Michael "Pour me a glass of sunshine" W.'s Profile

More food kept coming to the table as this culinary orgasm crept to its climax. Stuffed sweet peppers with a rice, spicy bacony beans, a rice pudding with a sliced pear adorned atop, this shrimp that just - hell, even the salad summoned a savory unsalad-like nature that  transported me to another place: El Delicioso, about 50 miles west of Mexico City. Forget Mexican Air, the best way to get to this new city in New City or Bridgeport or Back of the Yards is to drive just west of the Dan Ryan or board the 8 Halsted bus to Amelia's.
During a wonderful weekday night out with a dozen & a half  Yelpers!  I experienced a taste of carne asada that puts my previous encounters with this staple of South of our Border cuisine to shame. Succulent and soft, this  meatiness made me want to eat more & more & more.
The art work only added to the evening's welcoming atmosphere at this BYOB.

While the morning rapidly grew colder and colder, as if Zeus suddenly summoned a mighty wind down California Avenue, only the quest to find a restaurant -any restaurant - open early for breakfast gave me any incentive to soldier on.
Was there a hashhouse hidden along this gray/black stretch near the Cook County Courthouse?
Perhaps a greasy spoon could give me something I didn't have to look at, but could easily swallow to stay fortified.
Maybe...just maybe, there was a friendly tacqueria that would welcome this Spanish-language-challenged stranger in his time of need.
OK, this may sound like a bit much but when you fall down the rabbithole and begin a day on jury duty with no lunch in hand and undetermined hours in court ahead, you want food fast and fulfilling.
After a fruitless walkdown down California, I head east on Cermak. Two guys walk out of Raymond's. It couldn't hurt for me to walk in.
Great call. As I enter, I can hear the sizzle of chicken and steak strips coming from the grill behind the counter along with the words "Kobe Bryant." It is the only English I hear for a minute. Smiling guys at the counter are getting that delicious sounding meat put into taco as I wait to order. The TV is on ESPN Deportes, but sports is a universal language, right. I order. No problem, of course. Everybody's bilingual but us native born gringos.
I don't know if this is Raymond behind the counter making my pollo and al pastor tacos, but it wouldn't surprise me. He knows his requlars, possibly family, and in a second my food is ready to go.
Nice. I rationed those tacos over two days just in case. Raymond's came through at a time of need. I'll definitely be back to try the burgers.

These folks are friendly and knowledgable.
I love their selection of well-crafted toys that I won't have to worry about being recalled next month. Great cars and sports sets that shouldn't be overlooked amidst a gaggle of girly gifts. It's not everywhere you'll find a lacrosse starter set for toddlers.
Beyond the functionality of the toys, visually the store is an appealing reprieve from the mess of bright pink and baby blue overly-gender items at major chains.
Wonderful location by car or Green Line. They really made my Christmas come to life.

If there is a thin line between love & hate, that line is GREEN.
Good god, this is the most visually stimulating yet audibly stupefying train in the CTA's set of death defying adventures in public transportation.
After spending a year (off & on) of boarding these elevated cars I can say they alternate between being a quick hop to help me get to N. Harlem and the makings of a bad cable reality show.
Hell, if "Pawn Stars" is really a show and people waste time watching Dog the Bounty Hunter (especially if Steven Seagal is on), you could get twice the entertainment value for just $2.25. That's a deal, if you're prepared to deal with guys selling each other bags of weed, the aroma of paper-bagged beer at 10 on Sunday morning, fur-coat clad Oak Parkers on the way to "The City" for a show openly comparing the comforts of their mansions & tons of tourists not sure if this city measures up to New York. If you miss NYC so much, just add your urine to the visitors' collection in the connecting elevators handicapped and baby stroller parents have to ride at the Roosevelt Station. Sure, that could be said of many stops on the Red and Blue Lines, so back to what makes the Green so special.
That stretch between California and Ridgeland is a reminder that Chicago never quite recovered after setting itself on fire, ala Richard Pryor, after a shot rang high in the Memphis sky killing the Rev. Dr. King. When the conductor has to remind you to watch your surroundings (ie. your i-Phone, your Coach bag), maybe talking loud about your mansion is saying nothing about your common sense.  
Still, some of the stops do summon a natural beauty like Conservatory/Central Park and a lovely loop actually over the (Chicago) river and through the old/er meat packing district that make you wish Alicia Keys was singing, "Now you're in Chicago.." to salute a Big Shoulders State of Mind.

There's something really wonderful about discovering something you weren't really looking for and being able to appreciate it. That was my experience on WildCard Football weekend at The Cove. This previously hidden covey in a nearly turnabout corner of Hyde Park put me in a great mood to take a break from a collection of winter holidays and birthdays all bunched together.
I came in to meet a group of people on a BYO"C" (Bring Your Own Chili) event that just happened to be meeting here. Makes sense why this spot was chosen. What a totally laid back darkened lounge to well, lounge in on a lazy Saturday. I'm sure Sunday wouldn't be much different. About have of this dive were newbies like me, the other half were clearly regulars.
The special was outrageously intoxicating: $1.50 pints of draft (MGD please), plus a selection of stouts and dark ales in bottles make drinking a delight and affordable, y'all. It was so relaxed that regulars seemed to serve themselves ;) and enjoy suped-up vodka and tonics from Allison.
And everyone was so protective of Their Cove, they acted quickly to put out a smelly cigarette fire outside the front door.
It was a cool mix of people who dropped in for just a few bowls of winter brew that you knew weren't going anywhere for a while.

After nightmarish rush hour traffic into the West Loop/ Randolph Market/Harpoville or whatever this is called now, there was The Reward - Yelp @ Grocery Bistro. Nice.
But just like a TV show that has an unexpected cliffhanger ending, that what I should've expected, a satisfying payoff.

Baring two bottles of expressions through fruit, we enter late. And that may have been a key to the quality of Wow! I received.
Rather than standing out too much we stood up at the bar & were immediately noticed by an attentive chef & waitstaff and out came the selections, some offered under my nose for the full effect. Duck sausage, tartar, that greenish soft dessert wrap that tasted like mochi & best of all, the munchkin cinnamon donut bites that brought out extra flavors of my Viognier I wasn't sure I open running so late. With so much BYOB filling glass, so many people seemed to be in wonderful moods. Conversations that bounced off the walls created a music of their own.

Thanks Johnny/Yelp! for a great start to an evening that had more to come at Pasha where...

(to be continued)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JOHNNY T.

FILMED ON LOCATION IN CHICAGO

Not every dinner party is alike.
Many serve tiny portions and pretend that's gonna cut it. Who cares? You're drinking wine/beer/champagne, right? Those are dinner PARTIES.
This was a DINNER party, with an emphasis on delicious and spicy that's still radiating through my body 1/2 a day later. Wow. I ate the lamb meatballs people at my table passed on to make room for biranyi.
Who am I kidding, I ate everything humanly possible. I misunderstood what the "belly-dancing" part of the evening meant. I thought I was instructing to expand my belly until it "danced" with delight and could safely balance a sword on top.
That was the food part. At one point I was triple-fisted with separate mango, lemon-cardamon-tinis and a healthy glass of Malbec/Syrah.
The setting was beautiful. Our restaurant host/owner Vikram Singh and his accomplished chel dad gave great insight into Indian cuisine.
Thanks Jelena/Colleen/Yelp! for a satisfying night in LaGrange. This is definitely a place I would love to visit again. Thanks for the find.

Cross between Nawlins' finest & the cultural tourism cuisine of a Rick Bayliss prodigy in beautiful Burbank.
OK. That made me laugh.
Beautiful and Burbank minus California don't make sense but somehow it makes a style of food that shouldn't be missed by any human hungry for the spice of life.
Went to Chuck's for a weekday lunch with the family and got great gumbo and service. Loved it. Will be back to further explore the menu.

Tre Magnifique! Le Yelp Masquerades a la Maxim preterit remarquable! Merci beaucoup Johnny T!
Pearl Vodka Plum, on the rocks. Who needed martini glasses anyway?
Wonderful parisienne music playing from out of the wall as interesting people zipped by masked a la "Eyes Wide Shut" even more sensual with the addition of crepes and cupcakes I could wrap my tongue around and devour. Delicious.
Chilled vibe signaled 'Adults Welcome' to an oasis of maturity as adolescence seems to reign all around us as rain keeps falling from the sky. Why not flip the script with a change of pace in such a beautiful place in such a cosmopolitan city?
The suburbs can't compare to the magic of Chicago.
This might not have been for everyone especially the beer garden crowd. But it's a new day. A new sheriff is in town & I don't mind hearing Lili Von Shtupp take the stage. But what's the Jester supposed to say, right?
There was something special about the simplicity of the soiree.
One critique: I kept waiting for Nicole Kidman or Audrey Tautou to saunter around the corner. Not tonight. Maybe next time.
Still I got an added treat to witness Colleen's bartending skills at Johnny's night out. Yelp's Dynamic Duo does it again.
Merci! Quel magnifique cadeau!

"Epic" has a special meaning in the soundtrack of my life.
Rather than the dictionary meaning, I can still see the vinyl spinning round in those bluish-purple colors on the living room stereo beneath the 70's hanging globed light. As a kid, it was a close as I could get to a mirrored disco-ball.
Epic, of course, meant "Epic Records" home of the former Jackson 5 singer whose name I shared.
Dancing at home on Friday nights, I pretended to be living "Off the Wall" & wondered what it would feel like "Working Day and Night"...ooh Lawd.
That kind of work could only be rewarded with an "Epic" meal.
I found it in this modern-looking burger joint in the near South Loop after a long day's work.
After climbing past the tragically hip chain smoking college students who loitered outside the door like littered cigarette butts, I opened the doors to delicious.
Of course I'd heard of "Epic Burger". It's called hype. In rare cases it's well-deserved.
This is one of them.
I ordered the BLT sans the organic fried egg. I don't do eggs on BLTs. Sorry.
Back to the burger: a finely-crafted meal.
That nitrate-free bacon was some of the best I've ever had that wasn't covered in chocolate. Long, meaty strips curled across the sandwich and hugged the bottom of the bun. I'm sure the lettuce tasted fresh but I wouldn't know since I kind of inhaled the BLT in a scary way especially because I'd ordered to go. My BLT never made it out the door.
Seeing and smelling something so inviting, it was just "Human Nature" to devour it.
Then their were my two shakes - a strawberry and a peanut butter - that kind of made it home.
Wow. I had the ice cream shakes. Both had a great consistency - not too liquidy or too gloppy, they were just right and the rich flavors really set them apart.
Epic? No, I reserve that word for The King of Pop.
But satisfying? Yes. I'd definitely moonwalk back for another BLT and shake.