Crepes Et Amis

 

I like to see what there is to eat no matter where I go and that includes when I go to Michigan to visit my family.  My parents live in downtown Midland, Michigan and I noticed a crepe place that I was interested in a few years ago.  It took me a while, but I was finally able to visit Crepes et Amis for brunch the last time I was in Midland.  It's a small counter service space with the kitchen on one side and bench seating on the other.  There are also some tables in the front and a couple of tables in the back, opposite the bench seating and next to the kitchen.  The lights are hanging lights, strung above the bench and chandelier-like over the order counter.  There are also some wall hangings consisting of framed coffee bags and Paris art with a vintage clock in the center.  The entire look is both rustic and very homey.

 

Crepes et Amis specializes in crepes, both sweet and savory, but they also do waffles and pastries (and coffee).  While there were several waffles that looked good, as it was my first time there, I wanted to focus on the crepes.  I got two crepes, one sweet and one savory.  I also had a cup of coffee from a local roaster that was pretty good.  The crepes were thin and easy to cut, but they also held together well enough to hold its fillings.  My sweet crepe was the Banberry, which had Bananas, Strawberries, and Nutella, and was drizzled with Nutella and Powdered Sugar.  It was sweet with a little tartness from the strawberries and the Nutella added a sweet and chocolatey nuttiness that tied everything together.  My second Crepe was called Good Morning Paris, and it was a perfect Breakfast.  Inside the the delicate crepe was Smoked Ham, Scrambled Eggs, Swiss Cheese, Brown Sugar, and served with an Orange on the side.  While I will generally order both sweet and savory dishes for brunch, this was both sweet and savory in one.  The crepes were really good.  The space was very friendly and welcoming, and I will be sure to return. 

All Together Now - Brunch

 

If you look around Chicago, you will find many ethnic groceries with an attached cafe.  There are also many bottle shops where you can buy beer and wine that also have an attached bar, locally known as a slashie.  To a lesser extent, you can also find restaurants that also sell packaged foods (normally gourmet).  Last year, a place opened up in Ukrainian Village that was both a bottle shop/bar and a cafe/gourmet packaged goods store.  Called All Together Now (and originally Brothers & Sisters), it aims to fulfill many of your quick food and drink desires.  The front is a glass fronted storefront and walking in, the first thing that you will encounter is the Cheese and Cured Meat display counter.  There is a counter behind the cheese and meat display with a cash register on the left, where you place your order, and seating to the right for drinking and dining.  There is a beer refrigerator opposite the counter with a lot of local beers and wine shelves on either side of the beer refrigerator and around a pillar in the center of the room.  Aside from the counter seating, there are tables in the back, next to the beer and wine and a large communal table in the front, where we sat, that was made from a large log.

 

As I mentioned, you place your order at the cash register and pay up front.  You then find a seat with your beverage and your food is brought to you.  It was a warm day when we went, so I went with an iced coffee from Ruby Coffee Roasters.  It was a Central American blend with a medium roast and flavors of chocolate and citrus and a little inherent sweetness (I don't add cream or sugar to my coffee).  It was very good and I think I ended up having a couple of cups.  While I was waiting for my food, I decided to take a look at the cheese and saw something that excited me a lot.  When I was at a fine dining restaurant earlier this year, on their tasting menu one of the courses included a grilled cheese sandwich made with Tomme Cheese which was the best grilled cheese sandwich that I have ever had.  When I saw that All Together Now had Tomme Cheese in their display case, I had to try it again, so they cut me a small sample.  Tomme Cheese is a hard French Swiss-style Cheese made from Skim Milk.  It is light, but despite the lack of fat found in other cheeses, it does have a lot of flavor.  While this wasn't as good as the Grilled Cheese Sandwich (and Fermented Tomato Soup), it was good and brought my memory back to the sandwich.

 

Normally for brunches I will tend to order a sweet course and a savory course.  In this case, I actually ordered two savory courses, though admittedly the first did have some sweetness to it.  I had what was essentially an Open Faced Beet and Goat Cheese Sandwich that was a special.  It had Golden Beets, Heirloom Tomatoes, Chervil, Chevre, and Blue Cheese, on a thick slice of some very good Country Bread.  One of my friends dining with me had another Open Faced Sandwich.  This was Creamed Eggs over Toast with Pork Fat Collards, Pickled Pearl Onions, Lemon, and Aleppo Pepper.  It looked and tasted good, but I liked mine better.  Beets and Goat Cheese seems to be a natural pairing and this worked very well.  I liked the bitterness that the blue cheese added as well.  While I did try to eat this by hand, I quickly saw that that would not happen because everything would fall off the bread, so I enjoyed it with knife and fork.

My main course was a Breakfast Sandwich.  As with most breakfast sandwiches, it was built with an egg, meat, and cheese on an English Muffin.  For this one, the meat was Underground Meats Sorpressata, the cheese was Aged Cheddar, and it was finished with Fresno Chile Aioli on a Housemade English Muffin.  While fairly standard, the ingredients used were very good and resulted in a very good sandwich.  While All Together Now is very casual, the service and the food and drink that they both sell and serve are very good and it is a good option for a stop when I am in Ukrainian Village.  

Green Street Smoked Meats

 

 

 

I really like Barbecue and, for the most part, will try to visit barbecue places that I have heard were good and are relatively close.  Having said that, I have a bias against restaurants that seem to focus on the scene more than they do the actual food.  In my experience with Hogsalt, the restaurant group that Green Street Smoked Meats belongs to, I found that their places are run as much on hype as they are the actual food and service.  After a poor experience at another of their restaurants, I have had a bias toward their other restaurants, and have leaned against going to any of the others.  I will occasionally go to a Hogsalt restaurant, but with my admitted bias, they do have to sow a straighter row to meet my satisfaction.  I had heard a lot of good things about Green Street Smoked Meats, but I hadn't gone.  I was, however, in the area relatively recently around dinner time on a day when the weather was less than good, so I went both because I was close and to get out of the weather.  The entrance into the restaurant was interesting as it was in and alley.  The alley is blocked with a half wall labeled with Green Street Smoked Meats which shields a tent covered patio with picnic table seating and a cobblestone deck/walkway.  There were two doors into the building although the the main entrance was at the back of the alley.  While the other door could be used as an entrance to Green Street, it is more used as an exit (and as an entrance to another Hogsalt Property, High Five Ramen, which is located in the basement).  Sawada Coffee is also located in the building, in an open and raised area at the front of the building open to the Green Street Smoked Meats Dining Room.  In order to get to the ordering area from the front door, you would have to walk through the dining room and by the bar, which can be a little tricky when the space is crowded.  The rear entrance has tape trails on the floor that lead you to the ordering counters.  You actually have to visit two counters to order and pay and then the bar if you want a drink (there are coolers of water on the corners of the bar that you can easily serve yourself if you are not interested in having a drink).  The menu is on a large elevated chalkboard behind the first counter where you order your meat (or meats).  There was some objection when Green Street opened about the fact that the meats are sold by the half pound.  Considering the visual size of the serving and the prices, I would say that it's pretty close to what other barbecue joints serve and it isn't an issue.  I will say that the weight does give the illusion of being smaller than it is, so people may order more than they can eat (in one sitting).  After the meats are ordered, you are directed to a second counter where sides are ordered, you pay, and wait for your meal.  All seating in the space are first come, first served.  For seating/eating spaces inside, there are more picnic tables, a large bar, a counter along one wall (where I ate) that provides standing room and a bleacher area below the Sawada space.  The space itself is large and very open with high ceilings and strings of white Christmas lights.  Past the service counters, there was a counter with silverware, napkins, and boxes for takeout.  The bar is in the main dining room, and while it is off to one side, it is possible to sit on all four sides.  There is also a cowboy skeleton standing above the bar on a corner of the bar on the same side as the standing counter, and the walls are a combination of corrugated tin, and brick with peeling paint.  The look is very rustic and shabby, similar to what you might expect in a Texan barbecue shack and it works, because it looks like a place where you might get barbecue.

While I was hungry when I came in, I also ordered more than I could eat in one sitting.  I did however, have pretty good idea going into it, that I had ordered too much, so it was fine.  There were several things that I wanted, so I ordered all of them.  There was also so much meat that I was going to feel guilty if I didn't have any vegetables, so I ordered that too.  I ordered Brisket, Ribs, Frito Pie, Elotes, and Broccoli Salad, with a Schnickelfritz Hefeweizen from Urban Chestnut.  which really, was enough for two people to have a very full meal.  I did end up eating the Elotes and the Broccoli Salad there, because, I figured that the vegetables wouldn't travel as well.  I also ate the Ribs there, because they were ribs, though I also tried the Frito Pie and the Brisket.  Everything was very good.  The vegetables tasted very fresh, and the broccoli was very crisp.  The ribs were pull off the bone and the chopped brisket was very tender.  While I did like what they called a Frito Pie, I would have called it a Walking Taco, but that's a semantic thing.  While the space was crowded, the staff was friendly and the food was good.  While it isn't my favorite barbecue joint, it is good, and I would be happy to return if I was in the area.    

Kimski

The Marszwewski clan have a wide ranging and expanding empire.  They started out with Maria's Packaged Liquors & Community Bar, a Slashie (bar/packaged liquor store) in Bridgeport.  They then went on to Marz Community Brewery, which was contract brewed and largely served and sold at Maria's (as well as other places around the city).  In the early days, they would have cookouts in the back patio featuring Korean and Polish (and Korean-Polish) fare.  This eventually became the Counter Service restaurant Kimski, a name referencing both their Korean and Polish heritages and Their mother's maiden name, Kim.  While I was interested to see what they might do, I have some friends of Korean and Polish descent who were also interested, so we decided to make it a group outing.  Maria's is an old-style storefront, Kimski is very modern with a patio in front under an angled overhang.  The ordering area is actually pretty small with the counter straight in as you enter and the kitchen window to the left.  There are event posters on the walls and Korean toys on the counters.  In order to get to the main seating area, you actually have to walk around the counter.  So we ordered our food and wandered back with a number to show where to deliver our food.  The interior dining area is largely black with high unfinished ceilings, has a large bar, and seems to be a joint space with Maria's, which is also black.  The back wall's are glass sliding doors that lead to an enclosed patio with high walls and generally has a tan color scheme.  There is one graffiti art painting in the corner with "No Smoking" written (painted) in many languages and styles.  There are booths and four tops in the interior dining room, but as it was a nice day, so we decided to sit on the back patio.  There are smaller Two Top and Four Top banquette picnic tables around the edge of the patio as well as a few large high top tables in the center, where we sat.  The bar is separate from the food area, so you have to get your beer after you order food and wait for it.  It is not delivered.  I like the tap list here because there is generally a wide variety of different beers from all over.  Before the Marz Brewery Tap Room opened, there used to be several Marz Beers on tap.  I was surprised not to see any on the tap list when we were there.  I like Marz beers and they were close, so we decided to visit Marz Brewery Taproom after.  Despite the fact that there were no Marz beers, I was easily able to find something that I would like.  I went with Odd Side Ales Shadynasty New England-Style IPA.  This had a nice hop flavor featuring pine and grapefruit flavors without exceptional bitterness.  It had a nice head that broke down quickly and left some lacing, and had a dry finish.  It was a good beer.

Our food started arriving when we were drinking our beer and everything was shared.  One of the first things that arrived was the Scallion Potato Pancake.  The pancake was made with Beer Batter, Scallions, Shredded Potatoes with Dill, and topped with Tamari Sour Cream Sauce and Scallions.  This was pretty good and very Polish.  I liked the dill flavor in the pancake, and the sour cream provided for a nice sour finish.

Banchan aren't exactly a dish, but are more various sides that are presented with your main meal.  They can be any number things, but are meant to enhance the main meal.  Banchan was on the menu and I like the idea, so I ordered a course.  The menu lists it as a serving of three Ko-Po vegetable sides.  I also like surprises, so ordering this was a given.  While I did know that I was going to be getting vegetables, I didn't know exactly what vegetables that I would be getting or how they would be prepared.  I was presented with a plate of Green Beans, Zucchini, and Broccoli served with Red Pepper.  I am going to guess that they had been canned (or Mason Jarred, as it were).  I was kind of mixed on this.  The beans were nice and crisp, but the zucchini was pretty limp and the broccoli was a bit dry.  The flavor for all of the vegetables was good, but the texture needed work.

There was a dish on the menu that was a combination of Korean, Polish, and Quebecois Bar Food, and a couple were ordered.  This was the Kimski Poutine.  A standard poutine will have cheese curds and brown gravy on french fries.  With this, there was the Fries, and the Wisconsin Cheese curds, but the gravy was Kimchi Gravy, and it was topped with Pickled Onions, Scallions, and Sesame Leaves.  It was nice and gooey with some spiciness, and a sesame finish.  While everyone had some and seemed to enjoy it, I am going to guess that I gave the impression that I liked it more than everyone else because it was given to me to finish, which I heartily enjoyed.

My main course was kind of a spin on Bibimbop, a Korean dish that I really like.  Called Be Bim Noods, it was made with Cold Cooked Wheat Noodles instead of the standard rice.  It was also served cold.  The Noodles were topped with Kimchi and Cucumbers, and served with a Sliced Hard Boiled Egg.  This was a favorite.  It was good and I liked it, but it was also pretty spicy.  This was a dish that should have been fairly easy to eat with chop sticks.  I can use chopsticks, though not well, but I did eat much of it, slowly, with chopsticks.

While the food was fairly simple and their were a few slips, I did enjoy things here.  It's very casual and friendly, the food is easy to share, and the dishes that were wins were very good.          

Jolly Pumpkin Brewery, Hyde Park

 

 

I went to the original Jolly Pumpkin Brew Pub in Ann Arbor, Michigan earlier this year.  I decided recently to check out the recently opened branch in Hyde Park (Chicago), to see how they compare.  Located in 7 places, Jolly Pumpkin is a brewery that specializes in sours.  This is so much the case that when they wanted to make something other than sours, they started another brewery (North Peak) to market the non-sour beers.  They have been popular enough that they have been able to grow to 7 locations.  The Dexter Tap Room, the original original place, is simply a tap room and serves no food.  Every other place has a food menu.  Three of the locations, including the first brew pub in Ann Arbor are sit down locations.  The other three are counter service where you order food and beer, and then find a place to sit with your beer and your food will be delivered to you.  The outside of the Hyde Park location looks like a large modern retail or office location.  It doesn't really look like a brewery or restaurant from the outside, though it does look like a nice building and does have a Jolly Pumpkin sign.  Inside there is a line for the counter where you order your food and drink and then find a place to sit at one of the large picnic tables throughout the very large dining room or at the long two-sided bar.  There is also a round table that sits six inside a very large barrel in the dining room.  The dining room is very large, seating probably 200 people at the picnic tables and the bar.  Two of the walls are floor to ceiling windows looking at the street outside.  The other two sides of the dining room are the bar.  The kitchen is next to the bar one the side opposite the order counter behind a 3/4 wall.  The ceiling is unfinished with barrel lights and there are flat screen TVs throughout the room.  On the afternoon that I went, we were watching the World Cup.  There is a hall off to one side with a continuation of the window wall on one side with framed, poster-sized label art which is very cool and at the end of the hall there was a Game of Thrones-esque Throne of Barrel Staves.  It looked very worn, but it also looked kind of comfortable.

When I went to the Ann Arbor location, I ordered a flight, mostly of sours, but because they have so many interesting sours, when I came to Hyde Park, I again ordered a flight mostly of sours, with a token North IPA.  Most of the beers for the company are brewed at their production brewery in Traverse City, Michigan, though each place does have a small brewing operation of it's own for that location.  Most of the beers did come from the production facility, but I did get one that was brewed there.  Flights were four 5 ounce beers of your choice served on a barrel stave serving "platter" with space for five beers.  The beers also have an a la carte price for all sizes, so someone could augment their flight, if they so desired, so I guess that explains the extra space.  For my flight, I had the Biere de Mars Biere de Garde, Ale Absurd Sour Rye Tripel, Bath-O-Mat & Washeteria Sour Saison, a collaboration with Tired Hands Brewing of Ardmore, Pa, and my token North Peak Beer, Collaterale IPA.  The three sours were all pretty sour, but they all had different flavors.  The Biere de Mars was richer and had kind of a caramel finish, Ale Absurd was being brewed there though mine came from the production brewery.  All of the beers have some significant barrel aging time, so while they had brewed some Ale Absurd there, it was still barrel aging (in Chardonnay Barrels).  The Bath-O-Mat & Washeteria had a significant lemon flavor and aroma, and the North Peak IPA was an IPA.  It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't exceptional.

While I had to bring my beer to my seat, I was given a number for my food and it was brought to me.  While there were snacks, salads, and sandwiches, on the menu, what has gotten the most press has been the pizza, so I ordered a pizza.  The pizzas were 12 inches which is a good size for one person, especially when it has more than cheese and spices on it.  For my pizza, I ordered a Korean Short Rib BBQ Pizza with Korean Short Rib, Korean BBQ Sauce, Arugula, Scallions, Mozzarella, Black Sesame Seeds, and Sesame Soy Vinaigrette.  I liked it a lot.  It had a sweet and spicy flavor, with some savory from the soy sauce.  The Short Rib was tender and the arugula added some bitter crispness.  There was also a good sesame finish.  Between the flight and the pizza, I was pretty full when I finished.  While the service was casual, it was very friendly, and the food and drink were very good.  I would be happy to return.    

Hungryasfck Pop Up Brunch at Kimski

This has taken a while to get up, but I really liked it, so I thought it was worth writing about.  I had been interested in Kimski since it opened.  Attached to and actually a part of Maria's Packaged Goods and Community Bar, it is a counter service place with a Korean/Polish Menu that draws on the ancestry of the owners, the Marszewski family.  It started out with a neighborhood bar in Bridgeport.  When the kids took over from their mother, Marz Community Brewing, a very creative small batch brewery was started with Maria's used as it's taproom.  While Maria's had a great beer selection (and also worked as a bottle shop) they had no kitchen so it was BYOF (Bring Your Own Food).  They decided to open Kimski, both as a kitchen for Maria's and as an entity of its own.  The two places are connected in the back, but they also operate separately.  Maria's as a great neighborhood bar and bottle shop, and Kimski as a small counter service place that serves Korean/Polish Cuisine.  From the outside, the two places look very different and it would be hard to guess that they were connected or related to one another.  Maria's has a very classic Chicago Bungalow appearance with Kimski being very modern and angular with a nice open patio in the front.  Entering Kimski, it looks a lot smaller than it actually is.  There is a small lobby with paper menus on the counter and a menu on the wall.  There is probably seating for about 8 people in this area.  The kitchen window is to the side of the counter so the counter people can pick up and deliver food to customer's tables.  To get to the actual dining area, you have to walk around the counter and through a door behind the counter.  The main dining room is much larger and has a nice bar with a very good tap list with Marz as well as many other local breweries featured.  The room is wood, with the main color being black.  The back wall is made up of several glass sliding doors over looking the enclosed back patio (also wood, although this left light colored) which used picnic tables for seating.  I really liked the look of the place and the tap list and will definitely have to return sometime.

The food and drink looked very good, but I was actually there for a Pop Up by the Hungryasfck Team who were doing a Hawaiian themed Ono Brunch (Ono is Hawaiaan for delicious).  I had never heard of Hungryasfck, but saw that they were formerly from Parachute, which I really like, so I had to try their stuff out.  I had never been before to Kimski (or Maria's) and was surprised by how small it apparently was.  After I ordered, I was guided behind the counter and through the door and was relieved to see that it was much bigger than it had seemed.  I sat on the back patio and enjoyed the sunny day.  I started things off with a coffee drink from local roaster Passionhouse, a Wasabi Bloody Mary, and donuts because no proper brunch starts without donuts.  The Coffee drink was called Ice, Ice, Baby and in addition to the Passionhouse Cold Brewed Iced Coffee contained Macadamia Nut Milk, and Coffee Bean Honey.  I like iced coffee and the macadamia nut milk and the coffee bean honey added to it.  It had a bittersweet, nutty flavor with flavors of dark fruits.  The Wasabi Bloody Mary did have a slight bite, but in my opinion, it was light on the Wasabi.  It had a Celery Stalk and a small Maki Roll garnishing it. The celery did contribute to the flavor, but the maki sat above the liquid, so it only contributed as a pairing.  The donuts were actually Donut Holes, but I'm not complaining about that.  They were Yeast Donuts topped with Powdered Sugar, and Chocolate Syrup and were very light, if a little messy.  It was like eating Chocolate-Covered clouds.

Next on the menu was the Spam Musubi which was served with a spicy dipping sauce.  Spam is very popular in Hawaii and Spam Musubi is apparently sold all over the place.  While I generally don't consider it haute cuisine, I also don't consider it vile.  Since this was a Hawaiian themed brunch, I figured that this was a must try.  Spam Musubi is Grilled Spam wrapped in Sushi Rice and then wrapped with Nori.  It's like spam maki, although a little larger.  I cannot say that I thought it tasted fantastic, but it wasn't bad.  It was better, though with the spicy dipping sauce.

 I finished things off with what they called a Pork Bowl.  To me, it was like an Asian version of Hash, replacing Potatoes with Fried Rice.  It started with Pulled Pork, and added Pineapple and a Fried Egg over the Fried Rice and Spices and served on top of a Banana Leaf.  The Pulled Pork was very tender and the Pineapple added a tropical flavor to it.  The fried rice added a great texture. 

I really enjoyed my brunch at Kimski.  Hungyasfck put together a great menu and Kimski is a great space.  I will have to watch for more pop ups and I will have to return to Kimski so I can try their actual menu.

HenHouse Brunch - Spartanburg, SC

After my trip to the DC area, because I was already on the east coast, I decided to travel to Greenville, South Carolina to visit a friend.  My friend has a friend in neighboring town, Spartanburg, who has a breakfast/brunch place called HenHouse Brunch.  He had not visited the place yet, but he decided to use my visit as an excuse to get up there.  I am a huge fan of brunch, so I had no problem with this. Located in downtown Spartanburg, it is in a small place across the street from the police station and at the corner of a pedestrian walkway.  The dining area is small and might seat 25 people, but it's rustic and homy.  Service is via counter service.  There is a small counter (with a small kitchen behind it) where orders are taken.  Orders are brought to the table when they have been prepared.  They have some pretty good coffee, but I also had a glass of their Cucumber-Mint Limeade.  Cucumber, Mint, and Lime, do not intuitively fit together, bu it did work.  All of the flavors were obviously there and they actually worked together well.  It had the vegetal flavor of cucumber that worked well with the mint, and the mint and lime moderated each other so the cucumber could be tasted well.

There is always an aim, when I go to brunch, to get both something sweet and savory.  For the sweet, we had to get a Frankenberry Muffin, a sweet, fritter-like muffin with icing, and made with Frankenberry Cereal.  I actually expected it to be sweeter than it was, though I was not disappointed that it was not more sweet.  While the icing and the Frankenberries were sweet, it tasted as if it were made with a savory muffin recipe and was actually also a little salty.

The savory side of the menu seemed to have a lot of very fresh and seasonal stuff.  There was an item called The Hipster which included Eggs, many vegetables, Farmers Cheese, and House Harissa.  It sounded very good, but there was something that potentially sounded better.  They had a Killer Croque Monsieur on the menu with Ham, Swiss, and Mornay Sauce (a cheese sauce using Gruyere) on a Brioche Bun.  I asked if the Croque Monsieur could be made into a Croque Madame, which would just require adding a Fried Egg.  There were eggs on other parts of the menu, so I figured that it wouldn't be difficult to do, and the chef affirmed that he could do it.  It was very good and I was glad I was able to have it.  The sandwich came with soup and my friend recommended I get the Peeky Toe Crab Soup because that is the local specialty, but they had unfortunately run out.  I ordered the Broccoli and White Cheddar Soup instead which, while not the Peeky Toe Crab Soup, was still very good.  It was rich, cheesy, and had a lot of broccoli.  I enjoyed my brunch here.  It had some very good food in a small, but family friendly space.
        

Cellar Door Provisions

I have been very interested in Cellar Door Provisions since it opened a couple of years ago.  The problem is that as it a breakfast/lunch place, I can't get there during the week and as it is very popular, I can't get in on the weekend.  Recently though, something happened that gave me a free morning during the week, so I decided to check it out.  Having looked at the menu before hand, I expected a small place with a coffee shop cafe feel.  Located on a corner, it has large windows on two sides and looks like a neighborhood coffee shop with a handwritten menu on paper in the window.  Walking in continued the coffee shop vibe with a small cafe.  There is art on the wall (for sale) and seating is with banquette and tables on both sides of the room.  There is another chalkboard menu at the back of the room on one side.  There is a counter at the back of the room that abuts the open kitchen where yet another menu is available if you hadn't seen the other two. The counter contains a display case showing their available pastries, most of which run to the savory side.  The pastries all looked very good and while I recognized the Caneles and the Croissants, which I ordered, there were several pastries that I did not recognize, but still looked really good.  Caneles are small French pastries about two inches tall that look like mini bundt cakes.  They are made with vanilla and rum and have a crispy outside crust and a firm custard center.  While they do have a sweetness about them,  they are also pretty savory.  For the one that I ordered the crust was very crisp and the inside was like a solid egg custard.  there was some sweetness, but it was also salty and savory.  I liked it so much that I had to buy another one for the road.  The croissant was flaky, buttery, and crisp, and while it was pretty big, it was also very light.  With these, I had an iced coffee.

While the pastries were very good, I wanted to try some of their "real" food.  This is not to say that their pastries were bad, in fact, they were pretty fantastic.  Substantial might have been a better word.  Their cafe menu is pretty veggie friendly although they do have some dishes with meat as well.  I went with something that was not strictly vegetarian, but it was pescatarian.  I got Cured Trout with Whipped Cheese, Ponzu, Bok Choi, Soft Boiled Egg, and Seared Bread.  The trout was very tender and flavorful in a flavorful broth with whipped cheese.  The cheese was a bit tart and kind of tasted like goat cheese (although I am not certain of this) which paired well with the trout.  The ponzu and bok choi were served on top and were very crisp and fresh.  The soft boiled egg was cooked well with a solid white and thick but liquid yolk.  The bread was crisp and tasted like it had just been baked.  It was very good, but it came in very handy to soak up the broth and yolk.  This also was pretty fantastic.

I really enjoyed my breakfast here and now understand why it is so popular.  I will definitely return if I happen to have another free weekday for the pastries if nothing else, but the cafe menu will certainly deserve a look.        

Del Seoul

Whoever came up with the ideal of combining Korean and Mexican cuisines was a genius.  Korean and Mexican flavor profiles are similar, so fish, shrimp, and barbecued beef are natural fits.  I went recently to Del Seoul Korean BBQ, which, among other things adds Korean seasoned proteins on Corn Tortillas (Flour tortillas for the fish).  There are six tacos listed on the menu, I picked the three that were listed as the most popular:  Sambal Fish, Sesame-Chili Shrimp, and Kalbi.  The Sambal Fish Taco came with Tempura Fish, Pickled Red Onions, Napa Slaw, Sambal Aioli, and Flour Tortillas.  The fish had a light and crunchy coating, the vegetables were crisp and also added a little sweetness, and the Sambal aioli added some garlic and spice.  The Sesame-Chili Shrimp, as one might guess, had a pronounced sesame and spicy flavor.  It had Hand-Battered Panko Shrimp, Cilantro-Onion Relish, Secret Slaw, and Toasted Sesames.  The vegetables were also crisp with a significant cilantro flavor which is found both in Latin and Asian cuisines and went well with the shrimp and sesame-chili flavor.  Kalbi is Korean Barbecued Beef.  While the ingredients of the Sesame-Chili Shrimp and the Kalbi Tacos were the same with the exception of the protein, the proteins did make an enormous difference in flavor (although they were both very good).  The Kalbi was spicy-sweet with a pronounced beef flavor.

In addition to my tacos, as I was in a Korean restaurant, I was obliged to have their Kimchi.  I like kimchi.  It is essentially Korea's version of Sauerkraut.  They both consist of pickled cabbage and both are pretty sour, but kimchi is decidedly spicier.  Kimchi is also frequently cut into larger pieces than is sauerkraut.  I only ordered a small size because I assumed that the tacos would go well toward filling me up.  I was correct.  The kimchi that I did have was crisp, sour, spicy, and very good.  As it might be guessed, I really liked this place and I will definitely be back.  

Small Cheval

While I typically go for a full meal when I go out (appetizer, entree, dessert), when I go out for a burger, I am almost always just going out for a burger.  There was no question about this when I went to Small Cheval.  Located in the former Roxie's By the Slice space and owned by the same group, there were no gross changes in the space between concepts.  It did change the seating layout, putting a counter along the outside walls with bar stool seating and adding a communal table in the center, also with bar stool seating.  Ordering is done at a counter at one corner of the dining room and a paging device is given to you which buzzes when your order is ready.  Small Cheval has, if not the simplest, then one of the simplest menus around.  It consists of two items, a hamburger and a cheeseburger (American Cheese).  The one side is Golden Fries.  The burgers come with Lettuce, Tomato, Grilled Onions, and Dijonnaise.  Bacon can be added for an additional charge.  The burger is based on the very popular burger served at Au Cheval.  There are slight difference between the two, but they are essentially the same.  For drinks, they have an 8 head tap serving beers ranging from the very cheap (Miller High Life and Schlitz) to selections from local breweries like Half Acre and Local Option, to some national craft brews like Ommegang and Founders.  They also serve a small number of cocktails and sell shots.  For my burger, I went with the Cheeseburger with Bacon with a side of Golden Fries and a Half Acre beer.  The Au Cheval burger has been listed as one of the best burgers in America.  The original restaurant, Au Cheval, will frequently have waits of several hours for their burgers and Small Cheval will have a line during hot times.  I will say that while they make a good burger, it isn't worth a several hour wait.  I would argue that a lot of the line is caused by hype.  While I would certainly have and enjoy their burger again, I wouldn't wait several hours for it and would quickly go elsewhere if that was the case.    

BopnGrill

Sometimes you just want a burger.  If it's a good and unusual burger, all the better.  I had heard of BopnGrill a few years ago when it opened and it sounded pretty interesting, a burger place run by a Korean family featuring Korean flavors.  I didn't remember having anything planned for the weekend, so I decided that one of the things that I was going to do was to make a point to get to BopnGrill.  It's located in Rogers Park which is in the Northeast corner of Chicago, so while it isn't phenomenally far, it's more than just biking to the corner so it takes a little planning.  I realized later that I actually had some theater tickets at the time that I was planning to go to to Bopngrill so I wrote off that trip and started looking around the theater to see where I might be able to grab some food before the show.  I was happy and surprised to discover that BopnGrill had recently opened a new shop close to the theater that I was going to, so the trip to BopnGrill was back on.  The space itself doesn't really look like much more than any other hot dog/burger/taco/gyro joint around town.  It's a small counter service place with a grill in back, a tile floor, cheap dining furniture, and a counter facing the window.  It's only when you look at the menu that you get an idea that it might be something other than your standard burger joint.  Other than their Signature Burgers, they also feature Bop Plates that have Rice, a Side Salad, and Kimchi with a variety of proteins including Bulkogi (Korean BBQ Beef, BBQ Chicken, Tofu) or even Bi Bim Bop which includes Vegetables, Chili Sauce, and a Fried Egg.  While several of the Bop Plates sounded good, I decided to go with their namesake burger.  BopnGrill has been widely recognized as having some of the best burgers in Chicago, so I figured, if I was going to go, I should try one of these great burgers.  The bNg Burger came with Lettuce and Tomato, like every other burger in the city, Thousand Island Dressing, which wanders into Big Mac territory, and Jalapeno, American Cheese, Caramelized Onions, Bacon, and a Fried Egg, which brought the burger into solidly interesting territory.  The beef used was very good and the flavors used with it made it very good.  The egg was sunnyside up, so it was good to break the yolk before trying to eat it, unless you weren't bothered about wearing egg yolk.  It had some sweetness, savory flavors, some tartness, and just enough spiciness.  There were bottles of Sriracha available for those people that didn't think it was spicy enough.  I did add some Sriracha to part of my burger and while it did make it spicier, and was still good, I will not necessarily say that it improved it much.

A standard side with a burger would be fries, so of course, I had to have some fries.  In addition to the standard fries, they also had Cheddar Fries and Bacon Cheddar Fries, which are also fairly standard, but they also had Kimchi Fries.  This was a pretty different idea, so I had to try them.  The first thing that I will say is that the fries themselves were very good.  They were very crisp on the outside and soft on the inside like Belgian Frites and were well salted.  They were topped with Kimchi which was sour and spicy, and also with Scallions, Bacon, and Cheddar Cheese Sauce.  It had a variety of flavors including spicy, sour, and salty, and while you could pick at the outside of it with your fingers, a fork was helpful to finish it.

I really enjoyed what I had here.  It was good and interesting and would definitely keep me coming back, but there are several other things on the menu that I have not yet tried that I will definitely have to return for.  

Q-tine

I have to admit that I am a fan of poutine.  Poutine, for those that aren't familiar, is comfort food that originated in Canada and, at the most basic level, consists of French Fries topped with Cheese Curds and Brown Gravy.  While it is generally thought of low food, there are several gastropubs in the Chicago area that offer their upscale versions of it, and there was a restaurant, in Chicago, Badhappy Poutine, that has unfortunately since closed, whose menu contained several different types of poutine.  Now, there is a restaurant in my neighborhood that combines poutine with another food with low origins, barbecue.  Q-tine is a restaurant that combines poutine and barbecue, both literally with dishes combining the two dishes, and figuratively with a menu that features both poutine and barbecue.  The restaurant plays up the low origins of these foods by building the order counter out of an old Airstream trailer.  They are also located amidst several popular bars and remain open late to cater to the late night after bar crowd.  

The space is narrow with steel tables and brick walls, one of which is emblazened with an elaborate and faded sign reading Memphis Meets Montreal, noting the hearts of the respective cuisines.  The trailer counter is at the rear of the restaurant. The condiment table follows the low end/retro theme as it is built out of a trailer that might be found being pulled behind an Airstream Trailer.  While much of the restaurant is decidedly retro, there are a few things that are definitely high tech.  The cash register that the counter service uses is a tablet and the menu looks like a huge (about 7 feet by 4 feet) vertically mounted computer screen.

On the menu, you can order barbecue with the standard sides (beans, cole slaw, cornbread) or one of 12 different types of poutine.  You can also though, substitute a Classic Poutine (Fries, Cheese Curds, and Brown Gravy) for the other sides that you would normally get with a barbecue order.  This is the way that I went because, with a restaurant featuring barbecue and poutine, I wanted to try both.  I ordered a Half Rack of Baby Back Ribs, the Classic Poutine, and a Deep Fried Snickers Bar to finish things.  The ribs had the sauce roasted on, but you could get more to add more from the condiment table.  The sauce was slightly sweet with a peppery finish.  There is an argument in the barbecue world about how tender the meat should be.  It shouldn't be fall off the bone tender, but how much pull should it have is the argument.  The rib meat tasted good (as did the sauce), but the ribs were a little stiffer than I normally like.  The Classic Poutine was very flavorful with enough gravy to coat everything, but not enough to leave it swimming.  I am always a little nervous, when I get a standard poutine, because I have had some really bland gravy and cheese curds on unsalted fries.  This was not the case here and it was very good.  The Deep Fried Snickers Bar, a county fair standard, was decadent.  It had a light shell sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with caramel.  The Snickers Bar inside was melted.  It was sweet and gooey with all of the flavors you would expect from a Snickers Bar:  Chocolate, Peanuts, Caramel, and a Peanut Butter Nougat.  It could potentially have been very messy, but I made sure to eat it carefully and enjoyed it a lot.  Located around several popular bars, I don't imagine that it will have a hard time maintaining business and it is definitely a place that I will return to when I have an urge for comfort food.