Gift Guide.. better late than never

Christmas is next week and I've been done with my shopping for at least a month but there are a few things that are out of my price range but I just can't get off my mind. The number one non-necessity, fabulous find is the limited edition Dom Perignon Andy Warhol tribute bottles. It comes in three colors with the most beautiful boxes. I'm not sure if I want all three or just a print of these amazing boxes. My entire condo is full of bright pop art so naturally I'm obsessed.

Check out more gorgeous photos and awesome videos at NotCot.com. 

trick or treat.

Happy early Halloween everyone! What are you going to be this weekend? I'm between a few options but my days of buying expensive pre-made costumes are over. My plan is to have two nights of costumes ready to go for under $10. Here is a sneak peek of what I have in mind... 

 Good luck with your costumes and have a great weekend!

Eat at Eatt

Last night after a concert at House of Blues, Steph and I stumbled upon Eatt on Hubbard & State. With an adventurous spirit we decided to try it even though the giant "Come here for Dinner" poster outside wasn't a good sign. Never a good sign when a restaurant is telling you it's open. Inside the decor is fit for a steak house with dim lighting, bow-tied waiters, etc. but the host was friendly (and not noticeably disgusted at our jeans) so we sat down. And we're glad we did. The food was fancier diner food and was very reasonable. Fresh baked pretzel rolls to start were delicious, but our main courses were what really solidified the fact we'd be coming back. I got an ahi tuna sandwich that was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Steph won however... here is a [crappy blackberry] picture of the house specialty - bacon wrapped meatloaf.

Bread topped with mashed potatoes, topped with meatloaf, topped with mushrooms, topped with crispy onions.... it's a lot. It even had a barbecue flavor that was really yummy so clearly we can see why this dish is a hit. Steph will probably be eating it for another two days so I'll report back on microwavability.



Eatt has a bit of an identity crisis which I suspect might be the reason they are hurting for customers. The fancy staff and interior didn't exactly blend well with the diner food and 80's greatest hits playing on the speakers. Once they work out those kinks, I think they will be fine, but the food alone (and the decent prices) make this a great option for good quality food north of the loop. 

Well hello again.

Hi everyone - I'm back!

It's been a crazy five months and I just haven't found the time to write. This summer has been filled with work, trips, 11 weddings, and my favorite of all... I bought a condo! Yep, I'm officially a homeowner and it still feels strange to say that. It was a huge decision but I'm so glad I did it. It's been a wonderful couple months, but I'm officially back in the blogging world. Many posts on my adventures to come, but here are a few photos from my summer vacations...

Visiting my best friends in Austin - and attending my first head-to-toe neon party. (I highly recommend it)

Visiting NYC before a trip north for a gorgeous wedding in Cold Spring

I will never forget the amazing weekends in Des Moines

Two trips to St. Louis to see two of my favorite girls tie the knot!

And finally... I was thrilled to accept a position on the board of Chicago Nautical. Afternoons on Lake Michigan contributed greatly to my amazing summer.

MillerCoors new brew Batch 19 Launches in Chicago

So I've been a horrible blogger the past couple of months.... I have a post-it of places I've been meaning to write about and once the post-it was full, I realized it was time to get back in gear. First things first, I thought I'd share the reason I have been very busy lately:

MillerCoors has launched a new pre-prohibition style lager called Batch 19. After a flood in Coors Brewery in Golden, a log book with recipes dating back to pre-prohibition was found and after a few trial runs, Batch 19 was born. The lager will have a limited release May 3rd in Chicago, San Francisco, San Jose, D.C. and Milwaukee. You can find out more about the beer and where to find it here.

Below are a few pictures from the Batch 19 Launch Party in Chicago. It was held at the Chicago History Museum and was a great party, especially since the beer was so well received! Batch 19 is also on Twitter and Facebook if you'd like to follow the brand.

 

Restaurant Week 2010!

One of my favorite times of year to live in Chicago is Restaurant Week. There are over 160 amazing restaurants participating this year. I came across a helpful article in the Chicago Tribune today that includes some tips for Restaurant Week. Might be good for any first timers:

1. It's not a week. This year's Restaurant Week, the third annual, runs from Friday through Feb. 28, a full 10 days of discount dining.

2. More than 160 restaurants are participating, a nice increase from last year (144) and a big jump from the inaugural Chicago Restaurant Week in 2008, when 35 restaurants signed up.

3. Restaurants are offering three-course lunches for $22 and three-course dinners for $32. That's less than the cost of a single entree at some of these restaurants, such as Il Mulino, NoMI and The Lobby (in the Peninsula Hotel). Those four-course, $43 fondue dinners at Geja's Café are only $32 during Restaurant Week.

4. Participating restaurants served more than 225,000 customers last year.

5. It's so popular that many places sell out. Yes, they do. A colleague of mine is still smarting from last year, when she got shut out of Naha's lunch. You snooze, you lose. And you eat at your desk.

6. Most participants are in Chicago, but there are a few suburban players, including Atwater's in Geneva, Jack Binion's Steakhouse in Hammond and Mon Ami Gabi in Oak Brook.

7. A lot of high-end cuisine is being offered, but I count 22 steakhouses in the mix, and I probably missed a couple. Carmichael's, Ditka's, Harry Caray's, Kinzie Chophouse, Morton's, N9ne, O'Brien's, The Palm, Rosebud Prime, Ruth's Chris, Smith & Wollensky and Wildfire are just some of the names you'll find.

8. Though the site contains the occasional glitch (Brasserie Jo is at 59 W. Hubbard St., not 50), eatitupchicago.com lists all the participating restaurants, lets you view their menus and lets you make instant online reservations.

9. Last year's Restaurant Week ran eight days, but it was such a success that most restaurants agreed to extend the deals for another week. Fingers crossed.

Give the gift of Chicago food!

For Christmas, I received a wonderful gift idea and wanted to share it with everyone. A la card Chicago is a deck of 52 cards each highlighting a restaurant where you will receive $10 off your meal. You can purchase the decks online here or at participating stores and truly the only restriction is that they are only valid in 2010. The best part of all is that this little gem retails for only $30! ($1 per deck is donated to Common Threads) That’s $520 worth of coupons and essentially you only need to go out to eat at least three times this year to make it worthwhile. Not to mention there are so many great restaurants on the list that I’ve wanted to try. This is a perfect gift for anyone - especially for me since this goes perfectly with my NYE resolution to try a new Chicago establishment (bar/restaurant/shop/anything) each week. 52 restaurants in 52 weeks - I think I'm up for the challenge.

Here are the restaurants included in a la card:

2010 RESTAURANTS

BIG JONES
BIRCHWOOD KITCHEN
BISTRO CAMPAGNE
BLUE 13
BONSOIRÉE
THE BRISTOL
CAFE MATOU
CEMITAS PUEBLA
CERES' TABLE
DAVID BURKE'S PRIMEHOUSE
DE CERO
DELEECE
EVE
FIANCO
FLORIOLE
THE GAGE
GEMINI BISTRO
HB HOME BISTRO
HONKY TONK BBQ
HOT CHOCOLATE
HOT DOUG'S
INOVASI
JUICY WINE CO
KARYN'S
KATSU
KIKI'S BISTRO
LE COLONIAL
LULA CAFE
MADO
MANA FOOD BAR
MANNY'S DELI
MEXIQUE
MK
NAHA
NIGHTWOOD
OTOM
PICCOLO SOGNO
RUSTICO GRILL
SALPICÓN
SMOQUE
SOCCA
SOLA
SPACCA NAPOLI
SUSHI WABI
TABLE
TAKASHI
TAXIM
TINY LOUNGE
TIZI MELLOUL
UNCOMMON GROUND
VEERASWAY
VIE

Pass on the Deep Dish

I know, I know.. I seem to be the only person in Chicago who hates deep dish pizza. Hate is a strong word. I'd eat it if I had to, but I live in a city of thousands of more delectable options. That includes many other wonderful pizza options beyond the greasy, two-inch thick slab of cheese. Yuck.

This is a classic example of Chicago-style pizza. It looks like lasagna to me. Unappetizing.

My favorite pizzas always seem to come from Piece Pizzeria. Very dependably delicious and I love the thin crust and fresh toppings. The BBQ Chicken pizza has quickly become one of my go-to options when I just can't bear my kitchen. They also have great salads and supposedly yummy, unique toppings like mashed potatoes. I haven't tried that, but I'm sure if anyone could do it well, Piece could. They also brew their own beer which is great with the pizza, and even better in a take-home growler – complete with a discount on refills.

Piece Pizza - thin and crispy

Next up is Crust Organic Eatery. My roomie Andie and I attended a party there and after we tasted one piece of their Italian sausage pizza, we quickly devised a plan to take turns going through the buffet so we could get the maximum amount possible, without looking like lunatics. It was seriously just that good. I’ve been back a few times and many of the other pizzas are fantastic as well including eggplant/arugula and mushroom/spinach/béchamel/goat cheese. They have a wide variety of organic beers and my personal favorite – homemade infused vodkas. I tried the raspberry-infused vodka and had trouble stopping at one. On a side note, for any naysayers that aren’t into organic or think organic pizza would taste bad, take my word for it and try it for yourself. There is nothing “healthy” tasting about these amazing pizzas.

Crust's outdoor seating and eggplant/arugula pizza.

Tango Sur Round 2: FOLKLORE

I've always been a big fan of Tango Sur - the Argentinean BYOB steak house on Southport Ave. So naturally I’ve been dying to check out their new sister restaurant, Folklore. Located on Division in Wicker Park, it’s walkable to a ton of great bars and depending on the day you can usually find some metered parking or free parking on side streets. Folklore unfortunately is not BYOB but they do have a wide price range of wines. Our first bottle of wine was a $60 Malbec and the next was a $20 Malbec. They were both good. Folklore still has my favorite empanadas – the ham & cheese and spinach ones are to die for. Everyone at the table thoroughly enjoyed their steaks and we all had plenty of leftovers to take home. Folklore is priced very reasonably for the quality and portion size. Great option for groups or a medium-priced date night – I’m happy to have this restaurant so close to home.

Can't miss the light blue sign from Division.

This picture doesn't do it justice. Now that its decorated, the interior is fun and lively. Go see for yourself.

MK has done it again

The owner of MK Chicago (one of my all-time favorite restaurants in the city) has recently opened DMK Burger Bar in Lakeview. DMK Burger Bar has a simple plan... and it works. The menu lists about a dozen inventive burger options and a few sides and fries. The only complicated thing is making your way through the extensive beer list and deciding between all of the delectable burger options. Just pick a burger, a side and you're done. Make sure to come early or late - the dinner crowd is heavy and there isn't very much room to stand around and wait. But despite the wait, DMK is a low-key, reasonably-priced dinner option that is sure to stick around.

TOP 5 New Restaurant of 2009: Mercadito

I was finally able to make my way to newly opened Mercadito. And I'm so glad I did. Despite some initial rumors about the wait time, even with reservations, being ridiculous, I still had heard rave reviews about the food. Especially the drinks and the tacos. Anyone that knows me personally would know that this place pretty much had me at that. I went with two of my favorite ladies and we thought the guacamole and mushroom tostadas were wonderful, but the highlight was definitely the tacos. The tacos are small in sets of four so it's perfect to go with a group and try a bunch of flavors. We tried the skirt steak and shrimp and we have had multiple conversations since wishing we would have had more! The cocktail menu includes your basic kick-ass margarita but really excels in the fun new twists like "Pepino el Pyu" (tequila, cucumber, lemon, cumin salt) and "Smokey Pablo" (tequila, mango, chile morita, blueberry float). Grab a group of friends and try this place soon - you might see me there! Not in Chicago? There are three locations in NYC and one in Miami.

A yummy variety.

Rendering of the Chicago location - you get the idea.

Favorite New Find: Duchamp

Duchamp in Bucktown opened in October 2008 and I am completely upset that I am only now discovering this delicious spot in my own hood. Not to mention, the restaurant was very empty when we were there, so encouraging everyone to stop by so this place can stick around. You won't be disappointed. The menu is eclectic and refreshing – fun takes and interesting combinations. The portions were perfect. Not a fan of giant diner food, but hate what my father lovingly refers to as, “Elf food.” Duchamp nailed it. We started with a cheese tray and the seared sea scallops. I think I’ve eaten more scallops this year than ever in my life and these were near the top. The table loved the ‘Steak & Eggs’ – a grilled skirt steak with bacon/parmesan quiche. The skate wing ‘Fish & Chips’ and Amish chicken with eggplant were both favorites as well. But our group couldn’t get over the simple, yet spectacular dessert. After all the lengthy titles, the menu simple reads ‘Cupcakes and Ice Cream Sandwiches.” Perfectly cooked little chocolate cupcakes and vanilla ice cream between two homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Delightful. All of it.

Dim shot of the interior but you can make out the long, communal tables and lucite chairs. Less is more folks.

Where you can find me once the weather warms up. Seriously, what a deck!

Until then... I'll stick to these.

Signature Room

I attended a holiday party in the Signature Room and wasn't really impressed with the food or drinks. Or the crazy ear popping involved in rapidly going up 95 floors. But none of that mattered when we got to look out at this all night:

Please excuse the glare - the iPhone did it's best. As much as I hate total tourist traps... the view of Mag Mile from there was absolutely amazing. I love Chicago.

New obsession: Scrapblog

With the holidays coming up, I’m always looking for creative gifts for my friends and family. I recently stumbled upon Scrapblog, which allows you to turn your photos into amazing and intricate photobooks and other fun gifts. I’ve always been a scrapbooking nerd and I’m sure you’ve heard of other sites that do this, but Scrapblog has hundreds of different themes, stickers, decals to make the pages your own design. You can also just do a QuickMix option, where Scrapblog automatically populates a selected template with your photos – in less than 5 minutes.

Scrapblog allows you to create and personalize an online scrapbook by combining digital photos with themes, stickers and decorative backgrounds. The site will pull photos from Facebook, Photobucket, Picasa, Flickr among other photo sites. It’s incredibly easy. Once you’re done you can post your online scrapbook for free to Facebook or email it to friends. Or you can opt to purchase an actual book and they are significantly less than other photo book sites. I’m putting one together for my mom for Christmas of the past trips we’ve been on. Seriously, the book I made cost $20 to print/ship!

If you’re like me, you have tons and tons of random photos on your computer that you never look at and a lot of photos other people have tagged you in on Facebook that you’d someday like to have. Scrapblog is free and incredibly easy to make the photos into something worth looking through.

 
To top it all off, Scrapblog is offering 25% off all printing for the holidays! Just enter HOLIDAY25 at checkout.

Addams Family Musical debuts in Chicago

Broadway aficionados: if you’re in Chicago, swing by the Oriental Theatre to check out The newly released “The Addams Family” musical. The musical debuted in Chicago on November 13, 2009 and will run in Chicago until January 10th. The musical will then move to Broadway in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre where the first preview will be March 4th and Opening Night will be April 8th.

To my delight, the show did its best to showcase the quirky family in all its grim glory. The house set is alive with ghosts of ancestors and interesting pets, like one surprising star of the show – their horny pet squid...seriously! Headlined by Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, the cast was incredibly solid and I could hardly believe they were only in their third week. A lot of familiar faces too – for me, I recognized “Fester” from a stint in Heroes, and “Grandma” was the strange aunt in Garden State (the one who makes him a shirt that matches the wallpaper?). I thought the two standouts were Krysta Rodriguez (Wednesday) and Carolee Carmello (Alice Beineke). Both of the women had spectacular voices that would give you chills. But as you can imagine, Nathan Lane stole the show. He stumbled in and out of a Spanish accent (which he did not need) but was so animated and hilarious that with one smirk he had the whole audience laughing.

The music was catchy and the cast was superb, but most of all I enjoyed the way the writer had fun with all the Addams’ Family idiosyncrasies. I’d definitely recommend seeing it while you can!

TONIGHT: bluemercury Holiday Party!

Bluemercury, Chicago's phenomenal one-stop shop for makeup and skincare, is having their annual Holiday Shopping Party TONIGHT, Wednesday December 2nd! Never been to Bluemercury? My first trip was three years ago when I moved here and I've been exclusively going there ever since. They have the best of the best in products and every single employee is literally a wealth of beauty knowledge. An employee even called to ask me if I wanted her to set aside some products if I wasn't able to make it. I adore this place.

They have a wide range of brands including some of my favorites: Fresh, Bobbi Brown, NARS, Trish McEvoy, Kiehl's, Laura Mercier, ReVive, Diptyque candles, GoSMILE, REN... the list could go on forever.

And what better time to stock up on your makeup and beauty regimes than with a great discount. There are different levels of discounts depending on how much you spend. Not to mention FREE samples, snacks and champagne!

Here are the details:

bluemercury Holiday Shopping Party

2208 North Halstead, Chicago, IL 60614
Phone: (773) 327-6900
Wednesday December 2
Time: 4 P.M. - 10 P.M.


Hope to see some of you tonight! Don't live in Chicago? Don't worry, bluemercury is located in twelve states as of now - find a store near you.

Start Living the Luxe Life

Do you have perfectly good clothes, shoes or even vases lying around the house that you aren't using any more? Everyone should be nodding right now. Clean out your closet and fill up your wallet with the newest Chicago-based luxury auctioneer, Luxe Life Auctions. Luxe Life Auctions will sell your goodies for you and you don't even have to lift a finger. Seriously, they will even come and pick your items up for free!

This online auction house is based in Chicago and offers shoppers the opportunity to buy and sell new, vintage and collectible items ranging from coveted designer clothing and accessories to rare books, coins, antique, furs and more. The transactions take place online but the Luxe Life Auctions' Valuation Center, located at 744 North Clark, was designed by Bravo's "Top Design" winner Matt Lorenz. (Check out his amazing design studio!) In the store, you can get information from service associates that will assist with valuation and assessment consultations.

One of two shopping niches you can use to browse online while you're in the store. You can deliver your items in-person or take advantage of the complimentary pick-up service.

My favorite part of this beautiful space: the bathroom! I especially love the framed black and white photos of famous old celebrities.

Luxe Life Auctions Valuation Center is now open in River North at 744 North Clark. Now is as good of time as ever to clean out those closets!

Drinks only at Paramount Room

I've been to Paramount Room for drinks before and loved the inventive cocktails and subdued atmosphere. So naturally when my friend Brian and I were trying to plan a dinner party, we decided it would be a good spot. I was very attracted to the bar because I loved how you walk in to a smaller bar and then once you head downstairs, the room opens up to this huge beautiful space.

As usual the cocktails were killer. The drink menu has been updated since, but I had a Pimm's cinnamon concoction that was dangerously delicious. We waited for a LONG time for appetizers and our waitress politely told us they would be on the house because of the delay. Appetizers were pretty good as far as bar food - skinny fries, homemade chips, tempura green beans. My friends gushed about the mussels. Everything was going great until the entrees came. Everyone in town raves about their famous $9 Kobe Beef Burger ($10 for a Kobe Burger and a Pint every day before 7pm) but I'm sad to report that they just didn't live up to the fame. Now for those of you who know me, I'm not a huge red meat eater anyways, so I polled the table for their opinion. Kobe or not, the burgers were just very average. There weren't many options on the menu, but I inquired about the Mahi Mahi and the waitress agreed it was a good choice. Wow, bad idea. When she set the plate down, I immediately knew what was wrong by the smell. It had turned. And this isn't battered or fried old fish. This was a plain old sautéed fish sitting there looking at me. I took a bite and my suspicions were confirmed. The waitress felt horrible and was very sweet about the whole situation, but come on. It was touted as the "Fresh Fish of the Day" on the menu. Really??

Paramount Room started as a great after work drink spot in my mind, but if their claim to fame burger isn't up to par, and the rest of the menu is so hit or miss, a drink spot it will stay.

On a more positive note, take a look at this place. Not what you'd expect for a basement!

Graham Elliott

This weekend I had a mini family reunion with the women of my family. Everyone came in to Chicago so the pressure was on for me to pick good dining spots. Friday night we went to Hub51 which was dependably delicious, and I chose to go to Frontera Grill on Saturday. To make a very long and painful story short, two of Frontera's hostesses gave me horrible advice to just show up at 6pm for a table. When we did, the wait was three hours. Ten minutes after they opened, the wait was three hours. Okay, so that wasn't that short... anyways... my cousin had suggested Graham Elliot and low and behold they were able to seat the five us right away. They graciously and politely were able to accommodate us on a busy Saturday night. Take notes Frontera - I don't go around town saying you were my favorite restaurant and then come in to see a snotty, rude hostess look at me like I'm from Mars when I ask for a table.

Back to Graham Elliot! Interior was minimal but the organic tones and exposed brick walls paired well with natural decorations of bundled sticks and gourds. First up: cocktails. I'm usually one to experiment and try a few different varieties, but not when I encounter such a perfect cocktail. The "Blueberry Hill" includes Hendrick's gin, blueberry compote and a newcomer for me - creme de violette. I'm always a fan of blueberry, but this was unlike any blueberry concoction I've had before. My cousin Venessa was a big fan of the "London Calling" as well. Now for food. As a preview of the interesting and fun food to follow, GE started off with a bang serving us truffle oil-infused popcorn instead of the usual bread. This popcorn is legitimately addictive. When combined with the martinis, it is just lethal.

Even though I was tempted to do the tasting menu for $75 (NOT a bad deal at all once you taste this amazing food), I declined and ordered the sweet potato bisque. This was not your average soup. The bisque was poured table side over a big marshmallow, chipotle jam and corn nuts. Yep you read that right, corn nuts. The combination of creamy and crunchy was amazing. Next course: I split the scallops and the duck ravioli. The duck ravioli was great, but the scallops were to die for. As perfect as scallops can get in my opinion. But I did have one regret... my cousin Susan ordered the Wisconsin Cheddar Risotto and when it came out with Cheez-its on top, I immediately had to have a bite. Cheez-its? For all you Top Chef fans, it reminded me of the vending machine challenge - looks like snack food can truly be gourmet if you do it right.

And last but certainly not least, dessert. The "Caramel Heirloom Apple" was like a deconstructed apple pie with shortbread cookie, rings of apples, toasted nuts and caramel that combine to make the most delicious bite. I'm actually still thinking about how fresh and sweet that yummy dessert was. Finish it off with another Blueberry Hill and that was quite the delectable meal. I love food that isn't taken too seriously, and not only is Graham Elliot's food amazing, but it's clear he is having as much fun making it as we are eating it.

Cheddar Risotto - complete with Cheez-it garnish.

Taste for Tapas?

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Eivissa, a latin-inspired tapas restaurant in Old Town. I went with a large group of girls from work and so we had set up a tasting menu ahead of time. I'll tell you right off the bat, that is the way to do it. We tasted over 10 of the dishes and even though there were some misses, the majority were very delightful. Here is a quickie guide to their extensive menu...

Avoid:
- Patatas al aioli. The menu says potatoes in a creamy garlic sauce, but it was actually more like mayonnaisey potato salad.
- Chicken meatballs. They aren't on the menu, but if they are on special when you are there, politely avoid that at all costs. The meatballs were so tough and stringy it was hard to even get a knife through. Under seasoned and underwhelming.

Order:
- Paella. We had the vegetarian version, and it was full with chunks of eggplants and peppers - big hit with the whole table.
- Patatas bravas (aka crispy potatoes). Nothing out of the ordinary, but these fry wedges were a solid side dish.
- Croquetas de pollo y jamon. Basically yummy little baked ham and cheese nuggets. Seemed a little like kid food, but hey, everyone loves nuggets.

- Fish meatballs. As I said earlier, all of the meatballs must have been a special or a new addition, but what the chicken meatballs lacked, the fish meatballs hit out of the park. They were incredibly flavorful with giant chunks of fresh fish rolled up into a breadcrumb concoction that thankfully did not have an overwhelming binding agent.

- Datiles en jamondates. Dates wrapped in ham and stuffed with almonds. These were hands down the highlight of the meal for me. Perfectly executed and presented.

Now let's get down to business. Food is overshadowed at Eivissa by a strong and powerfully delicious element: SANGRIA. From the delicate white sangria flavored with Acai to the sinfully delectable red sangria with its notes of vanilla and cinnamon. They were sinfully delicious and some of the most delicious sangria I've ever had in my life. Right next to Second City, so grab your significant other, get a few apps, a glass of sangria... or nine... and have a good laugh.

Not a great pic, but you can see it's spacious and I really liked the birch covered walls.

Couldn't find a veggie pic, but here is the seafood paella.

MAIN ATTRACTION: Red & White wine Sangrias.