Japonais

this is going to be the first of a series titled "Eating Our Way Out of Chicago!" haha. what exactly is that? well, J and i decided last Sunday that we were going to try and eat out somewhere in Chicago at least once a week since we're both getting the heck outta here soon! we did some research, jotted down a few places of interest, and started today.

the place we chose for the kickoff was Japonais, a Japanese restaurant in the swanky River North area. the menu is slightly pricey, but they also have a few affordable dishes..though i wouldn't expect to spend less than $30 a person unless you only nibble on a single piece of nigiri or something.

Tapas Barcelona (in America)

i made the distinction because i actually have pictures from REAL tapas from Barcelona as well! that is a post that will come later this week, i think..

anyway, this tapas place is located right next to the Northwestern campus, so it's rather convenient to go to for a quick Spanish meal. i last came here in summer 2009, and i think my friend and i nearly cleaned the entire place out. the waitress was quite surprised by how much we ordered! i think we were just starving, and everything on the menu looked super appealing at the time.

Roy's Hawaiian

i actually ate here a while ago, but i never had the chance to post up pictures! and trust me, this place is worth blogging about (: Roy's is probably one of my favourite restaurants to visit whenever i'm in the mood for good fish and a cute atmosphere. the Chicago branch has the option to sit either at the chef's counter, or to get a normal table; i've had the pleasure of trying both experiences and they were both great! obviously if you're a foodie or love watching chefs works (and don't mind the excess noise), i'd definitely try the chef's counter at least once.

the more i think about this meal, the happier (and hungrier) i am getting! (:

grilling steak

since i am now living in an apartment, i've stocked it up with various utensils, appliances, and lots of other stuff. i bought myself a nice little George Foreman grill (: this has been a good friend of mine, especially when it comes to grilling meats! my honorary roomie J and i have been cooking up stuff at least once a week, and we decided to get some steak in our tummies!

we went to whole foods and got us some New York strip steak, which wasn't that expensive - $5 covered both of our pieces. i had some sweet potatoes in the fridge, and we picked up a bundle of asparagus for about $4.

take some Chicago chophouse dry rub, add a bit of your own magic, rub it in, grill for a few minutes (by professional lil ol' me!), and you'll get a nice, juicy steak!

yumm. this really makes me want to do a full-out barbecue some time!

we did mashed jewel sweet potatoes with ginger (J pretty much did it all by herself; yay!), and that came out pretty nice as well. i think what both of us were really looking forward to was the grilled asparagus!

they were still crisp, yet juicy, but not hard. thank you George! (:

our (semi-healthy) dinner below:

i think this beats out canteen (dining hall) food any day, no? (though i guess the canteen at Goldsmiths really wasn't that bad at all..)

seafood at the beach

i never had a chance to post up pictures from earlier this summer when i went to Santa Barbara. my family and i used to go there and eat seafood right at the beach, and it's exactly what we did again. we went on a trip with some family friends, and decided to grab lunch outside at the Santa Barbara Shellfish Co.

Houston's

before leaving home for school, i ate with my parents at one of my favourite restaurants in LA - Houston's. it's a delicious grill-type restaurant in Pasadena, and though the options aren't super plentiful, they serve everything from veggie burgers to freshly made sushi. the prices can be a bit on the steep side; an average meal for 3 people probably costs about $100 if not more..

i ordered that day's fresh fish, which was salmon (MKT price). they prepared it by grilling it and then pairing it with some seasonal veggies - i chose spinach (: of course, to go along with it, i had to get a side of their hand cut french fries ($5) as well. they are the best...trust me on this one.

they gave me an enormous piece! it was definitely deeeelicious. the salmon was grilled to perfection! there was almost a crispiness to the edges, and the inside was juicy and tender.. yum!

my dad ordered the grilled loup de mer, which came with Marcona almonds as well as a side of spinach ($25).

looks delicious, no? (: the simple addition of roasted almonds can make a dish that much better..

finally, my mom got the crabcakes (MKT price), which she didn't really enjoy, even though they're made from fresh Maryland blue crab! they FedEx it to the restaurant daily and prepare it, but i guess that wasn't good enough for her.. haha. however, her favourite thing of the night? the baked potato with everything in the world on top - bacon, chives, cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions, butter ..

she and my dad had a blast tearing into this. i was too busy enjoying my fish and Arnold Palmer.

their service was impeccable as always, and even though we had to wait an hour for seats, it was well worth it. don't worry, Houston's can be affordable, too. their cheeseburger is only $14, and it's probably one of the best that i've ever had. also, if you get a chance, splurge on their ribs. they are to die for, and i don't even like pork!

Houston's
320 S. Arroyo Parkway
Pasadena, CA 91105

Crumbs

for some reason, the cupcake craze that i caught in London followed me home, all the way through my winter holiday and even to my trip to NY! i know what you're thinking.. cupcakes + NY = Magnolia Bakery, right? i actually didn't have a chance to go there because my schedule was so packed. however, on the way back from NYU, i did see a Crumbs Bake Shop and decided to get something there instead.

i got a regular hazelnut coffee (~$1.75?) and an eggnog cupcake ($4.50) (it was the week before Christmas), and i split it with my parents for a taste-test!

i have to say, it wasn't anything extraordinary. the frosting was incredibly sweet..i pretty much threw it away. there wasn't really an eggnog taste to the actual cupcake either; i think most of the flavour was in the frosting and filling, but again - too much sugar!! i ate a few bites and pretty much had to use the coffee to balance it out.

perhaps their other cupcakes are better, but i really don't see myself coming back here anytime soon. nothing spectacular, sorry :|

Crumbs Bake Shop - Union Square
124 University Place
New York, NY 10003

Chicago-style Pizza

i'm officially back in the Windy City! it's going to be my last six months in this city, and then i'm leaving (and not planning on coming back for a looong time haha)! i've marked Jan as the start of a long goodbye to the place, so i figured i needed to go food-exploring so that i can at least say i've eaten in all most of the hotspots in Chicago. in order to do this, you have to start with what they're incredibly famous for - pizza! deep dish pizza, to be exact.

my friend (and honorary roommate haha) J and i went to the source of deep dish pizza, also known as a restaurant named Uno in the city centre of Chicago. the place was rather small, but we managed to squeeze in after a 15 minute wait. we didn't want leftovers, so we each got a drink and split an individual-sized (about 7 inches in diameter) Numero Uno ($8.99), which is a pizza with the works: sausage, pepperoni, onions, peppers, mushrooms, & cheese. i, of course, had to add on some grated parmesan as well as red pepper flakes. yum!

these were my 2 pieces - perfect portion for lunch! (it's actually smaller than it looks...)

J & i both agreed that this is the best deep dish that we've had since coming to Chicago! the crust was nice and crunchy, and didn't get wet even with all the sauce and toppings. there was an amazing layer of sausage placed beneath all the toppings - picture flattened sausage pressed into the dough. the ingredients were plentiful and not overpowered by cheese. the only complain that we had was that the temperature wasn't ideal. the pizza had already started to cool, and we wished it was still piping hot when they brought it out.

after trying Lou Malnati's, Giordano's, and Gino's East, i have to say that this is probably the best place to get deep dish. even though i still prefer thin crust (yay NY style!) pizza, deep-dish isn't bad to have once in a while (:

Pizzeria Uno
29 E. Ohio St.
Chicago, IL 60611