Yet more confirmation that PURPLE IS A FLAVOR

Chicago Eats - Girl & the Goat Part II

Following up on my post on the first time I went to Girl & the Goat back in May (but written a week ago), here's a quick post on my second visit to the Goat. Quick summary if you just want to look at the pics and not my words: it was just as good as the last time, and service continued to be excellent.

I went with the sis this time around, so we weren't able to eat as many dishes since we were two instead of four. But that's ok, I had a pretty heavy week of gorging myself on delicious eats, so maybe it was a good thing that I didn't stuff even more food down my gullet as per usual. BONUS: our server Jodi (I think) told us that Stephanie's absence was due to her competing on Iron Chef America this past weekend! The show should air in September; I'm excited to watch her, and hopefully she picks Bobby Flay so I can watch the Goat slay Flay. Onto delicious food pics.

bloody mary bread

 We started with the bloody mary bread, which as you can guess was a tomato based bread that was quite delicious. The spreads were designed to make everything taste like a bloody mary; I think that it tasted like a delicious bready tomato, and I had no complaints. Bread disappeared pretty quickly.

sauteed green beans w/fish sauce

Everyone that has tried these has stated how remarkable they are. How can something as simple and green like these beans be so delicious? Well, they're amazing. My sister generally doesn't care to eat the last bite, but she asked if she could eat the rest of these up. Served on top of a fish sauce vinaigrette and topped with a fish sauce aioli, the dish also included some cashews to balance out the saltiness of the dual-fishy sauces. Note to all of those scared of these because of the fish sauce: the vinaigrette/aioli had the right bits of savoriness and umami like characteristics that transformed simple, everyday green beans into the highlight of a meal and reminded me why Girl & the Goat requires reservations months in advance. Except when you get lucky like I did as I was able to catch a reservation on the Wednesday before the Friday night we ate here.

seared tuna w/lamb sausage

Funny story; I went to lunch with a friend earlier in the day and we were both looking at the seared tuna sandwich. She was however a bit hesitant; she wasn't quite sure if it was ok to eat seared tuna since it was raw in the middle. I asked if she ate sushi and she enthusiastically responded "Yes!" I gave her a blank stare and she finally got it. To conclude, seared tuna is safe to eat.

Nothing particularly special about the seared tuna itself as it was as good as you expect seared tuna to be from a place like this. Alone, it was good but not memorable; combined with the lamb sausage and blueberries, it gave it a completely different taste and showcased why it's on the menu. To be honest, the strong salty flavor of the lamb sausage really overpowered the taste of the tuna; perhaps this dish was meant to showcase the texture of the various elements, and the tuna was used to cut through the saltiness of said lamb? Either way, the dish was salty, sweet, and savory in all the right ways.

squash blossom rangoon w/crab

Take your classic crab rangoon and run it through the Stephanie Izard flavor machine and out comes squash blossom rangoon. And what an interesting creation this is. IMO, the chive yogurt was mostly unnecessary given that the rangoon filling was fairly rich on its own, but this was a pretty solid dish. The use of the soft squash went well with everything else. You basically bite through layers; crunchy/crispiness gives way to the soft yet firm squash, and finally the crab filling oozes out like you expect it to. Highly recommended.

fried soft shell crab

I had the soft-shell crab the last time I was here, but it was used in a different presentation. Admittedly, the last soft shell crab dish I had from the Goat was tastier because of the sauce it was bathed in. I don't remember tasting the pickled onion-like ramps and the zucchini was fairly bland, as zucchini usually is. The chili-lime sauce was good, but there didn't seem to be enough of it to go with the amount of crab on the dish. My least favorite of the night, overshadowed by the pure awesomeness of the soft shell crab I had the first time.

strawberry spongecake

I was never really a fan of desserts back in the day. Now, I can't help but to look forward to them. We opted to go for the strawberry spongecake this time. This was far superior to any spongecake I had ever had, given all of the layers of flavors and textures. From the top - a fried(?) basil leaf, basil cream, strawberries, sponge, and finally lime curd all the way at the bottom with sprinklings of crushed graham cracker throughout. Our server recommended that we get a bit of everything in one bit to get all of the flavors to mix together. Yep, that did the trick; this thing was awesome. The cream was heavy enough to stand up against the other parts of the dish (no wimpy whipped cream here folks), the strawberries were sweet and the sponge was perfectly spongy. But the thing that really made this dish come together was the lime curd at the bottom. It was zesty and tart, and balanced well against the rest of the dessert. Can you now see why I get excited about dessert?

All in all, another great trip to the Girl & the Goat. Try to go, but be warned - I'll be fighting you for those reservations.

Chicago Eats - GT Fish & Oyster

I have been waiting for tonight for quite some time. I finally had the opportunity to eat at GT Fish & Oyster, a restaurant that is a part of the Boka Group (think Girl and the Goat). The GT comes from the chef's name, Guiseppe Tentori, and as you can tell by his name, there was definitely a lot of Italian Italian influence at this obviously seafood joint. Tonight's experience confirmed what I had thought - the wait was worth it. Before getting to the actual food, have I told you how much I love small plates? I experience the buyer's remorse constantly when I order one single entree for dinner. GT, you have already delivered before I even started to order.

foie gras and shrimp terrine

Foie gras! Yep, I had to get it. And my friend had never tried foie gras, and wasn't quite sure what it was when I ordered it. I didn't actually tell her what it was for fear that she wouldn't quite take to the "fattened fowl liver" as I so eloquently put it. All turned out better than expected as she thought that this was the best dish of the night! This was one of the two cold dishes we ordered tonight, and it was definitely one of my favorites. As with most foie gras dishes, it was paired with sweet things - an apricot chutney (amazing in its own right) and pickled onions which reminds me of another foie gras dish I had not too long ago... This was the first time I had cold foie gras, and what I really liked about this one was that it was unspoiled by a rich sauce or other flavors being introduced to it - you were able to experience the rich and buttery goodness of the liver. It went nicely with the shrimp, but the best part was throwing everything together into one bite. A great way to start.

sunfish ceviche

As I perused the menu, another one of the cold plates caught my eye - and not necessarily because I love a good ceviche (which I do). Chimichurri sauce, which is essentially an Argentinian steak sauce, was what really drew me to this dish. I wanted to see GT's take on it since I'm going to be attempting to make my own soon, and wanted to know what his would taste like. The sauce itself was tangy but didn't overpower the milder tasting sunfish. Besides the green coloring from the chimichurri, you also had some small chunks of avocado thrown in there for good measure. All a great combination of course, and quite tasty with the tostadas served alongside it. We purposely got the ceviche to balance out the richness of the foie gras, as well as the dishes coming soon...

basil gnocchi

So here's where some of Guiseppe's Italian heritage comes into play - pastas. And I am a particular fan of gnocchi. When it's made right. Light and fluffy but still starchy, it's a unique texture that maybe not everyone loves. GT did it justice in this application, although I do have to say that it was my least favorite dish of the night. The gnocchi itself was of melt in your mouth variety, which is always a positive. But my feeling about the rest of the dish and the sauce was that they didn't really wow the tastebuds. The mussels, shrimp, and cherry tomato gave it some extra flavor and cooked well, but overall I'd say this dish was relatively flat, probably due to the incredible foie gras and ceviche. Not to say that this wasn't good - it was just a bit underwhelming compared to the other all-stars on this menu.

kobe short rib agnolotti

See those little red things? Those are the crawfish. And those purple things that you can't really see too well? Purple cauliflower. Yep, this was our second pasta dish of the night, and definitely the better of the two. The agnolotti itself was delicious, although I question the need for kobe beef in anything that's minced up (kobe burgers somewhat confound me). The sauce was good, flavors were well balanced, and the pasta itself was tender. Overall, a great dish that left me wanting a few more pieces.

oyster po'boy sliders

So now you've probably realized the other cultural influence of our good chef GT from the post above including some kobe goodness - asian flavors and ingredients. Here, we have a couple of fried oysters, thrown in between a Hawaiian bread bun, some fairly spicy red chili, and topped with some kimchi. Mmmmmm, I love kimchi, just like any good Korean. This was my favorite dish of the night. Not just because of the kimchi, mind you (although that helps a lot). It was basically the perfect blend of flavors and textures. When you first bite into one of these nuggets smashed full of fantastic, you immediately notice the heat and POW! of the kimchi and red chili. Somewhere in there you notice the sweetness of the Hawaiian bread, and on the back end, you finally taste the oyster, beautifully fried but not greasy. You also notice the textures - the softness of the bread contrasted so well with the crunch of the peanut and the kimchi. All in all, a beautifully constructed dish, married to ingredients I would have never put together. I mean who knew peanuts and kimchi would go together so well?

Chocolate, raspberry, caramel, peanut semi-freddo

blueberry buckle with almond ice cream

The desserts. We were sitting next to a table of ~10 that tried pretty much everything on the menu it appeared. And they tried all 4 desserts, and they all looked great. So we pretty much had to get two desserts. Unfortunately, I don't remember the actual names, but I did my best. First up was the semi-freddo. As I remarked to my friend, this is the dessert that everyone wants. It was a cold dish and it seemed to have every decadent ingredient on the must-have list: raspberry sauce, caramel, chocolate, chocolate cookie crumbs, peanuts, peanut butter. This thing was rich, creamy, and pretty much THE dessert to get. Quite possibly the best dessert I have ever had.

Second up was what we thought was a cookie, but it was not. The blueberry buckle had toasted walnuts and almonds atop a scoop of almond ice cream and this blueberry pastry. There was also a blueberry sauce that was either sitting below the pastry, or baked inside. Either way, this was really good. Not nearly as rich and decadent as the semi-freddo, but damn good in it's own right. It sort of reminded me of Christmas for some reason. Definitely not as sweet of a dessert, but the subtle flavors blended well to win you over. And this was not an easy task to do sitting next to the semi-freddo.

So yes, GT Fish & Oyster, you are yet another staple in my list of recommendations for Chicagoans looking for a great meal. It's not just seafood as the name would suggest - it's definitely an interesting combination of Italian, Asian, and even Latin flavors and cooking techniques that really set this place apart. Book a reservation to this place, and book it for a bigger party - your friends are going to want to join you.

Chicago Eats - Grahamwich

My apologies for the terrible graphic for grahamwich. Stupid angles, and stupid MSPaint. Anyways, Graham Elliot Bowles (or simply, Graham Elliot) has for some reason catapulted to one of my favorite celebrity chefs. I guess it's because he's from Chicago, has his namesake restaurant located just a 5 minute walk away from my apartment, and also apparently likes one of my favorite brands as well. So last week, some of my coworkers and I took a cab up north from the Loop to grab some good eats. Grahamwich's philosophy seems to be simple enough - a modern twist on the old school sandwich and soda parlors. It definitely had that type of vibe, and it was a pretty comfortable place. However, the girls in skirts had some difficulty with the ottoman like stool chairs, so reader be-warned. Seating was also limited to some bar stools at the counter and one long continuous table that seats around 16. It's pretty clear that most people grab food and bring it back to the office.

homemade vanilla cola, pork belly bbq

Chicago Eats - Girl & the Goat

From the best restaurant in North America (and #6 in the world) to various hot dog and burger shacks that are heart attacks in a grease-soaked brown paper bag, the food lovers of Chicago are some damn lucky people. Sure, Chicago is known for its Chicago style hot dogs (HOLD THE KETCHUP!), deep-dish Chicago style pizza, and the ever famous dipped Italian beef. But Chicago has a much nicer side to it, and brings world-class cuisine to the city of ever-broadening shoulders (get it...because we love food here...?) I've been eating at as many places in the city as I can, but my list keeps growing. However, I'm determined to transform my "must try" list to a "have tried" list - no matter how long it takes. This post got longer than expected, so I'm going to break these up a bit...

I'm trying to go in chronological order of the places I've been to recently, and I swear I'm not trying to get more of you to read my blog. But hey, this should help. I had a couple of friends visit from out of town this past May, and I knew I had to show them what this city could do when it comes to food. Afterall, one of my friends possibly loves food more than me (although it doesn't show on her). So a little over 3 months before their visit, I searched for reservations on a Saturday night for 4, and I got lucky. Dinner was at a palatable 9pm, but I knew it would be worth it. One of the hottest new restaurants on the Chicago food scene, Top Chef contestant Stephanie Izard of the Boka Restaurant Group definitely lived up to her mountain-top-high reputation. Enough with the words - onto the pictures:

hiramasa crudo w/pork belly

I love pork belly. I love sashimi. So obviously, this was a dish that we had to get. It was the perfect way to start our long, 2.5hr meal. Nice and light, the saltiness of the crisp pork belly contrasted with the delicate nature of the hiramasa fish. The only downside: why must the pork belly be so small??? Luckily one of our friends didn't seem to want his share of pork belly so I quickly grabbed it before the busboy whisked his plate away.

pan roasted halibut with grilled asparagus

I tend to slightly overcook asparagus when I grill it. I want those nice grill marks dammit! But Stephanie et al. masterfully cooked this dish. The asparagus was cooked perfectly - still crispy, but the right amount of char. But as it should be, the real star of this dish was the halibut. This was definitely the best piece of halibut I have had the pleasure of eating. Not only was it cooked perfectly (with that right amount of translucency), but that sauce was so good that I literally drank the rest of it once everyone was done picking out the solid bits. I definitely had to resist the urge to pick up the entire plate-bowl, but I had no shame in having our waitress wait for me to finish the last bits using my spoon. Apparently I'm not alone...and you can't let something that delicious go to waste!

fried soft shell crab pakora

Let's be real here: crab, good. Fried foods, good. Fried crab, GOOOOD. There's really not much more to say here, except the common theme across all of these dishes - yes, it was cooked perfectly.

seared scallops

Perhaps the *only* disappointing dish of the night - the scallops. A bit salty for my liking, but at least they didn't overcook them. I haven't figured out how to properly cook a scallop, and I feel like my wallet can't take these experiments all too frequently at over $2 each for the giant versions. Anyways, the redeeming factor of this dish was the sauce. Once again, I took that big spoon there and drank the brown butter sauce until none was left, much to the chagrin of my tablemates. Except I couldn't tell if they were embarrassed or jealous. Oh well, NO REGRETS.

roasted cauliflower

I always thought that cauliflower was just albino broccoli growing up. I had this revelation when we had learned about this genetic trait in grade school. Apparently, I was wrong, but hey, I was like 6yrs old. Back on track - the cauliflower was probably the best albino broccoli I've ever had, although that's not really saying too much. A criticism was that it was a bit greasy.

grilled pork ribs

Ah, ribs. How I love thee. One of my favorite dishes of the night, these had a nice after-taste kick in the tastebuds from some spice that I wasn't able to get a handle on. Maybe some horseradish or mustard? No clue, but they were juicy, succulent, and fall off the bone delicious. Besides the halibut, this was definitely a must-order if they still have it on the menu when you go.

confit goat belly

I think that confit is intriguing. I don't know how to do it, although everything I have ever had that was confit anything was freakin' awesome, including the classic duck confit I had at the Gage. Well, we were at the Girl & the Goat, and thus, we had to get SOMETHING with goat in it, dammit. And since my table was a bit scared to get the last remaining goat leg (that feeds like 20 hungry marines or something), we decided to get the confit goat belly. Goat BELLY! I like the bellies of animals. Tuna belly, pork belly, never had cow belly but that would probably be the udders...Moving along, this was basically Chef Stephanie's take on the classic surf 'n turf; there was some lobster and crab acting as the surf, and the goat acted as the turf, naturally. WHY WAS THE GOAT SO SMALL?? I DON'T THINK I ORDERED CONFIT CHIPMUNK??!??!!? After splitting the goat into 4 somewhat equal sized pieces, all I could think was...I WANT MOAR. Goat is fairly similar to lamb from my experience, but I just wished there was more. Now, to some of you the following will be blasphemy - but I thought there was too much crab and lobster to go proportionately with the goat. I mean, everything tasted great, I just wanted some more goat. Given how good this place is, maybe they're getting endangered...?

shiitake gelato with chocolate cake brownie

That's not the real name. I don't remember the name of this dish. But I thought it was great. Generally, people morph their faces into the same strange distorted growl/scowl/frown when I tell them I had a shiitake gelato, but you would be doing yourself a disservice by letting your imagination scare you away from this dessert. Yes, it tasted of shiitake. Strongly. But for me, it was amazing how the flavor developed as the gelato melted in my mouth. The taste of the shiitake was subtle at first, and grew stronger as it melted and lingered for a few seconds after it was gone. Truly amazing, and truly delicious. I'm surprised at how well shiitake mushroom becomes a dessert. The chocolate cake brownie thing and frosting like white stuff was good too. But not as memorable as the shiitake gelato. Shiitake.

So, a three month wait. Totally worth it. If you haven't been, go. Make reservations now, even if they're 3-4 months ahead of time. Once the day comes, you'll be excited. Time flies. Just GO.

Do I need a tablet?

Courtesy of phoneArena

Probably not. But do you want one? Yes. Tablets are neat. Here are the things that they're good at:

• Internet browsing
• Using reddit, Facebook, or other social media sites
• Looking at photo albums
• Sharing the following with friends when, you know, you're with them in person:
• Photos
• Youtube videos
• News articles
• Games like Cut the Rope or Angry Birds (much more satisfying on a ~10" screen)
• Reading:
• Magazines
• Kindle/Nook books
• Comics
• Recipes for cooking (just don't cook the tablet)
• READING emails (not the best for writing emails unless you have a real keyboard, but then you might as well just use a laptop)
• Wasting time when you're at work/in front of the TV/bathroom
• Using them when lying down on the couch/bed/hammock (try doing that comfortably with a laptop)
• Battery life
• Size/weight

hit READ MORE to...READ MORE!

What should be your next phone?

A lot of people ask me what type of phone they should buy since I'm the go-to person for this type of stuff. Or maybe it's because I'm the only asian person they talk to so they think I would have good ideas. Either way, it's time for tech-geek post. Sorta took a while for one of these...

Reasons to buy an iPhone