Labriola Bakery & Cafe

We had an early appointment in Oak Brook one day, so I used "tastespotting" afterwards, and found Labriola Bakery & Cafe.

It's like Corner Bakery, but bigger and much better. Order, put the number given to you at your table, and the food is brought over to you. They have a pizza oven, gelato selection, dessert cafe, various breads, coffee, lunch/dinner. The place screamed, "GET EXCITED!"

We ordered homemade ricotta gnocchi in creamy tomato sauce (a bit too creamy for me, but pretty good) and eggs benedict. I am not a dessert fan, but I ended up picking up a couple selections to try at home. Everything turned out to be pretty good, and I can't wait to go back!

Labriola Bakery & Cafe

OakBrook Promenade
3021 Butterfield Rd
Oak Brook, IL 60521

(630) 574-2008

www.labriolabakerycafe.com

Volare West

Through iphone's 'tastespotting' app (recent fave), I found Volare, an Italian restaurant in Oak Brook, that seemed promising. Some of the spotted items included "seafood linguine", "raw oysters" -- both of which I wanted, wanted wanted!! They ended up having neither avail. that night, and that wasn't even the worst part of the night.

Our awful experience...

first, the lot was incredibly full. there was even a line for $3 valet (in the suburbs)! We were instructed to park on the side, which made us a little uncomfortable (crossed fingers in hope nobody scraps our car).

We walk in with a 8pm reservation made, but had to wait. While waiting, a couple that came in after us, which one of the managers apparently knew, was greeted and almost brought to a table. The hostess said, "they were here first". 5 minutes later, they were still seated at that table (for 4 ppl), and another young manager came around with 2 chairs in hand, told us "follow me to your table." We were seated in a tight nook, it seemed like they "created" this table for us. He asked whether or not this seat was ok, but I really didn't want to wait any longer for another table.

The busboys/runners came with water & bread immediately, which we appreciated, and hoped that good spirit would continue through the rest of the evening... but no. We waited, and nobody came to take our drink orders nor food orders. To be fair, they were having a busy night. But still... we waited for nearly 20 minutes. I was finally able to make eye contact and wave someone over. He said, "I was just about to check with this waitress whether you are her table or mine, because we had some confusion earlier." okay... He ends up taking our order, which was also awkward. He couldn't list the beers when we asked what was available, they didn't have the oysters, and I had to repeat myself multiple times. When one of our dishes came out, it ended up being wrong (which, he said he pressed the wrong button).

The food was decent. But the experience was so poor, I seriously wanted the food to come out as quickly as possible, so we can just leave. It was the most unpleasant experience I've ever had at a restaurant. We will never ever return.

Volare West

1919 S Meyers Rd
Oak Brook Terrace, IL 60181

(630) 495-0200

www.volarerestaurant.com

Random

I love tofu, and all asian-vegetarian creations, but I was never a fan of western-made soy products. I still remember the disgust when a friend offered me a taste of her block of soy. ew.

But there has been more products lately, probably because of increased environmental and animal rights awareness. I was inspired when I saw a recent Oprah episode on eating veg.

So I purchased a few items recently. One of my surprising fave was this chorizo. Keep in mind, I'm not a huge fan of chorizo, so I don't know how close this is to the real deal. But I just have to say that the texture & seasoning is pretty delicious. Definitely worth a try!

On a different note, Chinese people are very into eating the right food (& combination of food) to improve your health. This usually involves Chinese herbs, dried items that are good for your body. Since this winter has been so cold, my mom prepared three things that's supposed to bring "heat" to your body, warming it up to battle the winter. I didn't take photos of the other two -- Ma Yo Ji (Seasame Oil Chicken) and Yang Rou Lu (Lamb stew) -- actually, I didn't even get to eat the latter (it's hot pot - style). But I did get to enjoy a very delicious Jiang Mu Ya (ginger duck stew). I don't remember having this... it's a cooked duck stew, but you eat it like a hot pot -- the contents of the existing stew AND you add other things in it. The cabbage soaked up the slightly greasy, intensely flavorful broth. It's one of the best things I had all winter.

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

Chizakaya Japanese Pub (Harold's Restaurant)

Restaurant Week @ Chizakaya

$33

1st Course

Chicken meatball with warm egg yolk

Puffed pigs ears

2nd Course

Trio of Skewers

Sweet Sausage, Duck Confit, Shishito Peppers

3rd Course

Kakuni pork belly with egg

Grilled Squid

4th Course

Taro Rice Pudding with coconut

VERDICT: interesting enough for us to return.

Chizakaya

3056 N. Lincoln Ave
(between Southport Ave & Wellington Ave)
Chicago, IL 60657
Neighborhood: Lakeview

(773) 697-4725

www.chizakaya.com

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