I stopped in there for a on their opening on day, Sunday. They open their door at 11:00. I was there by 11:15. There was line already to order but is was not crazy. First the good. The pizza decent. It can give any kosher pizza shop here (Chicago) a run for their money. I had a plain cheese slice and a mushroom slice. Cheese was pretty good, it was a little heavy on the sauce for me, but that is just my opinion, and the crust was excellent.
Now the bad. They have a major logistics problem. When you enter through the front door you naturally go to the cash register to order, th only problem is it is supposed to be cafeteria style and you are supposed to start at the other end of the room and pick what you want and then pay. I love a good onion rings, so I asked if they had home made onion rings and apparently they only have the frozen breaded type, so I didn't even bother ordering them. I did order the garlic knots and I was disappointed. They where a little bit to bread like, I was expecting more chew and they were a bit bland, they needed more garlic.
I will give them a little while and do a full review sometime soon.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Leftover Burritos
1 Piece Leftover Chicken
1/2 Bell Pepper
1/2 Medium Onion
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
1 Teaspoon Hot Sauce
1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
Remove the chicken from the bone and cut into strips. Slice the pepper and onion into long strips. Saute the peppers, onions, and chicken in the oil. Warm the tortilla in the a low oven. Mix the hot sauce and mayonnaise and spread a thin layer on the tortilla add the chicken, peppers, and onions and roll up. Enjoy!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Chicken Wings with spicy duck sauce
12 Chicken Wings
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1.5 Liters Vegetable Oil
Spicy Duck Sauce
1 Cup Duck Sauce
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flake
Split the two parts of the wings by cutting with a pairing knife at the joint. Dust the wings with the flour. Fill a pot or a tabletop deep fryer with the oil making sure not to over fill and heat to 400F. Drop the wings in to the oil, no more than six pieces at a time. Fry until brown, roughly five minutes per batch.
Spicy Duck Sauce
Mix the duck sauce, soy sauce, and red pepper flake. Stir to combine.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Curried Sweet Potato Chips with Lemon Mint Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients:
1 medium sized sweet potato
1 Tablespoon curry powder (suggestion: The Spice House's Hot Curry Powder )
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Lemon Mint Yogurt Sauce:
1 Cup plain yogurt
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Fresh Chopped Mint
Preheat oven to 500F. Slice the sweet potato into thin slices. Toss slices of sweet potato with olive oil and hot curry powder. Spread out on a sheet pan so none of the slices are touching. Bake until the are crispy and start brow.
Combine the yogurt, mint, and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir to combine. Spoon over the chips while they are still hot and serve immediately.
1 Tablespoon curry powder (suggestion: The Spice House's Hot Curry Powder )
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Lemon Mint Yogurt Sauce:
1 Cup plain yogurt
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Fresh Chopped Mint
Preheat oven to 500F. Slice the sweet potato into thin slices. Toss slices of sweet potato with olive oil and hot curry powder. Spread out on a sheet pan so none of the slices are touching. Bake until the are crispy and start brow.
Combine the yogurt, mint, and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir to combine. Spoon over the chips while they are still hot and serve immediately.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Shallots Review
OK so last week my wife and I went to Shallots and sat in the main dinning room, mainly because we had gift certificates to use.
First of all, I do love the look of the new place. It has a very natural feel. The stone look makes me feel like I am dinning in European wine cellar, which in my opinion is a good thing. The one problem I did have was that I think the lighting was a little to dim, but I tend to like my restaurants well lit.
I started out with the Spicy Tuna Crunch sushi roll which was delicious with good balance of flavor and texture. Oh and remember how people used to say "If you are going to Shallots eat first or you will be hungry", well that no longer applies for the most part. The sushi was generous portion.
My wife and I split the grilled skewer platter which I was not impressed with. The portion was small for $32, and the food was not cooked at that well. Especially the lamb that had both a funny texture and taste.
We both ordered stakes, although I wanted the Ribs but they were out of them. I had the grilled szechwan and my wife had the bordelaise. Both steaks were cooked well, but the flavors of the sauces seemed to be a bit strong and overwhelmed the flavor of the meat.
also both steaks came with a garnish of a sprig of rosemary stuck in them that I thought kind of looked stupid. On the menu it says that my wife's steak was supposed to come with crisp onion rings in the plural, but all she got was one sad onion ring that circled the rosemary.
We ordered the Layer Mousse Cup & Chocolate Terrine which was tasty but the portion size could have been a bit bigger and I would have preferred more chocolate and less raspberry in the Mousse cup.
Overall a nice experience, but next time I think I will sit at the bar for the cheaper menu and let you know how that is. Although, from what I hear it is supposed to be pretty good.
First of all, I do love the look of the new place. It has a very natural feel. The stone look makes me feel like I am dinning in European wine cellar, which in my opinion is a good thing. The one problem I did have was that I think the lighting was a little to dim, but I tend to like my restaurants well lit.
I started out with the Spicy Tuna Crunch sushi roll which was delicious with good balance of flavor and texture. Oh and remember how people used to say "If you are going to Shallots eat first or you will be hungry", well that no longer applies for the most part. The sushi was generous portion.
My wife and I split the grilled skewer platter which I was not impressed with. The portion was small for $32, and the food was not cooked at that well. Especially the lamb that had both a funny texture and taste.
We both ordered stakes, although I wanted the Ribs but they were out of them. I had the grilled szechwan and my wife had the bordelaise. Both steaks were cooked well, but the flavors of the sauces seemed to be a bit strong and overwhelmed the flavor of the meat.
also both steaks came with a garnish of a sprig of rosemary stuck in them that I thought kind of looked stupid. On the menu it says that my wife's steak was supposed to come with crisp onion rings in the plural, but all she got was one sad onion ring that circled the rosemary.
We ordered the Layer Mousse Cup & Chocolate Terrine which was tasty but the portion size could have been a bit bigger and I would have preferred more chocolate and less raspberry in the Mousse cup.
Overall a nice experience, but next time I think I will sit at the bar for the cheaper menu and let you know how that is. Although, from what I hear it is supposed to be pretty good.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
What is the deal with Chalavi?
What is the deal with Chalavi? I keep trying to go in there but there hours suck. At first they said they were going to do breakfast but they did not open until 8 AM. Then they changed their open time to 10 AM, so I guess breakfast is totaly out. I walked over there at about 8:20 PM tonight to find out they close at 8. So I guess I will have to try again another today.
Monday, September 13, 2010
My Mother's peanut butter flowers
Lots of people asked for this recipe after Ahuva's kiddush...these are the little peanut butter flowers that my mother makes-
Warning: The recipe makes a TON! You can use a cookie cutter to cut out small shapes and scraps can be snacked on or saved to use as crunch in an ice cream.
Peanut Butter Flowers
Layer 1:
16 oz dark chocolate
16 oz honey
2 T water
2 c Chunky Peanut Butter
4 c Chopped Peanuts
8 c Rice Krispies
Melt choc, water and honey, add peanut butter, peanuts and rice krispies. Spread over 1 cookie sheet and 1 9x13 pan
Layer 2:
14 oz white chocolate
1 ½ c creamy peanut butter
Melt together and spread over layer 1
4 oz choc chips
Melt and drizzle with a thin tip in a straight line going up and down, making lines ½” apart. Use a toothpick to make lines through the chocolate lines in the opposite direction.
Chill and cut out with a small cookie cutter for shapes or cut into small squares. Yield 1 large cookie sheet and 1 9x13 pan
Warning: The recipe makes a TON! You can use a cookie cutter to cut out small shapes and scraps can be snacked on or saved to use as crunch in an ice cream.
Peanut Butter Flowers
Layer 1:
16 oz dark chocolate
16 oz honey
2 T water
2 c Chunky Peanut Butter
4 c Chopped Peanuts
8 c Rice Krispies
Melt choc, water and honey, add peanut butter, peanuts and rice krispies. Spread over 1 cookie sheet and 1 9x13 pan
Layer 2:
14 oz white chocolate
1 ½ c creamy peanut butter
Melt together and spread over layer 1
4 oz choc chips
Melt and drizzle with a thin tip in a straight line going up and down, making lines ½” apart. Use a toothpick to make lines through the chocolate lines in the opposite direction.
Chill and cut out with a small cookie cutter for shapes or cut into small squares. Yield 1 large cookie sheet and 1 9x13 pan
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Why I hate buying Kosher fish in Chicago
OK so the way I see it there are only 3 choices in where to get fish under hashgacha in Chicago currently, and each has its own issues.
1. Jewel: The issue at Jewel is that the if you come in the afternoon or evening, they never have a fish monger manning the kosher fish counter. Usually someone will come over from the non-kosher meat counter to help you, but the usually they have no clue what they are doing and end up making a complete mess of the butchering, leaving both scales and bones on the fish. Now I do have to say the guy there in the morning named Forest is the man. He always gets me the freshest stuff and does a good job butchering it.
2.Hungarian: A few years ago Hungarian closed their full service fish counter and now has limited amount of fresh pre-cut fish. It is usually cut OK but the selection is limited and you are stuck with it in the weights they cut it.
3.Roberts: This place is on Devon. I went in there for the first time in years. The place seemed smelly and dirty to me. Everything was literally buried in ice so you could not see it. The selection seemed small for a place dedicated to fish. They only had farmed salmon, and they only have tuna by special order.
My suggestion is get to Jewel at about 8 AM or talk to local competent halachic authority about the correct way to buy kosher fish from a place that does not only sell kosher.
1. Jewel: The issue at Jewel is that the if you come in the afternoon or evening, they never have a fish monger manning the kosher fish counter. Usually someone will come over from the non-kosher meat counter to help you, but the usually they have no clue what they are doing and end up making a complete mess of the butchering, leaving both scales and bones on the fish. Now I do have to say the guy there in the morning named Forest is the man. He always gets me the freshest stuff and does a good job butchering it.
2.Hungarian: A few years ago Hungarian closed their full service fish counter and now has limited amount of fresh pre-cut fish. It is usually cut OK but the selection is limited and you are stuck with it in the weights they cut it.
3.Roberts: This place is on Devon. I went in there for the first time in years. The place seemed smelly and dirty to me. Everything was literally buried in ice so you could not see it. The selection seemed small for a place dedicated to fish. They only had farmed salmon, and they only have tuna by special order.
My suggestion is get to Jewel at about 8 AM or talk to local competent halachic authority about the correct way to buy kosher fish from a place that does not only sell kosher.
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