Chad K.'s Profile

So what does one do for dinner on a Sunday night when at Canary Wharf in London? Well, how about dropping by a celebrity chef's restaurant? In my case, I chose "Jamie's Italian" by Jamie Oliver.

My dinner started with mini sweet chili peppers stuffed with tuna, capers and anchovies, and drizzled with a relatively light olive oil. Much to my surprise, the seafood and caper stuffing with its inherent saltiness was a great foil to the chili peppers' bite. Only once did a pepper surpise me with extra heat, but that was quickly swept aside by the delightful filling. I was off to a great start.

For my main course, I opted for pasta -- carbonara, to be exact. I know I should have had something more exotic like lamb lollipops, but I didn't. My brain locked on to the carbonara and that was it -- mind made up. All in all, it was quite good. I had a human-sized portion that didn't let me overstuff myself, the sauce was thicker than I had expected, and the spagehetti was nice and heavy. It was good verging-on-comfort-food finish to a long day. Good match for the chili peppers? Not really, but I didn't care.

For dessert, I had tiramisu. In this case, the exotic dessert options didn't resonate with me at all. I'm not a berry nor compote guy, so the proliferation of such dessert options didn't appeal to me. The tiramisu was pretty good, but I've had better. On the upside, a nice touch was a sprinkling of orange zest over the entire slice as it added some unexpected lightness to a traditionally heavy dessert. On the downside, the liquor didn't soak evenly through the ladyfingers, so I would go from moist cake to liquor sponge. It was fine, but I did expect better.

Overall, I had a very good dinner despite the slight misfire on dessert that was saved by a perfect after dinner cappuccino; and yes, I do mean perfect.

At the end of my meal, I looked back into the kitchen to catch a glimpse of the head chef. A young, fair-skinned guy with blonde curly hair and a black cap twisted backwards commanded the line. Could it be? Naw... then again... Jamie?

I'll never know.

I've traveled the world, had my hair cut and styled in many places (and sometimes in many pieces, but I digress) and the place I always return to for a great cut in a relaxing, creative and professional atmosphere is Scott Patrick Salon.

First and foremost, the salon is a professional business that respects its clients and respects its clients' TIME. As a regular client who has to squeeze in a cut when I'm not flying somewhere or stuck in meetings someplace, I fully appreciate the fact that they stay on schedule and as such, I work hard to help them maintain that level of professionalism by respecting them. In other words, I arrive on time and if I can't, I let them know and reschedule. These days where time is definitely money, I can't wait around because someone shows up 15-30 minutes late for their appointment, and I suspect most of their clients are in the same situation. Maybe doctor and dentist offices can force us to tolerate such behavior where over-scheduling and making people wait for hours on end is okay, but I honestly respect a business that respects me and my time. I've stopped going to salons and dentists that couldn't keep to a schedule because I simply don't have time for their mismanagement. This is one place where I never have to worry about that. Scott Patrick Salon is managed exceptionally well and it shows.

Now, of course, respecting the lives of busy professionals does not make a salon. In short, Cordy and Scott are absolutely brilliant. From the first day the salon opened, I have NEVER -- let me repeat -- NEVER had a cut that didn't work; not even a so-so cut. The cut and styling is always right and looks great even if I drag out my next visit a few weeks longer than I should. You see, this is really important to me in that they truly get to know their clients and match their styling to their customers, not some stamped out trendy photo from a magazine. If you want to try something different, Scott and Cordy think about it, really talk with you, and match what you want with their incredible experience. Sometimes what you want simply won't work and they'll let you know rather than you discovering it afterwards. I really like that; they're honest.

The salon itself is like getting a cut in someone's Gold Coast condo. The environment is relaxing, always maintained in a professional manner, and welcoming -- whether first thing in the morning or the last appointment of the night. Never does the environment feel like a truck backed through it like most salons do at the end of the day. The environment is not hurried, not rushed and what it should be -- a relaxing experience that sets the tone for the day, evening, or the month.

All in all, I highly, highly recommend Scott Patrick Salon if you value style, high quality, professionalism and respect.

When it comes to food, I live in an interesting Chicago neighborhood filled with an array of culinary options. If I'm in the mood to make something, I can head to one of six different grocery stores and pick up practically anything from wild boar and bear to Kobe beef and jamon Iberico, and organic Swiss chard and Indiana heirloom tomatoes to oodles of ramen noodles and preprocessed mystery goo in a tube. Restaurants are no different. Within walking distance I can take in a meal at Tru, Les Nomades, or Topolobampo, hit the next "tier" of the likes of DeLaCosta or Naha, or take in not-so-hotel food at Caliterra or Viand. If I'm feeling touristy, I can hit the chain places off of Michigan Avenue or travel to a pub or diner for something comfy. In short, this neighborhood has a lot of options, so for a restaurant to survive, let alone succeed, it has to be both different and really good otherwise if it doesn't hold a chain name or have an established local clientele, survival will be a problem. That said, I had high hopes for Farmerie 58 -- honestly, I did -- but it really falls short and I wonder if it will go the way of Republic Pan-Asian before it.

Farmerie 58 is one of the latest attempts at creating an "organic" restaurant in downtown Chicago. The menu is hard to describe -- it calls itself a contemporary bistro that might be French or Midwest or American or something else that has a rather lengthy sushi/maki menu and selection of raw seafood items. Now a menu like that seems really out of place for a restaurant whose logo is Midwestern windmill and that, to me, is symbolic of Farmerie 58's problem.

Farmerie 58's thing is fresh ingredients and organic food. Fine, I'm okay with that -- thumbs up, but there doesn't seem to be any focus. What does Farmerie 58 want to be? It doesn't know and it comes through in the food. In short, my meal was entirely forgettable -- not bad, just a meal that was more like noise than an experience.

I started with the butternut squash velouté, a good choice on a cold winter night. Now I've had many variations of butternut squash soup dating back to 1991 and my first experience with such a thing in Manhattan. Why do I remember the date? Well, that soup made an impression on me. In terms of Farmerie's velouté the texture was great, temperature perfect, but was a bit salty and had too much truffle oil. The oil separated the flavors, so they didn't come together right and the butternut squash simply disappeared. The soup wasn't bad, it just didn't have a spark. It was, well, a nice soup with a nice texture. Tomorrow, I won't be able to tell you more than that.

Moving on the the entree, I ordered the stuffed pork chop with roasted fingerling potatoes and some cooked greens. There's problem number two -- I remember the greens were cooked and not in a good way. They were tough and bitter and pulled all of the taste away from the pork chop. The stuffing in the chop was flat which it shouldn't have been given that I believe cranberries were supposed to be in there. What could have happened is that the greens tore away any flavor of the stuffing by tainting my taste buds, so in reality the chop could have been great but I couldn't really experience it and the flavor was sent on hiatus. What I do recall (besides the bitter greens) are the roasted fingerling potatoes. Those were delightful and perfectly prepared. I remember them and will think about the potatoes tomorrow.

As for dessert, I didn't have one although I wanted to. One thing I don't like these days is the pairing of something sweet with a bizarre fruit puree and some salty candy thing. Now when it comes to desserts, I'm the first person to order the weird and indescribable "thing in glass" but in this case nothing seemed to fit together to form a finish to the meal. My first glance at the dessert menu had my body saying yes, but my closer examination of the descriptive detail had my mind going "in what reality does that sound good?" There seemed to be no theme, concept, or consistency in the items. The dessert menu sounded more like an accretion of flavors rather than a vision of a final scene to a culinary play.

The restaurant itself is hip and stylish, but at least on the first floor, quite noisy. Sound absorbing soft surfaces are few and the floor is hard terrazzo, so voices bounce everywhere. I suspect the background noise can be distracting if you're having a dinner with another person, but in my solo case the "live" room allowed me to hear nearly all conversations with ease. One discussion tables away focused on why the restaurant was constantly in trouble. Well, I think the answers are in the air...

Do I dislike Farmerie 58? No.
Do I like Farmerie 58? I'm indifferent.

I wish something stuck in my memory more than potatoes. Tomorrow, tonight's experience will be gone.

Foodie recommendations are usually quite good and this one was spot on and worth the visit.

First, the decor. Simply put, really interesting bordering on wacky. Our party of three was seated on the balcony and we had a fantastic view of the entire place. The low ceiling height coupled with soft fabrics and moody lighting made the whole dining experience "cozy" -- in our case, perfect for serious conversation. The wacky part were things like the jellyfish light fixtures and the cast metal railings. Cool, but different.

Service was fantastic. Our server paired a perfect pinot noir with our heirloom tomato salad that later worked well with all entrees. She was very attentive and quite helpful, answering any and all questions we had.

In terms of the food, it was great. The tomato salad was spectacular. I had an entree of rabbit prepared two ways -- sausage and wrapped in bacon. Both were quite good, but not as striking as the salad. Dessert was, well, pretty darn good given the choices. I'm not a big fan of making odd concoctions of traditional desserts with grapes and berries, so for me the menu really reduced down to one option -- a chocolate dessert with honeycomb. Simply awesome.

So, would I go back? Absolutely. Farallon was a great recommendation, great experience, and a great find.

Picture a Wednesday night where you lose track of time and head out for dinner, late. Worse still, you're in a town where you don't know where to go or have any clue as to what's good. What does one do? Wander aimlessly hoping to stumble onto something wonderful? No. Too tired. Option #2: head to the mall and take one's chances there.

Located just footsteps from my hotel, San Francisco Center beckoned to me to step in and seek sustenance. Brain dead, I wandered through the doors and took the escalators up to "The Restaurant Collection." I strolled around examining the limited options open at that time of night and settled on Straits.

The decor was, well, Vegas typical -- nice, but unremarkable. What immediately struck me were the four Martin small-scale concert speakers flown from the ceiling; curious for a restaurant. If one turned the dining area into a dance floor, would there be enough tables to pay the bills? Oh well, not my place to worry -- I'm not the manager. The one thing that did concern me, however, was the fact that one of the fly points penetrated the fireproofing of the ceiling trusses and that can't be good.

One doesn't go to a restaurant to gawk at the sound reinforcement system -- one goes for food made and presented by others. My experience on that Wednesday night was okay but for some reason felt awkward. Maybe it was just me and my lethargic state or it being a Wednesday night, but service was weird. In terms of the food, it was fine. I don't remember many specifics (or even what I had) except that the vegetables in the curry seemed too large. That's not good because I should remember something more.

In all, Strait was simply mall average. Nothing great, but nothing bad either.

It is probably not fair to judge a restaurant within days of its opening, but we happened to visit this newest addition to Streeterville twice in the last two weeks and I couldn't help but say something about "Niu."

Niu is a Japanese and arguably Asian fusion restaurant located adjacent to the AMC River East 21 Theatres in the space vacated by "Max & Benny's." For those who frequented the deli of yore, Niu started with rather decent surroundings (which never really fit the deli/diner stereotype) and tweaked them a bit. Gone are the walk-up deli and behind-the-glass kitchen area; now those spaces are occupied by a-place-to-be-seen-from-the-street lounge and a sushi bar. The front of the restaurant, lounge, and bar areas visually work but the rest of the place seems a bit sterile, especially in the back, but I suspect that will change over time.

People don't always go to restaurants for the surroundings -- they go to eat. In our first two encounters, we opted to go for the maki and were not disappointed. We tried the "Salmon Delight" of salmon, scallops, crab, lemon, and avocado; "Diablo" roll of shrimp tempura, scallops, crab, and eel sauce; and the "Sexy Mexican" that blends shrimp, spicy crab meat, avocado and jalapeno into a single tasty roll. Quite honestly, the maki was wonderful and being not the usual fare, a treat to order and taste.

From a service standpoint, Niu is still getting its sea legs, so right now I'd have to say service is shaky and knocks my rating down a bit. The staff is friendly, but they're still figuring out how to run the place and not everyone is fully up-to-speed on the whole Japanese concept. In time, service should get better.

Will we go to Niu again? Sure. Niu reminds me of the other neighborhood Japanese restaurant, Kamehachi, and if all of the pieces come together, Kamehachi may have a real competitor in Niu. Until then, we'll just have to eat and see.

As Kathy and I were wandering about looking for a place to eat, we stumbled across Dave's and that was bad, very bad. You see, we're addicted to music. Aside from having the radio dial fixed on Q101 for the latest in new music or surfing European Internet radio stations for global trends, our iPods are filled with nearly every genre of music, from classical, jazz, and surfer instrumentals to hip-hop, rock and alternative. On a day-to-day basis, we feed our mainstream addiction with iTunes or ripping our piles of CDs, but there's something really special about vinyl -- something so special that I replaced our entire home stereo system and are moving to having not one, but two hifi turntables (one new and one vintage). But I digress...

We collect rare, limited release, and simply odd vinyl such as an original 1983 pressing of New Order's "Blue Monday" on Factory Records (Fac 73) in the original die cut floppy disk album jacket, Joy Division's "Still"  (Fac 40) from 1980, or more current items such as My Chemical Romance's "Famous Last Words" on a 7" square single (yes, square). Why? Well, because they're unique -- music as both aural and visual art.

Back to Dave's -- as I said, we stumbled in and started looking around. First and foremost, Dave's is not some hack used music shop. It is a place for people who are serious about vinyl. Second, there's a lot of inventory in a small space and it could take days to go through it all. We didn't have that kind of time, but we did do a little exploring and within minutes, we left with a few things. To give you a sense of the quality of Dave's collection, we walked out with a virtually untouched West German "direct metal master" pressing of Depeche Mode's "Some Great Reward" on gray vinyl. When we got home, we dropped the needle on the pristine record and dropped our jaws. The playback was sonically like nothing we'd ever heard. We know this album and it sounded like an entirely new release with amazing stereo separation. This pressing had to be what was recorded in the studio in 1984; the CDs, MP3s, cassettes, and ordinary vinyl of this album don't even come close.

So that's why one buys vinyl and why one goes to Dave's. If you love music and have a collector instinct, stop in (and stop in, and in, and in...).

For the better part of human history, food has been central to both stability and change. In periods of stability, food brings people together and creates community -- whether it is in one's own kitchen, a food court in a mall, or an exclusive restaurant. In times of change, the food can alter one's perspective, create an opportunity, or topple a government. I never imagined that a new restaurant could energize my hometown, knit it together, and trigger a change that will forever reshape the town. I doubt that's what Brian and Barb Lunde had in mind when they opened the Buffalo City Grille, but that's what happened.

Under the guidance of Eric Kehr, noted restaurant consultant whose history includes developing restaurants on the East Coast, the Buffalo City Grille is Jamestown's first attempt a true upscale dining in decades. Located in what was once known as the Zappas Building and now recognized as the Nierling Block that has framed the east side of first avenue since 1911, the Lundes and Kehr have created a true gem by uncovering and exposing a piece of the city's history in a dining atmosphere that is more Chicago than rural America.

Once you're seated it is hard to tell you are in Jamestown at all. The dining area with 14' ceilings is on two levels and wrapped in huge glass windows. The lounge is separated from the dining area by a historic brick wall that features two massive archways. The wall (and building, for that matter) is a rare piece of community history as the brick was made by the local company owned by Anton Klaus, one of the founding fathers of Jamestown. In that sense, the restaurant is uniquely Jamestown and the Lundes and Kehr skillfully built upon that.

Atmosphere alone does not make a high quality restaurant as it is also defined by two other things: food and service. The food is, well, amazing. This is not some small town short-order steak or dinner place, nor is it only a venue for special occasions. The Buffalo City Grille is a place to get a fantastic meal of the caliber that is often reserved for the most urban and upscale areas of a large city. I enjoyed an entree of bison fillet mignon with sweet potato fries (I'm a sucker for anything sweet potato). I asked for the bison to be prepared the "right way" and the chef delivered; it was so tender and flavorful, and quite honestly, it was magnificent. Not since my visit to Arstiderna in Malmo, Sweden (http://www.arstiderna....), where I first tried reindeer, had I experienced an entree like that. By the way, it was nicely complemented by the French red wine I selected from their fully stocked wine cellar (yes, a wine cellar in Jamestown). Oh, and the vodka martini I had in the lounge before dinner was on par with most of my favorite martini places in Chicago. Bravo!

For only being open a few weeks, service was reasonable and considering the community has not had a restaurant of that level in, well, anyone's memory, it was far above Jamestown standards. Service was certainly not at a major metropolitan level and shy of the new upscale standards of Fargo, but I suspect that it will get better over time, the impact will be felt throughout the city -- not just at the Grille, and will change the community's understanding of good service.

What struck me the most about the Grille is that it is a place for everyone. While I was having dinner with my parents, the president of Jamestown College (http://www.jc.edu) was finishing his meal with his wife and guests, families were enjoying a night out, and four teens came in after working at the local grocery store to enjoy dessert and share conversation. Couples, families, students, executives, and visitors all feel welcome at the Grille making it that stable and comfortable place for the community.

Obviously when I look at the restaurant within the context of Jamestown, I'm blown away by the Buffalo City Grille. The cuisine is superb and once the staff are up-to-speed, I can't imagine what it will be like -- only it will be great. As I said to Eric Kehr after our meal, "I never imagined spending over $100 on a meal in my hometown." He appeared concerned until I added, "it was worth every dime." He immediately smiled and shook my hand.

Whether we like it or not, virtually every air traveler today has to deal with O'Hare either directly by flying through it or indirectly by having flights delayed because of it. Controversy swirls around O'Hare like the winds across its five runways and to anyone not from Chicago, it appears to be the center of all air travel headaches. Lost in all of this anger and disgust is the airport itself. O'Hare is a reasonable domestic airport (that, admittedly, can frustrate even the best travelers when transferring between flights) and a less-than-spectacular international gateway for the nation. That said, it turns out that it is one of the better  terminal hub airports around and a good airport for Chicago.

As a terminal airport, O'Hare ranks rather high as it is a good place to start or end a flight. There's nothing quite like having two major airline hubs (American and United) all under one roof. With relative ease, one can catch a direct flight to almost anywhere. For those not staying in Chicago, changing flights through O'Hare is another matter. Regional traffic control ("Chicago Center") seems to be rather content to hold flights for any lame reason and more often then not, planes sit on the ground because of air traffic routing problems around bad weather elsewhere in America. With that in mind, catching a connecting flight can be an adventure even if there is not a cloud in the sky. It appears to not be related to too many flights or bad ground control; the delays appear to be rooted in paranoid and miserable centralized air traffic control. Thank you, FAA. Air travelers across the U.S. really appreciate it.

For international travelers, O'Hare's newest terminal, terminal 5 (concourse M), is home for a wide range of international airlines. From Air India to Varig, one can jump on a flight to nearly any major hub in the world. As far as an amenity-filled international terminal that we have come to expect, terminal 5 has a long way to go. Passenger shopping options and food services are just plain bad. There is not enough room in the terminal waiting area for the number of passengers that have to pass through the security checkpoint, the food options are worse than most failing food courts, and there is a complete lack of shopping. I find it amazing that people have a hard time believing that someone thinks international travelers are content to sit in a pen and wait a couple of hours for a flight. If given the option of staring at a hamburger or shopping for knickknacks, most would choose the latter. Frankly, there are more things to do in a shopping mall in a small town in Montana on a Sunday than in terminal 5 on any day. If I were to change something about O'Hare itself, it would be terminal 5.

London's Heathrow and Chicago's O'Hare are much alike; they are functional beasts that have grown to an enormous size and connect virtually anywhere in the world with somewhere else. Because of this growth, the facilities have been reshaped, redesigned, and re-engineered well beyond what the original planners could have ever imagined. It is in O'Hare's flexibility that makes it stand out. Most older facilities have been either entirely transformed (Minneapolis is a great example) or replaced (like Denver) because they could not adapt to the rapidly changing needs of air travel. O'Hare, on the other hand, has evolved and not required a complete replacement to meet the needs of each decade of flight. Instead, its terminals are periodically refreshed with the latest amenities, gate areas are constantly being adapted to new aircraft, and expansion plans are continually redrawn to reflect future needs as seen from that moment. In a sense, O'Hare refuses to become old like New York's LaGuardia or Seattle-Tacoma. Only recently has O'Hare begun to show its age and as always, plans are on the books to fix that. Runways need to be reconfigured to move traffic more efficiently and some additional gate space is required. Beyond that, future plans are just that: plans. O'Hare, like Heathrow, will always be the target of criticism, but will continue to evolve and deliver as only that airport can.

Let me start off by saying that I don't like Denver's airport. Period. There, I've said it. For a new, "thought-out" design that is supposed to be the best of the breed and represent what should happen if an American airport could start over, Denver fails as a terminal and marginally succeeds as a rather bland transfer airport.

Where should I start? Well, let's take a stroll through the poorly envisioned ticketing-to-gate process. The check-in counters are undersized, lack standing space, are cramped, and with the low ceilings overhead, too claustrophobic. Once ticketed, the poor signage throughout the terminal building leaves people wondering where they should go next.

Continuing on the odyssey, As laid-out, the security checkpoint in the lower level is far too small and just plain bizarre. Who thought escalators that end at a tight turn into a tiny holding pen was a good idea? Before September 11, the traffic flow through security was bad, but considering the enhanced security measures at US airports, the design is even more inadequate. There is not enough room between the escalators to have additional security screening stations, so ridiculous lines are inevitable as undoubtedly one of the stations will be unavailable at any given time. That, in my opinion, is simply poor planning and a major failure of the architects, not the later tenants or the Transportation Security Agency. There was no margin designed into the space to handle any change in security measures, and given an airport is a 50 year structure, changes should have been taken into account.

Once through security, the majority of flyers will need to head out to one of the satellite concourses. Personally, I hate shuttle trains between concourses, so that is a huge blow against the train-based people-mover system. And what's up with the spinning propellers, anyway?

Continuing our trek, why didn't the escalators that take passengers up from the train to the gate areas extend further down each side of the concourses rather than popping up in the middle? Ever heard of minimizing walking distances?

With so much attention paid to the airport by the Department of Transportation, why is there not a rail link to Denver itself? Frankly, mass transit access to the airport is just plain awful and is an absolute embarrassment. By the way, who cares about a big terminal building with food and shops outside of security? All of the passenger action happens on the concourses these days (and those days when the building was designed) and people don't want to leave security once they have passed through it. Why bother with such an antiquated idea in the first place? Didn't they just recreate Stapleton? Oh, and why are there not hotels directly connected to the terminal? I guess a taxi ride for a few miles into the middle of nowhere is better, especially if you enjoy depending on others getting you to the airport on time in a place known for snow and lots of it.

Despite my comments above, all is not lost for Denver. In its role as a connecting airport, Denver scores much higher in my book. It is fairly easy (but can be time consuming) to change planes, aircraft can move freely about the tarmac, and the runways practically wrap around the terminal buildings thus minimizing taxi time. It couldn't be much better for someone trying to make tight connections (except, of course, if your plane is at the wrong end of the concourse - in that case, the concourses are just too long - or if you have to take the stupid train between terminals). Denver is not a bad place to kill time if your flight is delayed. Shopping is pretty good, people watching is particularly fun (East meets Midwest meets The West meets California). The food is rather average and of fairly common airport fare these days - at least in the United terminal.

And finally, don't try to fly to DIA because it does not exist. The proper airport code for Denver International is DEN. If you haven't noticed, information on the airport itself can be very confusing since the locals interchange DIA with DEN, brochures refer to the airport as DIA, and some Websites use both. Given that DIA is incorrect, I wish Denver would get it right and call the airport by its official code, DEN. Then again, what should I expect -- the airport is not right, so why should the airport code be correct?

In summary, I'm glad I didn't design the airport, and I'm really happy that I don't have to depend on it. In my opinion, the architectural firm should be ashamed.