restaurant week review

So I ended up going to three restaurants instead of four this past week. Two dinners ended up costing me a lot more than I had bargained for, but that's okay, great experiences!

Sushi Samba Rio, Saturday 2/23:

My girlfriends and I made reservations for 8:30pm. The restaurant was extremely crowded. Guests were hovering around the bar and hostess counter waiting to be called and seated. By around 9:00, we had already asked the hostess two times when our table would be ready, she looked flustered. Finally we sat down around 9:15. Starving. The server didn't come to our table right away, but the bus boy filled our glasses of water and the host came back with the regular menus, not the restaurant week pre-fixe menu. Finally our server came by, he handed us the menu and was very honest. He told us that most people walked away still feeling hungry and that the pre-fixe was more of a tasting menu. For some reason, we tried to give the chef the benefit of the doubt and figured the other people must have larger stomachs than us. So the three of us decided to still go for the pre-fixe while one of our friends went for regular menu items. She was the smart one. Anyway, on to the menu:

1st Course: Lobster with rice and some wasabi sauce. The chunk of lobster was pretty good in size, but the meat was flimsy and hard to eat with chopsticks. It was pretty undercooked. But no major complaints.

2nd Course: I got the sea bass which came on a HUGE platter, but the joke was on me when I noticed a small indenture in the middle of the platter filled with some soupy stuff and two very VERY small filets of sea bass, some edamame and get this, ONE piece of bok choy. Three bites, and I was finished. My friends got the pork chop dish. The meat was so tough that the whole table shook while they tried to run their knives through it. They also finished theirs in three bites.

3rd Course: I got a chocolate cake with rum ice cream which was very good, but I finished in one bite.

Total with our bottle of wine, tax and tip: $55/person.
We all went home and ate frozen pizzas.
Overcrowded + over-rushed +leaving hungry = biggest waste of money ever.

Sweets and Savories, Monday 2/25:

This restaurant is my absolute favorite spot in Chicago. Unpretentious environment, fabulous food and always excellent service. After my Sushi Samba Rio debacle, I was a little nervous about what to expect here, but once we got seated and the server laid out our menus in front of us we knew we were in for a treat -- 4 full courses!

1st course: White corn risotto w/ grilled shrimp and pomegranate bbq sauce. AMAZING. The texture of the crunchy corn contrasted so nicely with the risotto and the grilled shrimp was so large and perfectly matched with the sauce.

2nd course: Sea bass with wildmushrooms, asparagus and mashed potatoes. I never thought of sea bass and mashed potatoes as a pairing, but since sea bass is one of the heavier, thicker fishes of the sea, it worked! And we loved it.

3rd course: Rack of lamb with some ragout of eggplant and chickpeas. The lamb was cooked medium rare, so tender and tasty. The ragout was a bit tart but worked well with the lamb.

4th course: Fallen chocolate souffle with fresh berries. One word - ORGASMIC.

We were all so incredibly satisfied. It was kind of creepy how we all just had smiles glazed over our faces. And the Louis Jadot Gamay that I bought was a hit! I went back to buy a case of it the next day. It's my favorite wine. Perfect with meal or just as is.

Total cost including tax and tip: $44


Onesixtyblue, Wednesday 2/27:

The last time I went to Onesixtyblue my boyfriend at the time and I ended up spending $175. It was definitely worth every penny, so I was excited to see what they had in store for us here. I met up with two old co-workers and we started out at the bar to have a glass of wine. We were seated and the waiter went through the restaurant week menu and offered us the baked goat cheese appetizer while we looked through the menu to make our decisions. We went ahead and ordered it and spent some time catching up instead of looking at the menu! Our server was more than gracious and came back a third time to take our order.

1st course: Two of us ordered the parmesen gnocchi. A good sized portion, absolutely delish! The other had the leek soup which was thick and smelled really good because of the truffle oil in it.

2nd course: I had the pork tenderloin with sweet potato, red cabbage confit, and some berry sauce. The pork belly looked daunting at first but was so amazing with the red cabbage. My friend who's a vegeterian had the fettecine. It didn't look that great, but she said it was good and it definitely was a large platter! She took most of it home.

3rd course: For dessert I had the coconut crunch - an wonderfully light dessert and perfect ending to a perfect eveing.

Total w/ one glass of wine, goat cheese app, tax + tip: $66

got grapes?

My favorite wine shop, Just Grapes, is having a huge winter clearance sale starting today until Thursday. They have bottles going for up to %60 off! My wine rack's been looking pretty sad and empty lately, so I went straight after work today. Pretty much all bins were marked 20 - 60% off.
What I got:

2 bottles of 2004 Louis Jadot Gamay at 12.99 each (usually $25/bottle)
1 bottle of 2004 Le Cinciole Chianti for $16 (originally $32)
1 bottle of 2006 Calina Carmenere for $6.50 (originally $11)
1 bottle of 2005 El Quintinal Tempranillo for $11 ( originally $22)
1 bottle of 2003 Aric Carignan Blend for $11.50 (originally $23)

This will keep me going for a while. I plan on taking a bottle of the Loius Jadot to dinner at Sweets and Savories. Monday nights are BYOB, no corkage fee. Talk about eating on the cheap! Will report later this week.

reving up for restaurant week!

Very exciting time for Chicago restaurateurs and foodies...first ever Restaurant Week!
In preparation for the big event, I got a massage from Amber Spa. Did I really need a massage? Not really, but It only cost me $47.50 on Goldstar plus a $15 tip (the swedish massage usually costs $80 for the full hour, so you ought to tip for the full amount, not the discounted). Anyway, this tiny woman came in and really kneaded through my kinks and sore spots. HEAVEN. I'm ready for my week of gluttony.

My line up:

Sushi Samba on Saturday
Aigre Doux on Sunday
Sweets and Savories on Monday
One Sixty Blue on Wednesday

All restaurants that I've already been to but because they're my favorite spots and I can't eat there regularly on my meager income, this is the best time to play catch up!

oh kids...

Last Thursday I had to sub for a bi-lingual 1&2 grade class. Today, I had to work with a 7&8 grade class so I haven't seen my 5&6 graders for over 5 days now. After class, one of the 5th graders in that class came up to me and tugged on my sleeve...

"Teacher, where you been at?"

Although I love my students...it's all about tough love in these neighborhoods.
I gave her a sharp look.

"Are you Lil' Kim?"

She smiled, "no..."

"Am I here to educate a rapper?"

She giggled, "no..."

"Then what is it you're supposed to say?"

She hugs me then says coyly, "Teacher, where have you been?"

Ah....breakthrough!

a night of blunders...

After finishing off a bottle of wine, the girls and I headed over to Lumen to check out the Saturday night west loop scene. I haven't been to Lumen since last fall so I was happy to see that business has picked up quite a bit. I was unhappy that we had to wait in line to get in when there was sleet pelting our faces and my max mara jacket. After 20 minutes, the line had not budged so I walked over to one of the front door guys sporting an ear piece and asked if we really had to wait. He asked me if we had any guys with us...nope! He told me to get my girlfriends and come right on in. We bypassed the 20 people or so ahead of us and they welcomed us in. I was surprised to see that the lounge was not packed at all! It was more to keep up with that Miami chic concept of exclusivity. Lots of table service and generally people having a good time inside.

After getting some really strong drinks, we hung out in the middle of the lounge to check out the scene and was approached by a group of guys celebrating a birthday. I was thoroughly unimpressed when the birthday boy kept a grip on my arm and kept releasing spit on my face as he spoke. Gross. After that rain shower we headed over to the bar where a skinny trendy sort of guy came up to me and professed his love for asian women. Great...he then goes on to tell me why he loves asian women including they're super thin, can cook, great style and good in bed. Are you kidding me? He gave me his business card and begged me to call him. Right...

Around three, we called it a night and walked back to my place. While laughing out the evening's blunders, this car full of ghetto-fabulous gangstas drove up to us and one of the guys asked if we could hook them up with weed. Now I thought I'd heard it all, but this? Hilarious.

v-day = singles awareness day?

My friend in Boston sent out a mass text out this morning wishing all her friends a happy "singles awareness day." For a short second, I was a little sad that I'm single this year. No classy dinner plans or a special blue box with pearl earrings...but then I realize in a city like Chicago, why can't everyday singles awareness day? I mean, this is not Provo, Utah for goodness sakes. This time last year, I have to admit, I was looking forward to what my boyfriend had planned but deep down inside I wished that I was single. There are so many eligible mates in this city that it seems better to be single and just make your rounds, doesnt it? I'm a new people person. I like meeting new people and making new connections. That's what the 20s are all about. You have your whole life to be in a committed relationship, why not have fun now?

That being said, I look forward to the rest of today, this so-called Valentine's Day. I laugh at all you couples and your cheesy flowers, wine and jewelry. Today, I embrace singledom...and perhaps that bar of Vosges in my fridge...

original penguin

A girlfriend and I went to the original penguin event at SushiSamba tonight. The event was decent. Passed appetizers circulated infrequently but the cocktails were endless. All I got a taste of was the not so memorable mini-burger. The Swirlz mini-cupcakes were very tasty though. This was my first time upstairs at the roof-top deck which is covered and heated for the winter. The ambiance was nice. Very South Beach-esque. I'll definitely have to come back with a group of friends in the summer, it's probably a fun place to be.

On our way out, we collected swag bags filled with an original penquin women's polo, an original penquin luggage tag, a full-sized Bliss self-tanner, and the latest issue of Factio magazine. Anyone ready for a trip to somewhere sunny?