On The Docket

I am extremely excited about some upcoming foodie adventures in the very near future.

Tonight, some of my favorite people and I are headed to Bin Wine Cafe in Bucktown to celebrate my friend Steph's birthday. I have been meaning to write about Bin Wine Cafe forever, as it's one of my all-time favorite places in Chicago. Bin Wine Cafe is Bin 36's slightly more casual, hipper younger sibling. The space is phenomenal -- especially on a nice night when they open up the garage door in the front of the restaurant and allow diners to fill the tables lining Milwaukee Avenue. I promise that this time I will remember to take photographs and document all elements of the meal. A post on Bin Wine Cafe is coming soon.

Tomorrow night, I'm going to a restaurant I've been dying to try for some time now: NoMI at the Park Hyatt Chicago. I'm feeling a little intimidated about taking pictures inside NoMI, but I'll do my best not to wimp out.

On Sunday, I'll be hanging with the Food Babies crew to watch the Bears game and eat some delicious food at a true foodie tailgate.

Additionally, the graham elliot post is still to come... I'll be knocking these out early next week!

Have a great weekend!

Seasonal Updates for Big Star

As you may recall, Big Star was home to one of the hottest patios in Chicago this summer -- and that's big news in a city that really, really loves any opportunity to enjoy good weather when we've got it. The good news for Big Star continues, however, with the announcement that they'll be adding an awning and enclosing the acclaimed patio in glass so that the space can be utilized throughout the cold weather months as well.

No worries -- the patio will be heated during the winter. Come summer, the glass enclosure will come down but the awning will stay to provide more shade on the sun-soaked patio. This is excellent news for all of the fair-skinned Big Star lovers; you could get quite the sunburn out there on a sunny afternoon.

In addition to these spacial improvements, Big Star announced that the menu is getting some updates as well. They're adding more tacos and will be doing more beer dinners in the future. Big Star is so beer-crazy that they've teamed up with Goose Island to create their own brew, Deguello, which they describe as "super food friendly." Rumor has it that the beer will be available as soon as early November. Hooray!

Note: graham elliot post coming soon -- it's a doozy!

graham elliot

Oh my gosh. graham elliot is amazing. Seriously the best experience I've had in a long time. More to come when I retrieve additional photos from my go-to co-photog Sarah Brick!

Coming soon...

Hi, Mega Biters:

I leave tomorrow for one of my very best friend's weddings in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, this means you won't be seeing much blogging action from me in the coming days.

However, once I return, there will be lots to write about. Look for upcoming entries from Sable, Lillie's Q, Bin Wine Cafe, graham elliot and NoMi. In the meantime, happy eating!

And also, congratulations to Mary Lenahan and Eamon Monahan!

Chicago Pizza And Oven Grinder

If I had to pick just one food to eat for the rest of my life, it'd be pizza. Mostly because it's so versatile. Lucky for me, Chicago has amazing pizza in many forms. Stuffed. Pan. Thin. New Haven-style. Neopolitan. Even pizza pot pie.

That's right. Pizza in pot pie form: it does exist! So it's about time that I write about one of my favorite places for less than traditional -- but still delicious -- pizza. That place is Chicago Pizza And Oven Grinder, located in Lincoln Park at 2121 N. Clark Street.

Laura Cavoto originally introduced me (and a host of our former teammates) to this glorious place a few years back and I can't thank her enough for doing that. So naturally, when we strolled past on our way home from work today, we decided to stop in for some dinner. Every time we go, we get an order of the Mediterranean bread, a chef's salad and some half-pounders. (A half-pounder refers to the smaller half-pound version of Chicago Pizza And Oven Grinder's pizza pot pie. You can also opt for the one-pounder, but good luck with that if you're planning on eating anything else that day.)

When you order the Mediterranean bread, you get to choose between regular and wheat. Once you've made this selection, the Mediterranean bread arrives, piping hot, brushed lightly with olive oil and topped with a mixture of herbs, spices and cheeses. It's amazing. (So amazing that we couldn't wait to dig in before Laura remembered I needed to take a picture.)


The Chef's salad is comprised of cold, crisp iceberg lettuce, roasted red pepper, green pepper, cucumber, pepperoncini, red onion, black olives, green olives, and an artichoke heart. (I know, I know, the picture doesn't do it justice. That's because we served it before I remembered about the photos... I am not a food stylist. I just love food. Give me a break.)


It's a great salad. I don't make my salads at home with iceberg lettuce, due to the fact that there are certainly more nutrient-packed options, but iceberg's got a great crunch that I really appreciate every once in a while. The salad is served on chilled plates, along with a pepper grinder, a jar filled with the same spice mixture that tops the Mediterranean bread and multiple delicious salad dressing options.


One is their classic Italian, made from olive oil, presumably red wine vinegar and a blend of spices. Then there's also the dynamic duo that is their sweet and sour poppyseed dressing and their sour cream garlic dressing. Now, given my aversion to all condiments that are white and creamy, I have never had the sour cream garlic dressing. However, Laura swears that it's fabulous -- especially if mixed with the poppyseed. I personally like a mixture of the Italian and the poppyseed -- no creaminess required. Just a more extreme and delicious combination of sweet and tart.

And then there are the decisions associated with the pizza pot pie. You can choose between original and whole wheat crust, sausage or vegetarian, and mushrooms or no mushrooms. I like the whole wheat crust and I generally opt for the vegetarian with mushrooms, which are whole Creminis, and which I think add something a little heartier to the vegetarian option.

The creation comes to your table straight from the oven, in a bowl with the round golden top adored by pot pie lovers everywhere. Your server takes a spoon and magically inverts the pot pie to reveal a little pizza! The top of the pot pie becomes the crust and reveals a whole lot of delicious cheese atop a pretty tasty tomato sauce. There are all sorts of veggies in this sauce, which make it flavorful without being overly chunky. (Unless you get the mushrooms, which do add some bulk to the interior. Those are the lumps in the photo below.)


Put simply, Chicago Pizza And Oven Grinder makes me happy. I love to go there with good friends and eat until I can barely move. Whether we're drinking wine or Diet Coke with our little (ok, big) pot pie meals, I always have an amazing time.

Two caveats:
1) CPOG (as we've affectionately deemed it) does not take reservations. It does, however, serve amazing food. This means that there's generally a long wait to be seated on weekends. Just warning you. Come hungry, but not too hungry. Or you'll get crabby. (Ok, maybe that last part only applies to me.)

2) CPOG is cash only. Come prepared. There is, of course, an ATM conveniently located nearby. But for those of us who get extremely irritated by paying up to $6 in ATM fees for not using a Chase ATM, you may want to BYOC. (Bring Your Own Cash)

All in all, though, CPOG is worth it. I love these pizza pot pies, their simple salad and delicious Mediterranean bread to come back again and again. You should, too.

Sweet Mandy B's Fall Cupcakes

The best bakery in the city is Sweet Mandy B's in Lincoln Park. It's true. There are a lot of great bakeries in this city; I don't deny that. But the very best for cupcakes, cakes... and most other things is Sweet Mandy B's.

The storefront is adorable. They've expanded the space within the past year so that there's a cute little cafe attached to the original store. Everything about this place makes me happy -- except how crowded it gets sometimes. (Don't worry -- it's not a constant. By and large my experiences at Sweet Mandy B's have been good -- the service is efficient and the lines move quickly.)

If I'm not baking something for a friend's birthday myself, I head to Sweet Mandy B's and pick up some of their signature cupcakes, featured on the left. Their frosting is delicious, but what makes Sweet Mandy B's so amazing is their cake. It is awesome. I know a lot of people hate the word moist, but it's the only way to describe the cake at Sweet Mandy B's. It's pretty unbelievable. On top of the taste, the cupcakes themselves are (undeniably) cute as a button.

While I do love their signature cupcakes for any occasion, I get REALLY excited when they come out with their fall flavors. One of my favorite things about living in Chicago is the ability to experience all four seasons (however fleeting my two favorite seasons -- fall and spring -- may be) and I seize every opportunity to celebrate each one by changing up everything from my clothes and perfume to the food I cook and consume. So when Sweet Mandy B's comes out with their fall cupcakes, I get pretty ecstatic since flavors like pumpkin and apple tend to be some of my all-time favorites. And of course, Sweet Mandy doesn't disappoint. Featured at left are their pumpkin cupcakes, caramel apple cupcakes and carrot cake cupcakes. (The carrot cake cupcakes are available year-round, but I feel that they're also pretty fall-appropriate.)

My favorites are the pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. They have just the right amount of pumpkin and don't have so much "spice" going on that it overpowers everything else. They are perfect. And they're topped with super-cute special fall-shaped sprinkles. The caramel apple cupcakes are pretty tasty, too, and they feature a layer of something similar to an apple compote between the apple spice cake and the sweet caramel-topped buttercream frosting. These cupcakes definitely taste like fall. Lastly, the classic carrot cake is just that: a moist carrot cake cupcake topped with an unparalleled cream cheese frosting. Stop by Sweet Mandy B's at 1208 W. Webster today and get yours.

Happy fall!

Gilt Bar

The time has come for me to pay homage to one of my favorite bars in River North: Gilt Bar. As it's conveniently located across the street from my place of employment (and visible from many of the windows in our office if you happen to gaze downward), I've been there a few times since its opening this spring. (I have not, however, been to the downstairs cash-only bar Curio yet. No worries -- it's on my list.)

But every time I go to Gilt, I get caught up in the upstairs and find myself sitting in a banquette, ordering three things off of the menu there: the pork meatballs, the burata on toast and an order of the frites. I'm not saying I've never strayed and that there aren't 100 other items I mean to try, but those three things are staples for me, regardless of the seasonal accompaniments happen to be adorning these dishes at the time. (This varies. Currently, it's an heirloom tomato salad with the burata and a fig glaze and some wilted escarole for the pork meatballs.)

The interior of Gilt is stylish and more than a little swanky. Best of all, it hearkens back to the days speakeasies and the roaring 20s, which gives the bar a solid dose of actual personality instead of being just another run-of-the-mill, relatively upscale scene in River North. (However, this also means the place is a little on the dark side and can get pretty loud. Embrace it. Or consider yourself warned in advance.) And given the fact that the chef cut his chops everywhere from the French Laundry to the Ritz Paris, the owner is a vet of Chicago's own beloved Lettuce Entertain You and the space previously housed the amazing Aigre Doux, this place has some serious cred behind it.

All that glitters isn't gold, but sometimes -- if you're lucky -- you stumble across the real deal. Visit Gilt Bar and judge for yourself at 230 W. Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. Then give me a call and the odds are good that I'll mosey across the street to meet you. And also force you to order (and love) the pork meatballs, even if you claim you don't like pork.