R.J. Grunts

One of President Obama's top 5 Chicago restaurants (up there with Spiaggia) and now one of MY favorite "value-for-money" restaurants in Chicago, I proclaim RJ Grunts a true WINNER!!!!

Picture from www.planet99.com

Known for their voluptuous burgers, milk & malt shakes (they can make it alcoholic if you like it that way), how about a coffee with bailey's at brunch? There's temperature soup (meaning you pay $ for a bowl of soup depending on the temperature that day! When I went, there was homemade chicken noodle soup and butternut squash) Or you could opt for the salad bar buffet, which includes soups and fresh fruit, crackers and many homemade specialty salad concoctions. This place is more than just a burger joint/diner deal, all you have to do is go to their SUPER fun website, read the menu, and you'll realize that this is a one-stop spot for all your Sunday brunch, lunch, dinner cravings!!!

Overall: I loved their menu selection, great prices, fantastic service, homemade & fresh foods, and comfortable family-friendly atmosphere!!! This is a sure place to go if I'm craving an all-you-can eat salad bar (it even comes with all you can eat home-made soups AND giant fresh berries of all sorts for dessert)

Taste: 4
Plating: 3
Originality: 4
Value: 4
Ambiance: 3.5

Although the scores don't do 'em justice, adventurous diners ready for a casual relaxing meal would adore this place. :)

The Salad bar buffet - $10.95

Loving: The FRESHness of the veggies (despite it being January); The variety of ready-made salad concoctions - including tuna pasta salad, tabouleh, basalmic mushrooms, egg salad, and even chopped liver!! It comes free with all-you-can drink hot soups and a huge fresh fruit selection.
Second Thoughts: Curious why they have choc chip cream cheese in the salad bar...

Below are 2 of my personal salad bar creations. I had LITERALLY 5 rounds of soup and salads.

Grunt Burger $9.50
with bleu cheese and fried onions; served with homecut fries, a pickle, and coleslaw

Nick likes: The fries of course!
Apparently, the burger was...not STELLAR, but not bad at all. It was merely, a "good burger" - it hit the spot.

Mocha Milkshake $3.95
They can make this drinks with frozen yogurt too!

YUM. Exactly what you expect. A rich and creamy, cold and satisfying drink!

At the end of our lunch, a man suddenly appeared at our table with a dish! He said he'd overheard we were first-time patrons at RJ Grunts so first-timers are given a hot home-baked chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice-cream over the top! WHAT MORE CAN YOU AS FOR??? (sorry for the glare in the pic)

Other items on the menu: Veggie burger, Portobello burger, Vintage tuna sandwich, Steak teri sandwich, Baby back ribs, Old hickory chicken, RJ's Famous Chili, and even Quesadilla's. :)

Highly recommended!! I'm going to be a regular there if only I lived closer!!

http://www.rjgruntschicago.com/

2056 N Lincoln Park W, Chicago 60614
At W Dickens Ave

Phone: 773-929-5363
Fax: 773-929-8134

Fox & Obel Cafe

After receiving a rave review from a friend, Nick & I decided we wanted to try out the Fox & Obel Cafe just 2 blocks down the street from us on 411 E Illinois for Sunday brunch.

Overall impression? We weren't impressed, but it "wasn't bad"

Here, I want to introduce the new Lucky Taste Buds rating system. As most of us have learned from the current economy - numbers matter. Inspired by Iron Chef's rating system, I've added "value" and "ambiance." Rated on a scale from 1-5 with 5 being highest, 3 would be considered average.

Taste: 3
Plating: 3
Originality: 3 (no surprises here)
Value: 2 (you could find better deals for sure)
Ambiance: 3

Grilled Flank Steak Salad $11.99
Cooked to medium rare and chilled, roasted poblano, grilled corn, black beans,
queso fresco, red onion, tortilla strips, tomato and cilantro lime dressing

Pros: The light and refreshing lime dressing
Cons: Mainly a giant bowl of leaves. Very little corn & bean mix. Mainly tortilla strips that dominated the bowl. Poor value for money I would say.

Salmon Burger $11.99
Soy glazed Atlantic salmon, mizuna lettuce, red and yellow bell pepper, red
onion and wasabi mayonnaise on sesame brioche

Pros: The yummy soy glaze & buttery toasted bun. Nick liked the fries, apparently it tasted like the fries they serve over at McD's.

Cons: Sadly, the salmon patty was disappointing. Not only was it dry on the inside and rather flavorless, the outside was strangely crunchy (i.e. Drying out after being pan-fried). Nick and I felt like we could make a better salmon patty using canned salmon, which we're positive was what Fox & Obel used to create our burger.

For the menu, hit up: http://www.fox-obel.com/cafe/fo_webmenu_june08.pdf

Fox & Obel Cafe
401 E Illinois
Chicago, IL 60611
Tel: 312 410 7301

Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

With an EXCLAMATION mark! Voted #4 Best Fine Dining by UrbanSpoon.com (and I'm sure up there according to other rankings), Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba was THE New years eve dinner choice by The BF and I this year. Visit: http://www.cafebabareeba.com/chicago for more information.

Overall, our experience was fabulous! Hip decorations, attentive waiter, and fast food service was definitely a plus. We ordered a lot of food, and all of them were served in a way that was creative and fun - exactly what we wanted! Without further due, let me take you through our little 2 hour journey to conclude the last meal of 2008!!!!

Cheers! Here's half a pitcher of passionfruit sangria to kick off the night

We started off with just one cold tapa...

Citrus Cured Salmon on Cucumber Toast
Almost tasteless salmon slices (thumbs down for that) served with buttered toasty bread that are covered in shredded bits of cucumber flesh. It all came with a dollop of sour cream in the middle.

Likes: VERY refreshing, palate-cleansing dish; Unique and colorful
Dislikes: Lack of flavor from pretty much all of the ingredients, this was The BF's least favorite

Sea Scallops with Raisins, Couscous, & Pinenuts
Likes: The BF's favorite dish! Flavorful, sweet couscous flavors highlighted the fresh scallops
Dislikes: Scallops were a tad salty, just a tad

Grilled Squid olive oil & garlic

Likes: The strong grilled flavors of the squid itself and the crunchy tentacles!
Dislikes: I have nothing to complain about, perhaps it was a tiny bit oily for my palate

Baked Crab & Shrimp Dip piqiullo peppers, cheese

A pretty self-explanatory dish...definitely VERY cheesy, and the BF complained about not being able to find any crab. I can't comment on this dish since I'm not a fan of cheese. :P

Garlic Shrimp olive oil, chili flakes

Likes: My favorite dish because of the crispy fried garlic and green aioli sauce. YUM!
Dislikes: The shrimps were drenched in oil - I mean...covered head to tail

Chicken Toro Brochetas
Chicken skewer dangling above a plateful of toasted bread, caramelized onions, grilled potato pieces and a baked tomato. All served with a tartar sauce.
This picture does NOT do this dish justice. I LOVED the tender chicken skewer pieces. They went perfectly with the onions! I also devoured the tomato before the BF knew it existed. Oooops!!!

Roasted Salmon artichoke and fennel confit
Unfortunately, this earned a TWO THUMBS DOWN from the both of us. The salmon was too fishy and the confit just didn't go well with the fish AT ALL. Cafe B..maybe try reformulating the recipe? Like...season your fish?


FINALLY, the dessert menu.

Since this was our first visit, dessert was on the house! Yippee!!

Banana caramalized and vanilla ice-cream Mango sorbet
Both were YUMMY but not blow-your-socks-off yummy.
We were just happy we got free dessert!

Following our new years eve dinner, we went home and played 2 hours of Rockband while drinking sparkling wine until 2009. YEAHHHH.

The verdict? Highly recommended restaurant, but know what to order! You may be pleasantly surprised if you keep an open mind, but don't be upset if things are too oily. With that, I give you a happy diners picture of The BF and I. Happy 2009!!!

Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine

For my 23rd birthday, The BF took me to Roy's Restaurant in Chicago! Being a HUGE seafood lover (as I was raised in Hong Kong, where seafood is more prevalent than burgers) he had a pretty good idea picking where to take me. The BF ended up ordering a three-course menu, and I ordered separately. The overall verdict? YUM!!

We started off with edamame instead of a bread basket. The BF and I went through 2 bowls of 'em.

Appetizer #1: Maine Lobster Dim sum This was a huge hit with the both of us. The creamy sauce and the light foam complimented the rich flavors of the lobster inside the dim sum. The skin of the dim sum was slightly chewy (in a good way) and packed with bold lobster flavors inside. AWESOME!

Appetizer #2: Prosciutto Wrapped Tiger Shrimp & Goat Cheese Polenta, served in a lemon caper & herb sauce Clearly there is no polenta because we asked for no goat cheese. Neither I nor the BF are big fans of goat cheese after a BAD BAD experience at Oceanique (Evanston, IL). The shrimp and spinach tasted exactly like it looks. No surprises there.

The BF's Entree: Hibachi Salmon Glazed with "Crab Dynamite" served with Sesame, Chive Butter sauce This was salmon topped with a REALLY thick glaze that had extremely bold flavors, which masked the fishiness of the salmon. It was a little heavy from my perspective, but I think The BF loved it. I just got a huge kick out of the marinated cucumbers on the side. hehe

My Entree: Roy's Classic Trio - Hibachi Grilled Salmon, Roy's Original Blackened Island Ahi, & Hawaiian Style Misoyaki Butter fish, a sampling of our 3 classics in their traditional preparations It wasn't served in that order, but form the left there's the tuna, then salmon, then butter fish on the right. The BF and I both agree the butter fish was WAY too salty, but the meat was tender and flavorful. The salmon had a fabulous sauce and met expectations. I think the true winner of the show was the tuna. It was seared to perfection, the sauce was to-die-for, and everything about the meat was above expectations. I loved it, as you can tell.

Dessert #1: Mini Creme brulee
A free birthday treat from Roy's

Dessert #2: Roy's Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle Flour less Chocolate Cake with a molten hot center served a la mode
True to its description, this was like a hot semi-sweet brownie with a gooey middle. The ice-cream was the high quality vanilla that had little black specks from the vanilla bean, and the tart raspberry sauce that framed the dish added a new dimension to it all. Note that this was actually quite a bitter brownie, but it worked extremely well with everything else on the plate.

We scraped the dishes clean. YUM! I'd totally come back, but I wouldn't try anything twice.
Thank you Roy's for a wonderful night, great food, great service, and tasty food!
And more importantly, Thanks to the BF for taking me. :) http://www.roysrestaurant.com/dinnermenu.asp?u=3401

RATINGS (1-5)
Taste: 4 (Some too-salty dishes prevented the 5)
Atmostphere: 4 (VERY crowded on a Friday night)
Value: 3.5 (Pricey, but very very delicious. Prix Fix menu a good deal if you like what's on it)
Highly recommend this if you haven't been and you love fusion foods!