knew this would be plenty of food.  We chose the Straight "A" Salad, which was made with arugula, avocado, asian pear, asiago cheese, and almonds.  It was lightly dressed with a vinaigrette.  The above picture is just half of the salad because they went ahead and split it up for us.  All of the components worked well together, but I was disappointed in the amount of avocado and asian pear that was added to the salad.  I honestly had maybe one or two cubes of avocado and even less in slivers of asian pear.  I thought maybe the other half of the salad was luckier... but it wasn't.  They are definitely stingy on those toppings.

Caramelized Pork Shank w/ Cider Reduction

Before heading to the restaurant, I was curious why Beatrix became so popular so fast.  I checked out some reviews and pictures of the restaurant and this dish caught my eye.  The caramelized pork shank is a MUST HAVE dish.  A huge pork shank has been cooked until fall-off-the-bone tenderness.  It is topped with diced sweet potatoes, braeburn apples, and sits on a bed of mashed potatoes.  A cider reduction is then drizzled around the entire dish.  WOW!  The meat is incredible.  You can use your fork to easily pull apart the meat.  It has a sweeter flavor profile with both the cider reduction and the sweet potatoes.  I liked how it came with two starches, making the dish even easier to share.  Unfortunately, our meal came out cold... and I mean refrigerator cold.  This had me thinking how could it be that temperature.  After letting our waiter know, the meal was fixed and came out piping hot and delicious.  The manager stopped by our table to apologize, which was a huge plus.  Great service!

Tall, Dark, & Handsome Chocolate Cake

Our mistake of the night arrived after the meal was over.  This dessert was RICH, TASTY, and HUGE.  I say mistake because it put us over the top in terms of fullness.  The chocolate cake is minimal cake and a lot of fudge and mousse.  It is served with homemade whipped cream.  I thought the cake tasted more like dark chocolate than milk, making the sweetness not overwhelming.  The cake was dry, but that didn't matter when you add the mousse topping to it.  I would have been happy without the dessert, but if you want chocolate, give it a try.

Blackberry & Lychee Lemonade and Blueberry & Basil Smash

The waiter did a great job selling the idea of freshly squeezed juices that have the potential of being spiked.  My girlfriend chose the blackberry and lychee lemonade with an added shot or so of gin.  The drink was refreshing and reminded you of lemonade.  The lychee flavor was, however, absent.  My choice was the blueberry and basil smash which pairs well with rye whiskey.  Unfortunately, for me, the blueberry juice overwhelmed everything in the sense that you could not taste whiskey or even just basil.  Good idea, ok execution.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- Valet Parking is $14.  I will let you decided if you should drive or not...  The valet parking is part of the hotel next door.  Just make sure to remind them you are dining.  A validation from the restaurant host stand is needed.

DON'T:
- Don't miss out on that Pork Shank.  It is worth sharing and definitely worth the higher prices.

How far would I walk for this food?

Bennison's Bakery **Paczki**

Location: 1000 Davis St., Evanston, IL 60201


A Quick Word:
For the third straight year, I have trekked to a far away bakery for the Fat Tuesday special... The Paczki.  This year, I decided to give Bennison's Bakery a try.  Located in Evanston, it takes a good 40 minutes or so find the bakery if you are driving in from the city.  And, once you get there, you may be greeted by a long, snaking line like I did.  But, it is worth the 30 minute wait for your paczki.  This year, Bennison's is offering nine different flavors with a few "new-school" paczki, which utilize fresh fruit and homemade whipped cream.  The prices are very fair at about $2 per paczki.  Unfortunately, they are not taking anymore pre-orders today so don't even try.  I think the distance is keeping me from giving it a perfect rating and also the availability.  Despite advertising the nine flavors, luck is what determines what will be available when it is your turn at the counter.  I was lucky to get some of the fresh strawberry, but about a dozen customers were left disappointed.  Regardless, this paczkis are amazing, and I highly suggest people get in line sometime today before they run out!  Enjoy!

What I Ate:

Assorted Paczkis (Fat Tuesday Special)

Below (Left to Right) : Fresh Banana, Raspberry

It was a tough decision for me, but I eventually eliminated the nine flavors down to just four.  This year, I decided to try their two "fresh-style" paczki, the fresh strawberry and fresh banana, and the two more traditional ones, apricot and raspberry.  If you have never had a paczki before, this is a special Polish-style doughnut that is classically served on Fat Tuesday.  They are special because the yeast dough is allowed to rise before being deep fried on both sides and injected with many different fillings.  The doughnuts are then either dusted in powdered sugar, rolled in cane sugar, or dipped in a glaze.  These paczki were entirely different from the ones I had last year.  These were light and airy and more doughnut-like rather than bread-like.  I personally enjoyed the more traditional ones because the glaze and sugary fruit filling reminded me more of a childhood doughnut rather than something healthy and fresh.  The fresh ones were also good, but the whipped cream was a little much and the fruit more lacking.  I think they needed to add more fruit because the cream sort of overwhelmed the fruit.  At about $2 per paczki, you can easily afford to purchase more than one.  The problem then becomes eating them all.  Happy Fat Tuesday!

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- Give yourself plenty of time at the bakery.  It may take 30+ minutes if you didn't preorder.
- Pay the meter!  I saw cars getting tickets today for street parking.

DON'T:
- Don't expect to get all the flavors.  They run out constantly and are struggling to keep up filling orders so you may need to wait a few minutes or longer for the next batch to finish.

How far would I walk for this food?

Uncle Mike's Place

Location: 1700 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL 60622

A Quick Word:
Somehow, Uncle Mike's Place has evaded my knowledge of Chicago restaurants for many years.  One of my buddies mentioned a Filipino breakfast and I was sold on giving it a try.  Being half Filipino, I had very high expectations.  And, I will gladly say, this breakfast met every one of those expectations.  As soon as you walk in, you realize you are not in a 5-star restaurant, but you see the Filipino employees and the huge variety of customers eating the same Filipino breakfast.  It had to be good... and it was AMAZING.  You can order one protein (tocino, longanisa, bangus, spam, and steak) or, in my case, two.  The prices are a little on the higher side for breakfast, but it is 100% worth it when you see the size of the meal, the side dishes, the complimentary lugao, and the authenticity of the cuisine.  It reminds me of eating in the Philippines.  This was absolutely one of the most memorable meals I have had in Chicago in a while.  I may be biased because it reminds me of my childhood, but I would easily walk more than 5-miles for this food.  And, I know many people that would do the same.  And, for those reasons, perfection was the only rating that would fit!  A must try restaurant!

What I Ate:

Tocino and Bangus Combo Breakfast

It was a hard decision for me to only choose two of the proteins offered for their Filipino breakfast, but it had to be done.  I went with the Tocino and Bangus combo.  This massive breakfast comes with a whole order of tocino (specially marinated pork shoulder), a deep fried bangus, garlic fried rice topped with two eggs (my choice was sunny side up), a bowl of chocolate-coconut tapioca, and a couple of different vinegar concoctions--the first with tomatoes, patis (fish sauce), and vinegar and the other with vinegar, garlic, and black pepper.  I was  ABSOLUTELY AMAZED when the dish arrived at our table.  It was a huge breakfast and as authentic as it gets.  The bangus was my first bite.  It was fried to perfection, de-boned, and tasted amazing dipping into the vinegar and garlic.  The tocino had that sweet, yet salty flavor to it and had a good fat-to-meat ratio.  It was tender and plentiful.  Pop those two yolks over the garlic fried rice and pour the tomato-vinegar mixture on top and enjoy.  All of the components and flavors are meant to compliment each other... the acidity, the sweetness, the saltiness... WOW.  I took a picture for my mom and she can't wait to visit Uncle Mike's Place.  The combo breakfast was only a couple dollars more ($12), so definitely think about getting two proteins.  You will not be disappointed!

Lugao

The restaurant won me over with their daily made lugao, which is given complimentary to every customer! Lugao is a Filipino version of congee or a rice porridge made with chicken and chicken broth.  Their version has very finely ground rice and was topped with fried garlic, scallions, and a piece of tofu.  I have seen other places use chicharrones and even different types of egg.  Not only is it complimentary, it is a huge portion.  They give everyone a bowl, which is perfect for the cold weather the city has been dealing with.  The lugao was spot on, reminding me of my mom's!  There was plenty of pulled chicken meat.  The fried garlic added a complex flavor to the soup.  Everyone needs to try this and see why I crave this childhood dish.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- Free parking along Grand.  Plenty of it too!
- They are open fairly early so keep this place in mind for breakfast.
- My buddies ordered the steak and the longanisa.  They also loved it, so definitely check those two combos also.  Spam is also available and will be my next choice!

DON'T:
- Don't order anything else on the menu.  The filipino breakfast is the GREATEST!  I promise, try it and you will not be disappointed

How far would I walk for this food?

Yuki Hana

Location: 2920 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60657

A Quick Word:
One of my friends had the idea of trying Yuki Hana's new Korean BBQ cuisine.  Rather than going for their famous happy hour sushi prices, we sat at their newly expanded restaurant and became their first Korean BBQ customer.  Right from the start, we knew they had no clue what was going on.  The BYOB was unavailable once you cross over an imaginary line into their Korean BBQ side.  The beer was cheap beer was not on tap (as claimed), and the expensive beer was cheaper than the cheap beer.  I personally was extremely confused.  And, unfortunately, the waitress didn't understand how the Korean BBQ worked.  No one even knew the sizes of the meat platters and whether or not it can be shared.  Anyway, the food turned out to be better than expected, but still sub par to the other Korean BBQ joints in the city.  It is a good start at something new and I can only see it getting better.  But, for now, considering our experience and not reviewing their established sushi happy hour, I decided a 2.5-mile rating was fair.

What We Ate:

Gyoza

I am a huge fan of appetizers, especially dumplings at Asian restaurants.  My buddy and I decided to get an order of gyoza.  These are the Japanese version of the pot sticker.  Here, the gyoza is a little different.  The dumplings are filled with a pork and minced vegetable meatball and then deep fried.  They are served with a ponzu sauce and come in an order of six dumplings.  Without question, these are the WORST dumplings I have ever eaten.  Oil saturated each dumpling.  It was so bad that we decided to dry them off with a napkin.  And, that didn't even help... and I am not exaggerating.  It was awful.  Do not order!

Kalbi - Korean BBQ Dinner

After all of the confusion, we ended up ordering ONE ORDER of the Kalbi.  This is the typical Korean BBQ meat.  Kalbi is beef short ribs that have been marinated in a sweeter, soy sauce-like sauce.  It comes with about 1 lb. of meat, a few mushrooms and onions, and about six different side dishes.  Those dishes included a few kimchees, some pickled onions, a salad, and some kind of cold egg dish.  The meat itself was good quality.  Not too fatty, and plenty of meat on the bone.  It takes about a minute or two on the grill before it was done.  The chef was a little on the annoying side, trying to cook our meat for us and at one point even started putting the meat on our plates.  I wasn't sure what he was doing.  The kimchees were just OK.  One in particular was extremely fermented and just didn't taste like normal kimchee.  That cold egg topping smelled funny as well.  The meal also came with some white rice, but you definitely need to order a side of rice if you decide to share.  Overall, it was OK Korean BBQ, but I will probably come for sushi happy hour next time.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- Make sure to share!  The orders for Korean BBQ are good for two people (minus the fact that you only get one miso soup).

DON'T:
- Don't BYOB... somehow there is confusion with their BYOB rules.  Currently, you can only BYOB on the sushi side of the restaurant.

How far would I walk for this food?

Sing's Noodle

Location: 2171 S. China Pl., Chicago, IL 60616


A Quick Word:
Sing's Noodles, located in the Chinatown Plaza (across from Lao Sze Chuan), offers some of the city's best noodles.  All of the noodles are hand-pulled to order by the gentleman that used to work at Hing Kee.  As soon as you walk in, you can tell the restaurant was built just for that chef.  A three-walled window room is the center of attention, allowing customers to watch their noodles being made.  Bowls, or should I say cauldrons, are filled with different style broths, those hand-pulled noodles, and various cuts of meat.  Despite being known for their noodles, Sing's also is home to some great Xiao Long Bao, aka the soup dumpling.  For noodles, it is quite expensive.  I am used to having a bowl of noodles for under $7.00.  Unfortunately, that is not the case here... you will look to spend around $9.00 a bowl.  The cost is still cheap, but for the quality, it can be considered expensive.  And, for that reason, I couldn't give it a perfect rating.  I loved the noodles and the dumplings, and I can't wait to be back!

What We Ate:

Xiao Long Bao

It is crazy; just a few months ago, I had eaten maybe one order of soup dumplings in my life.  But, within the last few weeks, I have tried different types of xiao long bao at different restaurants in Chicago.  At Sing's Noodle, we encountered the best xiao long bao to date.  Here, the dumplings are larger, and without exaggeration, 3x the amount of soup.  Our first dumpling accidentally broke when trying to pick it up, but somehow, the residual soup still filled the entire spoon.  It was incredible.  The dumpling is classic; they use pork and minced veggies.  An order comes with six dumplings for about $6.  A little pricey, but much better than some other dim sum restaurants in Chicago.

House Special Hand-Pulled Noodles

With over a dozen different noodle soups on the menu, it is pretty difficult to choose which bowl you want.  I found it a little easier to choose because of their House Special bowl.  This bowl is made with a combination of the meats, including beef stew, beef tripe, and beef chunk.  A few sprigs of watercress add some color, and of course, a bountiful of their hand-pulled noodles swim in the heavily seasoned broth.  The broth is your typical beef broth with a strong salty flavor present.  The meat itself is not the highest quality, but if you remember, the point of these noodle shops is to finish off all your leftovers.  The noodles are some of the best in Chicago with a nice chew to them.  The chef makes the noodles to order, so you know they are fresh.  The bowl is easily enough for two, especially if you order some dumplings.

Ox Tail Hand-Pulled Noodles

The other soup we decided to try was the Ox Tail Hand-Pulled Noodles.  Once again, their hand-pulled noodles were the highlight, but in this bowl, the noodles were surrounded by plenty of boiled oxtail, bok choy, and a lighter broth.  My first impression was less flavorful, less salty, but much more fresh.  The greens definitely help give that impression.  The meat is once again lower quality with plenty of fat and cartilage surrounding the bone... but in my opinion, this is what you should expect in this type of soup.  There was enough meat to enjoy, but that fat and bone is what gives the soup its flavor.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!!!  The bowls are huge and I swear, two people can share one order of hand-pulled noodles.
- Parking can be difficult on weekends.  Try parking on the street next to the Walgreens.  There are usually a few spots open there.

DON'T
- Don't come during high peak hours.  There is limited seating.

How far would I walk for this food?