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?