Toro (re-post)

Favorite rolls:
Cherry blossom
Zero below

Bluegrass in Highland Park

Late post - dinner circa Summer / Fall 2012

Shrimp and crab pasta

Flying Saucer

Late post - brunch circa Summer / Fall 2012

J. Parker

New rooftop opened up at the Hotel Lincoln the summer of 2012, overlooking the lake. Of course I had to check it out within the first few weeks of the opening :)

The view was AMAZING!!!! The day drink menu was different than their regular menu, so I wouldn't say the drinks are all that great. But just like the Terrace, it's worth to have a drink or two just for the view.

Well me and Marc went on a bit of a cloudy afternoon, and it ended up storming. We got about an hour outside, then continued our drinking inside. Would totally go back there this summer!!

Southport Grocery

July 21st 2012 - brunch at Southport Grocery and Cafe.

Got the bruschetta dish. It was good, but not sure if I would go back unless I was in the area. Probably makes my middle to bottom list...sorry buddy, you need to do more to impress me.

Terrace at the Trump

July 14th 2012 -

Saturday afternoon drinks at the Trump Hotel. One of my favorite rooftops! Such a gorgeous view of river north and the lake. I don't fancy the drinks too much, but its worth a drink for the view. But the sangria popsicles are delicious indeed :)

Mastro's

July 7th 2012 -

Last year I got Marc's brother a gift card to Mastro's but I never been there myself. They used my card earlier in the year and loved it. So this summer day his family and I decided to do a little shopping downtown and have dinner there. I had the petite filet. It was so delicious, but I think the place was hyped up just a bit for me. I would go back on a special occasion.

Joe's Wine Cellar

End of June / early July 2012 -

A friend and I went to a wine bar in Wicker Park / Ukrainian Village, where they have wine bottle dispensers haha! You buy a card and load it with any dollar value, and then you insert the card in the dispenser and choose your wine. It's a pretty neat concept and fun for people who is still learning about wine (like me haha).

I would go again if I was in the area. But I do have money leftover on the card, so I should go this coming summer lol.

Storefront Company

In early June 2012, I went to a relatively new place in Wicker Park with a friend for Saturday brunch.

This place is amazing!! It's tucked away so it's not insanely busy. Storefront makes my top three for brunch!

blanc de blanc mimosa & la maschera bellini (mango)

blue crab omelette

caramelized pear pancake

Bristol

Late May 2012 - After a fun happy hour on my co-worker's rooftop desk at your place, a few of us had some food at The Bristol. I had a glass of white wine (I think it was a Pinot blanco), and a seafood pasta that was pretty good. They are known for their Amish chicken, so if I go back I will have to try their chicken.

Fork

So I'm a little behind on my posts, yet again haha. But anywho, I met up an old friend at Fork in lincoln square back in June. We sat outside on their patio seating. We shared a few small plate..and caught up from the past few years :)

Amazing food, would definitely go back!

In&Out

Best burger ever....nothing else to say lol

Tryst Nightclub - vegas

Vegas, baby!!!!!!!!!!! This year's annual trip to Vegas was probably the funnest :) celebrating Arlene and Andrew's bachelor and bachelorette party... a lot of the cousins came out.

Well Friday night was a joint thing, and we went all out at Tryst at the Wynn hotel. Bottle service and the whole s shah bang...great view too :)

Butcher and the Burger

Early Sunday dinner with the girls at butcher and the burger in Lincoln Park.

I had the salmon burger. It was okay, don't know if I would go out of my way to go back there again.

De Cero

Okay, so I've been neglecting my blog. So I'm going to squeeze the past 4 months in like one week haha.

Let's rewind back to May. Old Jersey friend comes to Chicago for work, and I met him up for drinks at De Cero on Randolph. Margaritas are STRONG! Lol. And their tacos yummy. Would definitely come back for happy hour after work.

Toro Sushi

My absolute, hands down, favorite sushi place is Toro in lakeview. It's byob, Mitch is awesome, and the sushi is so fresh!!!! Mmmm, I'm craving some now haha :)

Bad Happy

Don't waste your money!!! Went for poutine on a Sunday ...ended up with this sad meal lol. But seriously, felt so gross after eating a few bites...

Ukai Sushi & Paciugo

A few months ago I bought a groupon to Ukai Sushi. It had pretty good yelp reviews so I was excited to try it out. So a few weeks ago, me and Marc went there for dinner to use my groupon. Well let's just say I think it would be a fun place to go with a group of friends (it's byob), but the sushi isn't all that great. And it's a bit over priced .

But after a "so-so" dinner at Ukai, we were craving some dessert so we went to Paciugo gelato. WOW ONE OF THE BEST GELATO PLACES IN CHCAGO!! :) their dark chocolate was amazing!!!! :)

Estate Ultra Bar

Estate restaurant / bar opened up right along the river on Elston at the beginning of this year. And they are supposedly will have a nice, open rooftop too.

So for Marc's birthday, we ended up going there (though the rooftop wasn't open). Rolling big as we always do, we got bottle service haha. And we knew one of the co-owners, so he hooked us up with the VIP lounge :). Couldn't post a lot of the pics , but it was a fun night hahaha!

L'etoile

When in madison, go l'etoile!  I was there the last weekend of March for a wedding, and the wedding rehearsal dinner was at a contemporary american restaurant called L'etoile.  We had a four-course dinner with drinks and amouz-bouch :)  very lovely time!

personalized menu :)

some kind of cheesy soup (i think, haha)

something plum on a cracker...

baby cucumbers, fantome farm chevre, beauty heart radish, curried cashews, dill, cilantro, mirin vinaignette

vietnamese shrimp salad, cucumber, carrots, kohlrabi, primrose beauty heart radish, daikon radish, crispy sushi rice, fried peanuts, cilantro, mint, nuoc cham

john & dorothy priske fountain prairie farm dry-aged, grass-fed  fed NY strip, gruyere-potato latkes, snug haven spinach, shallot confit & mushroom ragout, blue cheese & bone marrow compound butter and cabernet jus

blood orange & black raspberry-cabernet sorbets, bruleed italian meringue, wisconsin sugar cookie

the happy wedding couple with new friends! :)