Last Minute Chicago Holiday Dining Recommendations

I was invited to dine at the restaurants mentioned free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

As much as I love staying inside the week between Christmas and New Year's, usually snuggled under my down comforter with my dog noisily snoring beside me and a cup of some boozed up hot beverage clasped between my hands, eventually I start to get a little cabin fever. And with this year being unseasonably warm (seriously, Chicago, what the hell? I could go back home to Arizona for 50 degrees in December!), I'm feeling the itch to get out for a few more meals before 2018 ends. So enjoy this quick roundup of some of my recent favorites for brunch, dinner, and everything in between!

Dinner at Le Sud

This French/Mediterranean inspired addition to Roscoe Village has gotten great buzz ever since it opened earlier this year. Me? I like a bit of non pretentious French cuisine, so I was very interested to check it out. The inside is the perfect kind of cozy without being overly cramped and the perfect kind of vintage without feeling artificial. This isn't the kind of place you're going to find Americanized French staples, like onion soup or coq au vin. Instead, you will find things like house made charcuterie, a decadent fois gras tart (that is so perfectly balanced between sweet and savory that it could easily be an appetizer or a dessert), a perfectly simple steak frites, and a very inventive vegetarian seared pumpkin entree with leeks and fregola. Everything here is incredibly thoughtful and uncomplicated, while demonstrating an immense amount of skill and care. Go any night you can, or check out their special service for New Year's Eve.

Dinner at Bobby's Lincoln Park

Bobby's recently opened their first location in the city in hopes of replicating their beloved Deerfield location's success. The menu boasts a lot of meat and seafood focused plates as well as handmade pasta dishes, but the vibe is surprisingly casual. The space is open and airy, a rarity in crowded Lincoln Park, and the service is exceptionally friendly and personable. It's may sound ridiculous, but I was impressed right from the start with the bread service, which came with a simple roasted garlic butter that I would have happily bought a bottle of if they had been selling it. The Shrimp Bobby was an excellent take on a scampi, the Steak Tartar was gloriously delicate (I also mixed that delicious garlic butter into it and by God, it was amazing), and the scallops with cauliflower puree and orange zest were a delight. If you want a little taste of everything Bobby's has, order The Mark Miller, which is a platter of sausage, roasted chicken, tender skirt steak, peppers, and onions. For a lighter (by comparison) plate, the Linguini Nduja is also wonderful, with a rich egg yolk sauce, crisped panchetta, sweet onions, and a little kick of heat.

Brunch The Kitchen

Having dined at The Kitchen a few times, I knew to expect only the best. Of course I wasn't disappointed, and despite some minor Instagram drama (don't ask...), I found myself more impressed than ever before with the inventiveness coming out of The Kitchen's kitchen. Highlights for me included a collection of awesome non-alcoholic cocktails (something I'd love to see more of at other restaurants), a succulent southern style Shrimp and Grits with andouille sausage, an earthy Mushroom Toast with red kale and scrambled eggs, an impossibly creamy yogurt panna cotta with blueberries and housemade granola, and poached eggs with green shakshuka, chickpeas, and toast points. They will actually be serving brunch on Boxing Day (December 26th) from 10:00-3:00 and all day New Year's Day, so if any of this sounds good to you, get on that. Also, they will be featuring an exclusive holiday donut flavor (pst... it's chocolate spice with cranberries and candied ginger!) in addition to their already stellar line up of freshly made pastries.

Tea at Vanille

Taking family to a relaxed tea service is just the kind of tradition I'd like to add to my already packed list of holiday traditions. After all, who can resist tiny sandwiches and delicate tea cups? Vanille Patisserie recently launched a beautiful tea service at their Lakeview and Hyde Park locations, offered at 12, 2, and 4 Mondays through Thursdays. The service consists of as much Benjamin's Tea as you can drink (my personal favorites include the Forest Berry and the Roasted Almond) accompanied by mini sandwiches, scones with a variety of spreads, freshly baked madeleines, Vanille's signature macarons, mini cupcakes, and other delightfully tiny treats. At just $28 a person, I think this might be one of the best tea service deals in town. Pinkie's up!

Brunch at Parley @ Joy District

I think we all know that I have very mixed feelings about brunch buffets, but if you're looking for a spot to drink away your holiday stress with a group of fun loving friends, this might be the place for you. Especially if you have a sweet tooth! The dessert table at Parlay is a little overwhelming with it's donut wall, platters of cereal treats, and legions of layered pudding cups. Fresh pizzas and chaffing dishes with various savory dishes help to balance out the glucose, but I'm tempted to tell you to skip them all together and just go in on the sweets. Calories don't count in December, after all. $50 gets you access to all the food as well as bottomless mimosas in a variety of flavors, but if you STILL haven't uped your insulin levels enough, there's the brunch cocktail menu that features giggle inducing large format cocktails, like the Scumdilyuptious served in a gumball machine with rubber ducky floats, or the Mega Mimosa and the Mega Mule; giant sized versions of the classic cocktails that are perfect for using as selfie props.

Sun Basket: The Best Clean Eating Meal Prep Delivery Service?

I've been curious to try some of the meal prep delivery services that have sprung up in the last few years. The convenience is certainly the main draw for me, but I've noticed that the recipes some of these companies put together aren't always the healthiest or the most inclusive of different diets. Also, I've heard from friends who have tried different services that the packaging can sometimes get out of hand, causing much more waste than a trip to the grocery store would have.

Recently, I decided to finally bite the bullet and give one of these services a try. Sun Basket caught my attention right away because they featured several different meal plans (vegetarian, vegan, pescitarian, paleo, gluten free, family, etc) but also allowed users to jump across the different menus. As an omnivore who tries to limit her meat and carb intake, I loved that mixing and matching was an option. They also promised all organic produce and responsibly raised meats as well as fully recyclable packaging.

For my first week of recipes, I picked a Steak and Stone Fruit Salad, some Smokey Chicken Tacos with mango salsa, and Tofu Burgers with potato match sticks and corn on the cob. right off the bat, I was really impressed with how efficiently set up the box was, with all the ingredients for each recipe packed into a labeled brown paper bag so that I didn't have to wonder what belonged to what. Both the chicken and the steak were put in a separate compartment, securely packaged, well trimmed, and looked vibrant and fresh. Best of all, the booklet that came in the box contained recipes for not only my meals, but all 18 meal options on the menu for that week, meaning I could still try to make all the meals I didn't pick on my own!

I decided to make the Smokey Chicken Tacos for my 4th of July dinner (because nothing says 'Merica like tacos). Being that this recipe included two of my not so favorite thing- cilantro and jalapenos- I was a little worried that leaving them out would make the tacos bland. I was wrong. Whatever the magical spice mix they gave me was was so flavorful and perfectly balance that I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. My friends, who were trying the tacos with me, were also able to customize their tacos to their individual tastes by adding the cilantro or jalapenos as they wished. I was immediately impressed.

Next up was the Steak and Stone Fruit salad. Now, these boxes are meant to feed 2 people (or more if you choose the family plan) and since I live by myself, I figured I could split some of the more filling meals into dinner and lunch. I wasn't planning to split this one, since... well, it was a salad. But when I saw the two generous cuts of steak they had given me, I changed my mind. In fact, every meal I received was enough to make two filling portions. And that's saying something for someone with an appetite like mine! The salad was super easy to prepare and I loved the addition of the charred peaches, though I would have loved a little bit more of them. The steak itself was top notch, which is pretty impressive considering that every serving only runs about $11.99. I modified this recipe slightly by candying the walnuts that were meant to top the salad, just to give them a little extra crunch.

The tofu burgers were my my least favorite of the first three meals, though through no fault of their own (they were against stiff competition). Funnily enough, this meal was the most involved recipe, requiring a bit of prep with the potatoes and the various veggies that were to top the burger, then the baking of the potatoes, the boiling of the corn, and the grilling of the tofu burgers. I made my meal slightly not vegan by adding the little spice mix they had given me for the corn to some mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese to make the corn into elotes, but I stuck to the rules for everything else. The burgers were substantial and the texture of the tofu was perfect, but the cashew cheese sauce wasn't as flavorful as I had hoped it would be.

The second week's box brought me a Warm Quinoa and Corn Salad, some Pulled Pork Sliders and Carrot Slaw, and a Saigon Noodle Bowl. As should be obvious by now, Sun Basket features a lot of international recipes, which I loved, since I have a tendency to stick to very westernized flavor profiles when left to my own devices.

The pulled pork sliders came with Carolina mustard BBQ sauce, which packed quite a bit of unexpected heat. This was the only meat dish I ordered that came pre-cooked and frozen, but I was still really satisfied with the texture of the final product. The slaw was supposed to be a mix of carrots, celery, and raisins, but I decided to leave the celery out (because celery is the worst vegetable EVER) and I was perfectly happy with the results.

The Noodle Bowl turned out to be my favorite of this crop of recipes, thus proving that I do actually enjoy vegan food. The braised tofu they sent was the perfect firm texture, and I loved that the recipe called for making my own scallion oil to pour over the noodles and veggies. This recipe in particular I really want to try recreating.

Lastly was the Warm Quiona and Corn Salad. I ordered this one mostly because I liked the sound of the ingredients, but I wasn't sure how they were going to go together. The fresh burst of flavor this salad produced was a welcome surprise. The sweet corn, zucchini and quinoa were to be simply dressed with some lemon, oil, and mint, then topped with crushed hazelnuts and fresh ricotta, all of which combined in a really pleasing blend of textures. Definitely a wonderful summer dish that I would love to make again for a backyard BBQ.

So, the ultimate question is: Would I recommend Sun Basket? 100% yes.I went in very skeptical about the quality of the ingredients, the thought behind the recipes, the ease of preparation, and the size of the portions, all of which I was extremely impressed with. If fact, I'm thinking of doing the paleo meal plan moving forward so that I have a built in way of cutting some carbs out of my diet every week. Lord knows I need some kind of device for stopping me from eating pasta all the time!

The products mentioned in this post were sent to me free of charge by Sun Basket, but all opinions are strictly my own.

Dinner at Trattoria Gianni

"I've still got a bit of residual stress and tension about on my person from the move that I can't quite seem to shake," Brandy told her friend Starr one day. "It's so nice outside right now with fall creeping in. We should get out for some dinner and fresh air. That'll help you feel better," said Starr. "Patios are over rated," grumbled Brandy, "Jammed into a tiny table on a sidewalk with thirty other people while tree flotsam falls onto your plate and a dog does it's business just feet away? No thank you!" "Oh, come on, there's some really nice patios in the city! You just have to look for them!" "At my age, I'm done looking for things. I'm ready to be shown the way." "Well, in that case, I'll just show you to a patio that I think will meet with your approval." "No thank you." "There will be pasta." "Well... alright then."

Starr took Brandy along to Trattoria Gianni, The venerable Italian stalwart situated on Halsted in the midst of some of the Chicago's best theaters. The restaurant was soon to be celebrating its 30th birthday, a gigantic accomplishment in a city which sees even Michelin starred establishments closing after a few years. Importing many of their ingredients straight from Italy and preparing everything in house, Trattoria Gianni has kept alive a tradition of classic Italian food that warms the heart as well as filling the belly.

Starr and Brandy took their seats on the newly revamped patio, which had plenty of lush greenery and twinkling lights, but a blocked off view of the street, making it feel more like a private garden. There were even space heaters scattered around the space, ready to warm diners in case the notoriously fickle Chicago weather were to make a turn towards the chilly. The ladies ordered a few drinks to sip while they perused the menu (some rose for Brandy and a lemony cocktail for Starr), but little did they know what the night was about to bring them, because Gianni Delisi himself was making his way over to their table.

Relying on Gianni's recommendations heavily, Starr and Brandy sampled a trio of signature appetizers; beef carpaccio, bruchetta with fresh burrata cheese, and some arancini. Though the beef was stunningly tender and flavorful and the burrata was pure creamy decadence, the arancini had Starr and Brandy's rapt attention with its perfectly crisped exterior, beautifully scented saffron rice interior, and bits of peas and cheese hiding within.

Next, Gianni brought out a sampling of some of the restaurant's finest pasta dishes. Starr really enjoyed the Conchiglie del Mercante, which consisted of shell shaped pasta, some slightly spicy Italian sausage, and lots of mushrooms and peas. Brandy immediately zeroed in on the Gnocchi della Nonna. The perfectly soft and pillowy little ricotta clouds came served with a bright and herby tomato sauce, making these gnocci just the thing to please a cheese lover such as Brandy. Lastly, they sampled the Rigatoni alla Nocerina, coated in a light and creamy sauce with bit of sun dried tomato, mushrooms, and plenty of garlic.

Not stopping there, they cleansed their palates with a special salad of red and golden beets, arugula, blue cheese, and a citrus scented dressing. The earthy, peppery, and zingy flavors were just the thing to give their taste buds a second wind.

A plate of Braciole found its way to the table, making the ladies grown both with delight and trepidation at having to find the room for it in their ever expanding stomachs. The thinly cut beef encased a creamy filling of cheese, raisins, breadcrumbs, and pine nuts and came accompanied by some sauted spinach, crisped sage, grilled onions, and mushrooms, making for a deeply flavorful and skillfully put together dish.

Lastly, a perfect little panna cotta was presented to the table. Starr and Brandy made a valiant effort to devour every last creamy, silky, smooth spoonful, but their ultimate failure to consume every last bite earned them a little side eye from their smirking waitress.

When they had arrived, the sun had still been high in the sky, but by the time they were ready to leave, the twinkling lights all around the patio had come alive, like little fairies dancing in the early autumnal air. "I don't think I can move," Brandy sighed. "How many glasses of rose did you have?" Starr asked. "One! What you see before you now is not a woman drunk on wine, but a woman drunk on the love of fantastic Italian food. There is no spirit in existence that will ever make me feel as contented as a good plate of pasta will."

And legend has it that Starr and Brandy are still sitting at that table on Gianni's patio to this day, guts busted, waiting for a time when they will once again feel hungry.

The writers of this blog were invited to dine at the restaurant free of charge in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

Revist: New Summer Menu at Grand Lux Cafe

"Two words: Hen Night," Brandy said to her good friend Starr. "What does that mean? Are you asking me to go out for fried chicken?" "No, silly, a Hen Night! You know, with cocktails and gossiping and lots of fresh summery nibbles?" "Oh! A Girl's Night Out!" "Right! We call them Hen Nights on my side of the pond." "Gotcha. Where should we go?" "Somewhere downtown with a lovely view so we can people watch. And somewhere with an extensive and varied menu so we have lots of options for snacking. And fantastical drinks, of course. Comfy seating." "Sounds like somewhere we both know very well. Grand Lux Cafe it is!"

And so, Brandy and Starr headed down to the Magnificent Mile, grabbed a prime booth by the window overlooking Michigan Ave, and started off a night of frivolity and a whole lot of inappropriate giggling.

Drinks were in order, of course, to kick everything off. Brandy went with the classic Mai Tai, which she found to be perfectly fruity and delicious. Starr went for the more sophisticated sounding Asian Pear Martini, which she actually found quite sweet and strong, but with a pleasant flavor at the front.

Picking from the new summer items, Brandy and Starr ordered the Tuna Poke Tacos, a delightful fusion of Latin and Asian cuisine. The taco shells were actually deep fried wonton wrappers, which had a brilliant crunch that matched well with the soft and silky filling of tuna, avocado, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. "Now these are the definition of finger-licking good!" said Starr as she finished off the last of her taco. They also ordered the Pot Roast Fries, which Brandy instantly fell in love with. "Tender meat, cheese sauce, and crispy potatoes. This speaks to the most primal part of my soul," she said as she stuffed another handful of fries into her mouth.

Next, to lighten things up, they split one of the new summer salads, which came dressed with roasted pears, strawberries, feta cheese, and almonds, in a balsamic dressing. Brandy has always been a big fan of fruit in her salad, so this mix of sweet, creamy, and crunchy ingredients was just perfect for her.

Starr went for the Fish and Chips as her entree, which also came with a side of peanut coleslaw. The fish was tender and light with a nicely crisp tempura batter. She also liked that the dish came with a side of house made tartar sauce, which combine well with the lashings of vinegar she added to the fish. The slaw was also a nice little surprise, as it had a unique peppery flavor and plenty of crunch.

Brandy went with the new Brie and Bacon Burger. The combination of the melty brie cheese, the smokey bacon, some peppery greens, creamy mayo, and a sweet red onion jam was so utterly perfect in Brandy's mind. Of course, the combination of the sweet and savory flavors was an instant hit, but Brandy also really liked that no one thing really overwhelmed anything else. As a side dish, Brandy
also ordered the Crispy Glazed Brussels Sprouts, which turned out to be the best thing she tried all night. Sweet, a little crisp, savory, and so very delicious, Brandy could have eaten several more servings of these sprouts if she hadn't already indulged in so much deliciousness.

Finally, the ladies wound down their evening out with a pair of coffee cocktails and an order of Warm Butter Cake. The rich and gooey cake was so perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a sprinkling of marinated strawberries as accompaniment. Even though both ladies were full to the brim, they still managed to finish off every last bite of that cake, which is certainly saying something.

"Ah, we need to do this more often!" Brandy sighed with contentment. "Not too often though," said Starr, "Otherwise you're going to have to buy me a gym membership!"

The writers of this blog were invited to dine by the restaurant free of charge in order to facilitate the writing of this post.