French Cooking Lessons

This weekend I had a great little adventure at The Chopping Block. Have you ever wanted to cook a fancy meal, but just aren't sure where to start? I have and when I saw a Julia Child inspired class I couldn't wait to try it. The kitchen area was simply stunning. I want to have a kitchen like that!  As for the food, the cheese puffs were my favorite and pretty easy to make. The Beef Doube (beef stew) was also very tasty and we learned a lot of tips from the chef. Overall, I loved this place and can't wait to try another class.

Sugar Rush

Last Thursday night I ventured out in the snow and cold for a really great non-profit called Spark. They create apprenticeships for 7th and 8th graders in Chicago to drive interest in their futures and the needed education to get them there. It's a really great organization and I was happy to add my contributions, especially with the treats their event had in store.

Sugar Rush includes some of Chicago's top chefs and their inspired desserts, a carefully curated collection of silent auction items, and a lovely mix of people to mingle with. We made it around to all the tables and my favorite dessert ended up being a goat cheese cheesecake from Blackbird. It was heavenly.

This is turning into quite the food blog. I swear I do more than just eat! But let me show you some more great food...

First off, It was pretty gross out.

But gorgeous inside. The event was at Hotel Allegro downtown.

This was the most stunning table display. Mountains of salt, branches and rosemary created a beautiful winter scape for Popcorn and Rosemary Bon Bons. You heard me right and yes there were delicious with a liquid bursting center. Compliments of Chef Thomas Raquel at Acadia.

Here's Grace enjoying every drop of it.

This was a beautiful huckleberry pop tart with tangerine sorbet from mK The Restaurant. The sorbet was pretty great.

Here's the goat cheese cheesecake with avocado and burnt grapefruit. Sounds weird, tastes decadent.

I did have a favorite dish of the night. An out of this world Potato Gnocchi from The Florentine. It brought be right back to my time in Italy.

Restaurant Week Fail

Maybe that's a little harsh. The third course was amazing and the space was beautiful.

A few girlfriends and I went to Balena in Lincoln Park known for its Italian food and wine.

First up, prosciutto-like pork. Meh. Followed by a perfectly acceptable but not too exciting tuna bruschetta. The third course of chicken thighs was divine, but the chocolate dessert was a let down. Either way it was a fun night with friends. Until next time!

DC Dining

I flew in to DC this afternoon for work. It was a great excuse to meet up with a few co-workers and try a Belgium restaurant I never made it to when I lived here. If you like mussels or fried brownies, get to Brasserie Beck stat.


The mussels were amazing, but photographed too dark. I went with the Mediterranean option and a mind blowing shallot and onion soup to start.

 A sparkling prickly pear cocktail was slightly strong, but went down smooth.

The dessert! Totally demolished. We split some fried brownies with rasberry and vanilla dipping sauce. I highly recommend this ending!

 Aaaaand what do you know, another stunning bathroom. I feel in love with the wall paper here. Reminds me of my old wallpaper in DC! See here and here.

Up tomorrow is Ray's the Third. I am going to be stuffed when I head back to Chicago!

Ruxbin Ladies Night

I am LOVING Chicago. Minus the winter weather it's an amazing city. That's where I've been the last 6 months; exploring Chi-town.

Tonight was a lovely evening with three of my friends. We went to Ruxbin, a phenomenal little hole in the wall in the Ukrainian Village. It's Michelin star quality at a great price. Oh, and it's BYOB. Very nice touch.

Up first, our cute little Pancake white wine BYOB. Sorry for the iPhone pics.

For apps, we had garlic fries (addicting) with Chipotle Aioli and a delicious flatbread with prosciutto, goat cheese and pear slices.

Here we all are with our entrees. It took some time to for the kitchen to get these all out, so the servers treated us to a tasty apple & plum salad that I forgot to take a picture of. Grace and Maureen both got the Short Ribs with ramen risotto. I stole a bite and it was heaven.

My entree: I couldn't pass up the Shrimp and Grits with mussels, sausage, polenta cake and everything else glutinous.

 My roomie made the brilliant decision to sample the vegetarian dish; tomato and eggplant parm. I had a sample and my taste buds exploded. It was that good.

And for dessert, the Rocky Road option was my favorite. Brownies, cherries, juniper ice cream, creme fraiche caramel, and cotton candy on top. I was a little greedy with my portions. :)

The other dessert we tried was the Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Not my favorite, but the coconut sorbet was unforgettable.

 Also unforgettable, the crazy bathroom. It was top notch. A crazy swivel door was how you got in, posters lined the walls and utensils made up the frames. I also had a little photo shoot.

Until next time, Ruxbin. You were great.