Recent Foodie Finds | chicago foodie girl

4.02.2012

Recent Foodie Finds

Well, hello there, April... um, March, where did you go?! Between the two weeks of early summer weather, a packed social schedule, a new gym schedule, and the special kind of craziness that starting a new term at school can bring, the entire month just flew by (which in a way is good because March is usually pretty sucky for me).

April is already shaping up to be just as busy as March with multiple friends' birthdays each week (and Mario's!) and Baconfest (!!!). Yes, my friends, it's an entire festival devoted to all things bacon - complete with bacon demonstrations & samples, bacon crafts, and bacon-inspired cocktails, all prepared by some of the most amazing chefs in the Midwest. Woo-hoo!

A few food highlights from March...

Macho Salad at Bandera: Roasted chicken, avocado, dates, almonds, tomatoes, goat cheese, and cornbread croutons. It's nutty, fresh, crunchy, sweet, crispy, salty... simply marvelous! This is officially my new favorite salad. I took a class at The Chopping Block a few years ago that was devoted to recipes from various Chicago restaurants. The Macho salad was my favorite dish to come out of that class; while I love the at-home version, I have to say the restaurant version is 10x more amazing.

Cornbread at Bandera: Sweet and buttery cornbread combined with jalapeno and cheese. The cornbread is baked and served in a small cast iron skillet with a giant knife - so adorable! The consistency of this cornbread is quite different than what I'm used to (it's not as fluffy/light) & while I wouldn't put it in my "best cornbread ever" category, it's definitely worth ordering.

Post Dinner at Bandera: Okay, technically this isn't a foodie porn photo, but it goes with the other Bandera photos. This is my friend, Sowon, and I freezing our butts off on Michigan Ave. after dinner. We were stuffed to the brim and high on butter. :-)



St. Patrick's Dinner: Homemade turkey burgers and sweet potato fries. No, it wasn't a very Irish inspired/themed dinner... but I did pair it with some Bailey's Mint Chocolate Irish Cream as a nod to SPD. Really, is there a better day in which to bust out the Playboy Bunny glasses?

Frozen Yogurt at Forever Yogurt: Hands down this is my favorite self-serve yogurt place. They have awesome yogurt choices (the cake batter and the Thin Mint flavors are both amazing!) and a nice selection of toppings. I went for cake batter yogurt with Fruity Pebbles, orange juice balls, cookie dough, and raspberries... maybe a bit of an odd combo, but it was so delicious!

Spiced Nut Pancakes at Uncommon Ground: Brunch at our local (as in a quarter of a block outside our door) neighborhood joint. I'm a huge fan of their seasonal pumpkin pancakes, so I decided to give their spring/summer replacement a try. I was surprised to find the walnuts & pecans were actually ground up and mixed into the pancake batter (I thought they would be sprinkled on top) - that was definitely a nice surprise.

Chicken Satay at Hello Sushi Bar: Not only was the presentation adorable (so much better than the usual skewers and a tiny container of peanut sauce), but it was also one of the best chicken satay dishes I've ever had! This was an especially great find for Mario and I because it's only a few blocks from our apartment. It's one of those places that we've both walked/driven by thousands of times, but never managed to actually try until last week.

Champagne Toast to 16 Candles/Jen Lancaster event: Champagne counts as a food group, right? ;-)

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4 comments

  1. That macho salad looks absolutely delightful. :)

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  2. @Seeking: Oh, it is seriously amazing. I would like to eat it at least once every week for the rest of my life!

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  3. The Macho Salad at Bandera is my absolute favorite. I have not had it in years, must correct that SOON!

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