Panes Bread Cafe

Oh Panes, how I love you. Since the day our friends told us about your delicious, creative sandwiches, using fresh ingredients and house-made bread... we've been a loyal fan. We no longer live down the street, so it has been years since we've been back. Last night, we admittedly intended on checking out the new hotspot, Fish Bar, so we can compare it with our new-found love, "GT Fish & Oysters". On a Wednesday night, we assumed it wouldn't be crowded. Not only was there a line of people around the walls, we were told it'd be a 75 - 80 minutes wait. wow...I think that breaks the record for me. 75 - 80 minutes???

I've been meaning to go back to Panes, so I wasn't too disappointed. But for some reason, the Bobcat was very hesitant. I insisted, so we ordered 2 sandwich "specials" -- Prosciutto, olive, pesto, red peppers, cheese.. and Chicken, tomatoes, basil, feta. We also ordered a side of tomato basil pasta, appetizer of stuffed mushrooms, and lentil soup.

First came the soup & bread. At first, I thought the soup was okay. Then I started to crave it... and I couldn't stop consuming spoonful after spoonful...it was addictingly good. The bread wasn't warm, but it was good. It reminded us of something we had, it felt like when we were kids, possibly in asia...the bread was sweet with a nice chew. I couldn've eaten baskets more, but that probably wouldn't have been a great idea, considering how much food we ordered. At this point, the Bobcat asked, "You know how sometimes, when you go back to somewhere you used to like, you realize it's no longer that good..." Ah-Ha. He wanted to preserve the great memory of 1237, Lakeview area, Panes... he was afraid it's end up sucking..but it didn't. We were pleased.

The side of pasta & stuffed mushrooms both came with a tomato basil sauce. The sauce was fresh, flavorful, divine. I can drink that sauce. The pasta wasn't al dente enough for me, but that can be overlooked. Mushrooms were fresh & juicy.

The prosciutto sandwich sounded like it would be very salty, and it was certainly salty, but not overbearingly. It was an interesting combination of flavors, nestled between crusty, warmly baked fresh bread. Their bread is really something. If white bread isn't so bad for you, I wouldn't brought home a couple.

The only thing I wasn't as big of a fan of was the chicken sandwich. Maybe I was overly stuffed, I'm not sure. But the feta made the chicken feel mushy when it wasn't.. at least I don't think.

All of this costed us a whopping $27 (including $2 dollars & change that I put into their tip jar). Ridiculously cheap. I can't believe those sandwiches are $5.99.


Panes Bread Cafe
3002 N Sheffield Ave (b/w Nelson & Wellington)
773-665-0972
Mon-Sat 10am-10pm
Sun 9am-9pm
Cash Only

Mizu Yakitori

The Bobcat randomly decided to search through Yelp for Japanese restaurants several weeks ago, and Mizu Yakitori was one of the few he found & wanted to check out. I actually preferred trying Wasabi first (the other place he found), but this was closer to the bar we were supposed to stop by afterwards.

The space was pretty big -- the entrance leads to a room with sushi bar on one side, and tables on the left (completely empty on a Saturday night). The hostess/waitress lead us to another room where 5-6 out of 12 or so tables were filled. When she lead us to the 2-top tables by the windows, I asked if we can be seated in the half-booths (away from the windows) instead. She said they needed to save those tables for groups of 4. It was 8:30pm, I really doubt all of these empty tables would suddently get filled. Plus, I saw groups of 2 guests seated at those tables (which is why I even asked in the first place). But I didn't want to throw a fit.

Our waiter came around (nice guy) to take our orders. Their main dishes are a list of grilled skewers & sushi rolls, but they also had apps & a "specials" menu. In opposite order:

chicken soft bones skewers -- chewy, crunchy, delicious
grilled whole squid - probably a little too much for us by this time, but it was good.

from "specials" - toro (fatty tuna belly) and fatty salmon belly. $6/piece and $10/piece. Kinda pricy, but we really wanted to try the fatty salmon, since I don't think we've ever had it. Both were soft, fatty, creamy, delicious. It was a big slice of fish on top of a small ball of rice (just the way we liked it).
We always get gyutongue (beef tongue) if we see it on the menu. This was a bit more tender, less chewy. Reminds me more of a lean slice of steak than tongue. A little on the saltier side but good.
We ordered duck & japanese negi (green onions/leeks), dark chicken, chicken skin, chicken gizzard. They serve the skewers with 3 dipping sauces (if you want to use it) -- ponzu, tare, mustard. They also offer homemade soy sauce.

As much as I wanted to use the sauce, I was quite satisfied with eating these skewers as is. They've already been seasoned with salt & we like the squeeze of lemon.
"specials" - giant sea scallops in a buttery lemon sauce. We actually liked the little chewier muscles of the clam on the side, rather than the actual scallop, but it was good.
Thought we'd try the alcohol-free Kirin beer (I believe this is the first time I saw it offered at a restaurant in states). It actually tasted pretty good. I like having beer (or in this case, "pretend-beer") with yakitori. For some weird reason, I started to feel like I'm slightly buzzed after I finished this beer, even though I obviously shouldn't...
hirame (flounder) carpaccio was pretty good. Thick slices of sashimi.

Ankimo (monkfish liver) was like a leaner version of foie gras. We liked it served with ponzu soy & radish. I had this several times at different restaurants. I feel like they're either excellent or very meh. This turned out to be on the 'excellent' side of the spectrum.Our waiter was really nice, attentive, informative, diligent. The only thing I was annoyed with was not being able to be seated where we wanted to be... I was FREEZING my ass off. And of course, BARELY any more additional guests walked through those doors after us, so there were plenty of half-booth seats available. I'm not sure why she had to be stingy about it.

We're excited that the Bobcat found this place, and will definitely be back!

Mizu Yakitori Sushi Bar & Sake Lounge
315 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614
312-951-8880

GT Fish & Oysters

GT Fish & Oysters is the new project by Boka Restaurant Group (Rob Katz, Kevin Boehm, Giuseppe Tentori (CHEF). They also opened Boka, Landmark, Perennial Virant, and last year's hottest restaurant -- Girl & the Goat). Like most of Chicago, we enjoyed G&G, and was excited to find out their newest venture is seafood (esp. raw oysters)! As much as I hate to fight the crowd, I was too ecstatic to wait. As soon as the phone lines opened, I wanted to book a reservation.

The decor is described as a Cape Cod fish house, but fancier. Large boomerang shaped table created by Boka Group's design team, 555 International and a surfboard company; chalk paintings with interesting lines; Japanese buoy-like glass ball hanging, held by a thick black rope, stuffed tarpon, etc. The exterior is supposed to give the restaurant a New England cottage feel. (note: descriptions found on various web sites)

In opposite order...

Cheesecake with huckle berries & graham cracker-like crumbs: We loved the fluffy texture -- something in between tofu & whipped cream. It was the most interesting, delicious cheesecake we've ever had -- closer to european/japanese pastries than american's dense desserts. We liked that the crumbs weren't attached, so you had the option of eating the cheesecake with or without them (difference is sweetness). This is the perfect type of dessert for us. We enjoyed it with tea (decent, pretty in a see-thru pot) & coffee (ok).

Grilled Mahi Taco - achiote, torreados, smoked crema: The fish was tender & perfectly cooked, with a nice flavor, but standing against so much tortilla -- we felt like the flavor was lost. Either the fish & condiments need to be more pungent, or the tortilla needs to be smaller? Either way, this is not an exciting dish that I'd order again.
Sunfish ceviche - chimichurri, jicama, avocado, radish: It was good ceviche, but I'm not sure what all of the rave is about. It's not something I'd be excited to re-order.
Clam Chowder - Nueske's bacon, house-made oyster crackers: now this was amazing -- a lighter, more brothy version of typical clam chowder, filled with clams, and along with crackers, added various textures to the intense seafood flavor. I've never been a huge fan of clam chowder, but the Bobcat apparently is. He said this is the best clam chowder he has ever had, and he'd be excited to order this again.
Lobster Roll - lobster salad, toasted roll, fried onions: I don't think I've ever had lobster roll, but I've always been excited about the idea of it. I'm afraid this might've set my bar too high, because it was incredible. I'm not sure what I loved more -- fresh lobsters slightly enhanced with a light dressing & veggies...or the toasted, buttery, incredible bread... or the combination of the two. The side of fried onions is also delicious, but I thought adding it to the roll took too much away from the lobster. If there's a lobster roll eating contest, I'd love to put down 5 of these in one sitting.
Fresh Oysters offered the day we were there...
We started with 6, but ended with 12. These were incredibly fresh & delicious oysters -- arguably best we've ever had. Better than what we had at Dominican Republic (STRAIGHT from the ocean), in Baltimore (right next to the port), in Maui, etc. INCREDIBLE.

As described on many sites, the service was extremely attentive, informative, friendly. Waiters are teamed with food servers, water pourers, etc. But everyone was informative. The only time we had to wait was the additional order of oysters, and getting our coffee/tea. We should've clarified that we wanted coffee/tea with our dessert. Instead, dessert came first, so it was just sitting there while we waited (possibly losing a lil bit of deliciousness). It ended up being because they had to brew a fresh pot of coffee for us, so it wasn't their fault at all.

Even though this was obviously a hot restaurant that people were waiting for, I didn't feel like they were rushing us at all. They wanted us to enjoy a great dining experience, which we really did.

I'm so glad I snagged another reservation in a few months, because this place deserves regular visits. LOVE!

GT Fish & Oyster
531 N. Wells, Chicago, IL

Hing Kee

The BOB and I made it our mission to try out as many restaurants in Chinatown as possible. We chose Hing Kee because of the noodles-pulling guy that can be seen through the big glass window. Smart advertisement.

It wasn't until I browsed online (afterwards) that I realized it's one of those all asian-chinese restaurants (food includes chinese, thai, korean, japanese, etc etc.) I always feel like the lack of focus equates to zero authenticity.

Regardless, I'm happy to see a fresh-noodles making place. My husband got the ramen noodles, I got the knife-shaved chunky noodles. Both the noodles & soup based turned out to be ok. It's worth trying again (and this time, I'll probably tell them to cook it a little less, since I LOVE chewy noodles).

Our waiter also recommended their salt/pepper egg tofu. A bit too heavy for the two of us, but it's decent.

Hing Kee Phohung Restaurant

2140 S Archer Ave
(between Wentworth Ave & 21st St)
Chicago, IL 60616
Neighborhood: Chinatown

(312) 808-9538

www.chinatownhingkee.com

Tao Ran Ju

There are so many Chinese restaurants in U.S. that without "connection" and/or an eye for finding trustworthy blogs/reviews, one highly risk wasting money and calories on a bad meal.

Tao Ran Ju was first recommended by our friend G, who heard about the place from his dad. Supposedly (it should be true, since it's written in newspapers), the owner hired a chef from

Ding Tai Fung, the restaurant that made "xiao long bao" (soupy dumpling) extremely desirable / popular, and continues to make one of the best "xiao long bao" EVER. During our trip to Taiwan winter of 2010, I had the pleasure of eating there again. It was so good, it's stupid that they don't have a location here. so stupid.

Back to Tao Ran Ju... we were excited to find a few options of various dumplings avail. Results: tasty filling (tho a bit dry at times), soupy, but the skin is not thin nor chewy. It does not compare to the "real" xiao long bao. BUT it will have to do, since Chicago completely lacks in this (and many, many other Chinese & Taiwanese foods).

We also felt like having some soup, so we ordered their seafood vegetable soup. It wasn't bad. I liked their choice of vegetables, good ingredients, and milky broth. But it's not so amazing that I'd go back to order the same dish.

The waitress claims that their grilled meat / hot pot dish is really good. I also heard that their beef rolls are good. This place is definitely worth visiting again.

As a side note, shockingly, their service was really good. Very attentive, nice... unlike typical Chinatown spots. Space is also clean & bright.

Tao Ran Ju

2002 S Wentworth

(between Cullerton St & Archer Ave)

Chicago, IL 60616

(312) 808-1111

BOKA (Chicago Restaurant Week)

I don't even remember what I previously read about Boka, but I've always wanted to try it. I thought Restaurant Week is a great way to check it out.

A bit of info from their web site:

Progressive American cuisine

Executive Chef/Partner: Giuseppe Tentori - grew up helping out on his grandmother's farm in a small town outside of Milan. Along with an emphasis on local farmers and seasonal ingredients, innovative pairings have become his trademark.

Pastry Chef: Kady Yon - born in Hong Kong, native of McHenry, Illinois. website: "Deriving inspiration from both nature and art, Yon masterfully crafts desserts based on each ingredient's characteristic and loves the unpredictability one batch of product has from the next."

Both chefs worked at Charlie Trotter's.

Ben Schiller: Mixologist - his signature style: progressive and seasonal twists on classic favorites with house-made ingredients. His mission is to have a more personal relationship with the origins of the products behind his bar.

$33 Menu

I've never seen a Mixologist profile on a restaurant's web site in the past, so I was intrigued, and wanted to try their mixed drinks. Our waiter said they stored Manhattan in a barrel for 1 year (I think?) and recently cracked it open, so we definitely wanted to give this a try:

I thought it was smooth & delicious.

Our waiter recommended this for me, which was also flavorful & delicious (I told him that I don't want something too sweet):

Clean Break - Genever, Pimm's No. 1, Cucumber, Lemon, Orange oil

Foccacia served warm (someone walks around to serve 2 pieces/ person via bread basket - they do come around to ask if you want more)

warm, buttery, delcious.

We ordered 1 fresh oyster each ($3/piece?) It was fresh, but not memorable.

First Course:

Maine Diver Scallop, Broccoli Sauce, Sweet and Sour Onions

Scallop was cooked nicely, but this dish wasn't interesting at all.

Crispy Amish Chicken Thigh, Yukon Gold Potatoe Puree, Pickled Celery Root

We liked both the crispy, moist chicken & potatoe puree.

Second Course:

Whitefish, Prawn Brandade, Grilled Fennel

note (from wiki): Brandade is an emulsion of salt cod and olive oil eaten in winter with bread or potatoes. The word brandada is the Catalan and Occitan word for the past participle of the verbbrandar, meaningto beat in oscillations and having a very strong sexual connotation.

Braised Pork Belly, Fried Oyster, Baby Bok Choy, Green Tea Soba Noodle

Both entrees were just alright. Neither were exceptional, memorable, note worthy.

The best part of this meal was surprisingly the dessert (typically my least favorite part of a meal):

Ginger Kulfi, Marshmallow, Espresso, Tangerine, Chocolate

note (from wiki): Kulfi or Qulfi (Hindi-Urdu: क़ुल्फ़ी or قلفی) is a popular frozen milk-based dessert from India and Pakistan. It has similarities to ice cream (as popularly understood) in appearance and taste, but is denser and creamier.Due to its density, kulfi takes a longer time to melt than Western ice-cream.

guy seated at the table next to us was amazed by how intensely flavorful the kulfi was.. he asked whether or not sugar was added, and it wasn't. really was pretty good.

BOKA

1729 N Halsted St
1729 N. Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60614-5537
(312) 337-6070

www.bokachicago.com

Chi Cafe

I have yet to find a late-night Chinatown destination. We've tried a couple of places, but nothing made us want to go back for more. Chi Cafe is no different, but my mom's friend once recommended it. Plus, a random Chinese blog said to order from their "house specials". So I did.

The hubby didn't want to follow my suggestion, so he went with this:

Baby Clam with black bean sauce $9.95

These clams were huge, and the flavors were pretty darn good. We completely cleared the plate!

From the "house special", I chose:

Chives & Bean Curd with Cuttle Fish Roll $8.95
A little salty, but flavorful, with a nice crunch from the fresh chives. We liked it!

I think the problem was, we always chose from their soup noodles, or soup...because it's soothing to drink soup before going to bed, AND it seemed like it'd be less calories (who knows). But apparently, their other dishes are bigger standouts.

The Chinese blog also recommended their desserts, smoked duck, shredded chicken, etc. (菜单里“大江南北巧手小菜”一列的菜式都颇为可口，茶餐厅小吃与各式甜点也不错。熏鸭，手撕鸡，韭黄虾仁滑蛋，牛腩蒸肠粉，芒果西米露)

We may need to revisit again the next time we're out...

Chi Cafe 旺角小廚

2160-A S Archer Ave
Chicago, IL 60616
Neighborhood: Chinatown

(312) 842-9993

www.ChiCafeOnline.com

Cocoro

We loved this place! SOO glad we found a restaurant closer to our hood (in the city). They had a free appetizer offer (anything on the menu) if we ordered shabu shabu or sukiyaki. We usually eat shabu shabu at home, because it's so easy to make. But we had a spectacular experience during our visit to Japan last year, so we kind of wanted to relive that moment (even though we knew this restaurant wouldn't be able to deliver the same). For apps, we chose their scallop sashimi (flown from hokkaido), and set of 5 shio yakitori skewers.

They also had hot sake special & $5 drinks special, so we indulged in both.

Scallop Sashimi from Hokkaido Japan $15.50

Japanese style broiled skewered set (5 skewers) - came with 3 chicken thigh, 2 chicken skin. They also have asparagus/bacon skewers and others, but we just left it up to the chef. The chicken thigh was tender & juicy with good salt flavor. Chicken skin was indulgently chewy & crisp.

Shabu-Shabu (selected rib-eye beef and vegetables to be lightly boiled in a pot by yourself, served with salad, rice and dessert) $56 for two people

Our waiter forgot to bring salad, but we weren't too hungry so we didn't ask for it. The sweet owner / lady came by to show us how the shabu shabu should be done (vegetables first because they cook longer). The beef was flavorful, delicious dipped into sesame sauce/ponzu & eaten over rice. Vegetables were all fresh.

I'm not sure whether or not you can choose off of the dessert menu, but I chose the green tea ice cream, and my husband got the homemade chocolates. She ended up bringing more out for us because we said it was delicious. She said the chef melts meiji chocolate & mixes it with other ingredients to achieve a creamy center that wasn't too sweet.

Hot Sake $7/bottle (originally $8)

Lemon Chu Hai $5 (originally $9.75)

Martini $5 (originally $7.50)

Saketini $5 (originally $8.50)

Apple Martini $5 (originally $8.50)

Cocoro

668 North Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60654-3717
(312) 943-2220

cocorosushi.com