Bottlefork

Last night I went to Bottlefork with my dear friend Camille, and this is now one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago! Anyone who lives here has to come to this place, and I would definitely recommend it for out of town visitors. Make reservations way in advance though because it's tough to get in here!

This place just opened by Rockit Ranch Productions and is in the heart of River North, so there are tons of options to go out afterward if you're making a night of it. You walk in and immediately fall in love with the atmosphere. It's relatively smaller and the decor is dark and the decorations are masculine. We sat at the chef's view bar and had such a blast, although our view was a pigs head and hoof, yuck. The service was amazing; literally the best waiter I have in a very long time. He was fun, made real recommendations and was actually interested in our questions, brought us out a taste of the wine before ordering a bottle, and even gave us a side of ice cream with our dessert (that was not supposed to come with it). And the food is great. You don't feel pressured to order a main entree, because there are also pastas, a snacks portion of the menu and sides. We order a bunch of smaller plates and shared, per usual.

Overall, this was such a good experience and I can see why this place is getting a ton of buzz and climbing up the lists of notable places in Chicago. Literally everyone has written about them: Chicago Eater, Zagat, Michigan Avenue Magazine, Chicago Social, Refinery 29, and the list goes on... I don't like to go to restaurants twice, because there are so many places to try, but I'll have a hard time not coming back here.

Celeste

I love a good cocktail place and have been wanting to go to Celeste ever since reading about it in Chicago Eater. This place is in the heart of River North on Hubbard, and you will see quite the going out night time crowd when wandering the streets down here. You feel excited and energized just being here.

The first floor is focused on being a cocktail bar, and apparently there is a second floor that is a lounge and supper club, called Deco Room. Although the menu is extremely limited, it seems like an amazing date place. The colored backlighting makes for quite the ambiance. There are a plethora of fantastic cocktails to choose from, all ten bucks.

Overall, I highly recommend coming to this place. You'll have to go before 11pm though if you don't want to wait in a line 50 people deep.

Paris Club Bistro and Bar

I always loved Paris Club so was a bit bummed when I heard they were rebranding themselves and going by the new name of Paris Club Bistro and Bar. I wanted to check it out, so headed down to the River North neighborhood with my friend Michelle. 

Although this restaurant was impressive, because I knew and loved the old one so well, I was semi disappointed by the menu and ambiance. I loved how the old menu was massive and you could order tons of amazing small plates. This is now more of a typical French restaurant, and you have to order a meal. That being said, the food was great. We truly loved everything we ordered. The restaurant also just feels a bit more formal now, like it'd be great for a business meeting, but I could find better places to go on a date. The restaurant now has lots of dark wood, leather and tufted chairs.

Overall, this is a solid restaurant to come to and always a great recommend. The location is phenomenal, and you can guarantee a consistent and good experience.

Davanti Enoteca

I had never been to Little Italy before this weekend, but had always wanted to check it out. I finally made a date and went with my family to Davanti Enoteca. The original location is on Taylor Street in Little Italy, but they've also expanded and have one suburb Chicago location, a River North location, and two restaurants in California.

I could tell this place was good immediately after walking in, as we had a relatively early reservation and the restaurant was PACKED. As in, not one table open. There is a vast menu and they recommend ordering several plates and sharing with the table. This was a great way to be able to try a lot of the menu items. The food was absolutely amazing, and you have to order the focaccia di Recco, which is baked focaccia stuffed with fresh soft cow cheese and a honeycomb topping. To die for.

I did however find the restaurant to be very loud. I felt like we could hardly hear each other unless we were almost yelling. Definitely not a good place for a first date!  Also, the dishes came out very quickly and it made me feel a bit rushed. At times, I felt like we were being bombarded with food, and maybe we should have spaced out when we placed our orders.

Overall, I highly recommend coming to this place. Definitely make a reservation though because you will never get a table walking in. Also, plan ahead for parking or bring cash for valet. Almost the entire area around the restaurant is permit parking, and the available pay to park spots were few and far between (non existent in our case).

Coalfire Pizza

Earlier this week I went to Coalfire Pizza, which is west of the highway towards the United Center. This place had been getting a lot of buzz as a good pizza place, and as many of you may know, pizza is my ultimate favorite food, so I had to check it out. Chicago Eater recently listed them at number 4 on the list of 14 Chef-Approved Chicago Pizzerias. Thrillist has also written several articles on Coalfire, the most recent was including them in the article titled "The Most Ordered Menu Item At 20 Popular Chicago Restaurants," in which they highlighted the 'Nduja pizza that we ordered (of course).

My first impression walking in was not so great. The place has no ambiance, and I'd never seen pictures of the inside so I didn't know what to expect. That being said, I was happy with the rest of my experience. The staff was very friendly, and the menu & pizzas are truly amazing. Like the name suggests, the pizzas are baked in an oven fueled by burning coal. They are on a very thin crust and the toppings are so creative, and it shows that they are using high quality ingredients. The first pizza we ordered was the 'Nduja, which has salami, fresh mozzerela and basil. The second pizza we ordered was the Pesto - the giant globs of ricotta made this a winner in my book! I was definitely also craving the Prosciutto pizza; I might have to attempt to make something similar at home. We also ordered some of the cupcakes, which they apparently get from Chicago Cupcake, and they were out of this world good. Especially the red velvet.

Overall if you're local and looking for a very laid back night in which you'll get some great pizza, come here. I wouldn't recommend this place for an out of town guests outing, or as a MUST go to place though.

Found

This weekend I went to dinner with my friend at Found in Evanston, which I also went to back when it first opened last January. This restaurant is absolutely amazing, and makes you feel like you're in the city. We went at 9pm and there was still a (short) wait, and when we left around 11pm, people were STILL coming in for dinner. It's that good.

The atmosphere at this place is so amazing. The restaurant is dark & cozy with lots of candles, and not too noisy yet not too quiet...the perfect recipe. Most of the furnishings came from old Ritz lobbies so there's lots of plush dark velvets and oriental rugs. The ceilings are also painted with chalkboard paint with quotes.

The menu is unbelievable. I literally could order everything on this menu and be happy with each item. That makes it so hard to choose. We were not disappointed with anything that we got. That includes the large cookie platter...oops.

And the best news about this place, is that they are now taking reservations. For the longest time they didn't take reservations so you could wait up to two hours even on a week night. Whether you live in the city of the suburbs, this place is a must. I can't wait to go back again, and this will definitely become a regular for me in my new town.

The Southern

Earlier this week I went to The Southern for dinner with my friend Billy and his sister Tory. The Southern is a barbecue restaurant in Bucktown right near the train. I have been here for brunch, but it was years ago and I wanted to try the dinner menu.

Although this place is good for a reasonably priced meal with a good atmosphere in a convenient location, I wouldn't put this on my must go to list. The food was yummy, but I found the menu to be very limited, as they didn't really have any barbecue sandwiches...and I was really hoping for some pulled pork! That being said, if you are a whiskey lover, this place is for you. They have  hundreds of varieties. This place also has a phenomenal outdoor space, so if you're looking for somewhere to go in the summer, put this on your list. The private outdoor raised area is unreal and would be an awesome venue for a fabulous summer party.

The place I am really wanting to try is Lillie's Q just down the street. Sadly they don't take reservations...

Nico Osteria

This past weekend I went to brunch with a girlfriend at Nico Osteria on Rush Street in the Gold Coast. This place has been getting a TON of buzz recently (like a A LOT), and is in my favorite neighborhood, so I obviously had to go. Nico Osteria is an Italian restaurant that has a great vibe and ambiance. The restaurant is filled with the most amazing light fixtures, beautiful detailed tile floors, lots of dark rustic wood, plush velvet and mid-century furniture AKA my dream.

The same restaurant group that owns Blackbird, Avec, The Publican, Big Star, Violet Hour owns this place...so duh, it is going to be good. The food was great, although I found the brunch menu to be very limited. There wasn't much that jumped out to me. So I would highly recommend coming here for dinner. And talk about an amazing neighborhood to go out in afterword! They also have a large bar themselves that would be fun to post up at.

Overall, whether you are a local or having guests in town, you have to come here. Absolutely. I am dying to come back for dinner, and am hoping they'll have some good outdoor seating set up for the summer!

Nightwood

A couple weekends ago, some girlfriends and I made it an outing to go to the Pilsen neighborhood to check out Nightwood restaurant, followed by a trip to the high-end consignment shop Coyle & Herr.

Nightwood gets smashing reviews, and has consistently been on the Chicago Eater 38 Essential Restaurants list (my bible). This place was great and I would definitely recommend coming here for dinner. We had brunch, which was fabulous, but we left feeling absolutely stuffed because everything was very heavy. I ordered the spaghetti carbonara, which seems to be a recurring theme for me, as my friend pointed out the past three times I've gone to a restaurant with her, that's what I've ordered. What can I say? I love me some pasta! They are also careful to source everything locally, which makes the food just that much more enjoyable! Although Nightwood has been getting a lot of buzz for the past year, it took a long time for me to get here because it is off the beaten path (for my usual routine). You definitely would want a car to come here. And there is nowhere to really go out afterward, so this has to be your destination.

The open kitchen is a neat feature, as you can see the chefs cooking. This would be a fun place to come in the summer because they have an amazing side patio. Although I wouldn't necessarily take out of towners here because of it's location, it's a must go to if you live in the area.

Maude's Liquor Bar

I've been terrible, I know. This whole homeownership thing takes up a lot of time.

Anyways, a few weeks ago I went to Maude's Liquor Bar with my girlfriend Michelle. This place is on Restaurant Row and has been on my list forever. I can't believe it took me so long to get here. The ambiance was amazing and I highly recommend coming here. Maude's is great for a girls night out, and even better for a date night.

The lighting is absolutely perfect. So dark that you almost feel like you have to get a flash light out, which I love. And the restaurant is not noisy (in a good way). You can hear the music and there's a good vibe, but for how close the tables are, I never felt like I could hear the people next to us, nor did I have to scream over any loud noise to talk with Michelle.

Also, the food here is amazing! I love places where you can order a ton of small plates and share. They had great french inspired food and we were stuffed at the end of the night without having to break the bank. They have a pretty good craft cocktail list too! Definitely come here.