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?

Help! My long list of spots to try

My list of food spots to check out seems to only get longer. I would love your help if you've tried any of these and let me know what you thought, if you recommend it and what the must eat's are on the menu. I'd love your insight and rating on a scale of 1-10(10 being best). And let us know any spots we need to check out.

1) Pleasant house bakery-964 w. 31st st-homemade pastries, euro syle
2) Frontier- oysters
3) The Girl & the goat
4) Maude's liquor bar-840 w. Randolph- french, alinea owner, mussels, frites, creme brulee
5) Leopold- 1450 w. Chicago-gastro pub, mini Belgian waffle dessert, steak tartar
6) Mastros steak house-520 n. Dearborn- $$$$, tuna tartar, rib eye chop
7) Ruxbin Kitchen-851 n. Ashland ave.-
8) Sable kitchen & bar-505 n. State st.
9) Saigon sisters-567 w lake st.-voted best dessert-Che made w butternut squash, arctic char
10) Gt fish & oyster-531 n. Wells st
11) Kingfisher-5721 n. Clark
12) ING-951 west Fulton
13) A Tavola-2148 w. Chicago- gnocchi w crisp sage & brown butter, horseradish short ribs
14) Blackbird-619 w. Randolph
15) Brown trout-4111 n. Lincoln-
16) Ceres table- 4882 n. Clark-lamb, choco souffle, gnocchi, 
17)Fogo de Chau-661 n. Lasalle
18) Gemini bistro-2075 n. Lincoln-short rib ravioli, warm skillet sundae
19) Jin Ju-5203 Clark- Korean, pajun pancake, bibim nap rice bowls, bulgogi, kimachi dumplings
20) Le bouchon- 1958 n damen-French, Tuesday's $25 3-course
21) One sixty blue- 1400 w. Randolph
22) Piccolo sogno-464 n. Halsted- Italian, 
23) Publican-837 w. Fulton
24) Hot Doug's-interesting hot dogs, heard the pheasant dog is great
25) Takashi-1952 n. Damen- French/ japanease
26) Topolobampo-445 n. Clark- $$$$
27) Twin anchors-1655 n. Sedgwick-BBQ 
28) Cumin-1414 Milwaukee ave
29) Davanti Enoteca-1359 w. Taylor
30) Donut vault-401 n Franklin st
31) The original five-1030 w. Taylor st, BBQ in 5 styles
32) Union sushi + BBQ bar- 230 w. Erie, American/japanease food
33) Real kitchen-1433 w montrose, homemade pasta, oatmeal cake

Lilly Q I love you...

Dad and I had a lunch date today at Lillie Q's on North ave. It is a place after my own heart, 6 tasty sauces on the table- need I say more. First try all the sauces with some sweet potato fries, they are all tasty. I decided my fav was the hot smokey sauce mixed with Carolina gold. Pulled pork sandwich was delic, the ribs were great too. The server told us the shrimp and grits are one of the best things on the menu...so I will be trying that next time.

Grimaldi's!

Well need I say more?! You can't beat dining under the Brooklyn bridge with the cranky vinnie and Frankie (who have probably worked here since they were 19) yelling at you "2 more minutes" when you've already heard it 5 times. Anyway, it's all in the charm. The pizza is delicious...light, tasty, not at all greasy and yum that fresh mozzarella is fantastic.

Welcome

Hi all! I think it's important we all embrace our love of good eats so have at it. Let us all know your most recent finds, new recipes or whatever food has recently made you happy...think of this as a compilation of delicious eats!