Archive for the ‘Favorite Spots’ Category
Always one to be on the lookout for new restaurants, I found my Beauties a good one this week. A couple of months ago, I heard that Lettuce Entertain You was opening a new restaurant in the suburbs of Chicago, not too far from where I live. I was all over it hounding their PR peeps to get me info. Yesterday, I dined at Tokio Pub for their “friends and family” day. Usually, I can gage a restaurant by how often I think I’ll come back. Let’s just say, there’s a chance I could be a regular, if…I can get in the place. I’m predicting LEYE has done it again and the tiny add-on to Shaw’s Crab House is going to draw a crowd. Opening an izakaya-style restaurant is a first in the burbs with most locals not even knowing what it means. So, are we surprised that LEYE is a trendsetter?
Much like the big city food movement, Tokio Pub is all small plates ranging from $5-$7. Their moniker is “Asian small plates, fusion cocktails and pub style beer,” your basic description of izakaya. The menu layout reads: SEAFOOD, CRISPY RICE, ROBATA GRILL, TACOS, VEGETABLES AND DESSERTS plus their self-proclaimed signature dish, pub wings. I tasted six different items on the menu and took sips of four different cocktails. I promise, I didn’t drink all four! I met the guy behind Tokio Pub, Bill the Brains, who explained this concept table-side.
Within the first week of test runs, Bill is already confident the place will be busy for lunch and dinner and heavy on the cocktails late at night. Easy to see why. The place feels like a cleaned up garage with funky servers and really good bites but still very grown up. I say this with love. Tokio Pub is industrial in design which gives the food and cocktail menu center stage. It’s low-key and an easy place to hang out which is what he was going for. I predict the foodie crowd that lives in the Northwest suburbs will want to be the “in” crowd at this pub. Bill the Brains, I concur. You done good.
Beauty Bites…
- Chicken Meatballs from the Robata Grill
- Braised Pork Tacos
- Crispy Fish Tacos
- Crispy Shrimp Tempura
And Beauty hearts the cocktail menu!
Tokio Pub
900 East Higgins Road, Schaumburg
847-517-2722
I have a secret. I don’t want to tell you but I HAVE to share it because the people I dined with yesterday told me so. It would be selfish to hide such a gem from my Beauties. It’s a restaurant in Chicago that is flying way under the radar and I can’t figure out why. I passed it months ago on my way to another place nearby. At the time, I tried to peak in or find a menu posted on the door and vowed to investigate another time. That time was yesterday after I was invited to meet with an Italian importer for lunch.
Pelago Ristorante is tucked behind the lobby of the Hotel Raffaello on Delaware and Mies Vander Rohe Way. (Figure behind the John Hancock building) It’s been there for over a year but evaded the hyped-up “new restaurant” scene in favor of building a strong clientele through solid Italian food. Yet, people still haven’t heard about it hidden away in the Gold Coast. Chef Mauro Mafrici is from Italy and came to Chicago by way of New York. He and his architect-wife gave up the Big Apple to start their family business in our Windy City. Lucky us. His speciality is the homemade pasta and seafood. I was able to sample four pastas and three fish specials that were delicious. Having studied in Florence long ago, I couldn’t help but mention to my fellow diners that Pelago is the closest thing to Italy I’ve tasted in Chicago. I was excited to be introduced to a new place off the grid yet right under my nose. This upscale, elegant restaurant is the real thing. It’s about very few ingredients, a true indicator of classic Italian cuisine. Take for example, the Gemelli Pesto. You don’t get more simple than pesto but Chef Marfici had an exquisite balance of the components that go into this dish. Too often, food is inflated with flavors taking away from the origin of an uncomplicated dish. I really had to pace myself otherwise, I would have inhaled my meal in front of the other guests, not pretty. The space itself is beautiful, designed with modern details and classic still-life artwork. I left knowing I would be back often. And I look forward to cooking with the chef soon.
Dine for yourself:
Pelago Ristorante
201 E. Delaware, Chicago
312.280.0700
I know, I know. Hub 51 has been around. So, now I choose to post about it? I was there this weekend with a group of young bevies after a fashion event at Saks. I knew Hub 51 would be a crowd pleaser. I’ve been there a bunch…for drinks, for fish tacos, for the guac. And that’s just what I’m talking about Beauties…the guacamole, on anything and everything Hub. For starters, the guacamole is damn good…and those chips! The super-thin, crispy chips are, unfortunately, so addictive. This is where my story begins of being trapped by Hub 51's tortillas. It's just not fair. I sat down with the best of intentions to not overload on chips when the young “Skinny Gang” ordered the Pulled Chicken nachos. So, “I can handle it,” I thought. I even refrained from ordering a cocktail because I’m off the juice for a month. But then the nachos were delivered to our table and, well, it’s kind of like a tax write off, right? So, I dipped in and would pay later. One thing I had to agree with the Skinny Gang on…there are just certain days you need nachos. It was one of those weeks when nachos felt right, and tasted even better. The bowl was big but wasn’t overloaded like some nachos can be. The key here is the combo of flavors: pulled tender chicken, guacamole, white cheddar, a roasted tomato salsa and fresh jalapenos.
My main entree was the Chicken Enchilada Stack. It’s not that anything on the menu is “over-the-top” or immensely innovative but it’s bar food done really well with great ingredients. It’s the place that keeps you coming back because you know you can get good food in a hip atmosphere. The girls loved it. A typical Beauty and Her Feast move, I pulled apart my meal figuring out how to make it at home until the waiter told me they make the tortillas fresh for each dish. OK. Forget that. I know how much work it is to make tortillas. The dish is layered like this: tortilla, layer of braised, pulled chicken, tortilla, layer of guacamole & roasted corn, tortilla, covered in cheese and baked served with salsa verde and pico de gallo. Simple, I know but the great flavor comes from a combination of the braised meat and the fresh tortillas. The other stuff helps too. I can pull off everything but making the tortillas at home.
The tacos are served with the same warm tortillas and I was lucky to sneak a taste of their pork shoulder. I’m in for the braised pork tacos my next visit to Hub 51. For more info on Hub 51 or to view their menu, click here.
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