Chicago Eats

A trip to Chicago would not be complete without the usual round of gastronomic activity. On Wednesday I had dinner with MR and J the Armenian at Timo. MR had selected this because of it supposedly has a great outdoor patio. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate. Our review was mixed. We loved the idea of the whole cured hams that were in the dining room but the amount given was small. We liked the gratis scallop pre-appetizer. But MR was not so happy with her tilapia and I thought the sauce on my pork too sweet which overpowered a nice piece of meat. J loved his steak and I agreed. I was particularly upset by the mark-ups on the wine. They were selling bottles that I have bought retail for $10-15 for $40-50 which is a bit outrageous.

On Thursday Ricardo and I ate at Lula Café in Logan Square. The weather cooperated and we ate outside which was lovely. We had a great meal. Ricardo started with a nice cheese selection and I had heirloom tomato salad. We both had the hanger steak at the recommendation of our server and it did not disappoint. The alcohol was treat. There was a wide selection of interesting wines with many in the $20’s and low $30’s. You had to really search for something over $50. To top it off they had a 15-year-old calvados at only $10 for a nice pour.

Finally a note on Greek pastries, a lawyer contact of ours near Greek Town set a meeting at a coffee shop bakery on Halstead (I’ll get the name). I had a fine cappuccino and version of donuts. The fresh fried dough was served on a plate that had a slightly sweet syrup on the bottom with chopped nuts and cinnamon. The key was that the fried dough was fresh and the syrup not poured over the dough so they didn’t get soggy. Yum.