This is just the New York one. At the jump there are also Chicago, LA, Philly, SF and Boston.

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

Another quick little trip to Philly. Actually, it was only a single night. I headed down to see my brother, my mom and grandmother. Of course, we hit up the usual Rouge lunch but we have already talked about that. Today, I want to tell you about a single food at a single meal we had down in the Illadelph. I am talking about an appetizer at Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse (111 S 17^th st.).

The food was great. We had steaks, pastas, sides, you name it. The room was nice. Everything made it seem like we were at the perfect restaurant to be with family. The service was a impressive as well. All these things are well and great but again, it all came back to a single appetizer. I am only talking about the cheesesteak spring rolls. That’s right, cheesesteak spring rolls. Wow.

It’s exactly what you think it is. A cheesesteak in a thin shell then fried.  It’s served with fired onions, spicy ketchup and spicy mayo sauce. Amazing. It’s hot, spicy, sweet, crunchy, greasy, you name it. It had it all. It was one of those surprises where when my brother and I each took our first we looked at each other, stopped chewing and smiled. I want to stress that the rest of the food was great, this just seemed to be on my mind the day after our stop.

The basement of the restaurant was a club that my brother didn’t have the best things to say about. In this neighborhood there are plenty of good drinking establishments to follow the spring rolls to head to one of those.

https://foursquare.com/v/davios-northern-italian-steakhouse/43713c00f964a520fb291fe3