Burgers Go Gourmet on Armitage

Okay, so I fibbed...I didn't get my posts done when I said I would.  Forgive me?  This post is worth reading, I promise!

There's a fairly new burger shop down on Armitage in Lincoln Park that's garnering all sorts of attention from food bloggers and magazines (hello, Men's Health Manliest Burger Place in America!).  Let me take you to Butcher and the Burger.

It's on the corner of Armitage and Kenmore, and it's not a big space.  I have to be honest.  But it is so cool.  So cool.

Here's how it works:

1. Pick your meat blend (I know! Amazing! They have beef, turkey, and if I remember correctly, some gamey stuff like elk and bison.)
2. Pick your seasoning blend (You get to choose?!?)
3. Pick your bun (Pretzel! Split-top egg! Just lettuce! Just lettuce? Why on earth would I want to do that when they have pretzel buns??)
4. Pick your cheese (Read carefully: They do not charge you extra for getting blue cheese or goat cheese as opposed to, say, a nice cheddar. To the person that came up with this idea: High five. And you deserve a hug...or a medal.)
5. Pick your other toppings (Extra charge for certain stuff, but the griddled mushrooms I had were well worth it.)
6. Sit down and wait for them to call your name.
7. Receive your Hulk-sized burger, served on a wooden cutting board (If you like it, you can buy one!)
8. Drool (Hey, watch it, you...you're just embarrassing yourself.)
9. Eat.  Don't hesitate, just get in there. Though you may need a steak knife to make that burger cooperate (Let it know who's boss!)

Here's the Amateur Foodie's order:

AF's burger...so very delicious!

Prime blend, simple seasoning (Salt & pepper only), pretzel bun, blue cheese, griddled mushrooms.  The only thing that might have improved on this slightly would've been some steak sauce.  But that's just me...

My mom got the steakhouse seasoning, and it was also delicious, probably a little more delicious than my S&P burger...but I did that for a reason.  I wanted to see if I loved the burger without frills (okay, blue cheese and mushrooms are frills...gimme a break!).  And I did.  The meat was good enough to stand alone, without any garlic-powder-paprika-über-flavorful accoutrements.  But I'm getting the steakhouse seasoning next time.

My mom, dad, and I ordered a large fry to split between the three of us...

Oh my lord, there were so many fries!

This picture does the fries and truffle mayo no justice.  It was a mountain. A delicious fried mountain.

Unless you're planning on splitting the fries between eight or so people, you probably don't need to order a large.  But hey, I'm not judging.  They're golden and crispy, not over-salted, not too greasy.  They're seasoned perfectly for going with some sort of condiment...

We ordered a very, very special condiment for our fries: truffle mayo.  Now, usually I'm not a big mayonnaise person.  And mayo with fries?  Eh.  But this?  Oh, was it good...Savory and complex, creamy and yet not too heavy.  At least it didn't seem heavy.  Plus it has truffle in it.  Tell me you can say no to that, I dare you.

Nothing like dipping your deep-fat-fried 'tater sticks in a bowl of more fatty deliciousness...Just be judicious.  Eat the mayo in moderation.  But please eat it at least once, I beg of you.

Coca-Cola de México

And to cap off my calorie-bomb meal (my own doing...felt like I had to go to the gym afterwards, but quite frankly, I was too full to move), I had a bottle of Mexican Coca-Cola, the kind made with sugarcane that comes in a snazzy glass bottle.  You'd think that since it's made with real sugarcane it would be super sweet, but it isn't.  It's refreshing, plus it doesn't make your teeth feel like they're rotting.  It isn't easy to find at restaurants, and Butcher and the Burger seems like the perfect spot to enjoy it.

The whole place feels like a throwback, with lots of butcher-block counter tops, industrial-feeling hardware on the stools that cleverly fold under the long counter, and boxes of beignet mix on old-looking shelves throughout the dining space.  I couldn't possibly have seen all the cool little touches inside the restaurant.  My mom pointed out an old clock waaay up high, near the ceiling.  I should've snapped a photo...I think it was from an airport?

Expect to pay a little extra for your burger than you would at, say, a SmashBurger or a Five Guys.  There's a reason for that.  Custom-blended meat, old-fashioned style, and the ability to customize to your own specifications, maybe more than at any other Build-a-Burger joint in existence today.

~AF

(**Look for my post about Rick Bayless's torta shop, Xoco, over the next few days...and don't forget to look for your favorite foodie on Twitter! @KaitlynKesler1**)

Okay, Kiddies...Still to Come: Premium Burgers and Drowned Sandwiches!

It's too late for me to put up a full post about my food adventures right now...I need to go to bed.  Suffice it to say, though, I ate well on Friday and Saturday.

Upcoming:

• Butcher and the Burger: A Lincoln Park build-a-burger joint with rockin' fries and truffle mayo!
• Xoco: Rick Bayless fails to disappoint yet again with a carnitas torta swimming in spicy arbol sauce...plus my first experience drinking horchata. 
• Garrett popcorn! That is all.

Get ready, guys!  You'll hear all about it.  Hopefully I'll have time during my lunch break tomorrow, but if not, you'll see my reviews (and photos!) by tomorrow night (10 pm, CST).

Peace, Love, and Buen provecho!

~AF

Making the Most of the Salad Bar

So, college food is not great.  Correction, it is downright awful.  But there are often a few gleaming rays of hope within that sea of greasy pizza slices and overcooked pasta (a travesty...but I'll rant about that another time).  Case in point, the salad bar.

At my school, the salad bar is quite excellent.  There's a great variety of stuff that you can load up on, and this could either be a nutritional dream or a calorie-loaded nightmare.

I don't purport to be some sort of nutritionist.  I'm studying journalism, for crying out loud! But I do know, more or less, what is healthy and what most certainly is not.

As a rule, I try to get about four different colors on my plate.  Yes, colors.  I'll generally go with the Mesclun greens.  Why?  The Romaine is boring, and the spinach is a little on the bitter side for me.  Just with that, I've already got some green and purple foods.  I add on green peas and edamame (apparently I like green stuff...that's good, right?).  I also toss in a scoop of high-fiber, high-protein garbanzo beans (chickpeas).  I also have really come to like beets on my salad.  At our school's salad bar, the beets are served as slices.  Depending on how big the slices are, I'll go with three or four.

Carrots are my next addition.  My aunt would cringe; she doesn't like them.  But I do, and they're all loaded with beta carotene and vitamins and stuff.  Then comes the fun part: the little additive things.  I try to limit this, because this is the area where you can usually find the most unnecessary calories.

I always sprinkle some sunflower seeds on my lettuce.  These are fairly benign as long as they aren't salted.  I don't think they are at my school.  They're chock-full of healthy fats.  Today I added in a scoop of dried cranberries.  And I may continue to do that.  It was pretty tasty.

My dressing of choice is balsamic vinaigrette.  It is fairly neutral, in that it goes with pretty much all the stuff I add in.

I've started venturing out on a limb a bit.  Today, there was a cold salad of roasted potatoes, roasted red peppers and basil.  And another day I decided I would add some button mushrooms (apparently there were tasty roasted ones, but I opted for the raw sliced version...clearly an oversight).  But with a nutrition-dense core blend of vegetation, a little bit of potato salad won't hurt me at all.

Dr. Oz and many others have said that the key to healthy eating is to eat the rainbow...let's see how we've done: Green (lettuce, peas, edamame), Purple (lettuce), Red (beets, cranberries), Orange (carrots), and Tan (chickpeas).  I'd say a job well done.

~AF

AF's Basic Salad Bar Blend (all measurements are approximate):

1 c. Mesclun greens

1/4 c. green peas

1/4 c. raw edamame (soybeans)

1/4 c. chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1/4 c. shredded carrots

3 or 4 beet slices, depending on size

1 Tsp. roasted sunflower seeds

1 Tsp. dried cranberries

1 or 2 Tsp. balsamic vinaigrette

A Return to the 'Burbs...But Just For a Moment!

Darlings, the Foodie has a plan...subsist during the week on salad bar creations and soup (plus the requisite latté, of course) so that, when given the chance, she can indulge in things far more delicious than she could ever encounter in the school cafeteria.

On a trip home this past weekend (joy of joys!), I was lucky enough to be able to go to my absolute favorite restaurant...my favorite Italian restaurant, that is...we mustn't play favorites.  Never know who's reading, now do we?

Anyways!  Off to Antico!  The risotto of the day was an obvious seasonal nod, featuring sweet corn (glory be!), along with pork tenderloin, caramelized onions, and a splash of aged balsamic.

Risotto, in my opinion, is one of the many dishes that just make your eyes roll back in your head.  It is that good.  The texture, the flavor...all that cheese!  And this risotto was no exception, by any means.  Velvety and creamy, rich, smooth and yet a bit toothsome.  It was awesome.  And it was only made better by the fact that the corn was just shaved off the cob and tossed in at the last minute.

Now, you may be thinking, 'Raw corn! Oh, but Foodie, that isn't right!'

It is so right.  Especially when the corn is this fresh.  It is sweet without even needing to be cooked.  And by not boiling the stuff to oblivion, there remains a wonderfully contrasting texture, a slight crunch, that lightens up the risotto in a way (unfortunately, it didn't make it seem light enough for me to indulge in a mini dessert...shame, really...).

And now, regrettably, I must offer some notes of criticism to my beloved Antico Posto.

The tenderloin...was not tender.  I've had tenderloin there before that was served with a heavy-duty serrated steak knife alongside, but which would only have required a butter knife.  This time, all I had to work with was an excessively dull butter knife, and a piece of pork that simply refused to disassemble.

The pork wasn't really dry...but it wasn't as luscious as I've had it.  Perhaps someone turned away from it at the critical moment, and it was left to seize up a bit before placed atop my dish.  Whatever the reason, although I found the flavor of the meat to be delightful (what wonders a splash of the balsamic will do!), I could have gone without it entirely.

And I must add also that the caramelized onions could have gone a bit longer.  They were caramelized and sweet, but they lacked a certain velvety spreadability that I have come to appreciate in a cooked onion.  Their residual strength of structure made it rather difficult to evenly disperse the stuff throughout my rice.  I would have liked if it had fallen apart.  All the more flavor to spread around.

But I can hardly complain much more than that.  The closest thing I've had to Italian food on campus was at a Build-Your-Own-Pasta station.  I was met with overcooked, under-drained farfalle sauced with a lackluster and undersalted marinara.  My flavor combinations would have been glorious had they taken some Pasta 101 classes from the cooking school.  And the garlic bread looked like it had toasted breadcrumbs on it...how redundant!

Look for my next post: Building the Best Salad Plate!

Peace, Love, and (Hopefully) Antico to You All!

~AF

The End of Great Food Recommendations? Certainly Not!

It isn't the end, readers!  The Foodie has found herself dropped into the middle of a veritable Mecca of tasty cuisine.  And our first stop on this culinary journey is the beautiful country of Spain for (you guessed) tapas!

I feel like I'm cheating on Meson Sabika with a sleeker, hipper restaurant.  And I guess in a way I am.  But Naperville is just too far away for me right now!

So there's this place in Lincoln Park, down on Halsted...you may have heard of it.  Or maybe the name just reminds you of a Ricky Ricardo catchphrase.  Of course, I'm referring to Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba.  No, I'm not joking...that's the name of the place.

Anyway, it's a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant, so if you get points...more power to you.  The decor is old-fashioned and cool.  Think a blend of wood paneling, exposed brick and murals, toss in some rockin'-looking Iberico hams (love!) hanging from the ceiling above the bar (not joking...they have hooves on them and they're imported and awesome), and you've got one heck of a spot.

The gorgeous bar is a main feature when you walk in, framed up nicely by the long row of windows to your right when you walk in.  The bartender has a really snazzy mustache (this must be a big trend, because Bayless's bartender has some wacky facial hair too).  And according to my parents and my aunt, their sangrias (both traditional red and seasonal white peach) were tasty.  Not that I'd have any clue.

Anyways...

We went to town trying their tapas, even ordering some dishes that we consider our mainstays at Meson Sabika (just for comparison).

I'm going to make this a photo review!  Something shiny and new!  Read the captions, dearies...

~AF

(For the record, I do still adore Meson Sabika.  It is my first love when it comes to tapas.  And I like it just a little bit better.  But this is an awesome place too.  Nothing scathing on this page, that's for sure.)

Okay.  Clockwise from top: sangria (looked pretty); bread (heartier than Meson...but tastier in a way because it was served with olive oil, not butter!); aceitunes (marinated olives, more of a mix than Meson...I like the variety of it, but the flavor at Meson was far superior. But you should still order them); datiles con tocino (loves, they are so good! Crispy bacon, melt-in-your-mouth dates, dressed in an apple vinaigrette and served with little apple chunks.  There's bacon. Can't go wrong.).

Queso de cabra al horno: Baked goat cheese in a tomato-basil sauce.  Almost as good as Meson.  Missed it by that much.  Sorry, the first was the better in this case.

Meatballs in sherry tomato sauce: They were tender to the point of being crumbly.  And the sauce seemed a little flat to me.  Sorry, but I just wasn't digging it.

Oh. My. Goodness.  That is a plate of sweet potatoes with pomegranate aioli.  Order it.  Order it now.  It is that good.  I could have just eaten the aioli with a spoon.  If only they'd given us more of it...

Skewer of chicken and Spanish chorizo: Not what I would have ordered.  It was my sister's idea, and it was a good way for her to branch out a little.  There's not much that could mess up good chicken and good sausage.  If you're not adventurous enough for pomegranate aioli, this is the route to take.  It's good, just not bold enough for my liking.

Well, she ain't pretty...These are sherry-glazed pork ribs.  And they're good.  Thing is, there's a lot of sherry glaze going on on the plate.  If you like barbecue ribs, you'll probably like this.  It seemed a little more South Carolina than south of Spain.  But it was tasty.

Ask them to bring you a spoon with this item.  This, my friends, is a slow-braised beef shortrib.  And you can cut it with a spoon.  Try it.  It comes with velvety mashed potatoes, and if you're smart you'll have it brought out early, before you've filled up on hearty bread and goat cheese.  I just wish I'd had room for it.  Because it was good...

Pincho de Solomillo: It's so simple.  And simple dishes are where you can tell if a restaurant is doing things right.  Ba-Ba-Reeba sure is.  This was just as tasty as the pincho from Meson, and I may have even liked this horseradish cream a little better.  Just meat and a grill.  And they made it taste good.  This is how you do it.  But I still love my Meson Sabika.

The Mac Daddy: Homemade Baked Mac 'n' Cheese

Nothing much to it, lovies!  You just need a handful of ingredients, and you too can make tasty pasta!

I made this for my sister's birthday, and everybody loved it!  (A success, I tell you!)

Basic Baked Mac:

Melt some butter in a saucepan.  When it begins to foam, add a quantity of flour equal to the amount of butter you added (1 tablespoon of butter to one tablespoon of flour, etc., based on how much sauce you're making).

Now whisk, whisk, whisk!  Don't let it burn!  The flour needs to cook out a little.  After a few minutes over medium heat, begin to whisk in some milk (nothing lower in fat than 2%. Skim milk screws this up).  Keep whisking!  Don't want any lumps in that béchamel.

Add in a dash of nutmeg (that flavor that'll make you wonder why it tastes so good) and a dash of dry mustard (it lends depth of flavor).

Now add in your cheese.  I may have erred in using a sharp aged cheddar.  Tasty, for sure, but it didn't melt nicely!  You really need a Gruyére or other melting cheese.  Whisk it in and check to see if you need salt.  Depends on the cheese you use.

Pour the sauce over your pasta (macaroni is good, cavatappi is better!  Part macaroni, part corkscrew pasta, all good when it comes to cheese sauces).  Mix well so every noodle has sauce on it, then pour it all into a greased casserole dish.  Top it off with a mix of sharp cheddar (a must in this case), grated parmesan (for nuttiness), and breadcrumbs (I like Italian-seasoned, but Panko works well too).

Pop the whole concoction into the oven at 375 F and let it bake away until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden and crispy.  I made my macaroni in a 9"x9" glass casserole and popped it into the toaster oven.  Being that the top was close to the heating element, the topping crisped quickly, so I really can't tell you how long yours will take in a real oven.

Adjust the recipe to your taste, just like I always say (I like changing up the cheeses and adding meats like sausage or ham).

Bon Apetít!

~AF

C is for Cookies! Gamboling About in Lincoln Park with the Foodie

Ah, dearies, I've neglected you yet again.  And this evening I am loath to say that I will publish my final two posts from the comfort of my home.  Any posts from here on out will (more likely than not) be sent out from my...dorm room.  I know.  You don't want to hear about the cafeteria food.  And quite frankly, I don't want to tell you about it.

I'm not sure where this blog will go from here.  But I'll figure it out eventually.

For now, let's talk Lincoln Park and beyond!

It should be noted that restaurants along Lincoln Avenue aren't really open for lunch until eleven on weekdays.  It only makes sense.  But my parents and I got there early...and hungry.

After much walking and waffling (unfortunately an activity that had nothing whatsoever with waffles...) over where we should dine, we decided on a bar called Lincoln Station.  Not to be confused with Lincoln Hall.  That's just a hop, skip, and a jump away and is more of a late-evening music venue.

But anyway...It was eleven in the morning.  At a bar.  We were the first ones there, and remained the only ones there until shortly before we left.  There were multiple televisions there, broadcasting soccer, Sports Center, and various other athletic-themed programs...whatever's on at eleven in the morning.  I don't pay attention.  I like hockey, not football analyses.  The sound was off, so all we really had to entertain us was conversation.  Oh, drears...

I'm starting to make a habit of asking servers for meal recommendations.  And it was a good idea!  I had a Southern Spud.  Yes, darlings, a Spud.  As in a baked potato.  Stuffed with barbecued pulled pork, melted pepperjack cheese, and topped with creamy coleslaw.  With a pickle on the side.

When I read the item description, I realized this 'tater was not something I would ever have chosen as a lunch when left to my own devices.  I guess I just figured, 'Eh, why not?'

Allow me to be frank with you.  The potato was as big as my head.  As big as my head.  And buttered.  Stuffed.  Cheese-topped.  And coleslawed.  (Don't ask yourself if it's a word.  You're picking up what I'm laying down.)

I have to admit, I was hungry enough to mow through the slaw (crunchy enough for being scooped atop a hot potato, and a great contrast for the cheese and pork), most of the cheese (c'mon, it's cheese...of course I liked it!), and the delicious, saucy, tender pork (I would just order a bowl of that!).  The starchy meat-cheese-slaw vehicle (i.e. potato), on the other hand?  I hardly made a dent.  But it was all good!  Don't be turned away by the Spud.  But please consider sharing it with a friend.  Or running a marathon afterwards.  Your choice.

My mom got a burger named after Chicago's most famous public enemy, John Dillinger.  I should mention that the restaurant is located just across the street from the historic Biograph theater, site of Dillinger's death.  There's a restaurant called Dillinger's just down the street, but that'll probably be the topic for another post.  Back to the burger: Avocado, bacon, cheddar, griddled onions.  To put it simply, pretty gangster.  (I couldn't resist.)

And the french fries were tasty enough that, although I had a starch bomb the size of a Winnebago on my own plate, I kept snatching them and snacking on them.  They must've been good!

After a little jaunt 'round the neighborhood, we finally got to my dream destination, Cookie Bar!  Cue the dazzling lights and disco music!

Actually, the shop doesn't open until one in the afternoon.  It's down on Lincoln Avenue, in a shop the shape of a pie wedge (someone thought it'd be fun to run the street at a funny angle...).  The owners are theater guys, and the names of a few of their cookies reflect that.  They're so nice!  Much quieter than I thought they'd be...but that's okay.

The decor in the store is modern, yet really simple.  And at one in the afternoon, it is pretty darned quiet.  We were the only ones there.  Again.  I'm guessing the neighborhood really comes alive in the evening.  But who knows?

They were bold enough to call their store a bar, so of course you can get some shots while you're there.  But I'm not sure if you can choose between 2% or skim...That's right, they offer a shot of milk to go with your cookies.

And oh, the cookie's you'll find!  The day we went, there was a Nutella-chocolate chip cookie.  That's right.  You get chocolate with your chocolate-hazelnut spread.  Can I get a 'whoop, whoop?'  And there were some Cookie Bar standbys, like the Lisa Marie (peanut butter, banana, and peanut butter cups), the Sybil (split personality, half sugar cookie, half fudgy, cinnamon-y brownie), and some tasty oatmeal raisin cookies.

From left to right, chocolate-Nutella, oatmeal raisin, and more chocolate-Nutella. Oh yes they did.

I got the Sybil, because I just couldn't resist.  It was way better than it sounds.  And it sounds delicious!

Don't miss the cookies!  You'll regret it if you do.

Now, a final leg of our journey took us to Belmont Avenue, just down the road from Kuma's biker bar.  There's this little place that's been getting a little buzz.  And it's called Black Dog Gelato.

Yes, we got lunch and cookies and gelato.  I went to the gym.  Honest, I did.

At Black Dog they encourage you to sample!  Hallelujah!  I tasted a cinnamon-perfumed Mexican Hot Chocolate gelato, flavored with a kick of cayenne.  Delicious!  But I wanted to go for the shop's slam-dunk signature flavor.

Goat cheese.  Cashew.  Caramel.

No, they would not normally gel into something incredible.  But when you slap 'em together into a creamy Italian-style confection, they get along nicely.

The best way I can describe the undertones of this gelato is funky.  You know, that savory, sour, almost stinky flavor that makes a good cheese awesome.  And it's a flavor that makes a gelato fascinating.  Along with the sweet, flavorful caramel and the salty, rich cashews, this may be my ideal flavor.  But if you don't like goat cheese, please don't order this gelato.  Or at least taste it first, lest you do something irrational.

The cool thing about Black Dog is the fact that you can mix and match your gelatos (actually gelati, but who's keeping track?).  A small is two scoops, and those two scoops can be a combination of any pair of flavors you feel like!  Want watermelon sorbet and mint chocolatey chip?  They'll mix that.  Apple pie and malted vanilla?  Oh, yes.  Whatever you want.

In short, Black Dog is amazing.  Check it out, go crazy sampling stuff, and just pretend it has no calories.  When it tastes that good, who really cares?

Peace, Love, and Tasty Snacking!

~AF