Gail's Carriage Inn - Des Plaines, Ill.

Mushroom Burger

This was a serious burger that created a need for a nap after lunch!  A cute little diner, not too far from our Elk Grove facility, so it was recommended by the group.  I had never been there, but Im glad I did.

You can pick your cheese, so I added the swiss.  All the fixings were added as well, with a little mustard and it made a serious burger.  Big, juicy and cooked perfectly!  

The fries made the dish perfect.  Reminiscent of a certain large burger chain fries that everyone loves.  Crispy outside, soft inside and perfectly salted.   

If you want a great lunch at a great price that wont give you a lunchtime FOOD BILL that will shock you, head to Gail's Carriage House in Des Plaines!  

NEWS - Wine shortage drawing no 'cheers' from vintage lovers

Wine shortage drawing no 'cheers' from vintage lovers:  (USA Today Article)

"Data suggests there may be insufficient supply to meet demand in coming years, as current vintages are released," the report says.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'via Blog this'

Sabatino's - North Center Chicago.

Chicken Sabatino

Sabatino's hands down is one of my favorite places to eat.  Why?  

I love the old school setting, the atmosphere brings me back to a time when going out to eat was an experience.  Dinner here can be a 2 hour outing, but that is no problem.  I love that they are not rushing you and that the meal is coursed with plenty of time for conversation with your friends or date.  

I went to an event in the private room, sort of family style, but not exactly.  Still a great time and a new friend made!  There is no shortage of food at Sabatino's, you leave there very satisfied!  The soup and salad are seriously a meal on their own.  

The Chicken Sabatino, a breast grilled and stuffed with wild rice, covered in Mushrooms cooked in a light wine sauce.....was excellent!  My first time having that.  

Service is unbeatable and the bar, doesn't skimp on the good stuff.  

If you want a dinner experience, rather than just a night out.  A real, old school setting and some outstanding food with pricing that will not send you a shocking FOOD BILL, I highly recommend Sabatino's!  One of My Favorites!

Bluebird - Wicker Park.

Green Curry Thai Mussels

A bit off the path, but well worth the extra block or so.  The atmosphere grabs you first, it is really a romantic setting, low lights and quiet, but busy.  The tables are small, they do pack you into the space, so that was a challenge.  Im a scotch guy, so the scotch list was good and I opted for a nice Irish Whiskey.

The food was a pleasant surprise.  I started with a mixed green salad, that was light and refreshing with just the right amount of light creamy dressing tossed throughout.  A second plate was grilled brussel sprouts with chorizo.  This was good, but the greens were drowned in a chipotle Aioli mayo, which was good but a bit much.  You lose the flavor of the greens and sausage.  

Finally, The dish that won me over were Green Curry Thai Mussels.  OMG!!  The sauce there were cooked in was Killer!  I could have licked the bowl out!  The mussels were perfectly cooked with onion, edamame and crimini mushrooms with a couple of crostini slices on the side.  I was floored with how good these were!

Great dinner, nice conversation with a date, we were hoping to stay a bit more, but were floored by the fact they this place had NO COFFEE to end a nice dinner with.

We chose to close the tab.  Overall, the FOOD BILL was decent, not too bad for a nice evening out!  I recommend Bluebird for a nice date night.  Parking was not too bad either.  $2.00 per hour, two hour max until 10pm.

Westminster Hot Dogs - Loop

Sausages!!!

This isn't your typical dog shop.  They make their own sausages here and the taste tells it!  

I got there at about 11am, before the lunch crowd and ordered the Spicy Italian combo.  Let's start off with the fries, because you know that is the first thing you taste.  Their crinkle cut Fries Rocked! Perfectly cooked and salted.  That is a good tell of how good a place will be.  

The sausage .... I have mixed reviews, but it will be positive!  The sausage was great!  Perfectly cooked, with snap and juice!  It wasn't too spicy, but had some great flavor.  Serves with cheese and a tomato pesto sauce.  yum!  My only complaint, was that it was served on a hot dog ben, but at least it was a Rosen's!  That sausage wold have been the perfect lunch if it was on a a proper sausage roll.

The sausages are all made there at the shop, fresh daily, with no fillers or preservatives.  So you are getting a quality sausage, which in my mind, totally justifies the slightly higher FOOD BILL.  $8 or so for a combo, not too bad for the quality, this isn't your typical joint, this stuff is top quality and very worth the trip!  

Overall, I loved it a lot and plan to go back and try the dogs!!!  

NEWS - Sonic Drive-In Breaks Ground in Uptown, Will Be Chicago's First - Uptown - DNAinfo.com Chicago

Oh Hell YES!!!  My favorite place growing up in Arizona!!!

Sonic Drive-In Breaks Ground in Uptown, Will Be Chicago's First - Uptown - DNAinfo.com Chicago:

"The Oklahoma-based fast food chain broke ground at 1016 W. Wilson Ave. over the weekend, and should be open by January, "

'via Blog this'

Palm Court at the Drake - Magnificent Mile

More for the Music than the Food

Tomato and Artichoke Burrata

No Pic, because that would be tacky at this place!  I go, because I LOVE the Flat Cats Swing Jazz band and they play the Palm Court once a month or so.

http://www.flatcatsmusic.com/

I arrived a little after 8 and ordered a Riesling and a tomato and artichoke Burrata, which was really tasty!  Toss in a Glenlivet 12 year Single Malt, later a coffee, add on the parking and it was a pricey evening, but Once in a while I can handle a whopping FOOD BILL, to enjoy life.  Good People watching, nice light menu and a great scotch list.

Want a perfect date and dont mind forking out a few bucks, you should hit the Palm Court up on Flat Cats night!

L. Woods Pine Tap and Lodge - Lincolnwood

Yes ... more half eaten meat!

More Prime Rib!

Yes, There is another pic of a half eaten slab of red meat!  I keep forgetting to take a photo when the food arrives, but that is because it looked so good, I had to dive in!

L. Woods in Lincolnwood was what I hit on Friday and it was great!  The Prime Rib was cooked perfectly, the broccoli was steamed just right and the service was on the money!

the place was busy, but I got a table right away and everything moved along at a good pace.  Finished off the meal with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream!  All that, tax and tip ... $36, Great FOOD BILL!!!

I highly recommend L. Woods, it is friendly, the menu is simple, but good, service is prompt and the staff are knowledgeable about the fare.  Nice place for a date, though it can be a little loud, everything else makes up for it!

Broadway Cellars

Wild Mushroom Ravioli

One of my favorite places in the Edgewater area is Broadway Cellars, they have a simple but elegant menu with some quality choices.  Their wine list is extensive, but they don't over price the wine.  You can really enjoy a nice dinner without a whopping FOOD BILL!

I enjoyed a simple Mushroom Ravioli topped with grilled chicken the other night.  It came with a great side salad and some seriously good crusty french bread.  All for about $20.00

The atmosphere is perfect for a date, that night, they had a live guitarist playing some smooth tunes.  It is quiet enough for conversation and the service is perfect!  I give Broadway cellars an A rating.  They are a classic spot that delivers quality and leaves your wallet happy.

Poag Mahones - Loop

Pinche Turkey Burger

My Crew took me out for lunch yesterday for Boss's Day.  I have an awesome team of guys and I really appreciated it!.  We decided to take a little extra time to sit down and enjoy our lunch, so we headed to Poag Mahone's in the Loop. 

I had the Pinche Turkey Burger, which is out of sorts for me.  But I have been eating a lot of junk lately and tried to go healthy.  It was good, my own fault allowed it to be under cooked a bit, but overall, it was tasty.  It comes with avocado, tomato and chipotle mayo. I got it with a side salad, which was really good too and one of the guys with me got the crinkle cut fries and they were really good!

The draw back was the FOOD BILL.  $12 for a burger .... OUCH!!!  It was good and all, but not worth $12 considering it was rather small.  Poag's get an A for atmosphere, service and taste, but the FOOD BILL gets a C-. 

Not sure they care though, from what I read in their menu ... Poag Mahone translates to kiss my ass in Gaelic!  Still, a decent place if you don't mind dropping a little extra cash!  I've had the regular beef burgers there and they are awesome. 

NEWS - Starbucks Made of Shipping Containers Opens in Edgewater

A drive-thru Starbucks made out of reused shipping containers served its first weekday customers Monday at the southwest corner of Devon Avenue and North Broadway.

Starbucks Made of Shipping Containers Opens in Edgewater - Edgewater - DNAinfo.com Chicago

Right on the southern border of Rogers Park, where it meets Edgewater.  This will be great for the area!

Twisted Spoke - West Town

Once again on the quest for the best Bloody Mary.  The Twisted Spoke, has a rep for having some really good ones, So I thought I would give it a try.  I brought along a friend, who prefers mimosas, and of course, they had those too!

So to start with, they had 6 or 7 different kinds of Bloodies, so I picked the spicy version of their original, It was good!  I have to say, I enjoyed it and the beer chaser was a nice addition.  For $8 it was well work it.  Was it the best or my favorite?  Well, I am going to have to say .... No.  Bad Apple still rocked my Bloody world.

There was an app that caught my eye, which I had to try.  Bacon tempura.   You cant go wrong with bacon!  The garnish was an avocado, caper and radish slaw, which was killer good!  The Bacon Tempura, rocked!  It came with a maple ponzu dip which really added to the tempura.  I have to say that I was impressed with this new find.

Brunch was also just as impressive.  I ordered the house-made corned beef hash.  This was amazing!  Big chunks of corned beef, Some seriously good potatoes and a bit of rasher to add color!  Top it off with 3 poached egg and some toast, I was in heaven!  My friends had something with some champagne cooked spiced pears and cooked brie, with tht home fries, rashers and eggs, wow...those pears rocked! 

Service was good, though they mixed up my credit card with another table in the end and it took a few minutes to correct, overall it was not bad and a really good experience.  I will definitely go back there again! 

The Medinah Shrine's Oasis - Addison

Im not going to bore you with another picture of a steak, but I am going to write a short bit about a private dining spot that I recently visited.  It has been a while since I have been out to the Medinah Shriner's Temple in Addison.  For obvious distance reasons, I don't get out there much.

I understand that there has been a management change in the kitchen and so, I was invited to come out and see how things have progressed.   I met a group of fellow Shriners out there and from the beginning, it was a great experience!  I ordered a heineken and Black Label on the rocks.  The rocks glass was filled tothe top and the total bar tab ... $14.  GET OUT!  gimme another!!!

Dinner was just as good.  We ordered Mussels and calamari, both were killer good.  The mussels were in a light wine and tomato sauce with garlic and it was devoured by everyone.  The calamari, your standard style disappeared even faster.

Dinner were steaks for some and pasta for others in the group.  You get a huge portion, so be prepared.  I ordered a 16oz rib-eye, medium rare.  It comes with a baked potato and broccoli.  The only complaint that I had was that they just couldn't get the steaks cooked right.  Mine was over cooked and another was undercooked.  BUT .... Mine was pretty good, so I didn't mind and a quick trade of plates satisfied my friend so that he was good with his.  Everything was super tasty!

Add in some nice wine, dessert and coffee, it was an awesome evening at the Oasis!  You could not have asked for a better night of fellowship and good food.  I picked up the tab for three of us.  App, Dinner, drinks and coffee tax and tip ... under $120 for three of us!  Sweet FOOD BILL!

Service was outstanding and the atmosphere is perfect.  The catch, you have to be a Shriner of a guest of a Shriner to get in!  That is another journey that I cover in one of my other blogs!

http://ordbillspolitics.blogspot.com/

Learn more about the Shriners and what we do!

http://www.medinah.org/

JC's Pub Ristorante - McCook IL

Prime Rib

A lovely friend took me to one of her favorite places to eat down in the Southwest burbs of Chicago.  Not an area I wold normally venture out to, but I am happy that I did.

I wasn't feeling well, I started on probiotics and my digestive system is a but delicate at the moment, but I managed to give it a good try.

I am glad I did!  I love these old Mom and Pop places!  This joint reminded my of one of my favorites, Sabatino's in Avondale.

I got a 12 ounce Prime rib that was really good.  I could not finish it!  It came iwth salad, veggies and vesuvio potatoes.  The only complaint, the veggies were a little over cooked, but who cares, the beef was on my mind.  It was cooked just right and quite flavorful.  My friend had a pasta dish with beef....I cant spell it so Im not going to try!  But it also rocked and the portions were HUGE.

Service was good, but not great.  My water glass never got filled back up, but she did come bay several times to see how we were and I just forgot to ask as well, but should I have to?  The place was good, so it didn't really take away from the experience.

My prime rib was a special for the evening at $21.  Wine was $6 a glass and not too bad at all.  Over all, great date night place, quiet  atmosphere but busy.  On the way out, the owner shook my hand and gave me a really sincere thank you.  I liked that.  I would absolutely go again!

Alexander's Steakhouse - Springfield IL

Yes!  There is a great steak place in Springfield!  I was scoping out Facebook and looking at where a lot of the other conference attendees were going and learned that Alexander's Steakhouse was the place to go!

Seriously, for about $30, I needed to be wheeled out in a wheelbarrow!  I was in meat heaven!

The steak was perfectly cooked, the broccoli was crisp and the mushrooms rocked!  My buddy added Cheesecake to his dinner and  said it was a good addition!

Fast service, all you can eat salad bar is included and the service was spot on.  We didn't have any drinks, but the drink menu looked reasonable.  If you are in Springfield, I highly recommend Alexander's!  Good meal, good FOOD BILL at the end! Oh, and did I mention that you can cook your own steak if you want???  You can!  I was too lazy though! 

Brickhouse - Springfield, Il.

 This past weekend I was in Springfield Illinois attending a conference.  For the most part, Springfield is not a hopping place and most places near the convention center close at like 5pm.  However, the lunch hour has several good choices and one place that was recommended was the Brickhouse.

http://brickhousegrill.net/

I like to try foods that are indigenous to the area and on Friday afternoon, I was introduced to the Horseshoe.  This is a slice of Texas toast, with your choice of meat piled on the top of the bread.  You can choose a burger, ham, turkey, roast beef, etc.  Then a pile of fries are loaded up on the plate and finally, the entire dish is covered in melted cheese.  A serious heart attack on a bun, but it was killer tasty!

But this was not the only treat!  We opened up with bacon wrapped, jalapeno and cheese chicken skewers.  Seriously....I could have made a meal of these all by themselves!

Overall, the Brickhouse gets a high rating for some seriously good pub grub, friendly service and a fun atmosphere.  I am definitely going to make this a favorite lunch spot the next time I am in Springfield!

Eastern Style Pizza

Philly Steak Grinder

Yes, I eat out a lot.  Im single, no kids and I don't cook for my dog, so I go out to eat, often.  Tonight, the cupboard was bare, so I head out to a local Rogers Park favorite for a quick grinder.  

The Eastern Style Pizza Philly Steak Grinder was on my mind.  It is a pretty good sandwich in a fix.  I do like Philly's Best a little better, but Eastern Style is close to home.  Skirt steak, white American cheese, onion and some good bread.  

Compliment the 12 inch Philly with some great steak fries and it makes a good dinner.  There isn't too much more to say, it is a good meal and the FOOD BILL, $11.00 with the tax.  I totally recommend this place to fill a growling stomach on a week night in a pinch.  Parky is easy on the street and the family that runs it are pretty cool too!    

Americana Submarine

Hot Dogs

My usual Hot Dog lunch joint in the Loop closed down, heart wrenching, I know after two years of devotion.  The Works on Franklin is no more ... [Moment of silence].

So my quest to find a new Dog joint is on!  Yes, I can default to Luke's, but it takes 20 minutes to get a dog in there at lunch time because it is so packed.  So, I decided to venture outside of my comfort zone and seek out a new spot.

I ran across Americana Submarine on Clark and van Buren, which at first looked like a bodega with subs and dogs.  Now, in my travels, I have learned that sometimes these places are surprising, so I gave it a try.

Well, the first thing I notices was the $6.99 price for 2 dogs, a tiny bag of chips and a small fountain drink.  Hmmm.....well, I'm in for the haul.  To say the least, I was disappointed. 

The Dog, a Red Hot Chicago sausage was good and cooked right.  The tomato and onion were fresh cut and everything else were good.  BUT!!!

The kicker was that the (non-poppy seed) buns were so stale the ends were hard.  Totally un-steamed, despite pulling them out of a steamer, which I determined was for show.

I really wanted to like these dogs, the fresh cut veggies and ample peppers, even had the celery salt.  I really did, I tried.  But in the end, the crappy buns killed it for me.  I can't say I recommend this place for a hot dog, but you never know, maybe the Subs are better.  They seemed to have some regulars ordering those!  But, Im not much of a sub sammich kind of guy.