The best thing I ate today - 5/9

Every now and then you just need to have a night where you throw calories to the wind and just indulge. This was one of those evenings. We checked out the new DMK Burger Bar where the best thing I ate today was definitely my burger. I ordered the #1, which came dressed with cheddar cheese, bacon, balsamic marinated onions (yes!) and a fresh dinner-roll inspired bun. The parmesan truffle fries were noteworthy and we shared a vanilla bean milkshake to wash it all down. DMK...OMG.

The best thing I ate today - 5/8

We were lucky enough to be invited to dinner at at friend's house and the best thing I ate today was Merav's lamb stew. She recreated her mom's recipe. Now I have never had her mom's stew, but if this even came close I am on the next flight to Monsey. The lamb was fall-apart tender and had a nice smooth flavor. Challah bread to soak up the broth was the perfect accompaniment. A perfect evening with great friends. Thanks guys!

The best thing I ate today - 5/7

If we are cooking on a Friday night I like to do something I little inspired. And this Friday night I drew my inspiration from an upcoming trip to LA, where I can think of nothing else besides Crustacean's garlic noodles. So, I set out on a google journey to find like-minded garlic noodle enthusiasts who had attempted to recreate this dish and publish a recipe. Let me tell you reader(s), we came very close. I attempted to round out the dish with some shrimp and vegetables. I was able to get the same addictive sweet & savory, buttery garlic flavor from the sauce and my husband quickly became a convert. Now I am off to my Crustacean shrine to prepare an offering for the garlic noodle gods for making it possible to bring a little bit of LA restaurant inspiration to an otherwise uneventful Friday night in Chicago.

The best thing I ate today - 5/6

The best thing I ate today was a roast beef sandwich on a pretzel bun from Blue Plate catering. It was your standard corporate boxed lunch catering fare, but I found my sandwich to be especially enjoyable due to the combination of tender roast beef with the doughy bun.

The best thing I ate today - 5/5

The best thing I ate today is the dessert I am eating as I write this. Diced fresh strawberries topped with a dollop of creamy vanilla Chobani and a sprinkling of crunchy banana granola. Not the strawberries & cream of Wimbledon, but it works for me.

The best thing I ate today - 5/4

The best thing I ate yesterday was the dinner we cooked. I made panko crusted chicken with a side of dipping sauce. It had the crunch of fried chicken without the guilt.

The best thing I ate today - 5/3

The best thing I ate today was the pork tenderloin that we grilled for dinner. With just a mere hour in the highly coveted (in our household) Stubbs pork marinade, it presented itself with a delicious flavor. Just a bit Asian and just a bit BBQ with a hint of citrus. My husband grilled it to perfection so it was perfectly pink and juicy in the center. Yup, I am a nice Jewish girl who loves her pig.

The best thing I ate today - 5/2

The best thing I ate today was the homemade pasta sauce we made for dinner. It is my signature creation, which is a light sauce made out of sweet onions, diced tomatoes, squash and garlic. It is served over a bed of fettuccine, with medallions of fresh mozzarella (G-d's gift to cheese), topped with some parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of fresh basil. I call this my farmer's market dinner, because you can usually procure all of the ingredients at the Sunday Farmers Market. A tasty end to a satisfying weekend. Ahhh.

the best thing I ate today - 5/1

Tonight I had the pleasure of dining with my husband and good friend Amy at the Hearty Boys' new restaurant, Hearty. To decide what was the best thing I ate, is most certainly a challenge, because everything each of us ate from top to bottom was scrumptious, including the service and a visit to the table from celebrity chef Dan Smith. But alas, the best thing I ate was my entree, the beefaroni, which was pulled braised short ribs, elbow macaroni, roasted squash and shallots in a merlot reduction so addictive that I thought about asking if they could box-up the leftover sauce for me so I could freeze it into ice cubes and cook with it. Hearty Boys, I heart you.

The best thing I ate today - 4/30

Tonight we dined at Folklore in Wicker Park. This is a beautiful, sexy new restaurant from the makers of Tango Sur. However, they really kicked up ambiance a notch and I dare to say that this is a restaurant that practically hands out sexy restaurant goggles at the door. The effect - turning your "give him/her one more try" date into someone you think want to spend the rest of your life with.

I had the half grilled lemon chicken, on the bone. It was excellent, almost elegant in its simplicity. The spinach mashed potatoes were a nice, colorful (I mean GREEN) accompaniment, if not a bit bland.

Ahhh, the lure of Folkore.

The best thing I ate today - 4/29

It was an uninspiring food day. The best thing I ate was a steak that we put on the grill. Thank you Jewel for putting your filet mignons on sale for $4 a piece. A good dinner, but not life changing.

The best thing I ate today - 4/28

The best thing I ate today was a piece of a Pure Dark chocolate bar. For those of you who do not know about Pure Dark, I suggest you get in the know...very quickly. I sampled the Island Bark, which is self described as sheets of Pure Dark™ chocolate topped with tropical mango, macadamia nuts and caramelized nibs. It was divine. The folks at Mars have really figured out how to make this seem and taste gourmet, without making it too bitter or intense like some other boutique chocolatiers.

http://www.puredark.com/intro.php

The best thing I ate today - 4/27

The best thing I ate (yesterday) was during the cocktail hour of a work dinner at Joe's on Grand. It was an hors d'œuvre that was a tender little morsel of beef, topped with a bit of horse radish Crème fraiche, and wrapped in crispy onion rings. It was the perfect savory bite.

The best thing I ate today - 4/26

Today I had the pleasure of lunching with my work team at the new cafe in the Art Institute, Terzo Piano. The best thing I ate today was their goat's milk cheesecake, ordered by my colleague Michelle. The cheesecake was rich and smooth, without being too heavy. It had just a hit of "goat" and had a nice creamy vanilla flavor (and I always love when you can see the real vanilla bean specks in the dish). This significantly outpaced my choice, a bread pudding that had been prepared by Chef Tony Mantuano on a recent episode Top Chef Masters. I am a sucker for anything Top Chef, but the cheesecake prevailed. Sorry Tony.

The best thing I ate today - 4/25

The best thing I ate today (besides the leftover blueberry pie from yesterday) was a homemade turkey burger on a Labriola Pretzel bun. If you have never had one, I suggest you drop everything, run to the nearest Labriola carrying retailer and try one. It makes the burger. How do I love you Labriola, let me count the ways.

http://www.labriolabaking.com/locations.htm

The best thing I ate today - 4/24

The best thing I ate today was my friend Eric's homemade blueberry pie. We hosted Eric and his wife Liza for dinner and although i was very proud of my pecan crusted snapper (that owes a shout out to my grill master husband Marc) and lemon rosemary smashed potatoes, I need to give the win to Eric. The blueberry filling was fresh and juicy, without being watery. The crust maintained its firm, buttery consistency without becoming soggy. It was a perfect spring dinner.

The best thing I ate today - 4/23

Today I had the pleasure of dining at the delicious Cafe 28. The best thing I ate today is a difficult choice between the pistachio crusted chicken with goat cheese sauce, or the warm chocolate pudding. And the winner is...the chicken. The savory chicken crust lightly drizzled with the delicate goat cheese sauce is, in my opinion, the second best chicken in the city of Chicago (second only to Table 52's similar but different pistachio crusted chicken). Can you say satiated?