Scholarship table
TAMUI do know, Newsie is right on you knowing ball.
And…
Bayan Ko in Ravenswood tonight. Have been trying to get there for a few years and could never make it work. Cuban-Filipino spot, and we went with good friends - he is Cuban and she is Filipino. Outstanding- tried 8 different dishes and the only one which was just ok was an oxtail bare bare where the peanut sauce was too heavy. Everything else was an A. Highly recommend (also, BYOB which makes it more affordable).
Nice tip, we'll check it out.I just spent 10 minutes under the warming light at the Montrose stop a hour ago, heading home from Bad Apple (pretty good burgers). Strangers passing in the night!
SirI have not heard a bad thing about Lupi & Iris, aside from the price. Everyone that I know who had been there raved more about the food/service over complaining on price. On my list of places to try.
Sea Bass for me and Mrs. Sir Dame Lawrence had a bone in NY strip.
FIFY
Next's Paris: 1906 experience was pretty good.The food was excellent from beginning to end. Service was a little disjointed, with the more senior servers clearly irritated with the newbies that were a little lost. The Somm was weak. We had the 'Ultra' pairing, which was nice, but we didn't get much beyond the year/producer from the Somm. He was interested in chatting about other things. Good folks, good food, but we honestly had a better time at the bar of Swift and Sons than we did at dinner tonight.Alinea group needs to get their crap together, imo.Edit: My wild guess is that they're spicing in interns or replacement workers with the professionals, and it's impacting their level of service. The service isn't bad, but the service at Alinea/Next was below that of a 1 star resto. Really odd experiences, especially since it's twice now.Restos that are up next, thanks to recommendations from good friends:Ever: https://www.ever-restaurant.com/Smyth: https://www.smythandtheloyalist.com/smyth/
Oh- and speaking of good burgers- the Loyalist - below your upcoming Smyth reservation - has outstanding burgers!
+1 I personally think it's better than au Cheval but everybody seems to think I'm insane for that lol don't sleep on the deviled eggs there either!
Rose Mary tonight. It was regular - not restaurant week- menu. We had Zucchini fritters, Branzino and tortellini. Had the palačinke for dessert- an apple, toffee and vanilla ice cream in kind of a crepe-they heard us debating between that and the pistachio gelato, so waitress brought that too on the house. Amazing, concentrated pistachio flavor. Food was very good, and actually a surprisingly good value.
Alinea was a great experience, though they did lean into a very black truffle heavy presentation. Which is fine, but can be and was a bit overwhelming in terms of flavor.
Which experience did you do? Isn't there one that's supposed to incorporate a show or something around the courses?
Been on the fence about going because I've heard it's been pretty inconsistent but based on this I'll give it a shot.Have you ever made your way down to Autre Monde locally?
Many times, most recently for an early, old couple type NYE dinner (before their 9:00 pre fixe menu). I think it's a terrific option locally-different than anything else in the OP/RF/FP area (after all, it is in Berwyn!); closest would be Amerikas. Excellent cocktails too. And I think they have a pre fixe menu on Mondays.Two other spots in Berwyn that I really like: La Parra (fun, young, good food, great cocktails, LOUD; Mrs. Legs likes the waiters and bartenders) and LaVergne's Tavern (I'd go just for the Italian beef egg rolls).