My continued love affair with Southport Grocery and Cafe

I've mentioned a handful of times already (or maybe just a couple) the vanilla cupcakes at Southport Grocery and Cafe. I think everyone that I know (who likes plain vanilla cupcakes) has proclaimed them the best if not one of the best cupcakes that they have ever had. To quote our florist "I thought my grandmother made the best frosting ever and no one has ever come close. So I was doubtful when someone said this place has the best frosting. But now I stand corrected. Southport Grocery really does have the best buttercream frosting." 

Well, as much as I love cupcakes, one cannot exist on cupcakes alone.... We need real food... like hamburgers. And guess what? Southport Grocery has amazing hamburgers as well. They have fresh thick juicy patties that are molded perfectly with a firm but not too firm hand, seasoned perfectly without much filler. I love their burger buns too, which are not the standard burger buns, with great texture and flavor. And topped with caramelized onions, blue cheese (or Chipotle cheddar), and sour cream. Yum, yum and yum!

We can never have a meal there without ordering one of these burgers and they never fail to satisfy my hunger or my tastebuds. And you know what? They are even tasty as leftovers the next day, as I just found out.

(my photo of my leftover Southport Grocery and Cafe burger - still looks good!)

Southport grocery and cafe
3552 N Southport
Chicago, IL
(773)665-0100

PS. I feel like a walking PR machine for this place. Maybe I should demand some payment in the form of cupcakes?

Martha, you disappoint me...

with your choices for your favorite cupcakes.

(Swirlz' chocolate passion cupcake - pic from marthastewart.com)

I cannot believe that one of your picks for your favorite cupcakes is Swirlz, where cupcakes are pretty, yes, but not particularly of the tasty variety. I remember my friend Sue - a major cupcake connoisseur - and I ordering a bunch of cupcakes and being so disappointed at the waxy texture and tastelessness. This makes me wary of what you promote on the show.... Did you (or your crew) actually taste all the cupcakes before you featured them, or did you just like the way they looked?

If you are going to have cupcakes from Chicago, you should have done your research and had cupcakes from either - Southport Grocery and Cafe, Sensational Bites, Sweet Mandy B's, Alliance Bakery or Milk and Honey Bake Shop...

Please do your research next time.

You know I don't like chain restaurants...

As many of my friends know, I have an aversion to restaurant chains. 

To me, they are impersonal, uninspirational and serve usually mediocre and bland if not over-sauced fare. I mean, let's face it, your chefs and servers in these chain restaurants don't really care about the food and how to improve the restaurant and the food.  If I ever do go into an Appleby's, Chili's, TGI Friday's or anything else out there, it's not of my own accord and I couldn't do anything to prevent it.  I would rather go to an unproved run-down looking local joint any day. 

Which brings me to last night's little surprise... Shaw's Crab house. I know that it's not your run of the mill chain restaurant with locations all over the country with frozen fries coming straight from a box. But they are a huge restaurant institution, with a dining room, oyster bar and a regular bar in two locations, one in the suburbs in Schaumburg and owned by Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (which owns 33 restaurants, some really chain-like with multiple locations like Maggiano's and some definitely not chain-like like Everest or Tru). And anytime, the management of a restaurant goes above the duties of managing just one restaurant, I tend to see them more like a chain, as in the case of Shaw's. 

I had been avoiding Shaw's since my arrival in Chicago, preferring to go to smaller places like Davis Street Fishmarket for my fix of oysters (which from my previous posts about oysters you might have guessed are some of my favorite food and I get a craving for it quite often). However, with the limitation of time and distance (due to our 8:15 tickets to Juno at the downtown AMC) and my huge craving for oysters the whole day yesterday, we decided to give Shaw's a try. Another thing that added in our decision was the happy hour oyster special - 1/2 off oysters from 4pm to 6pm. How in the world could I resist that??

Instead of the main dining room, we opted for the oyster bar, of course. It was pretty full, I am guessing due to all the oyster affectionados swooping down like vultures for the oyster happy hour. We had pretty good oysters. They were very fresh but not the best, which might be due more to the type of oysters that we had gotten - Island Creek and Kumamotos. Both tasty but not quite as briny and flavorful as what I had wanted... (I think I was craving the ones we had in Korea... I'll have to find out what varietal it was...) But definitely better than most of the oysters that I have gotten in Chicago.  The king crab legs were absolutely delicious too. Perfectly cooked and seasoned, so I was licking my fingers and sucking on the shells in the end. But what won me over more than the food, was actually the atmosphere - the whole room centering around the huge oyster bar, with a ton of retro charm.  

Did this change my view on chain restaurants? 

Most definitely not. Just made me think that Shaw's is not a chain restaurant. And I can't wait to go back for the next "oyster" happy hour!

PS. How do you like the photos taken with my new Nikkor 50mm f/1.8? Still experimenting, but I likey likey so far!!

Shaw's Crab House (and Oyster Bar)

21 E Hubbard St

Chicago, IL

(312) 527-2722

You want curry with that?

Since St. Paddy's day is just around the corner, we got into the Irish mood of things by going to one of our favorite Irish bars, Cullens. 

Of course, I had my fav bar grub, fish and chips. And as I was about to order, I noticed the entry of curry fries on the menu. Sounds a little disgusting...... but interesting. So I ordered a side of curry sauce along with my order of fish and chips and a pint of Smithwick's.

What we expected was an interesting way to eat fries...

What we got was one of the most delicious, delectable ways to eat fries. 

I can see why the British and the Irish love fries with curry. (btw, it almost tastes like gravy but better since it has a kick).

(pic from simplycurries.com)

Cullen's Bar and Grill

3741 N. Southport Ave. 

Chicago, IL

(773)975-0600

Tosta de gambas

My favorite thing to eat in Madrid!

Shrimp atop garlic mayonnaise (aioli) smeared toast. Simple yet delicious.

We had it in every tapas place that we visited. And it never disappointed.... Although there were some places that did it better than others. 

My favorite place for tosta de gambas was near our hotel (Palace Hotel) in the Huertas area called Cerveceria Cervantes. They also had some of the best pulpos (boiled octopus). Mmmm.... I miss it already!

Cerveceria Cervantes

Plaza del Jesus 7

Madrid

Trendy restaurants...

Last night we had dinner at Japonais. 

(photo from Gusto.com)

Japonais is a popular Japanese restaurant here in Chicago. So popular in fact that they have opened new posts in NYC and Las Vegas. Although I hear that Chicago is still their best location. 

I had been there a few times before, once for dinner and a few times to have drinks in the lounge downstairs. The lounge is actually fabulous for drinks especially in the summer with the patio opening up to the Chicago River, although the drinks tend to be pricey for Chicago.

But the restaurant?

Not my favorite place to have sushi, or other dishes for that matter. It's not that the dishes are bad. Because most dishes are pretty tasty, and the sushi is good (although not great). In fact, the spring rolls we had with lobster yesterday were some of the best spring rolls we had were some of the best spring rolls I have had and the filet mignon with the uni butter was cooked to perfection and enhanced with the scrumptuous sauce. 

  

It might be that dishes feel overpriced? I know that for the exact same dish, I can get the same dish from Mirai (another Japanese place from the same owners) for cheaper. Especially, in terms of sushi, I can get it better and cheaper at Mirai (and other sushi joints such as my fav Katsu). It might be that the dishes usually feel gimicky (like "The Rock") and over-sauced (like the oyster appetizer). But more than anything, I think it has to do with the fact that they are too trendy, seemingly caring too much about cool decor rather than service or the food. 

Is it a sign that I am getting old that I am not liking the super-trendy restaurants?

Japonais

600 W Chicago Ave

Chicago, IL

(312)822-9600

Berthillon ice cream

I had an overwhelming craving for ice cream today as we were running errands. 

So we stopped by DQ and got a small ice cream cone. But it didn't quite quench the craving......

I think what I really want is something from Berthillon in Paris.

(pics from pomelohome.wordpress.com)

Eating ice cream/sorbet from Berthillon, for me, was unlike any other ice cream experience. Yes it was cold and soft like ice cream/sorbet, but the taste was like eating the essence of whatever flavor ice cream we had. Eating peach sorbet was like eating a ripe peach. Eating pear was like eating a ripe pear. In other words, just simply incredibly intense taste in yummy goodness.

I don't think there is any place like that in Chicago, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. So I think my next culinary endeavor will be to try making pear or peach sorbet in the new ice cream maker that we received as a wedding gift!  Wish me luck!

Berthillon

31, Rue Saint Louis-en-l'Ile

75004 Paris

The best restaurants

Just came back from dinner at a local tapas restaurant, Azucar.  

(although as always, it wasn't quite a "local" restaurant for us, but rather a 15 minute drive away in Logan Square.) 

It just made me realize yet again that the best restaurants aren't necessarily the most expensive, most experimental or the most lauded restaurants. But rather the restaurants that really care about the food and the customers. And the ones that you really feel comfortable in. 

We had what is some of the best pork tenderloin that we have had in a while, without breaking the bank. The presentation, preparation, the flavor combination was what I would have expected from an entree that costs $30 in a **** restaurant.  But, it cost us only $10 and we didn't need a reservation, nice clothes or a big checkbook. 

These places, are in my opinion, the best restaurants (even if some of their other stuff was not quite as stellar as the pork)!

Darn! Wish I had taken some photos!

Azucar Tapas Restaurant and Cocktail Bar

2647 N. Kedzie

Chicago, IL

(773) 486-6464 

Craving cupcakes

(image from Southportgrocery.com)

Staying at home today. 

Don't get me wrong. It's actually one of those days that I am so busy that I can't even spare the time to go into the office (or the lab in my case). Funny though that I can find time to blog...

Sitting at home, I've been craving cupcakes. Not just any cupcakes, but cupcakes from Southport grocery and cafe - proclaimed as having "the best cupcakes in Chicago" by many - including Chicago magazine and myself. It's quite easy to get these cravings at home since Southport Grocery is only a couple blocks away. 

The pic looks good doesn't it? I can tell you that these cupcakes taste even better than they look, especially the vanilla. They stick with the basics at Southport Grocery, only making chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. But sometimes simplicity allows you to really appreciate the flavors and textures. The cake itself is soft, moist and light. And the buttercream is rich and sugary yet surprisingly light. 

The best cupcake I've ever had! And the one I'm craving.

PS. Yes. I have had Magnolia's cupcakes in NY and they don't even come close!  

Southport grocery and cafe

3552 N Southport

Chicago, IL

(773)665-0100

A regular Friday night

Last night we spent the night doing what we normally love to do on a Friday night.

(L pic from planet99, Sushi Mike's pic from mmmchicago)

First, start out at one of our favorite neighborhood haunts, Tanoshii (although it is not quite in our neighborhood) for the most affordable, fresh uni. Of course there are many other things that Sushi Mike, at Tanoshii is known for, like the fish-n-chips (which is actually spicy and tangy tartare of tuna, salmon with tobiko on fried chips. Yum!), and all his inventive rolls. But I am somewhat of a purist and love having uni, hamachi, ama-ebi, chutoro, namasake, maguro nigiri pieces. Especially uni. And we know that Mike gets in his batch of fresh uni on Friday, which we do not hesitate to lighten his load.   
At Mike's we order uni and we get uni prepared in a variety of ways. We've had uni nigiri with nori and without nori, on cucumber and my favorite way - uni on a spoon. Not too many places would cater to you that way. But Mike loves trying out new combinations as much as we do. And Uni on a Spoon is definitely a winner.

(pic from Chicago Reader Blogs)

After we stuff ourselves with sushi, we walked a couple blocks down to Pasticceria Natalina for the best cannolis and puff pastries on this side of the Atlantic. And we walked out with more than we can eat. Unfortunately, yesterday, they were out of cannolis by the time we got there. (Not surprising since unlike other places the cannolis at Pasticceria Natalina has feather-light sheep's milk ricotta filled to order and everyone loves them!) So instead, we got the lobster tail pastry with the same ricotta filling and the "tartufo" (called tartufo, but basically dark chocolate puff pastry). And Natalie gave us a freebie to take home with us, the cream puff with candied coating, which ended up being our favorite.  Will have to go back again soon for a cannoli and their rum cake, which they told us they are starting again next week. 

And pretty much comatose from all the food, we came back home and watched the 6th season of 24 on dvd. 

What a perfect night!

Tanoshii

5547 N Clark St

Chicago, IL 

773-878-6886

Pasticceria Natalina

5406 N Clark St 

Chicago, IL

773-989-0662

Schwa is back!

I have a new favorite restaurant and it's name is Schwa.

After 3 months of closing, chef Michael Carlson has re-opened his much-accoladed restaurant to the delight of many diners. And we were lucky enough to nab a table soon after the re-opening.

Here are the 10-courses that we had last night.

1) Amuse - grapefruit - sweet and tangy goodness

2) Jonah crab - crabs in vinegar with bananas, celery and coriander

3) Beer cheese soup - pretzel tasting soup with a small pretzel side and dijon mustard crisp. 

4) Pad thai - jellyfish in pad thai sauce

4.1) Intermezzo- Uni ice cream - Need I say more? Loved it! 

5) Arctic char roe - with pumpernickel, lemon, rutabaga - I'm just not a fan of pumpernickel but everything else worked. And the shot of rutabaga was fantastic!

6) Kona kampachi - with galangal, lime, maple - This was one of my favorite dishes , but I FORGOT to take a picture!

7) Liver and onions

8) Antelope - 2 ways - with white chocolate and butternut

9) Cheese - Humboldt fog  

10) Dessert - Flan - Michael and the chefs say that this is their favorite. 

Everything was simply perfection! Hope to go back very soon, if we can get another reservation, that is. (There are no waiters. The chefs server, wait and take the reservations. Hence, you almost never talk to a person for the rsvp. You leave a message and hope for the best.)

Schwa 

1466 N Ashland Ave

(773) 252-1466

Oysters in Seoul - part deux

Since it is Fat Tuesday, I give props to New Orleans for having good oysters and oyster dishes. But, after my oyster experience in Seoul, I would have to say that NO has nothing on Seoul. 

I already wrote about the perfect oysters that we came across on my first night. On the 3rd day, we came across an abundance of oysters that we have ever come across at Gul ma-ul (Oyster village) in Kangnam (fairly close to Seollung subway station). Let's just start off by saying that they have nothing on the menu that does not contain oysters. So if you don't like oysters, you are in trouble. But for those that love oysters like me, this place is a veritable heaven. 

Here's what we had. (Photos are from gulgul.kr since I forgot to take any pics here, but I can attest that the pics are pretty much the picture of what we had there)

We started out with the best of the best- raw oysters. Some on the half shell, some shucked into a big pile. The quality of these were on par with the ones we had at the Park Hyatt- the absolute BEST! Tasted oh-so-amazing. And in such an abundance. (See the mound in the middle? Probably 50+ small oyster pieces.) And the most amazing thing about the raw oysters here was the price. The huge plate of raw oyster---- drumroll, please----- approx $20. Unbelievable!

 

All the other things they did with the oysters were pretty outstanding as well (although my personal preference is raw). See their array of dishes. 

This is just the regular menu and they also had seasonal specials. Pretty amazing, huh ? And most meals were around $6~7. Since there were about 16 of us, we were able to order a variety. The sizzling oyster rice, the oyster soon-tofu, oyster duk-gook, oyster pancakes and the fried oysters. Everything was amazing, although my fav is still the rawww.

Were we oyster-ed out after this? You~ betcha~. But it was so good that I wanted more the next day. 

If you ever find yourself in Seoul and you love oysters, I would highly recommend this place. I think they also have quite a few stores throughout Korea. But I would recommend going in the winter. The raw oysters are only available in the winter. 

Gul Ma-ul (www.gulgul.kr)

Tel +82 2 568-3468

Kangnam-Ku Daechi 4 Dong 906, Seoul