Bang Bang Pie Shop Visited 3/7/2015 3.5 Forks

Bang Bang Pie Shop 2051 N California Ave., Chicago, IL 60647

I had originally heard of Bang Bang Pie Shop because they supplied the pies for Parson's Chicken and Fish, so when Deanna mentioned that Bang Bang had their own stand alone shop, I figured it was worth visiting.  When you walk in, you realize it's not really a restaurant but more of a order at the counter type place.  They give you a number and then someone will deliver the food to you so there isn't really a waitstaff here.

The brunch menu consists of a variety of biscuit dishes, some pot pies and of course sweet dessert pies.  So don't come here looking for a healthy brunch.  I was a bit bummed that the biscuit dishes didn't come with any side dishes (you can order them separately), but once you actually finish a whole biscuit you realize that you don't really need more food.  I opted for the sausage biscuit ($5.50), Deanna got the gravy biscuit with an egg ($7.50) and we split a slice of the lemon cream pie ($5).

The design of the place is a bit unwieldy - it's super crowded and very hard to maneuver around.  It can actually feel quite claustrophobic in there at times because there's really nowhere for people to stand and wait (I think when it's nice outside and they open up the outside patio, it's not as bad). Having people order at the counter seems like a mistake here because everyone was asking questions about the menu (what's the best pie?  What's in the grits du jour?) and/or mulling over their options that it causes a long line to build up.

But once you order, the food came pretty quickly.  One look at the biscuit and I knew it was quite a dozy. On top of the ginger sage sausage patty was a melted slice of cheddar cheese and the biscuit came with a raspberry bourbon jam.  The salty sweetness of it all with the flakey buttery biscuit was delicious.  I wasn't hungover at all, but I could see this being an amazing hang over breakfast sandwich.  My only regret was that I didn't order the fried egg on top.  Although it was a great breakfast sandwich, it somehow didn't feel like I was really having brunch or enjoying a meal.  It was kind of like high end fast food because I was done eating in about 10 minutes.  While the price was right for it, I would have appreciated more of a full meal option or something that was more conducive to leisure eating.   As for the lemon cream pie, it tasted a bit more like a key lime pie but that's ok because I love key lime pies.  It was tart and sweet and crust was a very thick layer of Graham cracker crust.  The crust was actually a bit too much for me and I ended up just eating the filling and forgoing the crust.  It's a bit overpriced for $5 but I mean, how can you go to a pie shop and not order pie?!?

All in all, it's a cute place - just be prepared to wait in line and then fight the crowds for a table.  Oh and make sure you're wearing elastic waist band pants since you won't find a healthy or green vegetable in sight here.  Total bill:  $26 with tax, tip, coffee and juice

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Tocco Visited 3/6/2015 4 Forks

Tocco 1266 N Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60622

Tocco was just an unexpected experience - my review really won't do it justice, so just trust me and go check it out.  Deanna had mentioned that the food was amazing but the the decor was weird, yet you also felt like you were in Italy at the same time.  I didn't know what she was talking about but after eating here that's exactly the correct description of this place. 

You walk in and it's kind of got their weird modern space age feel to it.  The restaurant is very white and against one portion of the wall is a glass case with bizarre mannequins wearing what must be the latest in Italian fashion.  Then the other wall has a movie about Italian tourism projected against the wall and playing on repeat throughout the night (they did a good job b/c I totally wanted to go back to Italy after watching over and over again).  The menu has a large pizza section but it also had pastas, salads and meats as well.  We got the fried calamari ($14) and the insalata di bosco ($9) to start and I opted for the lasagna ($16) for my entree.  The calamari was lightly battered and really fantastic.  You could still taste the squid on the inside but it had just enough batter and crunch on the outside to give it a nice salty finish.  The key to its deliciousness was that it wasn't too greasy or oily.  It was one of the better fried calamari dishes I've had in a while.  The salad was with arugula, mushrooms, and shaved parmigiano - incredibly fresh ingredients and it was very lightly dressed so as to not overwhelm the basic but tasty vegetables.  

As for my main entree, I'm not sure if it's because I haven't had lasagna in a while or what but I thought it was spectacular.  It was a very layered lasagna made with a beef ragu and mozzarella cheese.  The pasta was fantastic - very light and clearly home made.  It's easy for a lasagna to taste really heavy and filling but this one was light but still incredibly tasty at the same time.  It reignited my love for pasta and specifically lasagna.  I had a bite of Soph's pizza and it was also quite good - it was a thin crust kind (weird for Chicago) with a heavy hand of prosciutto and mozzarella.   For dessert we split, what else, a tiramisu ($8) and it was light, fluffy and perfect. 

While I don't associate Chicago with a lot of old school Italians (like I would with Brooklyn), when I looked around the restaurant there were clearly a good handful native Italians (ordering in Italian) eating there and the waitstaff there was also clearly very Italian.  There was a table behind us laughing and chatting it up with the chef/owner all in Italian.  It was the most oddly non-authentic authentic place I've been to.  Given that, you just have to go and experience this place for yourself and luckily you will also get a fantastic meal out of it as well.  Total bill:  $51/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Bandera Visited 3/5/2015 3 Forks

Bandera 535 N Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611

When I'm in Chicago I rarely eat on Michigan Ave.  It's kind of like going to NYC and saying that you're going to eat in Times Square - it's the most touristy part of the city.  But we were meeting up with an old work colleague who recommend this place for dinner plus the fact that it was within walking distance of our hotel made it an easy decision to give it a try.  If I hadn't known about this place before hand, I would have never found it.  There's no signage on the outside of the place and it's on the 2nd floor of a weird Men's Warehouse store but on the other side of it.  Very bizarre.

When we walked into the restaurant, it kind of reeked of of American chain restaurant (which I later found out it is).  It just had this boring, non-descript dark decor that didn't really wow me.  It was surprisingly very busy but we were able to get a reservation for 6 people at 7pm on a Thursday night, so they clearly weren't that busy.  We were seated in large circular table in the back corner, which was actually nice so that we could have our privacy without a lot of other tables nearby.

The menu is American with a mix of other random items like Tune Poke, Enchilada, and a lamb sandwich.  While the waitress was quick to take our drink order, we had to flag her down a few times to take our appetizer order which was kind of annoying.  We started with the spinach and artichoke dip ($13) and french fries ($5) to start.  They were perfectly fine dishes, nothing really to write home about.  The artichoke dip tasted like something you could make at home and the fries were the thinner less crispy version.  For my main entree I ordered the lamb sandwich ($18) which coincidentally also came with fries as well.  The rest of the table ordered the famous rotisserie chicken ($23) and one other person got the chicken and rib combo ($27).  The lamb sandwich was served with roasted red peppers and arugula on soft bread and served with a au jus-like dipping sauce - which I thought was a bit weird because I've never really seen lamb sandwiches served with dipping sauces before.  The first bite was pretty good - good flavor profiles and the meat was very thinly sliced and tender.  But after a few bites the sandwich fell apart with the roasted peppers just kind of sliding out and the au jus making it difficult to hold everything in.  I ended up just taking the bread off and eating the slices of lamb instead - so much for a sandwich!  Since I had fries before, I didn't really go nuts on the ones on my plate.  While the sandwich itself was fine, I didn't really feel like I was eating in fine dining establishment - it was just underwhelming for a restaurant on Michigan Ave.  I would have preferred it with a cucumber yogurt or taziki sauce similar to how it's made in Greek restaurants just to give it a bit more authentic flavoring to it.   To be honest, I felt like my meal was more like a good lunch time option and it's my fault for ordering a sandwich at dinner when there clearly were other options to choose from.  I didn't try the chicken but everyone at the table said that it was delicious and very juicy - and judging by the looks of it, I believed them.

We all left some room for dessert and this is where it went a bit down hill from here.  We waited forever to get our waitress' attention again but when we did we ordered the banana cream pie ($8) and the house made Oreo ice cream sandwich ($8).   When they set the desserts down, they looked amazing!  But the waitress didn't give us any plates, so we had to sit there and stare at them painfully when we waited another 15 mins to flag her down for some plates.  Comparing this service to the fantastic one we had the night before we like night and day.  It really made me realize how important spot on service can be.  Luckily these desserts were really the stars of the night - especially the Oreo ice cream sandwich - it was kind of like an ice box cake with Oreos but in sandwich form.  It was a delicious sugar overload.  The banana cream pie was also quite sweet and pleasing on the palate. They definitely saved this review from going below 3 forks.

Overall, it was a fine experience for dinner although the service really could have been stepped up a notch.  It was nice that they could accommodate so many of us at the last minute, but given all the other really fantastic restaurants in Chicago, I'm not sure if this would be on my repeat list.  Total bill: Unknown - I didn't get a chance to see the bill

Photo Credit:  Yelp

GT Fish and Oyster Visited 3/4/2015 4 Forks

GT Fish and Oyster  531 N Wells St., Chicago, IL 60654

One of the few good things about work travel is the opportunity to try out some nicer restaurants that you otherwise wouldn't normally try.  Unfortunately my plan to try Bavette's in Chicago was foiled by VP, so I had to switch gears and find another place for dinner.  I had heard about GT Fish and Oyster in a few food blogs and articles and luckily the price point and location were both fairly reasonable.  

We walked in around 6pm on a random Tuesday and the place was fairly empty.  They asked if we had a reservation, which we didn't.  The hostess then proceeded to tell us that they couldn't seat us but that we could sit at the bar.  One of my biggest pet peeves is when a restaurant is totally empty but they tell you that they can't seat you.  We didn't feel like sitting at the bar, so we turned to leave and the manager stopped us and said that she could figure something out for us, which was very nice of her.  I appreciate it when management takes the extra step to find out a way to accommodate their customers - I do understand when a place is fully committed but clearly they had tables that they could have seated us at but didn't initially.  

As you can tell from the name of the restaurant, the menu is strictly seafood focused.  Almost every single dish has some kind of seafood component to it, although there are 3 meat dishes at the bottom of the menu, but if you are a vegetarian/vegan, this is not the place for you.  The menu is actually small plate style which is unusual for seafood but it actually worked out really well because there were a bunch of dishes that I wanted to try.   Once we found  out it was tapas style we went to town with the ordering:  shrimp bruschetta ($11), tuna poke ($15), clam chowder ($11), oyster po'boy sliders ($4/each), fish tacos ($13), grilled octopus ($16), the mac and cheese ($17) and since I was the only one at the table who liked oysters, I got an order of each of the 3 West Coast Oysters ($2.50/each).   I won't go into painstaking detail on each one but overall all of them were solid dishes with my favorites being the mac and cheese (although fair warning, it's sprinkled with lump crab meat on top - so if you don't like that fishy taste with your mac and cheese, this might not be your thing) and the oyster po'boy sliders were great as it came with a nice kick of kimchi in it.  I was also a huge fan of their raw oyster selection - they had one in particular that I thought was fantastic, really creamy and filling.   I didn't have the clam chowder but it was served in this adorable mason jar (yes, it's quite kitchy and a bit cliched to still be using mason jars but whatever) and Eric was raving about it during dinner.  My least favorite dish was the grilled octopus - it was lacking in flavor and I've just had much better octopus before, especially in Greek restaurants.  As for dessert, we opted for the key lime pie with gin and tonic sorbet ($9).  It was a refreshing tart dessert and surprisingly you could really taste the gin in the sorbet!

I do have to really call out the fantastic and superior service that we had here.  The waiter was probably one of the best waiters I've ever had - super friendly, very knowledgable and really made us feel at home and helped guide us through the menu without being too pushy.  It really made me realize how important good service is to a restaurant. 

Overall, it was a great experience and there were definitely still more things on the menu I would have liked to have tried (I'm looking at you hamachi collar and lobster roll).  My initial annoyance with them was quickly washed away by the great manager and waitstaff service, so if you find yourself in the River North part of Chicago, check it out, although it's probably best to make a reservation first.  Total bill:  $260 including tax, tip and 2 bottles of wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Concord Hill Visited 3/1/2015 3 Forks

Concord Hill  374 Graham Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211

While I was a bit bummed when Sel de Mer closed a few months ago (I had a love/hate relationship with that place but I did love their tuna burger), I was excited to have a new restaurant 1 block down the street from me.   When this place originally opened it was by the same people as Westville and The Pines, which only added to my excitement.  Unfortunately,  there was a parting of the ways after only a month with the original chef, but it sounded like the menu didn't change all that much, so it was still worth checking out.

When I walked in, I noticed how the interior hadn't changed much from its Sel de Mer days.  In fact, I'm not even sure how much they really did change but that's actually fine because the space is relatively small so there's not much you can really do with it.  The menu here is American with a cozy farm feel to it.  Luckily, it's also pretty veggie friendly as well, so it was pretty easy for Aarti to order.  We started with the sorrel salad and the fried yuca ($6), and I got the hanger steak medium rare ($19) and Aarti got the Mushroom entree ($18).  For some reason, we both thought the sorrel salad was going to be a mushroom salad - turns out a sorrel is a leafy green that's actually more herb than vegetable.  Once we got over our confusion, we enjoyed the salad, especially the pomegranate seeds, and the light dressing that came with it.  It was a pretty basic but good starter salad.   I loved the fried yuca appetizer too - perfectly fried pieces of yuca served with a delicious creamy avocado, jalapeño, queso fresco cream.  Aarti and I were practically licking the bowl at the end.

As for my hanger steak, upon first glance, it looked perfect.  It was extremely medium rare - much more on the rare side than medium.  It came with a tasty chimichurri sauce and well cooked fingerling potatoes.  It was your classic meat and potatoes dish.  The first several bites of my steak were delicious and juicy.  But sadly there were some bites towards the end that had the vein still in it - or at least what I thought was the center vein because it was practically impossible to cut the steak at that point.  Even Aarti who is a great sport when it comes to watching me eat meat commented at how weird and kind of unsettling it was to watch me struggle to cut my meat.  Eventually I just gave up and couldn't eat that part of the steak anymore which was a bummer because I really did enjoy the soft juicy parts of the meat and it also kind of grossed me out thinking about why it was so hard to cut the meat.  I didn't try Aarti's mushroom dish but she did mention that it was extremely buttery and hearty at the same time.  It was essentially a giant bowl of different kinds of sauteed mushrooms tossed with some fregula pasta, which is kind of like an Isreali cous cous.   Even though we were both pretty full, we did end up getting dessert but unfortunately my memory is a bit fuzzy at this point and I can't remember what it was  but I do remember enjoying it!

All in all, it's a cute addition to the neighborhood but it didn't really knock me off my feet.  I probably would give it another shot with brunch and maybe dinner again, but it's always nice to have options like this within walking distance of my apt.  Total bill:  $44/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Taki Sushi Visited 2/27/2015 2 Forks

Taki Sushi 60 W 48th St., 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10036

I found myself in the middle of Midtown during lunch on a cold Friday afternoon and figured it was easier to grab some food while I was in the area vs. waiting to eat when I got home.  I have always been a sucker for good cheap sushi lunch special so when I saw this place across the street, I figured it would be fine.  I was prepared for the worst because it was on the 2nd floor of a non-descript building, figuring there would no one there but I was pleasantly surprised to find it completely packed - usually a good sign. 

Their lunch menu is your typical mom and pop sushi lunch menu:  bento boxes, sushi rolls specials, sushi and/or sashimi specials, udon noodles, and teriyaki specials.  I opted for the 3 rolls special for $12.95 which comes with soup and salad.  I got the spicy salmon, spicy white tuna and yellowtail and scallion roll - all very basic rolls.  The soup and salad were your typical miso soup and green salad with ginger carrot dressing - totally acceptable and fine.  Sadly, I couldn't say the same for my rolls.  I wasn't expecting mind blowing Nobu quality sushi but I was expecting something that was good enough for lunch.  It was clear that they were slammed and rushed through making the rolls because most of them weren't even fully closed.  Half of the yellowtail scallion rolls had unraveled opened and were just a mess. The other rolls also fell apart as soon I picked them up.  If they had just managed to actually make them into actual rolls, the food would have been fine but it was just such careless sloppy work that I was really annoyed.  I get that they were extremely busy during lunch but it just isn't acceptable to pay this little attention to your food presentation. 

I would say this place is fine in a pinch if you are in the area but I wouldn't hold your breath and expect anything worth writing home about.  Total bill:  $16 with tax and tip. 

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong Visited 2/24/2015 3.5 Forks

Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong 1 E 32nd St., New York, NY 10016

Ahh - Korean BBQ.  It's really such an amazing food experience but it's one of those things that requires a lot of time and stomach space.  Eric, Borami and I ended up here for our team dinner because Eric had never tried Korean BBQ and Borami and I love it.  I had read about this place on Grubstreet and how it was a well known LA chain that everybody loves, so it sounded like a great option.  There's a location in Flushing but the new location in the city is right on the edge of Koreatown.  The place opens at 5pm and we got there around 6pm and it was already pretty crowded with the entire 2nd floor already full.  

The menu is pretty standard - cuts of beef and pork, meat combos and then a few sides.  We opted for the small pork combo ($48) which came with pork jowl, seared pork belly, pork collar and spicy pork belly.  The waitress said that the small was enough for 2, so we ordered an order of the beef short rib ($29) as well and then I also wanted to get the seafood pancake.  The one absolutely weird thing here was that they did NOT have bulgogi on the menu.  What kind of Korean BBQ place doesn't have this staple meat item?!  That was incredibly disappointing and probably the main reason I can't give this place 4 forks.  

But on to the food.  What I love about Korean BBQ is that the meal itself comes with a lot of side dishes - we had tofu, scallion and bean sprouts, kimchi, spicy soy bean past stew and then strangely steam egg and corn with cheese.  The last two were things that I've actually never seen before in Korean BBQ.  It was an interesting touch but not sure if I really needed it with my meal. The waitress started with all pork first and she stands there and cuts and cooks it for us.  To be honest, there was so much of it I had no clue which cuts I was eating but everything was delicious - meaty and fatty at the same time.  We had chosen the pork because I had read on Yelp that a lot of people had preferred the pork to the beef here but after trying both I have to say that I actually preferred the beef cut that we had over the pork.  I can't believe the waitress told us that the small combo only ate 2 people because we were all stuffed the brim after just the pork cuts that we ended up leaving behind quite a few bites of meat which made me so sad.  We were probably also stuffed because of giant pancake dish we had also - it was a bit too thick in the batter for me but it had a nice crunch on the outside and it was stuffed with seafood and scallions on the inside.  I think I was confusing it with the Chinese version where it's thinner and lighter because this one was pretty dense. 

The service was very attentive and the waitress was really nice but then this weird thing happened where the owner (?) came out and asked us how our meal was and kept talking about the meats we had and it was just kind of odd - I couldn't tell if he legitimately wanted to talk to us to understand our thoughts because the place was new or if he was trying to kick us out of our table because we were sitting there for a bit mulling over if we could finish the last bites of food.  It was definitely crowded and I get that they wanted to turn our table over but I really hate feeling rushed, especially in a place like this where you are eating a LOT of food and sometimes you need a 2nd wind to finish everything.  In any case, it was a fun night even though we only stayed for 1 1/2 hours.  It's definitely a good option in the city but without the bulgogi it didn't quite feel like the right experience.  Total bill:  $58/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp