Denise "shamrock shuffle survivor" P.'s Profile

If I lived over here, I would be here every day. Some can say I am here practically every day to see my boyfriend, but the problem is that I workout first, and don't get there til 630-7pm. Which doesn't work out too well because they close at 6. I guess it's meant to be a place where you grab dinner after work (most people get home before 6), or a lunch place. The 9-6 hours on weekdays are kinda silly, and that's why I knocked off a star.

However, I love the idea of the prepared meals, Boar's Head meat and cheese, and gourmet items. They also have gluten free products, and (I was surprised) the rick bayless heirloom tomato salsa. They also have wine country sodas (no alcohol, but there's a wine place a few doors down). I don't want to cook after work, or I'll never eat. Leave it to the pros, I just want to microwave it or heat it in the oven. Leave cooking for weekends. Village Gourmet allows people to do that. Especially for those who live alone, this is an excellent choice.

Oh Country House....I went here when i was in high school for the food and go now for the food and drink. The people watching too.

Let me tell you, the crowd here steers towards the young at heart. A great example follows:

We go here on a Wednesday evening for dinner, and see cops. I didn't even realize Clarendon Hills had real police, I figured the probably don't need them. At least not for crime...

We see a car that had driven into the woods behind the restaurant. As in old people who hit the gas instead of the brake....

However, this review is about the food, the decor, the ambience. Looks like a country western kinda place. Or something straight outta the 70's. Dark wood paneling, peanut shells on the floor. However, the food and drinks have come into the 21st century, considering they have ostrich burgers, buffalo burgers, and a nice selection of local beers, as well as beers that kinda fit the theme (aka Blue Sky out of Montana. Buffalo live in Montana, right???)

They are well knows for their burgers. I've had them, and they are very good. However, I am trying to avoid gluten (not seriously hardcore where they have to cook in a seperate area because I don't have celiac, but I don't eat bread or pasta because it makes me tired and my stomach gets upset. More like an intolerance, kinda like lactose intolerance but with wheat). So I had the BBQ porkchops. They were DELICIOUS!!! They had that charcoal grilled flavor, cooked perfect, and were big (you got two). Came with applesauce and those steak fries that I am obsessed with. Mmmm.

Not a place to get a salad (plain jane iceberg lettuce/tomato/cucumber deal), stick with the meat. The turkey sandwich on a pretzel bun (yes I do splurge on occasion) was pretty tasty though, and that's a little healthier.

The homemade Chili here is great. There's also a pretzel-crusted walleye I want to try. All in all it's a cool place...and apparently haunted, according to my sister. Of course, she thinks everything's haunted.

Wow...I have to say, I am really impressed with this place!!

So they call it a bistro, namely because there is a lot of french influence to the menu and a lot of french wines. However, it was also very seasonally-focused. The first thing I thought when I tried a bite of my Lake Superior Whitefish with french beans, bacon, shallots, BROWN RICE (how often do you see that??) and beurre blanc, I thought to myself "wow...this is what nana (in Bridgeport) tries to do, except my experience at nana was such an epic fail that I can never go back". (I had such high hopes for that place, but they started getting cheap, service was abysmal, and their staff has no knowledge whatsoever about food or wine. But that's for another review....which you can see on my profile.)

Every part of my meal was excellent. We had the shrimp and calamari with creamy polenta and a smoked tomato reduction. This was delicious. The smoky tomato flavor really came through, and I detected bacon too. Bacon, by the way, had an integral role in their menu and that is a plus in my book.

Next up was the aforementioned whitefish, which was cooked perfectly, and quite a large serving. Nice, slightly crunchy green beans (you know, ones that snap and aren't mushy), with bits of bacon throughout. I thought the brown rice was a really nice touch, the nuttiness along with the smoky bacon and buttery sauce. Brian had the pork chop with BACON mac n' cheese, greens, and a maple-bourbon sauce. The pork chop was huge, bone-in, and had the grill marks. The bacon mac and cheese was tasty, and you could definitely taste the maple and bourbon flavors in the sauce

Desserts were also excellent. Not a huge list (only four desserts), and we had three. All were delicious. Of course, being a french bistro, they had creme brulee, and it was made perfectly. Also sprinkled with a few blueberries, which was a nice touch. Cherry bread pudding was good, with cherries throughout and a surprising burnt butter sauce. My personal favorite was the chocolate mousse. It wasn't that light kinda mousse that is almost like whip cream, it's the thicker, creamier one that is a little gritty. Which I LOVE. Topped with whip cream and raspberry sauce and raspberries. It was great.

So how 'bout the booze, you ask? They had a list of 10 or so under $20 bottles! This is a neighborhood of upper-six-figure homes, and so I definitely didn't expect this nice surprise! Heavily focused on French wines, which admittedly I know nothing about. Our server seemed very knowledgeable though, and recommended a wine similar to unoaked chardonnay that I thought went well with my fish. There were also some cocktails and tap beers, as well as wines by the glass and some pricier bottles, for the local clientele.

The atmosphere is very nice. Kinda dimly lit, dare I say romantic (which, hah, is a bit amusing, considering I went here with my boyfriend and his mom!). There's a bar, restaurant seating, and a party room that you rent out for birthdays, bridal showers, etc. I wouldn't mind a bridal shower here, although I'm sure that's a long time coming. Which is okay, because I can see this place being here for awhile.

Not going to lie, I didn't expect such a good red-sauce joint in such a non-Italian neighborhood. Scapa is in a decent location right by the Clarendon Hills Metra station (and a saving grace in a downtown that is sorely lacking in anything for people under the age of 65).

I don't know how one can pass up this deal: 1/2 off appetizers 5-9 PM Sun-Thurs. If that's not enough, consider this: 1/2 off wine bottles Mondays (with the purchase of an entree). So you sorta have to choose: a couple shared apps and beers/drinks, or entrees and 1/2 off wine bottles (you get a choice of about 8 wines, helps narrow it down). Or you can partake in both. Take home the majority of the entree and have food for days. I haven't seen a deal this good since they had the Monday Tuesday night club at Connie's on Archer in 2009.

The portions are enormous, and easily feed two (or are tomorrow's lunch...and maybe dinner too if you get the apps). The chicken saltimbocca, while not the best I have had, was still pretty good. The chicken Parmesan is excellent. The rigatoni with fresh mozzarella is the best thing I've had so far. They also have plenty of seafood and Allen Brothers steaks. All entrees come with a side salad (homemade italian dressing/mixed greens/carrots/tomatoes) or soup (minestrone/italian wedding/pasta e fagioili). Decent bread (comes warm) and (the best part) very high quality, fresh, grated parmesan. This isn't Kraft out of the can, this is the good stuff. Colavita Olive oil. Salt and pepper. Great dip for bread. Pretty good Tiramisu, and a nice selection of port wines.

Sauces are fantastic, big portions. Not freakin' Spiaggia, so don't expect it to be. It's a red sauce joint in a classy building in an upscale suburb. It speaks to its clientele, and you can tell - it's always pretty busy.

Dining room is dimly lit with the white tablecloths. Bar is brighter, lots of windows, tables and stools. 3 TV's (the day we went, we had the bulls/blackhawks and sox on!)

A few more tips, sandwiches in the bar, full carryout menu, $2.00 domestics/$4 individual pizzas on Mondays. My boyfriend is all about coming here for those Monday deals, since he lives walking distance from the place. Hope there aren't too many hot bartenders, or I'm in trouble!

A lot bigger and fancier than the one on Michigan (and 1/3rd the distance from my office). You can do carryout from here, but it screams sit-down (and in my opinion, it screams "dinner after work". Such a nice atmosphere in here, as well as a big bar. I don't think they are open terribly late (7 or 8 maybe?), but I suppose for loop workers that is late enough.

I am a big fan of the alaskan maki and the sashimi (although it is a bit pricey for the size of the pieces you get) and the noodle dishes. The noodle dishes are a good-size portion for the price. Carryout doesn't take long to make, and delivery isn't bad either. They also let you order online, which is something I am a big fan of.

If you're able to take a lunch break, come here to eat. Monday-Wednesday after work they have specials too, such as 1/2 off wine bottles and cheap beers. Definitely worth checking out.

HANDS DOWN BEST LUNCH IN THE LOOP

I've worked down here since 2007 and my work pays for lunch so I have eaten anywhere and everywhere within a mile radius of my office. This is my favorite.

A few things to note right away: kinda like Chipotle, NO ONE said this is authentic middle eastern cuisine. Go to Bridgeview to the places with the signs in Arabic if you want the real deal. This is a hybrid of greek and middle eastern cuisine that in my opinion is delicious. I am very tempted to go back here for dinner every day after I get lunch there, but hold myself back because I don't want to look like a psycho.

That being said, like Chipotle and like I Dream of Falafel, this place is counter service where you pick your base, pick your meat, pick your toppings. The quality is hands down better than Falafel, and THEY HAVE GLUTEN FREE PITAS!!!!! Yeah, they're $2 more, but so worth it. They also make everything in a separate gluten-free area, and put it in a separate plastic bag. They are serious about the condition, and it's very difficult to find gluten-free in the loop. It's nice to be able to eat something other than burrito bowls and salads!

Obviously, I am a fan of the gluten-free pita. i get the chicken roti (shawarma), which is very flavorful. They also have steak roti, chicken or steak kabobs, roasted vegetables, falafels, and a "special", which right now is salmon kebabs.

The zhug (very spicy sauce) actually has a bite to it. Unfortunately they do not have toum (garlic), but I get the tahini. They have a dill/yogurt sauce too.

Two types of hummus: original (which has a kick from cayenne/cumin/paprika) and spicy feta. Also baba ghanoush. A wider variety of vegetables, although different, than falafel. No jerusalem pickles here. We have sumac onions, tomato and cucumber salad, mixed greens, kalamata olives, roasted vegetables, feta cheese (see the greek aspect here?). I like the fusion, I really do. It's like an explosion of sweet/spicy/salty and I just love it. I want to come here every day for dinner too but I think they'd think I was a wack job so I hold myself back.

It's not the cheapest meal in the loop, but you get what you pay for. I could eat here every day, honestly.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This is the only damn Thai place in town that makes the food spicy enough for me. I'm not even kidding, my lips are STILL inflamed from what I ate over there Saturday night!!!!

I know ordering Pad Thai in a place with so many other options is lame of me, but it's so good there, I love that sweetness that is immediately followed by the burn. It's like a challenge for my taste buds.

This location is also byob, and you gotta go into the bar next door to get into the liquor store next to that. They had a decent selection, and it's convenient.

Can be kinda crowded here, and a little cramped, but worth the wait!!

I thought this was a solid, upscale neighborhood restaurant/bar. I felt like I was back in the burbs at this place though. The same clientele at Cooper's Hawk would be all over this place.

You want to know what else it reminded me of? X/O in Boystown (another RIP). Maybe it was the wine flights that did it, or the dim lighting, or the small plates. It was definitely fabulous, although for a more middle-aged clientele. Which is fine, I'm kind of an old woman in a 27 year old body.

There were a few standouts - the zillion page long beer/wine/cocktail list, and the desserts. Wow. I think that they were probably made at a french patisserie and brought here (at least teh ganache cake I had) but so what, it was delicious. Spun sugar on top, chocolate and caramel drizzled plate, and layers of chocolate ganache, and maybe almond flour? It was yummy. My friend had a beer float (guinness and chocolate ice cream) which wasn't really desserty, but it's guinness so it has to be good, right??

I had a cocktail made with gin, st germain, brut rose and bitters that was wonderful. I'll have to come back sometime for actual food (although it seems to be a place where you get more appetizers and small nibbles).

***Goose Island Brewpub: 1989 - 2011. Rest In Peace***

In case you haven't heard, Goose Island was bought out by Anheuser-Busch (at least their Fulton st brewing facility was, which is where all the bottled beer you see at stores and bars around the city is made). I am not sure how this is going to affect the actual restaurant and brewpub, but I fear Goose Island becomes a "budweiser special beer" and is outsourced to STL, leaving no Chicagoness intact.

So let's reminisce by discussing my trip on Sunday, the last day before the news broke. How fitting...

Suggested we go here because Brian is scared of the CTA and of anyplace without a parking lot. So it satisfied my urge to be in the city, but had the suburban edge that he prefers. We ate at old folks hour (like 330pm) and just beat the brewery tour people staying for a meal, and the crowd that came in to watch kentucky-UNC. I love the atmosphere here, sitting in the bar, the beer menu full of beers that you can't find in stores or other bars. They are so descriptive, and they put symbols next to the food to help you pair it with the beer..except these symbols were now absent, which is a shame. I atrributed it to the fact that the spring beers are all coming out and it's going to change soon enough.

The beer premiere was golden goose pils, so we got that. It's like a better MGD. Which is fine if I wanna drink to get shitfaced, or drink all day, because I could pound it down. But I wanted something with more flavor. I love IPA's, so I went with Lake Effect. It was amazing, and I hope to have a few more before it becomes Busch Island.

I feel like the burgers actually went a bit downhill though...which of course figures to be the case. I eat a burger maybe once every 6 months, because I don't eat red meat and I don't eat gluten (beer and bread was a big splurge for me). The bun was mediocre at best (what happened to the brioche buns???), and the burger is no longer hand-pattied. It was very juicy though. Plus I should've taken a picture of the tomato they put on this burger. It was NASTY. It was pretty much un-ripened and tiny, and let's keep it real here...don't advertise all this "house-cured" and local" stuff, then use tomatoes that are clearly NOT local and certainly not in season. Tsk tsk. So that knocked off a star.

Otherwise, I was happy with the beer, and hope that anheuser-douche leaves the clybourn pub alone. Or viva la revolution.

I used to be a huge fan of Zapatista, referring to it as "as good as Frontera, without the wait".

I take that back.

Bad service, and bad food. $14.99 for "al pastor" tacos that didn't taste like al pastor (where's the pineapple? or the adobo?), were served on brittle corn tortillas that broke thru the minute I picked up the taco (I suspect they were days old, because they tasted stale), and were missing the onion and cilantro? No thanks!

Brian's steak tacos were impossible to eat as a taco, they should've been advertised as tostadas on soft tortillas. He had to eat it with a fork. This was his first experience here, and I was really embarrassed. I had raved about their food (although pricey, very good), the ambiance, the service, and now I look like I don't know anything about good mexican food. Or a good restaurant.

Still think the margaritas are solid (once again, pricey but they are strong). I suppose all I can say is there's two times you should come - Monday ($5 taco dinner) and anytime 3-5 (siesta hour, where there's food deals). Otherwise, it's just too expensive and mediocre to be worth your time. I'm happier with los comales or tio luis anyday (and with the money I'll save, I can buy a bottle of gran patron and make my own margaritas!)