I was back in Chicago this past weekend and decided to make the best of my time whileI was there.  Lets start with one of the most outrageous meals I have ever had. Thisrestaurant had a cool scene, incredible service and every single dish seemed to be better than the last. The only restaurants that have been on my ‘Must Try’ list are a lot high brow than this, Le Bernardin, Alinea and French Laundry. We’ll get to those some day, but for now, lets talk Girl & the Goat (809 West Randolph Street, near Halsten).

A gem. An absolute gem. Let’s start form the beginning. First of all this is no easy reservation, you need to make it a couple of months in advance. We went with another couple and got there just on time for our 9:30 reservation. We sampled some of the interesting beers at the bar. I started with a black IPA. They seated us at 9;45 and were so apologetic. They even gave us a few dishes free. Very unnecessary. Some of the highlights included the pig face serviced with a fried egg, potatoes and maple syrup. There was an incredible shishito peppers dish and Wife dug the octopus. In all we had about ten to twelve dishes. Not one was bad. Not one was even average. 

The room has a gastropub in the West Loop look to it as it should. The kitchen is open a la DBGB and you see the incredible work going on. The detail to the room, the food, the service, no wonder Stephanie Izard won Top Chef.

After dinner, we headed to meet another one of my friends for craft beer and some punk rock in Lincoln Park. We headed to The Local Option (1102 W. Webster Ave at the corner of N. Seminary Ave.) for both. Some of the beers they brought in, some they made themselves. Including one that shocked the world as far as I am concerned. Wife is a white wine drinker. She ordered a wine at the bar and minutes later, the owner of the bar sits down with us. In his had he has a snifter and says, “try this” to Wife. She responds with, “thats ok, I am not a beer drinker.” He went on to explain that he knows thats why she needs to try it, and to trust him. She tried it… she loved it. I couldn’t believe it. 

I would love to go back because if he can get Wife drinking beer, I would love to see what he has in store for me.

Oh and New Yorkers, if you dig Idle Hands, this is a no-brainer.  

https://foursquare.com/v/girl—the-goat/4c1f8dd3b306c928029768b7

https://foursquare.com/v/local-option/40b28c80f964a52044fc1ee3

I have actually only been here once. I went with my brother this summer. It was our first dinner while he was living here and we wanted good beer and burgers. If you are looking for that in the East Village. Head to Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th st. near 2nd ave). 

You walk into the basement of nondescript building, on a staircase that is in a cage. It does look a bit ominous, but once you get in you realize its nothing but friendly and cozy. The staff couldn’t be nicer. The room is a dim lit almost country style room with high tables.  The whole room seems to be made of dark woods. We were there on a Sunday but it was mostly small groups of 2-4, nothing bigger. It was relatively quiet which added to the relaxing feel of the room. 

There was nothing fancy about the burger, no crazy cheeses or toppings or special sauces or anything like that. It was just  a damn good burger. Oysters go nicely with IPAs and stouts but you knew that already. 

The beer list is awesome. There was very few that I had tried before. The list seemed to be mostly German, Belgian and the local stuff all seemed to be from Brooklyn. Nothing wrong with any of that if you ask me.

https://foursquare.com/v/jimmys-no-43/4544401ff964a520623c1fe3

Bua. #EastVillage

Does craft brews and good eats sound good to you? Of course it does. Here is the kicker at this spot. They only serve American beers. Thats right, ‘merica, man. They only have two bottles, Bud & Bud Light (I didn’t see anyone enjoying either of these while I was there). At this point I know what you are think. Why is he talking about American beers and the finest of St. Louis? Well, that is the only 2 beers they have in bottles. They also have 20 draft beers and 2 casks. You know how I feel about casks. Today I am talking about The Pony Bar (637 10th ave at 45th street).

So back to this American beers thing. You can get Belgian style, German style, etc. but they are all from the good old US of A. Certain beers come in different sizes and every single beer is up on a board behind the bar.  On the board you will see the brewer, the beer and the alcohol by volume. The second a keg is kicked, the beer comes off the board, a new one goes up, a bell goes off and the whole bar yells, “new beer!” While there for about two hours on a Sunday night we witnessed it twice. Nice turnover.

My friend and I had dinner and the food was great as well. I went with the green chili with pork and pieces of toast. A perfect mix with my cask IPA.  My friend went with a chicken sandwich that he enjoyed as well. While the food was great, the beer was obviously the star of the show.

Unless you are a bigger group, you likely are going to share your table with others since there are only 4 or 5 tables and seats at the bar. All the tables are first come first serve so you gotta be quick. There are also barrels in the middle of the room that act as standing tables.  In other words, if you come in with a large group it may be difficult in the limited space. 

Also worth noting, they have a club called the Pony Bar All Americans. To join you have to drink and rate 100 beers. You keep track of your conquests on a card the bar has on their website. Once you finish you get a shirt, a video of you reviewing a beer on their site and first crack at a seating on their brewery field trips.

Drink up, folks.

https://foursquare.com/v/the-pony-bar/49f8f8a2f964a520446d1fe3

Another whirlwind of a weekend in Los Angeles. This time I have to give a shout to Wife’s brother who acted as an incredible tour guide this weekend. He basically took everything I love and compressed it into a long weekend. Thanks buddy, it was fantastic.

Here are some highlights.

The weekend started with cocktails at Ray’s & Stark at the LACMA (5905 Wilshire Blvd). Before I even saw a menu I knew the place was legit. Its outside under the cover of the museum with decor that looks modern in a 1960s lounge sort of way. The bartenders were all very interested in helping us select cocktails and were friendly enough to just hang out a little. As you likely guessed, I went with the (Far) East of Manhattan, which is masala-infused rye, Amaro Nonino, Sweet Vermouth, bitters. Wow. I ended up having a couple of them. Dangerous, dangerous stuff. The bite of the rye is almost neutralized by the flavor but you can still feel it in your throat. Great stuff.

The next day, after I slept off my cocktails, some Jameson and some cask beers from Daily Pint, we headed to Downtown LA. A part of LA that I had never really checked out. You can see there is a lot of change going on but the grit is still there.  We decided to go for a french dip and an old fashioned at Cole’s (118 East 6th Street near Los Angeles st.). You step inside this place and its like stepping back in time. Black and white tiled floor, deep brown woods, a huge wooden bar, vested bartenders… yeah this is my kind of place. I ordered a pastrami french dip and garlic fries. Holy garlic fries! They were amazing but they stayed with me all day long. Wife let me know plenty of times. The sandwich was great but the most memorable part of this stop was the old fashioned. I went to the bar with Wife’s dad to order them. The bartender really took his time and put a ton of care into these. The drink came with a giant block of ice that he chipped away himself. Again, very old school. Again, this could have gotten dangerous. Fantastic spot, not to mention its been there since the magical year the Cubs won the World Series!

Walking distance from there, we headed to the park from 500 Days of Summer. Wife and I had to get a picture. While there were a ton of bums passed out around the park there were also a lot of young couples hanging out. I guess that is a perfect example of Downtown LA being in the midst of change. The bench is located in the Angels Knoll on Olive street.

From there, we headed to Santa Monica for some afternoon beers at Bru Haus (11831 Wilshire Blvd near Westgate). Aside from the great beer list, the draw of this place was the timing we were there.  In a room with less than 20 people at the time, we were five of them. The waitress was fantastic knowing her beers, despite admitting she hated beer! Impressive stuff.  Any way, we tried a few different Belgians, English brews and some tater tots (with beetchup!?) and called it a day. As it got later and more crowded a different group of wait staff came in and you could see the whole dynamic of the place changing. It was time to go.

Looking forward to getting back to LA to hit some of these spots and seeing more!

A few other highlights:

• WP24- small bites and great view at LA Live, could be a great date spot
• Daily Pint- for the beer lover in you, I would say more but thanks to the (Far) East of Manhattans, I don’t remember much!
• Pat’s Topanga Grill- great breakfast spot.  I felt more like I was in a mountain town than LA!

https://foursquare.com/v/rays—stark-bar/4d632faf1a83f04d320c712b

https://foursquare.com/v/coles/431e2d80f964a52081271fe3

https://foursquare.com/v/br%C3%BC-haus/4db5d3e6cda1c57c82771fe3