Chicago Bites - Restaurant Reviews & Dining Podcast

The perfectly sliced grapes were the highlight of the Brie.

Cafe Barnard is a Lincoln Park staple. But what is it about its French fare that keeps folks coming back? Tammy and I brought friends to dinner to test the menu and find out.

(26.2 M)

00:00 - 01:21 The mystery French place
01:22 - 04:26 Lived-in charm, basket-o-bread, baked Brie, and escargot
04:27 - 06:33 Wine and service commentary
06:34 - 13:28 Main dishes A.K.A. a game of chess with sauce
13:29 - 18:08 Dessert and dessert wine not so sweet
18:09 - 19:06 Ratings and sign-off

Cafe Bernard
2100 N. Halsted

Bridget's Ratings:
Food Quality: 3/5
Value: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Overall: 5/10

Tammy's Ratings:
Food Quality: 3/5
Value: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 2/5
Overall: 5/10

Average price per person: $45

The steak is very peppery but some thought it better than those at a fancy steak house.

Related Chicago Bites Posts:
Bouchon
Cyrano's Bistrot
Kiki's Bistro

Online buzz about Cafe Bernard:
Citysearch
Metromix
Yelp

Check out our Cafe Bernard photos on Flickr.

Posted by Bridget at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The three-salmon appetizer is second only to the salmon entrée.

The chef at Cyrano’s turns out spectacular dishes that are affordable and right-sized for every course. From the cheese plate and lobster bisque to the coq au vin and chocolate mousse, everything is mouth watering. The only thing holding this cozy bistrot back is uneven service. Still, it’s one of the best French restaurants I’ve tried in Chicago so far, and Tammy and I plan to wander in more often.

(6.5 M)

00:00 - 02:03 Quest for cheese leads to consistantly good, affordable food
02:04 - 03:05 Ambiance and charm
03:06 - 03:51 Bread glorious bread
03:52 - 05:15 Menu quibbles and courses
05:16 - 05:57 Salmon-three-ways and muscles
05:58 - 07:06 Portions and stuffin' ourselves
07:07 - 09:16 Coq au vin and and salmon entrée
09:17 - 10:45 Save room for chocolate mousse and crème caramel
10:46 - 13:00 About service
13:01 - 14:08 Ratings and wrap-up

Cyrano's Bistrot
546 N Wells St

Bridget's Ratings:
Food Quality: 5/5
Value: 5/5
Service: 3/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Overall: 8/10

Tammy's Ratings:
Food Quality: 5/5
Value: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 5/5
Overall: 8/10

Average Price per person: $70 for the whole-nine-yards but you can eat there for less.

This is the perfect neighborhood place for a quiet evening with a small group of close friends or for a date. But don't plan on a quick meal.

The mussels are served in a sauce that is perfect for bread dipping.

Related Chicago Bites Posts:
Baladoche
Bistro 110
Bouchon
Pierrot Gourmet
Kiki's Bistro

On-line Buzz about Cyrano's Bistrot:
Metromix
Yelp

Check out our Cyrano's Bistrot photo set on Flickr

Posted by Bridget at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Salmon worthy of a love affair.

Tammy and I went to Las Vegas wondering if it was possible to have a fine dining experience there. We discovered that at Bouchon, it is not only possible it’s an absolute certainty. Thomas Keller’s dishes are simple, flavorful, and impeccably prepared. The food speaks for itself. And what does it say? Game on! Dining in Vegas is worth talking about.

(7.8 M)

00:00 - 01:31 Going for the gold standard
01:32 - 02:33 And going back again
02:34 - 03:04 Open Table follow-up (and no, my apartment is not on fire)
03:05 - 04:11 A little bit of France in Italy -- a welcome break from Vegas
04:12 - 05:27 Winning the battle for hearts and minds with pistachios and salads
05:28 - 06:43 The second sip
06:44 - 08:12 Dream worthy food A.K.A. 'what quiche should be'
08:13 - 10:01 Cod and salmon speak for themselves
10:02 - 11:34 Bouchon perfection
11:35 - 14:30 Quiche (again), fries, and French toast
14:31 - 16:59 Wrap-up and sign-off

Bouchon
The Venetian Hotel
Las Vegas

Bridget rates Bouchon 10/10
Tammy rates Bouchon 10/10

The quiche was so good we went back to Bouchon for brunch to have it again.

Look at our Bouchon Photo Set on Flickr

Posted by Bridget at 5:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Setting foot in here is akin to a quick trip to France.

Think that crepes are only good for breakfast? A trip to La Creperie will quickly disabuse you of that notion. The menu is simple but gives you all of the tools you need to build the perfect breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert crepe. Don’t like cheese? Just leave it out. Want whipped cream with that? No problem!

My favorite trick-of-the trade is to go to La Creperie with a like-minded friend who is willing to share food. That way I can taste a little bit of everything. The salad, French onion soup and cheese plate are all excellent appetizers. The crepes are the size of a large dinner plate, and they are very filling, so eating half of one is more than enough. Besides, you’ll want to leave room for dessert! My favorite dessert crepe is a toss-up between the banana sara and the nutella crepe with fresh strawberries.

La Creperie also has a nice wine list that includes a small selection of ports and dessert wines. I highly recommend trying a glass of port, especially if you get a chocolate dessert crepe… it’s a lovely combination.

Like any good Parisian café, the atmosphere at La Creperie is laid back and comfortable. It’s the sort of place where you can linger over a cup of coffee with a book in hand, and it’s also a good spot for long quiet conversations. The dining area is long and narrow, and the quaint outdoor courtyard in the back, as well as the photos of Paris on the walls, successfully complete an overall European feel.

La Creperie’s close proximity to the Century Shopping Center makes it the perfect place to stop after going to a movie.

But remember, it’s closed on Monday. I’m always forgetting that myself. If you find yourself faced with a closed sign on Monday, you may be tempted to settle for dining at the nearby Crepes on Broadway. Don’t do it. La Creperie is so good that Crepes on Broadway never fails to disappoint, even though it’s not bad. After La Creperie, “not bad” isn’t good enough.

La Creperie
2845 N Clark

Price: For the whole shebang (namely a whole savory and a whole dessert crepe) plan on paying roughly $15 a person, $20 with alcohol.

I give this restaurant at 7/10.

Related Chicago Bites Posts:
Baladoche
Pierrot Gourmet
Kiki's Bistro
Bistro 110

Posted by Bridget at 9:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Been shopping and looking for a good place to lunch? It's summer in the city and this little spot is a great place to stop for a salad, some iced tea, and a cupcake.

And speaking of cupcakes, watch for details on Chicago Bites' upcoming cupcake taste test!

Sorry to our loyal listeners for the late posting this week. I have no good excuse, other than I'm a slacker.

But seriously... have a Pierrot Gourmet cupcake and start thinking of your own cupcake favorites because soon we'll want to hear all about them!

(13 M)

00:00 - 00:28 Intro
00:29 - 09:04 Pierrot Gourmet Review
09:05 - 11:26 Wrap-up & Sign-off

Pierrot Gourmet
108 E. Superior St.

Bridget rates this restaurant 6.5/10 (A tad drab... but enjoyable)
Tammy rates this restaurant 5/10 (Dull as dishwater)

Posted by Bridget at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Our trip to Kiki’s Bistro was a "white tablecloth outing." That’s because we call our dining club "we of the white tablecloths."

This little group was born about a year ago, when Tammy and I and two of our friends decided to get together once a month and try a "new" restaurant. I don’t mean that the restaurant itself has to be new, just that no one in the group has been there before.

This culinary challenge is great fun and has driven us all out of our restaurant ruts, leading us to the places we’ve always been meaning to try.

Kiki’s was one of those places…

(10.4 M)

00:00 - 00:44 Intro
00:45 - 01:29 Wine Mini-review
01:30 - 02:48 Vines on Clark Lament
02:49 - 09:32 Kiki's Bistro Review
09:33 - 11:22 Wrap-up & Sign-off

Kiki's Bistro
900 N. Franklin

Bridget rates this restaurant 6/10
Tammy rates this restaurant 5/10

Wine store mentioned during this podcast:
House of Glunz

Wine:
2002 Costières-de-Nîmes VF Lasira

Posted by Bridget at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We’re perfecting the art of being “restaurant refugees.”

This time we fled our original restaurant choice because it was a madhouse. Tammy and I had planned to go to RL, the snazzy restaurant attached to the Ralph Lauren store on Michigan Avenue. But when we got there, people were literally pouring out the door and pushing their way to the bar in a frenzied Friday night way that made the noise-level astronomical.

We were tired. We were hungry. And we wanted to sit down and eat… RIGHT THEN!

So we decided that Ralph could wait -- he was doing just fine without us -- and taking our names off the reservation list, we wandered across the street to Bistro 110.

Bistro 110 is a place I’d passed a thousand times, but I’d never eaten there. It deserves a second glance, and it was just what we were looking for.

(13.8M)

00:00 - 00:18 Intro
00:19 - 0:59 Wine Mini-review
01:00 - 9:42 Bistro 110 Review
09:21 - 10:00 Wrap-up & Sign-off

Bridget rates this restaurant 6/10
Tammy rates this restaurant 5/10

Posted by Bridget at 6:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)