Showing posts with label Neighborhood Restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Neighborhood Restaurants. Show all posts

Saturday, April 28, 2012

$5 Martinis.....and they don't skimp on the vodka either!

Location: Downtown Chicago
Time: Friday April 27, 2012 5:01 p.m.
Task: Locate bar serving cheap but delicious drinks, and then drink them.


After a rather stressful work week, my girlfriends and I were in agreement on one basic thing: we needed alcohol, in moderate to high quantities, and we needed it at the earliest possible moment after the clock struck 5 pm.  This got me thinking about all of the places within walking distance from the Merchandise Mart, and then I remembered! There was a place on Wells that I had visited before (with an ex-boyfriend who shall-not-be-named) and they had excellent martinis for only $5!

Said place is The Crepe Bistro & Martini Bar at 186 North Wells, and it has the perfect collection of martinis, ranging from the deliciously sweet to those of the stronger variety (think vodka with a splash of olive juice, yuck!!), and they're all priced for those who are monetarily challenged like myself.  The Bistro also has a fully stocked bar if you aren't in the mood for vodka. The ambience is super cute, with a fat, amiable man playing an accordion on a stool (just beware of the suspicious urn-looking vases that are on the wall next to a picture of a man who looks long-dead...... they might hold his ashes :-/).




My first drink of the evening, the Pomegranate Martini. Good, but not my fave... it was a little too sweet, and drink was "heavy" on the tongue.


Joy and Jessica both sipping the French Martini (vodka, pineapple juice and amaretto - THIS was my fave! Not too sweet, not too syrupy, just the perfect balance of juice and vodka....yummm.)



Monique looking cute with her Peach Martini.



 Audrey on a mission: girlfriend was serious and ordered vodka with olives as soon as we sat down!



And Brian, looking giddy over his "incredibly-rugged" Appletini. Don't worry Brian, we're not judging you. Men can drink Appletinis too :-)


Sunday, April 22, 2012

"Let Me Bite That...."

Over the course of this weekend, I have probably eaten my weight in pork. And fried chicken.  But I figured it was a fitting end to a week that consisted of oxtail soup being consumed at each mealtime (I'm talking breakfast, lunch, AND dinner here folks.....it was THAT damn good). I will do better, in fact, I've already started to do better - I had a whole wheat muffin for breakfast today (made them last night, I knew if I didn't I'd wake up begging my boyfriend to take me to a fattening brunch), and for lunch sauteed spinach and roasted garlic cauliflower.

But I didn't sit down at this computer to talk about spinach and cauliflower (even though it was satisfyingly delish).  This weekend my mom came out to visit, and when she comes to visit that's when I really get some good restaurant time in because #1 Like me, my mom loves food and, #2 She pays!!! Ha!

We went to Isla Pilipina on Friday night, which is in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on Lawrence Avenue.  Isla is a really tiny joint (so if you ever visit be prepared to wait), and the place is packed on the weekends, but the food makes up for the close quarters.  The last time we went, we saw this being delivered to the table next to us:

Deep fried pork belly appetizer

My first impulse was to walk to the table and politely ask them to "let me bite that", but I didn't see that going over well. Instead I waited, and we ordered it Friday! It was, I must say, everything I hoped and dreamed it would be.  It wasn't as rich and dauntingly huge as the deep fried pork knuckle (got a pic of that below), but was the perfect mix of crunchy, crispy pork skin and moist meat.  It was divine.  My mom wasn't a huge fan of it because she thought it was still a bit too pork-y (how can you complain that pork belly is too PORKY???), but I took care of what she didn't eat! It even came with a cute little tomato garnish (I ate that too lol).

I love this restaurant, and although I can't go as often as I like (I'd be too tempted to order deep fried pork and calamari with every visit), it's on my list of favorite restaurants.  Oh, and I forgot to mention, it's BYOB! Another reason to love this place :-)

Other things I love at Isla: lumpia (deep fried mini eggrolls), calamari, crispy fried chicken (some of the best fried chicken I've ever had, no joke!), and pork bbq skewers. 




Deep fried pork knuckle after my mom and I did our damage!



Until next time darlings!


~Z





Just in case you get a hankering for oxtail soup, here's the recipe I used: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rich-beef-barley-soup-recipe/index.html