to Paris and back

If you know me, or you've been reading for some time, you know that the restaurants I choose to dine at are typically thought through far in advance, and our recent trip to Paris and Italy was no exception.  Upon deciding we would first touch down in Paris, I immediately started looking for where I'd like to dine. Luckily, Bon Appetit had just published their Paris-focused mag, and I scoured the pages like it was my job.  I decided that Chez Georges, for its romantic history of being the hang-out to Julia Child was a good place to start.  So after a full day of travel, we indulged in the Parisian comfort food at the Chez Georges bistro.

Which of course, was a magical experience.  Something I've learned about myself with dining is when there is an additional story behind the meal, chef, or restaurant, the experience can turn from great to magical.  Imagining Julia slurping up escargot, having boisterous conversation in the tight booths, and clinking wine glasses full of Bordeaux, elevated my experience to this level. (And as a side note, if you've not yet seen the movie Julie & Julia, I highly recommend it ~ such a fun story about both blogging and cooking!)

And so, when we landed back in Chicago I must admit I was a bit reticent that I would never be able to experience French cooking the way I did at Chez Georges, at least without another trip back to Paris.  But then I entered Bistro Voltaire.

And on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I was teleported back to Paris. Just stepping inside, greeted by a thickly accented Frenchman, I knew we were in for a treat.  The checkered floor, wine red booths, and tin ceiling embodied the ambiance of the bistros in Paris to perfection.  

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Service was as friendly as they come, and invited us to try the oeuf en cocotte, which includes eggs, mushrooms, crème fraiche, and porcini truffle mousse, and a little fairy dust to make it magic.  We then moved on to the escargot, with the scallops and duck as our mains.  I savored each bite, the plan of having a light dinner the day before Thanksgiving long abandoned.

And perhaps the best part? Bistro Voltaire is now offering a 3-course menu on Mondays for just $27.  I just found Paris all over again... in my own backyard.

Bistro Voltaire
226 W Chicago Ave
312-265-0911

the little black bag

See by Chloe

In celebration of landing my new job, I wanted to choose a couple of ways to celebrate.  I've come to learn it's SO important we celebrate life's milestones.  Celebration allows you to "stop and smell the roses" so to speak, and keeps you motivated to move forward.  In a world where people can seem to spend money like it grows on trees, I like the idea of a very thoughtful and well-planned purchase as a reward for hard work.

So that is why I have been delaying the purchase of a new black handbag for two years.  Could I have gone out sooner and purchased a bag for myself?  Sure.  But there was something so enticing about having it be out there, the dangling carrot, to keep me going.  When I found out I landed the new gig, I practically skipped on over to Nordstrom where I knew the exact bag I wanted.  My salesgirl had to pull it out of the back stock on my request, and eventually ended up also buying it for herself!

And the second celebration to myself is a spa party coming up soon with champaign and desserts... Just good quality girl time. 

How do you reward yourself?  Do you revel in the anticipation?  Do you like to have small rewards more frequently or a big dangling carrot you wait ages for?

Where have I been?

Arc de Triomphe, Paris ~ an appropriate symbol for entering a new chapter, don't you think?

Where have I been you ask?  A lot has been going on in this neck of the woods.  Allow me to fill you in, as I truly feel this is a new chapter in my life and I'd like to get reacquainted.

For starters, I have landed a new job opportunity!  This involved a lot of networking, job searching, and decision making.  I've spent the past 8 years at the same company, though in various positions.  It was a hard decision, but time for a change, and I am SO thrilled for this next venture.  The next few weeks will be busy as I wrap up my old job and transition to my new.

I've also spent the past several months diving deeper into myself with a life coach.  She is Phenomenal with a capital "P".  She has given me the gift of truly knowing myself, what drives me, and how to maintain compassion towards myself, so that I can give that understanding back to others.  Through this time, I have read many helpful books, filled an entire journal with my aspirations (and taken action on them!), and talked to friends and family on a deeper level.  I have more clarity on my life's purpose than ever before, and feel a new sense of motivation and energy for life.  It's wonderful.

And through this time, the husband and I also took an amazing trip to Paris and Italy.  It couldn't have come at a better time ~ it gave us the chance to unwind and just really sink in to enjoying life together.  We went to Paris, Rome, Cinque Terre, Florence, Tuscany, then back to Paris.  I really can't pick a favorite, as each destination had its unique local flavor and... food.  We ate a LOT. In fact, I feel a post on Italian food coming up very soon in the future... :)

So enough about me, how about you?  How have you all been doing?  I'd love for you to say hi in the comments below, or through email, and we can pick up where we left off.  Or if you're new here, that's great too!  I'd love to hear from each of you!

Nurturing Yourself as a Child: A Healthy Eating Perspective

As of late I have been thinking about the relationship we have with food.  Oftentimes people (myself included) use food to fill a craving that might not be hunger driven at all.  The craving might be driven by the desire for enjoyment, eating something tasty to fulfill this, or the desire to ward off stress or sadness (stress eating), or the desire to fill time (eating from boredom).   Anytime we turn to emotional eating, eating to feed a feeling, we tend to reach for the wrong foods – chocolate, pizza, ice cream, salty snacks, wine, etc.   When did food become so integrated with our perceived emotional well-being, and how can we work to change that?

In thinking about this and talking about it with others, I was enlightened to a new way of thinking about food and my well-being that makes a lot of sense to me and has already helped me change my perspective.  It’s not a diet, or a cleanse, or a list of foods you can / can’t eat.  It’s simply a shift in mentality.

Imagine you are taking care of a baby, or better yet a toddler.  A child you love dearly and only want the very best for.  Tap into your maternal or paternal instinct, and think about how you want to nurture this child, because you know what’s best for them, even when they express otherwise. 

Now, what do you feed this child?  And when?   You want them to eat healthily when they are hungry.  As the person feeding them, you ensure they are eating balanced meals in the right portions.  You provide them with small treats as indulgences, on occasion.  When they throw a tantrum because they want a second cookie, you kindly refuse their request because you know what’s best for them.  In addition to ensuring their eating is balanced, you are also ensuring they have physical activity each day, and are growing their minds through stimulating activities.

So the question is, do you nurture yourself as you do this child?  Do you take care of yourself with the same priority and intention?  By shifting our mindset to ensure we are taking care of ourselves with this same nurturing, we’re able to see clearly what’s best for us.  I’ve taken on this mentality this week and it’s worked tremendously.  I’m able to see the priority of eating well, because this is what I'd do for my child.  Instead of skipping lunch because I’m busy, I’m stepping back, and making a healthy lunch I’d be proud to serve a person I love.  I can’t say my cravings have stopped, but I’m able to turn on a conversation with myself similar to what a mother would have with a child. I’m able to refuse my craving from a place of love… for myself.  This has helped me overall to listen to my true needs – and understand the priorities for my well-being.

Go ahead and give it a try, and let me know what you think of this approach.  Do you already nurture yourself?  If so, what helps you to do so?  If not, what are you going to change?

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City Girl Review:: El Ideas

Though this review is long overdue (our party dined at El Ideas in March), I allowed some of my guilt to dissipate when I saw it's El Idea’s first birthday tomorrow.  So I prefer now to think it’s kismet that I pay homage to this restaurant today.

In a lot of ways, El Ideas is paving the way for restaurants of the future.  In the past year more restaurants with similar panache have popped up, and I truly hope there are more to follow.  Imagine a restaurant where the atmosphere is more likened to a dinner party than formal dining, the tables are situated basically in the kitchen, the chefs who make your food are also serving you, or better yet you are serving yourself, and the wine you’ve brought is shared with the table next to yours when you find out they forgot to grab theirs out of the cab.  Welcome to El Ideas.   The 16-seat brain-child of Chef Phillip Foss, whose “plastic” bio is impressive enough, but whose “real” one is so intriguing, humble, and well, real, it is worth jumping over to read (after you finish reading this post of course).

El Ideas conception has great timing too, for in a world where people are advised to “do what they love”, even the Chefs who have turned their love for food into a career can feel contrived to fit a certain mold.  With Foss breaking the mold on a daily basis, the kitchen is able to produce a menu they truly care about – imaginative and bold and nimble – to guests who are truly there to eat.  I love that each course is brought out simultaneously to each table, and that the Chef who conceived each dish presents it.  And that the guests are invited to lick their plates if they’re so inclined, and that the room gradually gets boisterous to catchy croons from the playlist.  I also love feeling like an urban pioneer, as you pull up to an alleyway in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, to an unassuming kitchen located snug up against a set of old El tracks.  And yet, despite how fresh this concept is, it’s in no sense unapproachable. Foss and team are humble people, serving elevated food.

Our March menu:
uni - ossetra / lychee / lemongrass
shrimp - grits / butter / scallions
cauliflower - botarga / anchovy / anise hyssop
cannelini - duck / turnip / mandarin
black grouper - carrot / kimchi / lapsang souchong
ham & cheese - artichoke / fava / cocoa nib
soymilk - yuba / black sesame / yuzu-ponzu
apple - peanut / bacon / thyme
foie gras - celeriac / meyer lemon / mustard
kohlrabi - sweetbreads / lobster / black trumpets
pork - liver / chorizo / romesco
steak - components of bearnaise
hurricane - passion fruit / luxardo / rum
movie snacks - popcorn / twizzlers / raisinets

The menu changes monthly if not weekly, getting a gold star for fresh, seasonal cooking; something that's become a basic offering at most Chicago restaurants only leaving many to fall short on execution.  Foss and team execute. They’ve turned their previous staging area for their food truck into a revolution in fine dining. They are on the cutting edge of dining concepts which are just now gaining momentum, and if I had a crystal ball, I’d advise reservations are made now while it’s still possible to get in. What El Ideas offers Chicago just can’t be beat – value ($135/person for 12-14 courses) and experience together making for an unforgettable meal. 

Happy 1st Birthday El Ideas!

El Ideas
2419 W. 14th Street
Chicago, IL 60618
reservations@elideas.com

Dining Lists

More often than not my conversations with family, friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers revolve around the subject of food.  And more often than not, the conversation leads to people asking me what my favorite Chicago restaurant is.  I’m not complaining – I love talking about food.  But that question is, with all due respect, not a very good one.

So when asked, I put on my “consulting hat” – a hat I’ve learned to wear through years of being in the field, and answer as a true consultant would  –  “It depends.”  “It depends” is my answer because, well, it truly does depend.  Are we talking about my favorite place to dine on a warm summer night or my favorite place to get a cozy booth in cooler months?  An extravagant night out or a neighborhood gem?  An impressive date night or a brunch with girlfriends?  Eclectic food, or traditional Italian?  You get the point.  There is no way I could ever possibly choose just one restaurant as my favorite. 

That is like asking a fashion guru what her favorite accessory is, or a sports fanatic who their favorite player is.  It just doesn’t work that way.

That’s where lists come into play – dining lists.  Think about it – the Michelin stars, the James Beard awards, the Top Ten Rooftop Bars - each is a list that helps you take the vast world of food and compartmentalize it a bit in a way that’s helpful and comprehendible.  They’re fun to peruse, pin, and tweet.  And dining lists in particular are also exceptionally fun to check off.  

And there’s perhaps no greater excitement than to dine at a restaurant and realize that it definitely makes one of your own lists.  It means the place is on the top of their game, they’re unique, a cut above, and worthy of your backing.  So when people ask what your favorite Chicago restaurant is, you have a response.  You can start with “It depends” and go from there.

~

Coming next week…  a restaurant review that makes one of my “lists" (like perhaps this one for 2012.) Subscribe to Friday emails to catch it.

inside:: Kajitsu and the matcha way

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Tucked away on a quiet-ish side street of New York’s East Village lies a garden level restaurant steeped in Japanese Buddhist history and… matcha tea.  When planning our recent jaunt to Manhattan, I stumbled upon a quick blurb on this restaurant and was immediately intrigued to learn more.  Two-star Michelin lauded shojin cuisine developed by Zen Buddhist monks?  Little did I know that going there would open my mind and memory to a whole cultural experience that is so reverent and mystical that I would be forever affected.

When I was in college, I used my senior status to snag a seat in a Japanese Tea Ceremony class.  My friends thought I was crazy, as on Wednesday mornings I would leave campus at 7:30am to walk thirty minutes to the Japanese tea gardens, to a small tea house where class was held.  Each week’s class contained a time for private meditation, a lesson in Japanese history, and, a tea ceremony.

The tea ceremony was always my favorite time.  The class gathered in a circle on the floor, and our instructor would perform the specific rituals that comprise this extension of hospitality.  Shuffle shuffle into the room, a slow long bow to us each.  I wish I remembered each step as acutely as I remember the sounds, smells, and taste of matcha tea.

Matcha tea was always served in thin light tea bowls, of which each guest lightly slurped their tea in three swallows.  The concentrated green tea has a slightly bitter taste, and was often served with a light bean paste treat.

And “treat” is the one word I will use to describe the tiny restaurant Kajitsu.  In its essence, it is an establishment that serves shojin cuisine, which in and of itself is something to marvel.  This is veganism at its finest – fresh, in season vegetables, legumes, herbs, seeds and grains, “chosen at the moment that best reflects their flavor”.  Each course served on beautiful Japanese pottery, which the restaurant repairs if they are chipped or damaged as a sign of humility and respect for the artist who created it.

We sat at the chef’s counter, arguably the best place to perch in the 26-seat restaurant.  As we chatted over our 8-course menu, we watched the Chef prepare each element with abundant finesse.

Another welcomed surprise to the meal was the crisp and cool sake pairings. I’ve never enjoyed sake so.  Erase any preconceived notion of what sake tastes like at your neighborhood sushi joint, as Kajitsu’s selection proffers smooth, clean flavors, bidding one to sip rather than bomb.

After our meal, we watched the Chef prepare matcha tea, whisking the green powder to frothy delight, turning the bowl just so, with a light bow as he served us.   The ceremonious routine resonating gratitude and respect for this cultural experience.

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Interested in exploring matcha tea? I found matchasource.com sells it online, and The Green Teaist in Lake Forest, IL serves and sells it.  Or venture out to Kajitsu, for the complete package of food, tea, culture, and pleasure.

Kajitsu
414 E. 9th Street, New York, NY 10009
212.228.4873

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Clarity.

Surprise!  Do you remember me?  It’s been awhile.  I’ve missed you.  I really have.  But I’m also very glad I took the break.  Allow me to explain a bit…

For those that blog, I think most will agree that it can become very time-consuming, and it’s worthwhile when there’s give and take (ie – you’re having fun, your readers are too, and perhaps there’s some perks on the side with partnerships or sponsors).  For me however, the time it was taking started to not feel as worthwhile as it should, and I started to blame myself that this was because my blog didn’t have a purpose.  So I started searching for a purpose, and I allowed myself time away from ‘le blog’ in order to do so.

And that’s when it hit me. I can make this blog whatever I’d like. It sounds so simple right. But sometimes it’s hard to see the forest through the trees.  I had been feeling like there were certain things I needed to do in order to run a successful blog – post every day, keep up with commenting, manage my Pinterest boards, and Twitter feed, and Facebook page.  And that’s not all possible for me and what I want to do with my time.

So I let go of that notion, and I’m telling myself it’s OK if I don’t do all those things, and it’s probably better for my time, my perspective, and my goals if I don’t.  And that made me feel a lot better, and enabled me to see more clearly.  And only with this self-inflicted pressure lifted could I realize that what I missed most was delving into the food scene.  The exploration of a new restaurant, or the research behind an up-and-coming chef, or the ideas that hit me when I spot a new food trend.  That’s what I miss.  So that’s what I’ll write.

The other things will take care of themselves. 

If anyone is still out there, thank you.  Please come back, as I write with this fresh perspective on a topic I’m most passionate about.  And while you're at it, subscribe by email for a weekly article to ensure you don't miss anything.  Fridays.  Every Friday – one foodie post.  I feel so much better to be able to say that with clarity.

City Girl Review:: GT Fish & Oyster

Many of you asked me where I ended up dining for my birthday, as I’d mentioned it would be a surprise. Since my birthday falls on Valentine’s day, if I want to go out reservations have to be made months in advance - - and this fact, combined with my snobby citified alter ego who calls such holidays "amateur hour" usually leaves me staying in on my birthday.  Which I'm fine with.  Completely.  Until this year I decided I wanted to go out.

Luckily I have a guy who understands how seriously I take food, and got on the ball to make a reservation I would respect.  That is how we strolled into GT Fish & Oyster on the eve of St. Valentine, at the perfect weeknight reservation time of 7:00pm.

And let me tell you, despite what the evening caters to (prix fixe menus and the overt star-crossed lovers at the table over), GT delivers just the opposite ~ subtle and unique flavors in elevated cuisine.  And the oysters, oy!  I have never enjoyed them so much.  Could it be the GT sauce balanced the brine just so?  I'm not entirely sure yet what the secret is, so I guess I'll just have to go back to continue figuring it out.

What's more, all the while you're enjoying these oysters you're sitting in this gorgeous nautical chic oasis.  We're talking crisp, cool, salty breezes, barnacles, and sailing knots, juxtaposed with sleek high-shine wood planking, basket weave marble-tiled floor and some industrial chic lighting.  Designer Karen Herald supposedly took inspiration from both high-end yacht and modest seaside home and melded them into one, and it totally fits Chef Tentori's approach to food.  One part classic, old school tradition, one part elevated contemporary cuisine.

Tie up your Sperrys and head on over.  I'll meet you at the oyster bar.

Seared Mahi Mahi with Fresh Herbs and Lemon

I love cooking fish because it is usually quick preparation, a great lean protein source, and, delicious.  It leaves you feeling satisfied and light.  It lends itself to cooking "clean" with all natural ingredients.  Seafood is honestly my favorite food category... well, maybe after fruit...

I decided on mahi mahi when I noticed the sale on fresh, wild caught mahi mahi at the store.  This dish came together nicely, and the great thing about anything deglazed with wine, is then the bottle is already opened to pair with dinner. :) 

I made this along with roasted brussel sprouts and it was the perfect way to wind down on a Sunday evening.

To print a pdf version of this recipe, click here.

Happy Tasty Tuesday~