Tiny Lounge • 4352 N Leavitt St

Even though I will never forgive the Tiny Lounge for removing the delicious lamb & goat cheese pizza from the menu, it is still my favorite local spot. Their specialty drinks are made with fresh juice, the food is always delicious, the inside is modern and quaint, and the outside patio is adorable. Oh and hand's down they make the best filthy dirty vodka martini with the best blue cheese stuffed olives...when I have a bad day, this place makes me happy. The Empanadas were pretty good but they have better choices. The Ahi Tuna tacos look as good as they taste and for a little kick they serve it up with wasabi.

The best filthy dirty martini
-hand stuffed blue cheese olives,
Tito's hand made vodka and
ice chips make this pure perfection.

Purple Pig • 500 N. Michigan

So Good, I will be back. This is tapas with a favoritism to pork. My best advice, ask your server what you should try and go with it. Everything I ate was delicious. This is a fun place to sit outside and not your typical Michigan avenue fancy place.

Smear: Pork Neck Bone Gravy with Ricotta

Cheese Selection

Corn Salad

Wanna open a Chicago Tiki Bar?

Really...picture this- it's 10 below in the middle of February in Chicago. You are dieing for a vacation, some warmth or just a taste of summer. You walk into the beachy nostalgic ambiance of the newly opened Chicago tiki bar and completely forget the snowy disaster that awaits you outside. I guess all I need now is a collection of Hawaiian shirts, some amazing fruity fun drink recipes and well some start up cash... so in the mean time check out my inspiration and new favorite bar Hala Kahiki in River Grove Illinois (http://hala-kahiki.com/).

This place is a throw back to leopard print, hula girl lamps, beaded curtains and bamboo. On the extensive menu you will find Zombies, Mai Tai's and Ko Ko Mo deliciously strong drinks. They do not serve food so watch out, the liquor will sneak up on you!

If you can't tell I love this place. It's vintage, it's cheesy (in a good way) and it's a fun little get away from reality. These photos do not do the place justice. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Try a Zombie

Fin Sushi Bar • 1742 w. Wilson (Hermitage & Wilson)

bacon wonton

Sesame Brown Rice Maki

Spicy Tuna Roll

Japanese red snapper Sashimi

Chillis Maki

Chillis Maki

This is a great sushi place to have in walking distance. It's BYOB, has outdoor seating, delivers and is a nice spot to sit and enjoy a meal.  We will be back to try some more of the menu. The rolls are a little big and you get 10 rolls per order so it's easy to get too much. The bacon wonton was delicious and the Japanese red snapper (madai) was buttery, fresh and worth getting again. All of the fish was tasty and fresh. The rolls we ordered were not my favorite but still delicious...I'm still deciding what to get next time...bacon fried rice, crunchy plantain roll, honey walnut roll, mango maguro roll, tom yum maki, spicy oyster appetizer. It's worth checking out.

Korean BBQ • Chicago Kalbi Restaurant • 3752 W. Lawerence

Pajun: Must have Pankcake appetizer.

Kalbi: marinated Short Rib
Bulgoki: Marinated thinly sliced beef

Must try the Kimchi

Must try the Pajun (Pancake appetizer), Bulgoki, Kalbi, Sesame Marinated Chicken and Kim Chi. The service is great. Fun place for any occasion.


Repost of LeffMom's: Chicago Kalbi, Korean/Japanese on Lawrence turned out to be a delicious surprise. Private spaces for larger parties gave a homey place to enjoy family conversations which was mostly about food!

Unusual appetizers like croquettes (fried mash potatoes with meat in the middle), tiny chicken legs (deep fried with a delicious dipping sauce) and an onion pancake (my favorite)!

Individual grills were brought to the table along with thinly sliced meats, beef, chicken, shrimp, tongue (ordered by Kahinde (very brave) which we cooked to perfection, dipped them in unusual bbq sauces and gobbled up every smidgen!

The staff was helpful about what to order as well as checking on us often to make sure we had everything we needed. They sang happy birthday to our b-day boy and brought ice cream with a candle.

It was a great family adventure! Paul did his homework and research!

Black Dog Gelato @ 859 N. Damen Ave

Yeah you would think after all that BBQ, we'd be stuffed but we still had room for Gelato. Anything you have here is truly a treat, my vote this trip was for the Strawberry Black Pepper Sorbet. Spicy & Sweet!

Espresso Gelato

Pistachio Gelato

Goat Cheese Caramel Cashew Gelato

Strawberry Black Pepper Sorbet

Salty Peanut Gelato Cookie Sandwich

I love you Lillie Q: Visit #2

Well Father's day brought our second trip to Lillie Q's and was of course a delightful feast! On my last visit the server told me the shrimp & grits is the best thing on the menu but you have to be willing to make the leap of a non-BBQ meal. Well I ordered it up and was instantly happy with my order when our waitress said "that is the best thing on the menu!".  It was delicious, a little indulgent with cheesy grits and tasty shrimp. I highly recommend it. I think the consensus at the table was the sweet potato fries are the best we've had, they are crunchy and lightly coated with salt and brown sugar, yum! The beer selection here is also pretty fantastic for drafts and bottles- Dark Horse plead the fifth imperial stout and Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale were both tasty choices. Our table ordered up fried pickles (good but I've had better), Ribs, Pulled Pork,  Low Country Boil & the fabulous Shrimp & Grits. I will definitely be back.

Bar Food

What: The Rail
Where: Damen & Leland • Chicago, IL
Rating:...hmmmm Tostada's get a 10, the place gets a 2

So I ate at the Rail this past week. We have been here many, many times. First off, this place pretty much has the worst service- you get one beer and never see your waitress again. There is one thing I must discuss. I go there for one reason, the Turnstyle Tostadas. As I was eating these, I said "I think this is the best bar food!". They have this delicious marinated, shredded chicken and feta cheese (yes, FETA? it's a surpise but the perfect compliment). The Rail also has some great bar food specials that are cheap & taste good- 25¢ wings, $1 chili, $3 burgers & fries, $3 nachos but that's where the goodness ends.

What's your favorite bar food?

Chicken Tostadas ..$8.50
Three crispy corn tortillas freshly fried and slathered with refried frijoles-charros. Topped with tender chunks of chicken breast simmered in a spicy chipotle pepper sauce, aged feta cheese, Julienne cabbage, diced tomatoes and a dollop of sour cream. (photo from www.therailbar.com/food.html)

oh the Half Shell

What: Half Shell
Where: 676 W Diversey Pkwy • Chicago, IL
Rating: 10 (out of 10)
I don't know if it's my love of dive bars, my love of raw oysters, my love of beer served in a frosty mug, my love of watching grown men bicker at each other like an old married couple but the Half Shell has my heart. You can either belly up to the bar (which adds to the ambiance that Whale Wars is on the TV and I have to interrupt the bartender from watching to get a beer) or you can request a spot on the lovely outdoor patio. At most restaurants I like to try something new and check out the specials- here I have to get the same thing because it never fails me and it is delicious! Blue Moon in frosty mug-check. 1.5 dozen oysters- check. Snow Crab & King Crab combo-check. Adam and I share this every time we go which most often is a special occasion...this was our 5 year anniversary and we couldn't think of any place we'd rather eat.

North Pond Loveliness

Oh what a night at North Pond. The ambiance, even the rainy weather was nice but Ohhhh the food! Yes it's uber expensive but well worth it for a special occasion (like Mom's birthday). Oh and the dog felt a little left out and ate the menu when we got home...nice! Anyway the food was fantastic, we did the 5 course tasting menu with a couple chef's additions so 7 courses that completely stuffed with goodness by the end.

course 1: Tuna Pineapple, this was Salmon tartare, tuna crudo (marinated raw tuna) and some pineapple sweetness

course 2: Mushroom Asparagus...Wild Mushroom Flan! with an asparagus glaze- A..MAZ..ING

course 3: Lobster Mint, Mandarin poached lobster tail, Cauliflower couscous

course 4: Lamb Artichokes, Grilled Herbed Rack, Braised Pave (the side garnish was unanimously a winner, I think from reading the menu now it was the smoked Tomato with apricot but no one was quite sure. We just knew it was good).

course 5: Mango Raspberry, White chocolate enrobed Mango Mousse

Pure Deliciousness, need I say more?