When we traveled we were completely in love with all of the awesome breakfasts we had every day, so we were delighted to see this list of 50 representative breakfasts from around the world. Anything with coffee and some delicious carbs has my vote….
Finding Turkish Helva in Chicago
One of the things that we most loved about Turkey were the extraordinary breakfasts we had everyday: yogurt with fresh honeycomb, fresh fruit, cheese and olives, Turkish pastries, the whole works. At one such breakfast we were also introduced to the enigmatic helva, a sweet treat made with sesame seed paste. I have a lot of trouble trying to describe helva since its texture is so unusual – it’s sugary and crumbly, but with the creaminess of peanut butter. The specific variety of helva we had in Istanbul was Tahin Helvası (as in tahini), and we enjoyed varieties with chocolate swirls and pistachio. Helva or helva-like products are widespread throughout the Mediterranean and the Middle East, but it was the first time we had ever tried any other nut butter candies like this. Fortunately, we found Turkish helva in a few middle eastern grocery stores in Chicago.
Where to get your Helva Fix in Chicago:
Pita Inn Market & Bakery (Next to Pita Inn Restaurant)
3924 Dempster
Skokie, IL
Middle East Bakery and Grocery
1512 W. Foster
Chicago, IL
Filed under Quest, World Eats
The best gelato in Rome: Giolitti
Giolitti
Via degli Uffici del Vicario, 40
Rome, Italy
Who knew that something that only cost 2.50 Euros could be so wonderful. We had our fair share of gelato in Sicily, but nothing could compare to the amazing gelato we got at Giolitti in Rome. Tourists and locals alike fill this place every morning until 1:30 AM, and probably have since its opening in 1900. It became a Roman ritual of ours to get a scoop (or 3) of Giolitti and walk over to the Pantheon, which was a few mere blocks away. Though both of these places were constantly packed to the brim, we never seemed to mind.
The ordering process at Giolitti is a little bit different than most shops. You pay at the front cashier and get a receipt with your order. You then take your ticket to the ice cream counter and elbow your way to the front. You tell the scooper what flavors you want – and fast! No time for pondering!
The only ‘problem’ is choosing between a dizzying array of flavors of ice creams and sorbets. There are common flavors like chocolate, hazelnut and strawberry, but also other more esoteric offerings like Indian Fig, Baba al Rhum and Champagne. The chocolate fondente flavor was the darkest richest chocolate gelato we had ever tasted, so we were pretty much hooked from first bite. But since there were 3 flavors per scoop we felt we had to try a few of the myriad options. Here are the optimal flavor combinations we arrived upon after days of deliberation:
- L: Chocolate fondente, Oreo & Raspberry
- M: Chocolate fondente, Oreo & Coconut
If you wanted any evidence of the gluttony present, this is an example of a single scoop. Yes, a single scoop at Giolitti is in fact a triple scoop with a huge dollop of whipped cream on the top. Heaven! We will never forget our daily trip to Giolitti, and we would be hard pressed to find a better gelato anywhere.
Filed under Finer Things Club, Reviews
Finer things Club: A Tavola
A Tavola
2148 w. Chicago Ave.
Chicago IL, 60622
A Tavola is quite a lovely little restaurant. It is perfect for a date night out with your special someone, but despite the ambiance or any other fine menu offerings, there is only one reason – one very important reason – to go to A Tavola – the gnocchi! This remains our gold standard of gnocchi, even after going to Italy (where we coincidentally had terrible gnocchi 😦 ). The A Tavola gnocchi are impossibly light and pillowy, so much so that one serving is hardly enough. They come served with a sage and brown butter sauce, definitely a classic preparation that compliment the gnocchi well. The sauce is quite good on its own as well, and we found ourselves scraping up the remainder with pieces of bread. What are the secret behind these gnocchi? We don’t know, but they certain put most of the other leaden gnocchi we have sampled to shame.
Filed under Finer Things Club, Reviews
Olive Oil Tour 2K11
We tend to like to organize our trips around themes (BBQ Tour 2K11, for one) and this upcoming trip is no exception. We will be leaving soon on our honeymoon around the Mediterranean, which we have dubbed Olive Oil Tour 2k11. Our itinerary is Istanbul –> Santorini –> Crete –> Athens –> Siracusa –> Palermo –> Rome. We are definitely looking forward to some awesome food.
Filed under Note
Eating the Thailand Menu at Next
NEXT
953 W Fulton Market
Chicago, IL
Our vain efforts at reading the Thai newspaper on our table were interrupted by our server: “Have you ever heard Thai hip-hop?” The music moving through the spare dining room was far from our usual interests, but our server’s first question seemed to set the tone for our evening at NEXT: unabashedly sophisticated delights, innovative presentations, and informed, efficient, and unpretentious service.
We entered the restaurant at 5:15, fifteen minutes ahead of our ticket time. As such, we were the first ones to sit down, and so we stayed a course ahead of everyone else in the place for the night, so we were first to find out the next surprise. What followed were nine courses spread over 2 1/2 hours, and easily one of the great meals of our lives. Each flavor, bold and distinct, melded together with a carefully orchestrated set of sensory stimuli Grant Achatz threw at us: the smell of flowers worked subtly into dishes; the flash of color changes of napkins and place settings; the tactility of piles of chopped cocount shells; and the flavors, monotonously recited by our waiters until the explosion of that first bite. What follows is less of a review than a memory recap, and sincere apologies to all of you who were not able to get tickets. Enjoy:
Course 1: “Thai street food.” Utensils: a Thai newspaper, a banana leaf; paper plates, and plastic knives and forks. Dishes: Roasted bananas topped with pickled garlic, fried shallots, tiny Thai chilis, cilantro flowers and leaves; Fried Prawn cake with white pepper, lime zest, and coriander; Sweet shrimp with raw garlic and bird chilis, wrapped in a mint leaf; Fermented Thai sausage topped with peanuts, galangal, and and grilled scallions.
Cleanser 1: Juice of guava, mango, and papaya.
Course 2: Thai street finished with two steamed buns, filled with mushrooms and spicy green curry.
Cleanser 2: Juice of chrysanthemum, lemongrass, and lychee.
Course 3: A riff on Tom Yum Soup: hot and sour broth with pork belly, tomato, and kaffir lime.
Course 4: A bamboo basket of steamed rice, paired with three sauces: a) A spicy mixture – the finest combination of flavor and capsaicin M has ever had – with chilis, shallots, and garlic; b) a sauce of salted duck egg with green mango and white radishes; and c) a sauce of pickled fruits and vegetables mixed with basil (pictured).
Course 5: Catfish braised in caramel sauce with celery, coriander root, a hibiscus flower, and the most amazing pearl onions we’ve ever had. No idea what he put in those things, but they were worth the price of admission.
Cleanser 3: Juice of carrot, ginger, and orange.
Course 6: Panang Curry remix: braised beef cheek in a curry of peanut, nutmeg, coconut, and lemongrass.
Cleanser 4: Juice of watermelon and lemongrass.
Course 7: A hollowed out coconut, served two ways. On the left: freeze-dried egg yolk, coconut, chili flakes, and licorice-infused tapioca balls. On the right: sweet coconut sorbet.
Cleanser 5: Juice of corn and pineapple.
Course 8: Half of a dragon fruit, served with a “smelling pairing” of a pink rose. We were instructed to eat half of the fruit, then smell the rose and eat the second half, taking note of the difference in flavor.
Course 9: Thai iced tea served in a to-go bag, as is common in Bangkok.
For the price we paid this was an unbelievable amount of food, and all of it executed to perfection. We have never been so full or satisfied with such a high-end meal in our lives. And we hear there is a Sicilian menu in the works….
Filed under Reviews
Brazilian Cuisine in NYC: Berimbau
Berimbau
43 Carmine Street
New York, NY
It is with a little irony that we went to a middle eastern restaurant on a street called “Little Brazil” in Midtown Manhattan. Up and down the street there were Brazilian restaurants and stores, but we were meeting a friend who suggested a Middle Eastern place, so we only could look wistfully at the signs advertising Açaí smoothies and the like. I took us a trip to Greenwich Village to get our fill of Brazilian food, when we ended up at Berimbau. We got a little turned around on our way to the restaurant (we went without the aid of smartphones at the time – can you believe it!), but we eventually found our way. The restaurant itself is tinier than tiny – with two rows of tables (probably seating for 20 or so) and exposed brick walls with a few Brazilian berimbaus on display.
The nicely edited menu contained many of our favorites as well as updated takes on some classics. We started out with one of our iconic favorite, Pão de Queijo ($6.95), little cassava flour rolls filled with Catipury cheese. We were the first diners there, by necessity of making an 8PM show that night. It was a tiny bit awkward, as the servers stared us down while we twiddled our thumbs waiting for our Pães, which turned out to be quite good.
For entrees, M ordered the Strogonoff de Frango ($17.95). The Stroganoff consisted of chicken breast in a mushroom cream sauce and came with rice and shoestring potatoes. The sauce itself was very flavorful with the aroma of mushrooms, but seemed like it was missing a little bit of a kick. L ordered the Bobo de Camarão (18.95) – a traditional Bahian fish stew with Shrimp and yucca. It came garnished with a heaping helping of cilantro, which is always a plus, and had a little bit of spice, which we found missing from M’s dish.
Berimbau filled something of an interesting void for us – an upscale Brazilian restaurant that was not an oversized steakhouse or a tiny mom and pop cafe. Of course, there is nothing wrong with either option, but definitely a Brazilian dining option we lack in Chicago. Berimbau, perhaps at a little bit of a later hour, would certainly be perfect for a date night out.
Filed under Reviews
Colombian Food Renaissance
This Atlantic article describes the revival of Colombian food culture, and how the combination of new chefs, local food & creativity put Colombia back on the foodie map. Sounds great to me.
Filed under Links
Hong Kong: Eggettes
There is nothing we love more than a sweet, sugar carb-y item. Just when we think we have the market cornered we always seem to find a new global combination of flour, butter and sugar. Our latest surprise was the Hong Kong Eggette. Literally named, Eggettes are little bubbly waffles (naturally in the shape of eggs), cooked on a special iron. They are typically a street food in Hong Kong and other Cantonese-speaking areas like Macau. However, if you cannot make it to Hong Kong eggette loving home-cook can try their hand with an egg waffle pan.
Eggettes in Hong Kong
Filed under World Eats
Freeze Frame
We haven’t been able to post photos with our restaurant posts due to some technical issues, but we promise we have them. We will update all of our older posts soon, along with a much-anticipated review of NEXT.
Filed under Note
Breakfast Interrupted
Filed under Links
Mexico: Cemitas Puebla
Cemitas Puebla
3619 W. North Avenue
Chicago, IL
The name pretty much says it all – Cemitas Puebla specilizes in the cemita, a type of sandwich that is indigenous to Puebla, Mexico. Though we usually head to Pilsen (or Rogers Park for that matter) for Mexican food – we were surprised to find ourselves in the primarily Caribbean Humboldt Park (note to selves we need some Puerto Rican food, stat!) The space itself is relatively tiny and non-descript, and like most little places with hype there is always a wait and a line. Suffice to say, Cemitas Puebla is not a hidden secret anymore – and evidence of their various brushes of fame (Diners, Drive-in and Dives, etc) – is apparent. When we walked in we were greeted by a gregarious fellow we can only assume was an owner with a hearty “Hello – welcome! Do you know what a Cemita is, let me explain….” After listening to a little spiel we were ready to order.
Naturally we started out by ordering a Cemita ($6) – we chose a milanesa cemita (breaded pork cutlet) – other options were ham, cheese, carne asada and cow foot. Our food arrived at the counter just a few minutes later, and we were excited and a little bit nervous, as we often are at uber-popular restaurants (were we going to love it or hate it). Fortunately, the Cemitas did not disappoint. The pork was juicy and tender and topped with a crazy amount of avocado, a spicy chipotle sauce and a huge pile of Oaxacan cheese. All of the ingredients worked together perfectly, and each bite was packed with flavor. For good measure, we also got an order of the Tacos Arabes ($2.60), park tacos carved off a spit (like gyros) on a thick tortilla. The tacos arabes were also delicious, but did not shine like the cemita. Cemitas Puebla is good local place with a unique specialty, but definitely with a little bit of the TV treatment. But if you can get past that, the food actually does rock.
Filed under Reviews
Brazil: Taste of Brazil
Taste of Brazil
906 S Oak Park Ave.
Oak Park, IL
Taste of Brazil is a tiny storefront covered in Brazilian flags, opened in March 2009. The restaurant is bright and sunny with a chalkboard menu and a cooler full of appetizers and cakes. There were Brazilian flags and colors on the wall and stacks of Guarana soda piled high. When we were there, the server, Christiane, couldn’t have been nicer. When she found out we were something of luso-philes, she became even more excited.
We started out our meal with a few snacks from the many enticing options in the case. First, we sampled the Coixinha ($2.25), basically a delicious glorified chicken nugget shaped like a drumstick. There were also a variety of sweet and savory pastries to choose from. We chose a quintessential Brazilian favorite, Pastel Romeo & Juliet ($2.25) a pastry filled with Catipury cheese and guava jelly. For dinner we tried the quintessential North-Eastern Brazilian dish – Moqueca ($9.89) – fish stew with a coconut milk sauce. Their version is made with tilapia. The moqueca came with some piping-hot lentil soup clearly made from scratch. Owing to a large Lebanese population, lentil soup is quite popular in Brazil. The moqueca was creamy and delicious, with a little hint of spice, favored more in the Northeast.
Finally, and the icing on the cake (literally) were the delicious Brigadeiros ($1). Brazilians are known for their love of sugar, and Brigadeiros, little chocolate truffles covered in sprinkles, are a testament to that. From start to finish we were so pleased with our experience at taste of Brazil and we were really excited to support a nice local business.
Filed under Reviews
Solid Indian buffet in Madison: Maharaja
Maharaja Restaurant
6713 Odana Rd #12
Madison, WI
We are totally into Indian Buffets and long story short: this is the Best Indian Buffet in Madison! Yes we are bolding it. We have been there several times, and are never disappointed in terms of quality or selection. The price of $9.95 for the lunch buffett ain’t bad either.
The buffet is tucked away in a back room of a pretty standard, if expansive (in a banquet-hall sort of way), Indian restaurant. The last time we were there the buffet had:
- Palak Pakora – fried spinach and onion
- Tandoori Chicken
- Garlic Naan (Yes – we HATE when buffets charge extra for naan)
- Masala Dosa – Indian crepe
- Iddli – Tamil rice dumplings
- Sambaar – Tamarind vegetable stew
- Aloo Gobi – Spiced potatoes and cauliflour
- Palak Paneer – Creamed spinach
- Lamb Curry
- Salad bar as well as soup
- Dessert Selection: sorbets and gulab jamun
And of course we had a Mango Lassi to wash it all down.
SUCCESS!
El Bulli is up next at NEXT
We went to NEXT for the Tour of Thailand menu. It was the most we’ve ever spent on a meal…. and it was worth it. Review to come soon. In the mean time check out what Grant Achatz is up to next, an El Bulli menu!
Filed under Note
Brazilian Pizza in Chicago: Fogo 2 Go [closed]
Fogo 2 Go
926 W. Diversey Ave.
Chicago, IL
We are happy that there are now more non-rodizio Brazilian restaurants in Chicago. I mean having an endless array of meat skewers is good, but Brazil has so much more to offer! Right off of the Diversey El stop is one such restaurant, Fogo 2 Go. Fogo 2 Go, a tiny restaurant with a giant brick oven, specializes in fresh rotisserie chicken and a wide selection of Brazilian style pizzas (over 60 varieties). The two owners fell in love with the pizza in São Paulo and had originally opened a pizzeria there, later bringing that pizza expertise to Chicago. One obvious thing that sets Brazilian pizza apart from US pizza is an “anything-goes” approach to toppings, and not in a California Pizza Kitchen type of way. We’re talking about toppings of corn, tuna, capers, avocado slices and hardboiled eggs, all together.
The pizza menu includes dozens of selections, but any option can be customized. We went with the Frango com Catipury pizza ($17.19 for a medium, $24.69 for an extra large, $11.99 personal size), which came with rotisserie chicken, red sauce, mozzarella and a Brazilian speciality cheese, catipury that is something like Mascarpone. There are also an assortment of classic Brazilian appetizers on the menu like Kibe (yep, Lebanese kibbe), Coixinha (kind of like an excellent chicken nugget) and Pães de queijo ($3.39 for 5 cheese bread rolls – which we ordered of course).
We watched as our pizza was assembled by hand in front of us and thrown into the oven along with our pan of pães. About 10 minutes later, both our bread and pizza were ready, the the exceptionally enticing pizza was a mess of bubbly and cheesy goodness. The crust itself was crispy and held up the the mountain of cheese, and the rotisserie chicken was a revelation (new choice for a pizza topping, right?). We also thought that the brick oven firing made the pães especially delicious, but then again we have never met a pão we didn’t like.
So kudos to Fogo 2 Go. It is an unassuming but amazing place – but it turns out amazing food. As we left we were urged to come back for the back for the 1/2 chicken special, which was deemed the best in town, by two of Chicago’s finest. Maybe next time, along with our rotisserie chicken and pizza, we can also get a slice of the Prestigio Cake (cocnut and chocolate cake). Sound like a pretty good meal, no?
Guyana: Tennis Rolls
Guyana is one of the countries whose cuisines has thus far eluded us. True, there are Guyanese resturants in NYC, but none in Chicago. So we have set out try to educate ourselves on some of the foods from Guyana. One of the most iconic treats form Guyana is the Tennis Roll, a sweet bread roll flavored with vanilla and orange. Notoriously hard to find a recipe for, I located one by Cynthia Nelson that approximates the goodness that is the tennis Roll. For more Guyanese recipes you can check out Guyana Outpost’s recipe section.
Filed under Links, World Eats
Eating The World 