Seann "gards" G.'s Profile

Best coffee we found in Chicago. The single origin espresso is out of this world. Skip the starbucks and find an intelligensia. Only downside is the baking, so source a good French bakery nearby.

Sat at the bar after a pleasant 2 hour/2 bottle of wine wait. Nice spanish-inspired fare, prepared in a top-notch wood-fired oven. Another great place to hit when you're in Chicago.

Nice farm-to-table fare. The bar was set very high by Bon Appetite, which rated it as a top 20 new US restaurant. We went with 6 people and the food and service was excellent. Recommended if you are looking for a change in Austin. Try the beer ice-cream for dessert - it surprises.

Great room, solid service, outstanding food. Couldn't pick one thing wrong with this place. Well chosen wine and beer list. Fresh, simple food and reasonably priced. A must if you're in Chicago.

Great southern italian cuisine. Sat outside on the picnic tables on a warm Toronto evening. highly recommended, but expect a line.

Best thing about Nota Bene is the food and room. Had the tuna and octopus, which were both excellent. The staff was helpful but absent of personality. The crowd was mostly business folks hitting the big reds wines - par for the course on a wednesday in Toronto.

Had a very good meal. The appetizers were both big (by french standards), but both nicely prepared - the beet salad was especially good, as was the tart with tomatoes and caramelized onions. For the mains, the pastured veal chop with buffalo mozzerella, fresh tomato and balsamic glaze was very good. The halibut was also very nice. Great room as well, although sit in the front room or outside, the back room was a little cut-off.

Great bistro feel, awesome bistro food. Went early with the little one and had a great meal, while she slept. Some highlights - the octopus and lentil salad, liver mousse, sorrel soup to start were all excellent. For main courses, the duck with chanterelles was a hit, as was the house ravioli - which was out of this world. For dessert their l'isle flotant was big enough for 4, but good enough that one could justify eating it. 4 people, 3 courses, 2 nice bottles of wine ~ $350 tip in.

I liked this place - awesome beer list, great food - all from small purveyors, much of it sustainable. The mussels beurre blanc were excellent, as were the fresh oysters. We also tried a number of meat and fish dishes - which were all good. Didn't get to the charcuterie - next time.  Had the waffle for dessert - simple with compote and honey butter. The ambience was also great - full house. Will be back undoubtedly.

I expected this place to be great, but we were pretty disappointed. First, the service was pretty ordinary, but as one yelper put it well, it was "awkward." The Maenam drink was really good, as was their special cocktail with raspberry puree and gin. With regard to the food, for the smaller plates, the pad thai was pretty good, but didn't blow us away - same with the green papaya salad. The fried oysters were probably the best small plate we had - crispy with a nahm jim sauce.

We tried a few of the larger places - the pork belly and prawn salad. Frankly, for us, both dishes were "too much"  - the spices was overpowering and on both and both were overpowering in the herb department, the mint with the prawns and thai basil with the pork belly should perfume the dish, not feel like you're eating handfuls of herbs (maybe the later was the point, but it didn't appeal to us). The (lack of) presentation didn't add to the larger dishes' appeal. On the plus side, they had a nice selection of wines by the glass and the price-point was reasonable. I also saw a few desserts come out, which looked good. With that said, we expected more in the food department and hope it was an off night.