Frontera Grill - Rick Bayless Amazingness

In my final recap of my recent Chicago trip, I think I saved the best for last.  After going to Chicago with Nick last year, one of the only things that he wanted to do was go to Xoco (the walk-up/fast food restaurant) for lunch.  However, once we got there the place was closed and Nick was somewhat devastated to say the least!  Not only was it closed, it was closed for two weeks while Rick Bayless took his entire staff to Mexico to learn about local food, so we could not go back.

So, when we were headed back to Chicago this summer, I called about 4 months in advance to make reservations at Frontera Grill.  Frontera is the family style restaurant of the Rick Bayless Chicago complex, and on a Saturday night you can wait up to three hours for a table!  They generally only take a few reservations an evening, and lucky for us our reservations were all set, so we were sat straight away. To begin, our server brought over a bowl of spiced mixed nuts, a flavorful bite getting us ready for the rest of the evening.

Spiced Nuts

When we were looking over the menu, it was difficult to make a decision on what to order because everything sounded delicious.  Lucky for us, our server seemed to know just about everything on the menu (I mean they go to Mexico to learn!) so we felt we were in good hands.  

Sushi at Coast

After a bit of a whirlwind weekend in Chicago seeing the sites and dealing with our cancelled flight, Nick and I were finally able to spend some time with our lovely hosts, C and S.  While we spent some time with C already, seeing them together is always a bit more fun!  Having covered many of our food bases already, we decided on sushi.  One of C's favorite places, Coast, was right down the street in Bucktown.  With a modern and fun atmosphere it makes for a great place to enjoy good company over some wine brought from home (yay for BYOB!).

I was actually the first person to take C to a sushi dinner.  It was some random NYC restaurant when were in high school, so needless to say we had no idea what were were ordering.  We ended up with some interesting rolls, including octopus and eel - why we chose those I still don't know.  In retrospect, salmon and tuna would have been some good starting points.  While eel is now one of my favorites, back then it definitely wasn't.  This is always a story we have to go over whenever C and I go out to sushi because it still makes us laugh!

After placing our white wine in some ice buckets we put an order in for Hamachi Carpacio, which had five pieces of yellow tail sashimi style topped with garlic olive oil, jalapano, and cilantro and was drizzled with lime juice and garnished with mixed greens with garlic balsamic dressing.  The fish was fresh and the citrus and jalapano added a perfect contrast. 

Hamachi Carpacio

In true Erica sushi ordering fashion, we got a serving of edamame.  All of the pods were filled and steamed well with the perfect amount of salt mixed in.   

Sunday Brunch at Papagayo

I was trying to get together with my friend M, but rather than dragging her over to the Back Bay I decided to go towards her neck of the woods.  After a little searching (being the blogger it was up to me!) I settled on Papagayo.  I had heard so many good things about the food and drinks there, so I was excited to give it a go.  At about 11:00am I met M over in Fort Point Channel and was seated at an almost empty Papagayo.  We were immediately greeted by our server who was more than willing to go over the menu and make suggestions.   After ordering some coffee and mimosas we continued chatting and catching up and trying to make some decisions on food.

Part of a Complete Breakfast

The menu had a bunch of great brunch options that seemed more traditional but with a big twist.  For example, I got the Mexican eggs Benedict, which were poached eggs, English muffins, Chipotle Hollandaise, home fries and chili-lime dressed greens.

Wishbone - Wake-up Chicago!

Heading back to the mid-west!  We were supposed to be flying back to Boston, but thanks to Irene we were in Chicago for a few more days and wanted to make sure we took full advantage of that time.  First step: breakfast.  In July when I was out visiting C we went to Wishbone and it was delicious.  Even better, the restaurant was big enough so that there was no wait!  Since Nick and I had driven downtown for last three days we jumped when his friend C offered to come out to us!

Home done hot sauce

Just as before, the three of us were sat immediately and started to examine and discuss all the delicious offerings on the menu.  With a restaurant that sells itself as in the style of contemporary American cuisine and steeped in the home-cooked table fare of North Carolina mixed with a dash of Creole spice (AKA Southern Reconstruction), it was tough to making a decision.  After settling in a bit with some delicious coffee and fresh squeezed OJ, we made some choices.

Friendly Toast - Such Great Breakfast!

When Nick and I first started dating, The Friendly Toast was one of our go-to breakfast spots.  We tested it out on a recommendation from a friend and soon found ourselves going there at least once a month.  With Nick living in Inman Square and me in Beacon Hill, the Kendall Square location was basically smack dab in the middle of our two places.  Good thing the food was more amazing than the location itself!

Table Setting...

When you walk into the Friendly Toast you are immediately greeted by a retro/hipster vibe.  The restaurant is decorated with an eclectic mix of 1950's and 60's ads and other items.  The walls are bordered with wall paper made up of Hardy Boy books, the bar is covered with a paper that looks sort of like "Garbage Pail Kids" cards but with household products, and all the flatware and table toppers fall right in with the decor with the retro feeling.

Corn Meal and Lime Cookies

Since I was in the mood to bake, and with an audience of taste testers at a birthday party later that evening, I decided to add to a menu that already included Coconut Macaroons (in case they did not go over well) and also make the Cornmeal-Lime Cookies from Joann Chang's Flour cookbook.  Nick loves lime flavoring and had been wanting to try these for a while, so why not give it a go?  I was curious to see how the consistency with the cornmeal in cookie would taste, but the flavors sounded delicious.

The Ingredients