Happy New Year!

  

It's New Years Eve and what better way to celebrate the end of the year than going out to grab some grub! Wayne and I wanted to celebrate with a bit more flair so we decided to go to Sprout in Lincoln Park. I've always wanted to try this place, along with The Girl and The Goat, Grace and Alenia. :) So I was pretty excited.

Now, you would think that Sprout would be geared towards more vegetarian chic dishes but nope! They're more contemporary French/American cuisine. Plus the Executive Chef is Dale Levitski from season 3 of Top Chef.  Chef Levitski also opened up a restaurant called Frog n Snail (which I also would like to try) that focuses on more European classics. However, Sprout does cater to vegetarians by having a vegetarian New Years Eve dinner offered along with their five course meal special. 

 

When you first walk into Sprout, the first thing you may notice is how small the restaurant is. Despite that minor detail though, the atmosphere has a classy yet comfy feel to it. We had a 7:15pm Reservation so the restaurant was a little slow at first. But it began to pick up halfway through our meal. 

 

We were first given a pumpkin squash appetizier to start off with. It had nuts and a gingerbread topping. I thought it was really neat was that it came with a cute itty bitty spoon and that it was served in an actual egg shell. 

After the little pumpkin egg we were then given the Lobster. It had butternut, armagnac, cream and crab. I have to say that this was my favorite dish out to the meal. The smooth butternut squash base added a nice touch to the lobster. It was as if the squash flavor softened the lobster so the seafood taste was subtle instead of overpowering. While the slices of chips added a nice crunch to the soup without taking away from the flavor.  I felt that every element of the dish complimented each other, creating a nice symphony of flavors on the palate.

The gnocchi dish was Wayne's favorite. It had black truffle, cauliflower mash, kale and Ossau-Iraty. Fun fact, ossau-iraty is a creamy, rich yet smooth French cheese made from sheep's milk. Apparently the cheese is produced traditionally. As the sheep get to graze in mountain pastures. I also liked how the served the gnocchi with three pieces. I'm not a huge fan of gnocchi because it can be too filling, but the smaller portion was just right. As the dish gave enough to make your mouth savor it, but not too much where it was overwhelming.

Yup. Sipping my drink like a lady :)

 Haha. He's such a cutie.

The Quail was another one of Wayne's favorites. If you haven't seen our previous posts, Wayne really likes foie gras. So the fact the quail had foie gras made his day. The quail was delicious it was moist but still had a bit of gamy texture with it. I've never actually ate quail before. I've had quail eggs but never quail. I think quail is like duck in its gamy texture. Despite that fact though, the texture complimented the dish quite nicely with the corn grits.

The venison was a very tasty dish. It had Glögg, chestnut, cauliflower and goat cheese. I'm not a huge fan of venison but what was great about this dish was that the Glögg (a nice mulled Swedish Wine) added a nice hint of sweet-fruitiness to the meat without taking away from the texture of flavor of the venison. There was also a goat cheese stuffed prune which was really delicious too.

Last but not least for dessert we got three different types of cream puffs of milk chocolate, caramel and vanilla.  There was lingonberry berry jam, and decorative candied sugar web over the cream puffs. To top off our dessert, we also ordered a cappuccino. The coffee was really rich yet smooth. The cream puffs were pretty good, however, I felt like they were kind of rushed. The outside of the puff was kind of crispy instead of fluffy and the decorative sugar webbing was very pretty but difficult to eat.

 But to end on a sweet note, we were given free homemade cookies after our meal! It was very nice and they were very yummy!

Thank you to everyone who follows us!

We wish everyone a Happy New Year! See ya 2012!

May 2013 bring more wonderful opportunities and memories along the way!!!!!!!

 

As always,

"The Couple that Grubs Together,

Stays Together"
-Grub Couple-

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Fancy Pants: Boka

 

Today, Wayne and I went to Boka for dinner. I came for a weekend to visit him in Chicago.

It's been a little tough since we've been in a long distance relationship ever since I graduated college in June. But it was really nice to get out and do something a little special.

 

When we got to Boka, the ambiance was the first thing I noticed. It was sophisticated yet cozy and we were able to snag a secluded booth in the back corner. So it was nice being able to have an intimate conversation while also observing the busy restaurant. 

To start we ordered the raw tasting and the braised pork belly appetizer.

I thought it was pretty cool how the waiters arrived at the same time with wooden bento boxes and synchronized the way they placed them on our table. So the attentiveness of the waiters made it feel like we were getting special treatment for dinning there. Which is always a plus for a fancy restaurant. I believe that having a superb waiting staff that is on their A game, is what differentiates most restaurants.

I cannot remember what was in our raw tasting but each portion was flavorful and tasty! As for the braised pork belly there were bay scallops, hearts of palm, BBQ eel, sea beans, black rice sauce and a crispy pig ear.

 

The Raw Tasting

 

Braised Pork Belly

Then for our entrees, I got the Sockeye salmon with yellow gazpacho, cantaloupe, roasted cherry tomatoes, chorizo, and focaccia croutons. Wayne ordered the Alaskan halibut with steamed mussels, sepia, grilled fennel, whole wheat gnudi, tomato sauce and saffron. I thought it was really cool that the chef catered our plates to sharing portions. So I got to taste Wayne's halibut and also have a portion of my salmon. 

  

Our Entrees

I thought the salmon was okay. I honestly was expecting the salmon to be more flavorful and flaky. Yet I do believe the cantaloupe and yellow gazpacho added a unique flare to the dish. But the Alaskan halibut was wonderful. The fish was cooked perfectly and the dish had different elements that catered to the fish itself. Also, I think the Chef might have thought we were food critics or maybe just foodies, because he also sent out a pheasant dish with egg noodles and foie gras. This dish was really good too. Wayne said it reminded him of a Filipino dish called Adobo. 

Adobo is a either pork or chicken that is marinated in a vinegar, garlic, soy sauce. I learned (from Wikipedia) that Filipino mountaineers and travelers usually packed it because it keeps well without refrigeration.

 

Pheasant dish

As for dessert, man it was simply phenomenal. We ordered the Aerated White Chocolate Raspberry Cake, granita and white chocolate ganache and the Rooibus Yogurt Sherbert, with almond crisp, basil and fresh plums. I thought it was really cool how they shaved the plums to look almost like flowers and the almond crisp was very good. The yogurt was a bit interesting because it was shaped in a log. As for the white chocolate raspberry cake it was amazing. The white chocolate ganache was what made the dish. It was right amount of white chocolate and had a mousse texture that almost melted in your mouth. 

 

Aerated White Chocolate Raspberry Cake

 

Rooibus Yogurt Sherbert

Plus at the end we got a sample of mini desserts after we paid. In short, it was a wonderful experience to eat a Boka. We look forward to seeing what they'll have next on their menu in the future. 

As always, 

"The Couple that Grubs Together Stays Together"

-Grub Couple-

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Green with Envy!!!

So St. Patty's Day weekend is upon us and we wanted some authentic Irish cuisine (or as authentic as we can get). We heard about  Halsted Harp in Lincoln Park, which is owned by a man from Ireland and has a 4.5 star Yelp rating, and thought that would be a great place for good 'ole Shepherds Pie. Unfortunately, we got there late and it was super crowded. Bummer.

Our next step was trying to find somewhere in walking distance in Lincoln Park. Using the Yelp app for the Android, Wayne looked up nearby places and decided to go to John Barleycorn. Wayne used to be a sales rep for a restaurant technology company so he knows the owners and thought "Why not? It's a big space so we should find room despite it being March Madness season and St. Patty's weekend." 

Upon arrival, we noticed we were dead wrong. It was flooded with Michigan St. patrons and there was no table available, so we chose to eat at the bar standing up. Not ideal but we are hungry after all that walking.

We ordered Fish and Chips and a Pulled Pork Sandwich with Green Line Pale Ale from Goose Island. Ironically, it wasn't green but went down well with the Fish and Chips. The chips, a.k.a standard bar fries, need a splash of ketchup but the fried fish with tartar sauce mixed well with the beer of choice. Emma liked the Pulled Pork Sandwich, but then again she was starving after not eating all day due to final exams. Wayne tried it and thought it was "Aight, had better". 

Wayne of course was more interested in the dismantling of his March Madness bracket with Duke and Missouri losing (had Missouri going to the Final Four). All in all was not a bad night out especially with the weather being so perfect. Things could have gone better, but the important thing is that we both spent it with someone we care for. And really, what more can you ask for?

"The couple that grubs together stays together"

-Grub Couple-

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