Tag Archives for chicago restaurants

RESTAURANT WEEK: ZED451

In honor of my declared resolution to live life in the continuous mindset of a traveler, I was extremely excited to celebrate Restaurant Week 2013. My friend and I had dinner at a unique restaurant called Zed451. After hearing several rave reviews from my coworkers, I was dying to try it out.

Zed451

It was equal parts a fantastic meal and a fascinating experience. The restaurant is dark and artistically decorated with deep panelings, dramatic fire pits, and clusters of candles. The service was friendly from the moment the door was opened for me to the man who helped me put my coat back on as I left the restaurant. The hostesses were sweet. Our server was great. And the chefs who brought food directly to our table (yes!) were all charming.

Zed451

The restaurant is unique in that you pay a set price. You then have unlimited access to over a dozen different salads. And I’m not talking about your typical ceasar salad, I’m talking about the best of fresh market salads. I had spicy green beans with nuts. I had apple, spinach and feta salad. I had poached pears. Deviled eggs. Mushrooms and oysters with a feta dressing. And these are only the ones that come immediately to mind. There was also a charcuterie table with a handful of different cheeses, cured meats, and spreads. My favorite was a wine and fig spread. Then there was a soup station.

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Stones sit in the middle of the table and once you feel ready, you can move your stone from the plate to the edge of the table. Chefs holding spears of meat then circle about stopping to offer you a fresh slice of meat. We tried a spicy, moroccan chicken; we tried salmon that had been marinated in both lemon and lime and topped with onion; and we tried a beef juicier than any I had eaten before. Bottom line, what I’m trying to say is if you are hungry and in Chicago, go eat at Zed451.

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Are you wondering what Restaurant Week means? Typically it’s a week (or 10 days if you live in Chicago! or a MONTH in live you in Napa!) where restaurants create special menus at discounted prices to introduce new clients to their culinary experiences. Many cities have adopted the tradition to honor a week during their slower times, usually in the middle of winter or the middle of a hot summer, as Restaurant Week. I adored this tradition while living in San Diego and now again as I live in Chicago.

Do you live in Chicago? Don’t worry you haven’t missed out! Restaurant Week is running strong until Sunday, February 10 – so get to eating! Click here for a list of restaurants participating and to make reservations. Do you live in a city other than Chicago? Click here to see a list of Restaurant Weeks throughout the United States.

if you’re lucky enough to dine at Zed451, you’re lucky enough

A CHICAGO FAVORITE: HOT DOUG’S

This weekend Johanna‘s boyfriend Kevin visited us {well, mostly Johanna but I was there too!}. Johanna had to work on Saturday and since she has recently gone vegetarian on us, Kevin and I created a beautiful plan for the day: Chicago dogs. After lots of research, it became beyond clear that we needed to try Hot Doug‘s for all of our hot dog needs. And I am simply tickled that we did. I’m going to warn you right now, a flood of pictures are about to follow. And another warning, you’re going to want to jump on a plane/train/bus/bike/boat and stand in line for Hot Doug’s depending on where you’re reading from.

We waited in that line. We waited over an hour for a dog we had only dreamt about it. But the wait turned out to be fun. We chatted with a few locals and a few fellow first timers. We gossiped a bit about the myths we had heard. And we learned some insider tips. {Don’t stand in line for over an hour and only order 1 hot dog. Order a small drink — you get free refills, with a large you do not. Order a speciality dog – you can get the standard Chicago dog anywhere. Don’t be afraid of exotic meats – yes they serve kangaroo meat in their “encased meat” and you will like it.}

Thanks to the good ol’ smart phone, we also spent time looking at their online menu. We became fully prepared to enter Hot Doug’s and order. Kevin ordered 3 dogs: The Dog {your standard Chicago style hot dog}, Philly Cheesesteak Beef Sausage with Cream Cheese Mustard, Caramelized Onions and Smoked Provolone Cheese {a specialty dog}, and Cayenne and Cheddar Pork Sausage with Chipotle Dijonnaise and Habanero-Jack Cheese {a specialty dog}. I ordered 2 dogs: the Cayenne and Cheddar Pork Sausage with Chipotle Dijonnaise and Habanero-Jack Cheese {a specialty dog} and a Cherry and Apple Pork Sausage with Apricot Mayonnaise and L’Edel de Cleron Cheese {a specialty dog}.

My favorites were The Dog and The Philly Cheesesteak dog — yes, both Kevin’s choices. Isn’t that always how it works? The Cayenne and Cheddar was good, but I’m not a huge fan of pork… so I’m not entirely sure what I was thinking there. All in all though, I cannot complain about a thing.

The best part about the entire experience, and I mean best even better than eating the food, was meeting Doug. The Doug. Doug was the first person to greet us to his restaurant, Doug was the person to take our orders. After I told him what I wanted I asked “wait, do you think those are a good choice?” and he said “they wouldn’t be on the menu if I didn’t think they were good.”

I looked at him and squealed “Wait! You’re Doug? Kevin, this is Doug!” Doug then proceeded to smile and talk to us about where we were from and how it was our first time visiting. Now it needs to be mentioned that Kevin and I finally got inside at about 3:50pm and the restaurant closes at 4:00pm. So Doug had been doing this all day. And yet he was just as pleasant as you would expect him to be with the very first person he talked to that day. He cracked jokes with us. He made fun of San Diego. And then he gave me a free drink to make up for all his rousting. He is without a doubt the reason the place is as successful as it is. I would stand in line another hour just to support such an awesome guy.

So my final verdict? Go to Hot Doug’s. Bring a bottle of water and maybe even a crossword puzzle {as the experience Hot Dougers did} because you will be waiting in line. Order The Dog and a speciality. And say hi to Doug!

if you’re lucky enough to meet Doug from Hot Doug’s, you’re lucky enough

 

AN AFTERNOON IN CHICAGO

Johanna and I spent the afternoon in Andersonville over the weekend. We’ve been scouring the area for furniture to add to our lovely lil space here. After searching, without much luck really, for hours we wandered around town and stumbled upon a cute little restaurant called Uncommon Ground. We both ordered pretty fabulous summery drinks and OUTSTANDING food. I had a delicious black bean burger and Johanna had tempura avocado tacos — I know.

We are getting our bearings in this place. Sometimes I feel a need to rush, rush, rush to make a life here. But Johanna is a smart cookie and has been reminding me we’ve only been here for a few weeks. There is time.

if you’re lucky enough to be in a city where you can stumble upon great new places, you’re lucky enough