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.

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.

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!

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.

Better late than never...

I know I've only lived in Chicago for (almost) three years, but there are still so many staples that I have yet to discover. Finally able to cross one off this weekend.

Mon Ami Gabi is located in the historic Belden Stratford hotel and has established a very solid reputation around the city. I literally asked two of my favorite foodie gals and they both separately said Mon Ami Gabi was their favorite place in the city. So naturally when it came around for me to plan a date night, I knew I had to do it.

Things at Mon Ami Gabi did not start off so good. First of all, the room was very, very small and they were artfully squeezing as many people in as possible. Next, we arrived at 7:58 for our 8pm reservation and the hostess asked us if we would wait for a bit because our table won't be ready until "closer to 8." So like I suspected, the second we stepped out of the restaurant, they came looking for us. Last but not least, the place was so tightly packed that they had to move out the table for me to scoot in. Once I was sitting the waiter than signaled for Rob to scoot in next to me. When there is a perfectly good chair on the other side. Okay, okay, sorry to offend anyone, but am I the only one who still wants to be able to look her date in the eye during a meal? I constantly make fun of people who eat next to each other and hardly even eat, they just feed bites to each other, make out the entire time and make everyone around them lose their appetite. Sorry, but save the romance for after dinner. Thank you. So now here I am, elbow to elbow with my date. Ugh.

Now on to better news: the food was amazing. House wine was inexpensive and surprisingly good. Escargot was great. Rob's peppercorn steak was amazing, and topped only by the giant heaving pile of yummy steak frites. NOTE: I ate the frites all by myself - he did NOT feed them to me. Even though it probably would have been easier since he kept elbowing me throughout the meal. Anyways... I had ahi tuna that was served with heavenly potatoes and spinach. For dessert we picked a trio of ice cream stuffed profiteroles. Looked and tasted great, but so difficult to cut and eat that when we were finished you would have thought we tied our hands behind our back and went to town.

It's tough for me to call this an absolute win because most of these kinks I'd expect out of a newer restaurant. But despite a couple initial strikes against it, Mon Ami saved itself in the end with delicious food.

The Belden-Stratford Hotel houses Mon Ami Gabi as well as fellow Lettuce Entertain You restaurant L20. Going to have to wait for quite the special occasion before trying that one out!