Category Archives: Chicago restaurants

burgers, Chicago restaurants, food and wine, New Years Eve, spirits and cocktails, wine and spirits

12 places to tend your New Year’s Day 2014 needs

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

Whether you’re going out partying all night on New Year’s Eve or, like me, you’ll be in bed long before the ball drops, you may want to seek out gratifying no-cook food options for the next day. Here are 12 Chicago restaurants that have delicious food and drink specials to help you welcome in the new year. Enjoy!

AMERICAN JUNKIE CHICAGO, opens 11 am January 1
15 Illinois St. | Chicago, IL 60654 | 312.239.0995

Wake Up and Rally with Bowl Game Drink Specials
American Junkie invites Chicagoans to continue their New Year’s celebrations with $5 mimosas, $7 Fireball shots, $16 domestic beer buckets and $20 premium beer buckets. Guests can combine cocktails with upscale bar bites including $7 nachos, $1 sliders and .75 cent wings. The River North sports bar is the perfect spot to catch all of the New Year’s Day Bowl Game action including the Outback Bowl where the University of Iowa will take on Louisiana State University (kick off at 12 p.m.).
______________________________________________

BRASSERIE by LM, opens 6 am January 1
800 S. Michigan Avenue | Chicago, IL 60605 | 312.431.1788

New Year’s Day Brunch at Brasserie by LM
Brasserie by LM invites Chicagoans to enjoy their brunch menu. Brasserie’s brunch menu includes traditional favorites as well as new creations with entrées, pastries and classic brunch items like French Toast ($10), LM Benedict ($10), Crepes ($10), Savory Tart ($7) Brasserie Burger ($12) and more. Guests can also enjoy Brasserie’s Croque menu which includes Croque Monsieur ($9), Croque Vegetable ($9) and Croque Salmon ($11). For an additional $2, guests can add an egg on top of any Croque to create a Croque Madame. Brasserie Bloody Marys and Mimosas will be available for $7 each.

In addition, a bottomless Mimosa and Entrée special will be available for $25 per person. The full menu is available upon request. Photos available upon request.
______________________________________________

CHICAGO CUT STEAKHOUSE, 12 pm – 10 pm January 1
300 N. LaSalle St. | Chicago, IL 60654 | 312.329.1800

$20 Burger Special
Chicago Cut Steakhouse welcomes guests to indulge in their special New Year’s Day Burger Specials. Guests can select from three specialty burgers including:

  • The Eggsplosion Burger
    Prime ground beef with an egg cooked in the middle, pan-fried on an iron skillet, topped with American cheese, applewood bacon, grilled onions and jalapeno mayo on a toasted potato bun
  • Three Chili Pepper Burger
    Charred red fresno peppers, shipkas peppers & poblano peppers, topped with Chicago Cut’s famous guacamole and served on a Kings Hawaiian Bun smeared with Chipotle Mayo.
  • Tapenade Stuffed Burger
    Black and green olive tapenade stuffed in prime beef, layered with thinly sliced red onion, thinly sliced sweet gherkin pickles, baby romaine hearts, coarse grained mustard and mayo on a toasted Kaiser bun

In addition, the Chicago Cut Prime Burger, $14, will also be available. All burgers are served on a buttery brioche bun, unless otherwise noted, with fresh, homemade fries and a side of coleslaw.
A perfect complement to any burger, the restaurant will offer $7 Elliott Ness Christmas Ale.
______________________________________________

CHICAGO q, opens 11 am January 1
1160 N. Dearborn St. | Chicago, IL 60610 | 312.642.1160

Chicago q will be open for brunch on New Year’s Day. Menu items, created by Chef/Partner Lee Ann Whippen, will satisfy brunch-goers’ “sweet tooth” and “meat tooth” by featuring house-made confections and house-smoked meats. Brunch dishes three different kinds of benedict: Smoked Chicken on honey butter cornbread, Kobe Brisket on Cheddar-Chive Biscuits with a Whole Grain Mustard Hollandaise, and Southern with Fried Green Tomatoes, Pulled Pork and a Cajun Hollandaise, Sweet Potato Hash and Eggs, Sweet Potato and Signature Carrot Cake Pancakes and more.

As a special, the restaurant will serve Black Eyed Peas. In the Southern United States, these peas are eaten on New Year’s Day as good luck treat thought to bring prosperity for the year.
______________________________________________

CLARK STREET DOG AND BAR, opens 9 am January 1
3040 N. Clark St. | Chicago, IL 60657 | 773.281.6690

Start your new year Chicago style with Clark Street Dog and Bar’s always fresh and never frozen menu including favorites like the Signature Clark Street Dog, Italian Beef and the newly available Vienna Bistro Chili. The Lakeview staple will open at 11 am, just in time for kickoff of the first college football bowl games in 2014. Grab a Goose Island draft beer, available for $3.50, or a signature pickle-back shot, available for $5, while enjoying the games with friends.
______________________________________________

GO ROMA, all locations open 12-8 pm January 1
848 N. State Street | Chicago, IL 60610 | 312. 252. 9946 | www.goroma.net
Other Locations in Bolingbrook, Lincolnshire, Northbrook and Deer Park.
______________________________________________

THE GRID, opens 11:30, Lounge opens at 7 pm on January 1
351 W. Hubbard St | Chicago, IL 60654 | 312.321.1351

Start 2014 off on the right foot at The Grid with College Football and some of Chef Eric Romano’s delicious brunch offerings. The Grid will treat recovering party goers to their Build Your Own Mimosa Bar with 8 different mixers as well as their Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar. Featured brunch items include: Eggs in Purgatory with poached eggs in diablo tomato, chupacabra sausage and goat cheese;
Eggs Florentine with spinach, hollandaise, stuffed peppers served on an English muffin and the Signature Smoothie with berries, banana, Greek yogurt, kale, B12, protein powder and pedialyte.
______________________________________________

LM BISTRO, opens 6 am January 1
111 W Huron St | Chicago, IL 60654 | 312.202.9900

Guests are invited to celebrate the New Year at LM Bistro with their delicious brunch. Brunch specials include savory favorites in their two special brunch sections: a cheval, a selection of fork-and-knife, breadless sandwiches, and les tartines, open faced sandwiches.
A Cheval includes:
· Traditional, $13, with caramelized onion, gruyere and a sunny side up egg
· Vegeterien, $10, with portabella mushroom, brie and truffle scrambled eggs
· Poisson, $11, with whitefish, tartar sauce and poached egg.
Les Tartines include:
· Benedict 111, $13, with cured ham, poached eggs and cider béarnaise
· Tomate, $9, with heirloom tomato, olive oil, garlic
Steak and Eggs, $14, with roquette, horseradish and fried eggs

In addition, there are a variety of plates to satisfy sweet tooths like as like Buttermilk Pancakes with blueberry jam, maple syrup and homemade butter ($10), Brioche French Toast with almonds, orange marmalade and fromage blanc ($11), Crepes and more.

A bottomless mimosa and entrée special will be available for $25 per person.
______________________________________________

THE LOCAL CHICAGO, Opens 6:30 am January 1
198 E Delaware Place | Chicago, IL 60611 | 312.280.8887

New Year’s Day Burger Party at The Local Chicago
$20 Burger and Fries Special

The Local Chicago welcomes guests to indulge in their special New Year’s Day Burger Menu on New Year’s Day. Guests can select from five specialty burgers including:

  • The Eggsplosion Burger
    Prime ground beef with an egg cooked in the middle, pan-fried on an iron skillet, topped with American cheese, applewood bacon, grilled onions and jalapeno mayo on a toasted potato bun
  • Three Chili Pepper Burger
    Charred red fresno peppers, shipkas peppers & poblano peppers, topped with Chicago Cut’s famous guacamole and served on a Kings Hawaiian Bun smeared with Chipotle Mayo.
  • Tapenade Stuffed Burger
    Black and green olive tapenade stuffed in prime beef, layered with thinly sliced red onion, thinly sliced sweet gherkin pickles, baby romaine hearts, coarse grained mustard and mayo on a toasted Kaiser bun

In addition, The Local Chicago’s regular burgers, The Ahi Tuna Burger, $20, with Pickled Daikon, Kimchi and Sesame-Wasabi Aioli, the TLC Burger, $14, with a USDA Prime Patty and Aged Cheddar, and The Mushroom and Gruyere Burger, $16, with a Porcini Crusted Steak Burger, Marinated Portobello Cap and Mushroom Mayo, will also be available. All burgers are served on a buttery brioche bun, unless otherwise noted, with fresh, homemade fries and a side of coleslaw.

A perfect complement to any burger, the restaurant will offer The Local Chicago Beer created by Two Brothers Brewery for $7.
______________________________________________

NOUVEAU TAVERN, opens 11 am January 1
358 W Ontario | Chicago, IL 60654 | 312.915.4100

Begin the New Year at Nouveau Tavern. On Wednesday, January 1, Nouveau Tavern will open early at 11:00 a.m. for the Nouveau Hangover Brunch. Guests can cheer on their favorite football team while enjoying a free Bloody Mary with the purchase of an entree from the brunch menu.
______________________________________________

PORKCHOP, opens 11:30 January 1
941 W Randolph St. | Chicago, IL 60607 | 312.733.9333

Special New Year’s Day Slider Bloody Mary and Bloody Mary Flights
Porkchop invites Chicagoans to start the New Year out right (and recover from last night’s festivities) by indulging in an epic Pork Slider Bloody Mary (Bloody Mary topped with a pork slider, rib and slice of bacon, drizzled with BBQ sauce). The meal of a cocktail is in honor of National Bloody Mary day. Those looking for a lighter variety can try a Bloody Mary flight featuring sample sizes of the “Bakon” Bloody Mary, Jalapeno Bloody Mary and Pickle Bloody Mary.

Customers looking for recovery can find reprieve in the V8, a Bloody Mary made with Chopin potato vodka garnished with vegetables; $9. Pair that with some good old comfort food including The Fat Elvis (bacon-studded Belgian waffle served with sliced bananas and peanut butter maple syrup; $12), Chicken and Waffles (southern fried chicken served on top of a Belgian waffle with ancho chile infused maple syrup; $12) or their Pulled Pork topped with a Fried Egg served on a Fried Mac & Cheese Bun. The resolutions can wait until Thursday.
______________________________________________

WEATHER MARK TAVERN, opens 11:30 am January 1
1503 South Michigan Avenue | Chicago, IL 60605 | 312.588.0230 |

Weather Mark Tavern invites Chicagoans to recover (or continue the New Year festivities) with a delicious bottomless mimosa brunch (bottomless mimosas and any brunch entree for only $13.95). Guest can top off their champagne cocktail with peach, cranberry or orange juice. Bloody Mary’s and Screwdrivers are also available for $5 each.

Cocktails can be paired with featured brunch dishes including Steak and Eggs; $9.50, Buttermilk Pancakes or French Toast; $7.95, Huevoes Rancheros; $7.95 and made to order skillets; $9.95. More unique options include the Caprese Eggs Benedict; $8.95, Weather MarCristo (sausage patty inside two Belgian waffles, syrup battered and fried; $9.95) and The First Mate’s Burrito (scrambled eggs, peppers, onions, house potatoes and sausage wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla and covered with chipotle cheese sauce; $11.95).
_______________________________

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail
Chicago restaurants, food and wine

Review – Little Italy, DaVanti Enoteca

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail
Davanti Enoteca on a sunny afternoon
Davanti Enoteca on a sunny afternoon

I grew up in Chicago but left here before I turned 21. Boo-hoo. Except for a few places downtown and a rare visit to a couple of the hot Rush Street clubs when I was underage (yes, it was a lot easier for not-yet-legal kids to get in to bars and clubs back then), I didn’t get much chance to enjoy Chicago as a grownup. Which is what makes it so much fun to do so now!

It was hot as hell when my daughter and I took off for Chicago’s Little Italy section for lunch last week. She’d attended college here in Chicago and had been a frequent visitor in the Little Italy section of town, so she suggested we try a place there. Our destination DaVanti Enoteca at1359 W. Taylor Road at Loomis St. And oh, yeah, and it was a taste of Italy for sure.

Nice ambiance—light shining in the high windows onto oak panel tables with big red numbers painted on them. Track spotlights highlighting the same oak panels in wine racks lining the walls. Big clear glass lanterns scattered around, some reflecting extra light via outsized wall mirrors.

The menu was unusual and included some Italian words we couldn’t decipher, so we figured we’d ask the server Martha for ideas. We’d already noticed and thought how reasonable most of the prices seemed when she advised that the plates are all tapas-sized smaller servings. We appreciated knowing that ahead of time, and then we did, in fact, end up ordering from just the items she pointed out.

English: Olives in olive oil.
English: Olives in olive oil. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Started out with a tasty room-temperature salad of roasted fresh corn with arugula and walnuts, dressed with a drift of goat-cheese-rich dressing. Mmmm. Next we split a plate of cold oil-dressed tuna salad sparked with red onion bits and served on some marvelous Italian toast. The bread was perfectly grilled in olive oil, the crust crunchy but not too hard. The tuna tasty, though not outstanding. And the finale was a buttery nest of linguine noodles that had absorbed a rich transparent brown sauce along with some pasta water and was flecked with small bites of crab and bits of sea urchin. Very nice.

Martha helped us with our wine choice as well—the name itself a mouthful, Alto Adige Terlano Terliner—and we were delighted. Just enough crispness and body in a substantial white wine. A perfect choice for both the food and the atmosphere—and for the heat.

As we left the restaurant we thought to cross Taylor Road and check out the menu of the competitor place Francesca’s. Looked good, the ambiance a bit more formal, the prices higher. But then again, they probably don’t serve tapas style.

Then something across the other street caught our eye: a freestanding sidewalk sign covered in—I’m not making this up—big yellow feathers. When we first crossed we found a delightful little pet specialties shop called Tails on Taylor, full of unusual toys, specialty food and treats/surprises for cats, dogs and so on. Then we had to go look at Zia 925, the home of the yellow-feathers sign, and were rewarded with a fancy/funky atmosphere full of an eclectic mix of merchandise—jewelry, hair ornaments, hats, scarves and more—at quite reasonable prices. I walked out with a pair of unique dangling, gold-painted earrings but could have spent a lot more if the budget were bigger.

I wouldn’t hesitate to visit this little corner of Little Italy again. Definitely recommend DaVanti for other baby boomers looking for a unique Italian food experience in an enjoyable atmosphere. Read more at DaVanti Enoteca. And oh, my, how I love experiencing Chicago as a grownup!

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail
Chicago restaurants, food and wine, seafood

How to tell a good mussel from a bad one

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

Is there a way to tell a good mussel from a bad one without tasting it? I haven’t found a reliable one yet – except the sense of smell.

Mussels at Trouville fish market
Mussels at Trouville fish market (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I once decided to try a restaurant in the just-getting-trendy neighborhood known as Tremont in Cleveland, where I owned a rental property at the time and dreamed I might one day retire. The community charmed me because it was the only place in Cleveland–my home for 33 years – that reminded me of Chicago. A bar or restaurant or pizza/takeout place on virtually every corner of its delightfully walkable streets. I didn’t imagine at the time that I would joyfully end up back in my beloved home town.

Anyway, there was a restaurant a block down from my property that I’d heard good things about. So I went in one night and was thrilled to see they had mussels on the menu. Now I like mine in a simple wine broth with garlic and lots of butter and good bread. I was hungry, so I was eager for them to arrive. When they finally did, an overwhelming smell greeted me before the plate even hit the table – it was awful.

I pointed this out to the waitress and she actually tried to tell me I was mistaken. That’s how mussels are supposed to smell, she insisted. Hey, have you ever smelled a bad mussel? There’s a rotten odor about them. Sometimes the smell isn’t immediately noticeable and if you bite into one like that, you’ll immediately spit it out. It’s unmistakeably not something you want to eat. And they don’t have to look bad at all to have this smell.

If the first time I’d ever eaten mussels they tasted like that, I’d never have ordered them again, no matter how much people assured me. The waitress finally agreed haughtily to take them back. After that appalling customer service, I was seriously disinclined to take her up on her reluctant offer to substitute another dish.

So it’s time for mussels to be in season. And some Chicago restaurants are making special deals on these tasty little seafood treats served in their black shiny shells. Go out and enjoy yourself at one of these – and don’t take any guff if you get a bad one.

And I’d love to hear if you run into one that meets their marketing claim to include “the best mussel dishes in town.”

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail