I bring very sad news to my 100th blog post.
My company recently merged with another design company.
Last year at my old company I got a total of 30 days between sick and vacation.
Starting January 1, I will have 15 days per year of PTO which includes sick and vacation.
I have practically been having a meltdown all week upon hearing this news.
Rest In Peace extended international vacation plans. I will miss you pretty beaches and cosmopolitan cities.
And this merger better be a good career booster or else I feel I may kick someone in the shins. No better for my career and less vacation? Talk about slaving away in corporate America. I've always been very fulfilled by this job so hopefully the lack of time off doesn't make me feel smothered and working for The Man.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Pastoral Artisan
Pastoral is one of my favorite places in the entire city. And probably the first cool thing I found when I moved here. The original location is in Lakeview on Broadway and Wellington which was in our old neighborhood. I walked by the day after I moved to the city and decided it looked awesome. Wine, cheese, what more can I want? Soon after they started offering sandwiches.
They opened a second location in the Loop at Wabash and Lake. I go there for lunch at least once a week since it's not too far from my office. Before the second location I'd make the long trek by bus back to my old neighborhood just for a sandwich and some cheese.
They are opening up a 3rd location this fall/winter in the new Metra Market which will be located inside of Ogilvie train station at Randolph between Canal and Clinton. This is even closer to my house!
Pastoral offers a very diverse and high quality selection of cheese, fresh bread, wine, and a charcuterie.
They have a wonderful sandwich and salad list: http://www.pastoralartisan.com/sandwiches.shtm
If you're attending a concert in Millennium Park during the summer I highly recommend stopping by Pastoral to pick up a sandwich.
They also have a blog: http://www.pastoralartisan.blogspot.com/
They opened a second location in the Loop at Wabash and Lake. I go there for lunch at least once a week since it's not too far from my office. Before the second location I'd make the long trek by bus back to my old neighborhood just for a sandwich and some cheese.
They are opening up a 3rd location this fall/winter in the new Metra Market which will be located inside of Ogilvie train station at Randolph between Canal and Clinton. This is even closer to my house!
Pastoral offers a very diverse and high quality selection of cheese, fresh bread, wine, and a charcuterie.
They have a wonderful sandwich and salad list: http://www.pastoralartisan.com/sandwiches.shtm
If you're attending a concert in Millennium Park during the summer I highly recommend stopping by Pastoral to pick up a sandwich.
They also have a blog: http://www.pastoralartisan.blogspot.com/
A Weekend of Gluttony
I was lucky enough to go to 3 of my favorite restaurants this week.
Dinner - David Burke's Primehouse - This was a free dinner through work. I had the lobster bisque, southside filet, and cheesecake lollipops. Excellent. The steak was huge. We had a set menu to choose from so I'd recommend the pretzel-crusted crab cake if you're dining in the restaurant as an appetizer.
Lunch - Pastoral Artisan - I realized I have not yet reviewed this restaurant. How can that happen? I go there once a week. It is wonderful. I think I will write a separate review today.
Dinner - Bin 36 - I met my friend Liz for wine and cheese and a delicious flatbread with balsamic, lemon, and riccota. I just cannot get enough of the cheese there. And they have a lot of very reasonably priced wines on the tasting menu. Plus it was wonderful to finally meet Liz.
I have a feeling that the rest of my food this week is going to be a big letdown.
Dinner - David Burke's Primehouse - This was a free dinner through work. I had the lobster bisque, southside filet, and cheesecake lollipops. Excellent. The steak was huge. We had a set menu to choose from so I'd recommend the pretzel-crusted crab cake if you're dining in the restaurant as an appetizer.
Lunch - Pastoral Artisan - I realized I have not yet reviewed this restaurant. How can that happen? I go there once a week. It is wonderful. I think I will write a separate review today.
Dinner - Bin 36 - I met my friend Liz for wine and cheese and a delicious flatbread with balsamic, lemon, and riccota. I just cannot get enough of the cheese there. And they have a lot of very reasonably priced wines on the tasting menu. Plus it was wonderful to finally meet Liz.
I have a feeling that the rest of my food this week is going to be a big letdown.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Orange
Orange recently opened a restaurant near our house at the Grand/Milwaukee/Halsted intersection. We'd first tried Orange at their Lakeview location 3.5 years ago about a week after I moved to Chicago.
Orange is a brunch spot and you can BYOB. You can also head 2 doors down to the Butterfly Social Club to pick up mimosas and bloody marys and other morning drinks while you wait and bring them into the restaurant.
I tried a bellini from there. It kind of sucked as I am a bellini connoisseur. Something was giving it a somewhat bitter taste. The Husband had a mojito which was pretty good.
We had about a half hour wait. Luckily it was nice outside. In the winter it will be cold. As much as I love food I don't think I like any food enough to stand outside in January for it.
Orange makes their own orange juice (hence the name). They also make lots of other juices and you can place an order of up to three combinations of juices. The Husband had a watermelon pineapple juice.
To be honest I'm not a huge brunch fan. I don't like too many sweet things like pancakes and french toast. And too many eggs hurts my stomach.
I ordered Omelet #11.5 which was stuffed with chopped bacon, sweet leeks, and creamy brie cheese and topped with avocado mousse. It was good but too heavy on the leeks and too light on the bacon and brie. The avocado mousse on top was fantastic.
The Husband ordered the Pancake Flight. This week's theme for the flight was muffins. One was cranberry, one was something like maple pecan, one was lemon poppyseed, and I think the last was blueberry. These pancakes were excellently done. I really can't rave about them enough (except I don't really like pancakes).
We also had a side of turkey apple sausage which was amazing. We both voted it was the best sausage we've ever had. A little bit of a sweet taste and not really greasy.
The Husband liked this place so much that he's ready to go back this weekend. So if you're the type that's into brunch I would recommend this wholeheartedly.
Orange is a brunch spot and you can BYOB. You can also head 2 doors down to the Butterfly Social Club to pick up mimosas and bloody marys and other morning drinks while you wait and bring them into the restaurant.
I tried a bellini from there. It kind of sucked as I am a bellini connoisseur. Something was giving it a somewhat bitter taste. The Husband had a mojito which was pretty good.
We had about a half hour wait. Luckily it was nice outside. In the winter it will be cold. As much as I love food I don't think I like any food enough to stand outside in January for it.
Orange makes their own orange juice (hence the name). They also make lots of other juices and you can place an order of up to three combinations of juices. The Husband had a watermelon pineapple juice.
To be honest I'm not a huge brunch fan. I don't like too many sweet things like pancakes and french toast. And too many eggs hurts my stomach.
I ordered Omelet #11.5 which was stuffed with chopped bacon, sweet leeks, and creamy brie cheese and topped with avocado mousse. It was good but too heavy on the leeks and too light on the bacon and brie. The avocado mousse on top was fantastic.
The Husband ordered the Pancake Flight. This week's theme for the flight was muffins. One was cranberry, one was something like maple pecan, one was lemon poppyseed, and I think the last was blueberry. These pancakes were excellently done. I really can't rave about them enough (except I don't really like pancakes).
We also had a side of turkey apple sausage which was amazing. We both voted it was the best sausage we've ever had. A little bit of a sweet taste and not really greasy.
The Husband liked this place so much that he's ready to go back this weekend. So if you're the type that's into brunch I would recommend this wholeheartedly.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tango Sur and Que Syrah
I cannot believe that I have been a resident of Chicago for 3.5 years and had never made it up to this famous Argentian BYOB steakhouse, Tango Sur, in Lakeview.
Do not come here if you do not like beef. And these are not small portions of beef either.
They are a BYOB restaurant and do not charge a corkage fee. We stopped by Que Syrah to pick up a bottle to go with dinner. They have a great wall of reasonably priced wines. And they had a large selection of Argentinian malbecs which match perfectly to the Argentinian steakhouse. Plus the two guys working there were very knowledgeable and friendly. They provided us with tastes of an October-themed beer and also with some wine. If I lived in the neighborhood I'd be stopping here often. I kind of want a part-time job here now except I'm afraid I'd be drunk all the time.
The bad thing: this place does not take reservations. And we had a 2.5 hour wait. We put our name in at 8 pm and were not seated until after 10:30 pm. Go EARLY. They take your cell phone number to call you to come back to the restaurant when your table is almost ready. So we went to the nearest bar, Blue Bayou, for 2 hours.
When we were finally seated we shared an antipasto tray of quesos argentinos, salami, jamon crudo, aceitunas y mortadella. I had El Filet for dinner which is filet in a red onion wine sauce with spinach mashed potatoes. My friend had bife vesuvio which is grilled prime steak sliced and filled with spinach, mar del plata cheese, and garlic in a white wine sauce with argentine style potatoes.
Both were excellent. Very good meat. Potatoes were good as well. Portions were huge though so we should have split one entree and had another appetizer instead. My filet had 2 rather large pieces of meat on the plate.
Be warned. Come hungry. And come early. We didn't get home from dinner until 1:15 am.
And don't come at all if you don't like meat.
Do not come here if you do not like beef. And these are not small portions of beef either.
They are a BYOB restaurant and do not charge a corkage fee. We stopped by Que Syrah to pick up a bottle to go with dinner. They have a great wall of reasonably priced wines. And they had a large selection of Argentinian malbecs which match perfectly to the Argentinian steakhouse. Plus the two guys working there were very knowledgeable and friendly. They provided us with tastes of an October-themed beer and also with some wine. If I lived in the neighborhood I'd be stopping here often. I kind of want a part-time job here now except I'm afraid I'd be drunk all the time.
The bad thing: this place does not take reservations. And we had a 2.5 hour wait. We put our name in at 8 pm and were not seated until after 10:30 pm. Go EARLY. They take your cell phone number to call you to come back to the restaurant when your table is almost ready. So we went to the nearest bar, Blue Bayou, for 2 hours.
When we were finally seated we shared an antipasto tray of quesos argentinos, salami, jamon crudo, aceitunas y mortadella. I had El Filet for dinner which is filet in a red onion wine sauce with spinach mashed potatoes. My friend had bife vesuvio which is grilled prime steak sliced and filled with spinach, mar del plata cheese, and garlic in a white wine sauce with argentine style potatoes.
Both were excellent. Very good meat. Potatoes were good as well. Portions were huge though so we should have split one entree and had another appetizer instead. My filet had 2 rather large pieces of meat on the plate.
Be warned. Come hungry. And come early. We didn't get home from dinner until 1:15 am.
And don't come at all if you don't like meat.
Bentonara
I am not a sushi fan at all but the other 3 girls I was going to eat with all love sushi. Plus their menu had several non-sushi options. We headed to Bentonara on Belmont. Bentonara is a BYOB restaurant but it also serves wine, beer, and sake. You cannot BYOB beer though, only wine. And if you want wine with dinner, bring your own. The wine on their list was only identified as chardonnay or pinot grigio which leads me to believe they're not that good. Corkage is $10 although there was apparently a special and it was only $5.
For appetizers we had edamame, gyoza (pan-friend dumplings), vegetable tempura, and soft shell crab. The edamame weren't salted enough. The soft shell crab was delicious. The gyoza were pretty good. And since I don't really like vegetables I didn't try the vegetable tempura.
My tablemates ordered 3 sushi rolls - the rainbow maki, Chicago maki, and volcano maki. Concensus was the volcano maki was amazing. I even loved it and I'm not a sushi fan. The volcano maki has shrimp tempura, snow crab, tempura flakes, and volcano sauce. It was all fried up too which is likely why I liked it. The other two got so-so reviews.
I had the shrimp tempura for dinner. It was very good.
Bentonara is a great neighborhood restaurant although probably not something worth travelling to from far away. Although I am not a sushi expert so what do I know. If you aren't a sushi fan they did have many different options on the menu for you to try as well.
For appetizers we had edamame, gyoza (pan-friend dumplings), vegetable tempura, and soft shell crab. The edamame weren't salted enough. The soft shell crab was delicious. The gyoza were pretty good. And since I don't really like vegetables I didn't try the vegetable tempura.
My tablemates ordered 3 sushi rolls - the rainbow maki, Chicago maki, and volcano maki. Concensus was the volcano maki was amazing. I even loved it and I'm not a sushi fan. The volcano maki has shrimp tempura, snow crab, tempura flakes, and volcano sauce. It was all fried up too which is likely why I liked it. The other two got so-so reviews.
I had the shrimp tempura for dinner. It was very good.
Bentonara is a great neighborhood restaurant although probably not something worth travelling to from far away. Although I am not a sushi expert so what do I know. If you aren't a sushi fan they did have many different options on the menu for you to try as well.
Mercadito
We went to a new restaurant called Mercadito on only the third day that they were open. I was a bit cranky because I'd called to get a reservation to be told that I could eat before 6 pm and after 10 pm. Apparently they were only starting with a few diners at a time because the place was only 1/3 full. And I was cranky because I didn't see why they couldn't squeeze 3 more people in.
The drink menu was a bit of a problem. Once again a Mexican place that doesn't do strawberry daiquiris and has an entire drink list of drinks made with tequila. Just like the restaurant in San Francisco I talked about a few weeks ago. I don't do tequila at all. So once again I had the waitress tell the bartender to substitute rum or vodka into one of their pretty drinks. I ended up with a good drink in the end, but I'm getting tired of tequila only drink menus.
Luckily the food redeemed the restaurant for me. We started with a hot salsa that my dining companions said was good but I didn't try because it was mouth-on-fire hot. Make sure to get the salsa with the crispy corn bites instead of just the chips. We also had 2 guacamoles - the tradicional and the mango. Both were excellent although the tradicional was a little too spicy for my mouth.
My dining companions had 3 orders of tacos total. They had the carne, pollo, and pastor. The pastor were good but the carne and the pollo were amazing! Seriously the most tender and flavorful meat I've ever had. The pastor come with chile ancho rubbed pork, grilled pineapple, and chile de arbol salsa. The pollo are herb marinated chicken, chipotle pickled sweet potato, chipotle salsa, and crispy manchego. And the carne were maggi marinated organic skirt steak, grilled cactus pico, warm queso fresco, and crispy red onions.
I chose the ostiones - baked oysters, manchego cheese, chorizo, and chipotle aioli. Very good. They came presented on three very large cakes of salt which looked like mashed potatoes to me. So don't try to eat them. These had a great flavor. The only downside was there was not nearly enough to fill me up in the least bit.
This place was delicious but the edge might go to De Cero. First De Cero has a killer raspberry basil daiquiri which I could drink about 8 of them. I also liked the guacamole slightly better at De Cero. Finally, I like that you can mix and match your tacos instead of getting a plate of 4 of them same ones at Mercadito. At De Cero you can order your tacos individually for $3.15 to $4.75 a taco or get a combination plate of 8 tacos and 3 salsas for $30.50. At Mercadito 4 tacos of all the same variety are $12.50.
The drink menu was a bit of a problem. Once again a Mexican place that doesn't do strawberry daiquiris and has an entire drink list of drinks made with tequila. Just like the restaurant in San Francisco I talked about a few weeks ago. I don't do tequila at all. So once again I had the waitress tell the bartender to substitute rum or vodka into one of their pretty drinks. I ended up with a good drink in the end, but I'm getting tired of tequila only drink menus.
Luckily the food redeemed the restaurant for me. We started with a hot salsa that my dining companions said was good but I didn't try because it was mouth-on-fire hot. Make sure to get the salsa with the crispy corn bites instead of just the chips. We also had 2 guacamoles - the tradicional and the mango. Both were excellent although the tradicional was a little too spicy for my mouth.
My dining companions had 3 orders of tacos total. They had the carne, pollo, and pastor. The pastor were good but the carne and the pollo were amazing! Seriously the most tender and flavorful meat I've ever had. The pastor come with chile ancho rubbed pork, grilled pineapple, and chile de arbol salsa. The pollo are herb marinated chicken, chipotle pickled sweet potato, chipotle salsa, and crispy manchego. And the carne were maggi marinated organic skirt steak, grilled cactus pico, warm queso fresco, and crispy red onions.
I chose the ostiones - baked oysters, manchego cheese, chorizo, and chipotle aioli. Very good. They came presented on three very large cakes of salt which looked like mashed potatoes to me. So don't try to eat them. These had a great flavor. The only downside was there was not nearly enough to fill me up in the least bit.
This place was delicious but the edge might go to De Cero. First De Cero has a killer raspberry basil daiquiri which I could drink about 8 of them. I also liked the guacamole slightly better at De Cero. Finally, I like that you can mix and match your tacos instead of getting a plate of 4 of them same ones at Mercadito. At De Cero you can order your tacos individually for $3.15 to $4.75 a taco or get a combination plate of 8 tacos and 3 salsas for $30.50. At Mercadito 4 tacos of all the same variety are $12.50.
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