Where I’ve Been Eating and Drinking…in Chicago…

So many places, so little time. Especially time of mine.

I went to Reza’s in Andersonville last month, Chicago’s Mediterranean mainstay. I had falafel of the tough and dry variety, and hummus that was completely devoid of flavor. The portions are huge, but the taste is not. The bathrooms are overly tiled. I look at the Urbanspoon 82% rating (as of this writing) and I have to wonder…where are people eating when they’re not eating here?? Not recommended.

Afterwards, I enjoyed a couple of very lovely Dark & Stormys at In Fine Spirits across the road on Clark. But while the cocktails were excellent, the volume left me voiceless the next day. I’ll go back here when it’s quiet. Very quiet.

The next day, I headed over to Frontera Grill to meet my UK blogging budy, Andy Hayler. The fish tacos and pintos were really really good (although maybe not as hot as I like my food…I’m beginning to think the food is hotter in London). Andy has been to more Michelin-starred restaurants than anyone I know. He’s also the only person I know to have created an iPhone application…Wine Search, which helps you determine the mark-up on wine in restaurants. It’s a pretty cool app that I definitely recommend downloading if you’re into wine in any way, shape, or form. Andy bought me lunch, which was very kind of him.

I enjoyed a quick burger and fries with Shanna at Rockit on Hubbard Street, but while the burger was good, it didn’t blow my socks off. And the service kinda annoyed me. See all those tables? They refused to seat us until our entire party arrived. Yup.

Joe invited me to see the Chicago Fire play (Chicago Major League Soccer), which was pretty cool. He sorta neglected to mention that this was going to be a food tour of Toyota Park though. Or if he did, I totally blanked on it. I consumed a lot that day. A LOT. Here, the signature nachos in a Chicago Fire cap. (You can see more from our food tour over on my Facebook fan page. Maybe you want to become a fan? Maybe?)

On a random Tuesday, my friend Dave and I helped ourselves to the charcuterie and the Austrian white at Sepia. I like Sepia more and more with each visit.

I found myself soon after that at a big group dinner at Epic. It was okay. Actually, the time-to-dinner was terrible. We waited for our starters and then our mains for ages and ages. This was made worse by the fact that I ARRIVED AN HOUR EARLY. Sorry,but  if you put something in my Outlook calendar that says 6 pm, that’s what time I show up. If you later send an email that says 6:30 for 7 , well, I don’t read that. This meal was very unmemorable. In that…I. Can’t. Remember. What. I. Had. This NEVER happens. All I remember is waiting…and waiting…and waiting. OH! And that the white wine we ordered arrived WARM. And I tried to talk to the wine guy about it and he said “Different people like their wine different temperatures.” I mean, I drink a lot of wine. Probably more than I should. This sh*t was warm. I asked for an ice bucket and I kinda felt like that was asking for a lot. Meh. (But good for groups! I could see renting the whole place out for something.)

There’s more that I’ve been to…but I’ll stop here for now…