Well, first of all, thanks to everybody who offered up suggestions for this weekend. While we didn’t have enough time or stomach capacity to try them all out, I’m sure I’ll be using this thread as reference in the future.
We started the weekend, like Indianbadger, at
Lula’s. I don’t have much new to say about this place, but after this first visit, count me amongst the Lula-lovers. We were able to sit outside with no wait, but we must’ve come at an auspicious time, as there were clusters of people waiting by the time we’d placed our orders. Food: We all took spoons to the squash soup, which was poured tableside around a (goat?) cheese stuffed squash blossom. The soup was a bit thin for my liking, but was well seasoned. My wife and I really enjoyed the sautéed scallops with beet/orange puree and grilled endive. I had the roast chicken with potatoes, which earned its hype. My wife tucked into the pasta yia yia – pasta, cinnamon, feta, brown butter, and garlic (oh my!). My friend had what seemed like a semi-deconstructed vegetarian pot pie. Lots of good-looking and –tasting veggies served with a round pastry crust on the side. For better or worse, he said he could’ve eaten two of the entrees. Gluttons that we were, we pushed forward with desserts. Chocolate gateau was served with praline ice cream. Fine. But the zucchini bread pudding served with lavender flavored ice cream was the one that got polished off.
We started Saturday at
Toast. There was an easy 20 minute wait at around 10:30am, after which we were seated in the back patio. Quiet, serene, tables not on top of one another. Two of us had omelettes, that were very good, but over-sized. The star of the table was the marscapone-stuffed French toast. They looked like Twinkies on steroids, but with exponentially better taste and shorter shelf-life. My low sweet-tolerance would probably make it difficult for me to finish a plate of these, but these were perfectly executed. For thoroughness, we ordered some steel-cut oatmeal and potatoes. Lovely.
Pre-Millenium Park, we headed to the
Green Eye, a stone’s throw from the Western stop of the Blue Line. This is a great, laid-back bar with a good selection. Nice art on the walls, Johnny Cash on the sound system, and the Sci-Fi channel on mute on the TV.
We brought another friend along with us for dinner up on Devon. In an effort to compromise on heat tolerances, we shied away from some of the suggested S. Indian vegetarian places and ended up at the more formal sit-down side of
Viceroy, after peeking at a few menus along the way. The vegetable somosas were OK, but I prefer the somewhat less oily, flakier crust and spice of those at my go-to Devon eats (Sabri Nehari). Here we shared baingan bharta (eggplant that’s seen the inside of the clay oven, then mashed with tomatoes, onions, spices), chana pindi (chick peas), daal makhani (lentils), and the malai kofta (mild cheese and vegetable “balls” in a tomato stew of sorts). Along with some plain rice, we ordered the bread basket, which included tandoori naan, garlic naan, onion kulcha (one of my favorites), and the aloo (potato) paratha. In retrospect, we probably could’ve selected better – the meal was very tasty, but there were only a few degrees of separation across the flavor profiles of the dishes we picked.
I didn’t realize how late it was after we left Viceroy en route to the bling-bling
Ambala signage further west on Devon. I was crestfallen when we reached the door and noticed that we were 15 minutes past their close time. The owner stopped cleaning with his staff when he saw us and motioned for us to come in. He recognized my wife and I from previous visits and apologized that most of his trays were not on display but asked what we wanted. He asked about my mom, who’d only been in the store once before several months ago. I felt poorly for the imposition, but quickly spit out some requests. He had his staff make up a box of pista and badaam barfi (pistachio and almond fudge-like sweets) for us and wrapped up a kaala jaman (like a donut hole, but richer). I also asked for a few pieces of jalebi – and he gave me the ½ pound of what he had left (gratis – past prime, but still hitting a sweet spot that needed a beating). I don’t recommend coming in past closing, but this is a great example of a place with a warm, welcoming staff and great products.
At the risk of over-brunching, we went to
Flo Sunday morning, which was relatively convenient on the way to the MCA. Our first time here. Modest wait, attentive staff, but otherwise kinda so-so food. Fritatta was fine, as was an omellette featuring artichoke hearts and some banana-chocolate pancakes. Black beans served with the frittata weren’t quite done. Final verdict on this place was that it was OK, but no strong desire to return. [Is lunch/dinner worth a revisit?] [Final verdict on Flavin exhibit at MCA –Home Depot art; bring shades.]
After visiting the MCA, we headed for a mid-day cocktail at
NoMI’s lounge in the Park Hyatt. There was an outdoor lounge, but we opted for the empty indoor lounge/bar. Service was extremely attentive, but unobstrusive. Drinks were outrageously expensive but may have been the best caipirinha(s) I’ve ever had. Wife and I checked out the NoMI space and menu and agreed to try it out some time.
Sunday dinner was on our deck, watching fireworks, with star standouts being fruits and vegetables from
Stanley’s. They had the sweetest corn I’ve had all season this weekend, along with some great avocados. Yum.
In retrospect, we didn’t hit a lot of places billing themselves as vegetarian (and probably easier for us given that my friend is less vegan-leaning these days), but we did have a chance to try some places I hadn’t gotten around to in the past.
Thanks,
Zee
Toast
2046 N Damen Ave
773-772-5600
Green Eye
2403 W. Homer St.
773-227-8851
Viceroy of India
2516 W. Devon Ave.
773-743-4100
http://www.viceroyofindia.com
Ambala
2741 W. Devon Ave.
773-764-9000
http://www.ambalafoods.com/
Flo
1434 W. Chicago Ave.
312-243-0477
NoMi (in Park Hyatt)
800 N. Michigan Ave.
312-239-4030
http://www.nomirestaurant.com/gallery/nomi/home.html
Stanley's Fruits & Vegetables
1558 N Elston Ave
773-276-8050