Being pregnant and finding the right balance of what to eat is not an easy task. That task is made doubly hard when you're a finicky foodie like me. Now that I am in my second trimester and the all-day morning sickness has passed, I am able to move beyond cereal, bananas and buttered rice for nourishment. My appetite is increasing, but I am restricted from many of my favorite foods. With all the advancements and knowledge available in pre-natal care, eating has now become a highly regulated part of life for pregnant women. I want to know I am doing everything I can to provide the best start for my baby, but all the codes and restrictions at some point seem overwhelming and a little obsessive.
It's funny but I feel women of my mother's generation must think pregnant women my age just need to relax. No one told their generation to limit coffee and chocolate, avoid alcohol, stay away from soft cheese, ban all deli meat and bacon, seek and destroy all preservatives and nitrates and that you're already a bad mother if you drink diet soda. Times may not have been better for pregnant women of their era, but they sure seem a lot simpler from my vantage point. Somehow our mother's managed to get most of us into the world without too many problems.
Although I have been pretty much following all the guidelines given to me by my doctor and the many pregnancy books I own, the sources can be downright confusing. My doctor says it's fine to eat soft cheese as long as it's pasteurized and I'm confident that it's been stored properly (to avoid any chance of getting listeria that might be growing in there), most sources say to avoid it altogether. So that leaves me to devise my own rule system. Currently my rule (as approved by the other half of this project, my thoughtful yet concerned husband) is that I limit what is undoubtedly my favorite food category -- and when I do eat blue cheese, brie and goat cheese, I do so only at highly regarded restaurants and from meticulously inspected packages of cheese purchased from respectable retailers.
Although most cheese in the U.S. is supposed to be pasteurized, some cheese are allowed to be made with raw milk if they are aged for a certain amount of time. Also, I have noticed several restaurants recently offering raw-milk cheeses on cheese platters and in appetizers, so I've found it necessary to ask the waiter more questions if I am not absolutely certain I know how the cheese was made. It makes fine dining less thrilling when you have to cut out a large portion of your ordering options and feel you must beg your spouse for the tiniest sip of wine. (Sorry, I could go on for days.)
Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful to be pregnant and know I have many rewards coming at the end of 9 (what is really 10) months. But, it would be nice if expectant fathers got the same dietary guilt trip or if the Italians would create the perfect non-alcoholic prosecco. But, at the top of my foodie wish list is a lift of moratorium on really good cheese. Even when I eat it now, I still feel wary because of all the warnings I've seen. In my mind, though, I have this comfort -- how could Velveeta possibly be as good for a baby as a runny triple-cream that's been made with small batches of fresh milk, by producers who put their heart and soul in to the cheese and that is aged naturally without all those frightening-sounding preservatives. That's pretty sound logic to me.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
A bistro for Thai in Geneva, IL
Still missing the neighborhood Thai restaurant we loved in our former Lincoln Square apartment, we set out with excitement to check out Bistro Thai (on State St.) in our new stomping grounds in the Western Suburbs. The restaurant opened just before the holidays, right across from one of our other favorites, Stockholm's. You never know when a restaurant has a fusion name like Bistro Thai if its cuisine might take more influence from one culture over another and what the end result will be. We were delighted to find that really the dessert menu, decor and the overall presentation was what was truly Bistro about Bistro Thai -- otherwise the food is familiar Thai dishes done well. Because I am four and a half months pregnant and currently craving lots of spice, I was excited to get some authentic curry, and the green curry with beef didn't disappoint. It contained ample green beans, eggplant and red pepper and was served in a beautiful wave-design bowl. The appetizers we ordered were a little over-the-top for two people, but were a lot of fun to try. Called the Bistro Thai sampler platter, it included rice-paper wrapped and fried tail-on shrimp that contained a chiffonade of Thai basil; Thai vegetable egg rolls; Golden Crab (fresh-tasting Crab Rangoon); tempura vegetables; deep-fried potstickers; chicken satay; little cakes that seemed to have chopped shrimp and coconut in them; and three sauces for dipping: peanut, a sweet soy sauce and a traditional Thai-style sweet-and-sour sauce. There was so much on the plate that I might be forgetting something. Jeff had the Panang Curry, and was pleased with it as well.
The atmosphere was just right and the prices were reasonable as well. Although we still will always wish we still had Chicago's Yes Thai right around the corner in our new home of Aurora, Bistro Thai in Geneva makes it much easier to find great Thai with a city atmosphere in the burbs.
The atmosphere was just right and the prices were reasonable as well. Although we still will always wish we still had Chicago's Yes Thai right around the corner in our new home of Aurora, Bistro Thai in Geneva makes it much easier to find great Thai with a city atmosphere in the burbs.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Geneva (Illinois) Restaurants
Geneva, Illinois is a super cute little burg in the far west suburbs of Chicago. In addition to all sorts of nice shopping opportunities, it also has a number of great restaurants.
Niche probably has the most buzz outside of Geneva. It's a contemporary American menu with a fantastic domestic-only wine list. Niche is the reincarnation of 302 West, which I never had the chance to try before it closed. Amazingly enough they carried this tiny boutique Napa Pinot Noir from Arger-Martucci that we tried on a trip to California a year or two ago. The menu is accessible but very interesting and extremely well executed. It is already high on our list of special occasion restaurants.
Isabella's is a Mediterranean-influenced restaurant that is a great value with an interesting menu as well. Their foie gras parfait was inventive and delicious.
Stockholm's is a brew pub with the best bar food I've ever had — but their beer is kind of not great. We usually order a Stella with their excellent burgers and papas italiano (hand cut potato chips covered in bacon, prosciutto, green onions, tomatoes and an alfredo sauce).
More suburban restaurant reviews as time permits.
Niche probably has the most buzz outside of Geneva. It's a contemporary American menu with a fantastic domestic-only wine list. Niche is the reincarnation of 302 West, which I never had the chance to try before it closed. Amazingly enough they carried this tiny boutique Napa Pinot Noir from Arger-Martucci that we tried on a trip to California a year or two ago. The menu is accessible but very interesting and extremely well executed. It is already high on our list of special occasion restaurants.
Isabella's is a Mediterranean-influenced restaurant that is a great value with an interesting menu as well. Their foie gras parfait was inventive and delicious.
Stockholm's is a brew pub with the best bar food I've ever had — but their beer is kind of not great. We usually order a Stella with their excellent burgers and papas italiano (hand cut potato chips covered in bacon, prosciutto, green onions, tomatoes and an alfredo sauce).
More suburban restaurant reviews as time permits.
Friday, April 13, 2007
California Central Coast Wineries
Now the term "central coast" as it applies to California wines seems to be a fairly broad designation encompassing most anything south of the Bay Area all the way to Santa Barbara. Some good friends of ours, Ed and Nicole, and my godson, Christian, moved to a community just outside of San Luis Obispo. It is incredibly beautiful there and I wonder how anyone gets anything done living surrounded by such beauty and great weather. One thing they do well there is make fantastic wines.
Going wine tasting with a two-year-old is a different experience, but not altogether bad. One winery, Eagle Castle, even had a sample of their grape juice — for the budding wine enthusiasts. One thing it does limit is the amount of time you can spend visiting the vineyards and wineries.
We started by going to Claiborne & Churchill outside of San Luis Obispo. I was surprised to find out that although there were vines all around us, that they shipped the grapes in from Monterey County. That is somewhat off-putting since visiting the place where the grapes are grown and wines are made are to me part of the winery experience. However, they had some very nice whites (dry Riesling and Gerzurtaminer?) and good Pinot Noir. We bought several for our stay in California and three to bring home. They were all very nice wines, maybe in the 86-89 range. They had a $5 tasting fee, but at least it could go toward a purchase of wine if you buy. I still believe that I buy more when I don't have to pay the fee.
The next day we drove inland and north a bit to the wine country around Paso Robles. This seemed more typical of what I was used to in Napa and Chianti. More vines, more wineries, etc. We stopped first at Donati Family Winery, who also sourced their grapes from around Monterey. They had a beautiful tasting room with very nice staff but their wines were all underwhelming. I bought a Pinot Gris to offset the $5 tasting fee. I'd probably give it a 85. It had some of the tropical fruit that I normally associate with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
The last stop we made was to Eagle Castle Winery. Their tasting room was in a new Medieval Times-looking castle. I was a little concerned about appearances, but you can't judge a wine by its tasting room. I was immediately pleasantly surprised to find out that they didn't have a tasting fee and had a wider variety of wines to try. Everything we tasted was very good, from their Syrah Rosé, which reminded me of one we had at Arger-Martucci in Napa, to their dessert wines. I especially liked their Syrah, Cab Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Syrah-Cab blend (Royal Red). Their wines were in the 88-92 sweet spot and not too expensive. We ended up buying a half case and having it shipped home. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it finds its way to us safely.
There's a lot more to explore even in the areas we visited, but I also know that Santa Barbara has some great wineries that we will have to visit the next time we're out there.
Going wine tasting with a two-year-old is a different experience, but not altogether bad. One winery, Eagle Castle, even had a sample of their grape juice — for the budding wine enthusiasts. One thing it does limit is the amount of time you can spend visiting the vineyards and wineries.
We started by going to Claiborne & Churchill outside of San Luis Obispo. I was surprised to find out that although there were vines all around us, that they shipped the grapes in from Monterey County. That is somewhat off-putting since visiting the place where the grapes are grown and wines are made are to me part of the winery experience. However, they had some very nice whites (dry Riesling and Gerzurtaminer?) and good Pinot Noir. We bought several for our stay in California and three to bring home. They were all very nice wines, maybe in the 86-89 range. They had a $5 tasting fee, but at least it could go toward a purchase of wine if you buy. I still believe that I buy more when I don't have to pay the fee.
The next day we drove inland and north a bit to the wine country around Paso Robles. This seemed more typical of what I was used to in Napa and Chianti. More vines, more wineries, etc. We stopped first at Donati Family Winery, who also sourced their grapes from around Monterey. They had a beautiful tasting room with very nice staff but their wines were all underwhelming. I bought a Pinot Gris to offset the $5 tasting fee. I'd probably give it a 85. It had some of the tropical fruit that I normally associate with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
The last stop we made was to Eagle Castle Winery. Their tasting room was in a new Medieval Times-looking castle. I was a little concerned about appearances, but you can't judge a wine by its tasting room. I was immediately pleasantly surprised to find out that they didn't have a tasting fee and had a wider variety of wines to try. Everything we tasted was very good, from their Syrah Rosé, which reminded me of one we had at Arger-Martucci in Napa, to their dessert wines. I especially liked their Syrah, Cab Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Syrah-Cab blend (Royal Red). Their wines were in the 88-92 sweet spot and not too expensive. We ended up buying a half case and having it shipped home. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it finds its way to us safely.
There's a lot more to explore even in the areas we visited, but I also know that Santa Barbara has some great wineries that we will have to visit the next time we're out there.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Long time, no post
I know that we've been extremely tardy in our Vino & Vittles postings lately. Between home improvement projects, our day jobs and travel, it's been difficult to devote time to the blog. However, we've still be eating great food and drinking great wine, which I hope to run through in the next few weeks. I just took pictures of the past 19 bottles of wine we've drank.
In terms of cooking, I've been very focused on working on sauces. I've never felt like this was a strong suit and my improvisations never turned out very good. However, with a little reading up and studying some techniques, I feel like my sauces are getting markedly better.
The other latest food obsessions have been experimenting with different vegetables and fruits. By and large we've had good success with this (celery root, parsnips, rutabega) but a few notable misses (quince and Palestine limes). The quince we tried raw and was hard without much flavor. The Palestine limes (which are yellow) had an off-lime/orange flavor and a weird sweetness without much balancing acidity. I wasted some of my Cacacha trying to make a Palestine lime caipirinha. Bummer. The root vegetable purées have been nice though. I love the celery root best (cooked in stock with a lesser amount of potato), but the parsnips and rutabega were also a welcome change from the everyday mashed potatoes. The parsnips were particularly interesting finished with a little nutmeg and truffle oil.
Speaking of truffle oil, I made a mushroom risotto using mushrooms from Trader Joe's (oyster, crimini, shitake) and finishing with a healthy pour of truffle oil. Basically, you saute onion until translucent, add a little garlic, the chopped mushrooms thyme and sage and saute until softened. Add the risotto (I did two cups) and stir until it becomes chalky. Add white wine (about a cup), stir until absorbed. Keep stirring and add chicken stock a little at a time until it is al dente (about five cups). I finish with about a cup of grated parm and a little half and half in the pot, and the truffle oil at the plating.
Finally, although I am a huge proponent for eschewing short cuts for natural ingredients and freshness whenever possible, I am addicted to Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasonings. I use their seasoned salt on so many different things from hamburgers to frittatas. My favorite though is the Pork and Veal Magic, which I use as a rub and then in the pan sauce I make (whether it be a pear sauce, cream sauce, sherry sauce or even a marsala sauce I made.
More to come.
In terms of cooking, I've been very focused on working on sauces. I've never felt like this was a strong suit and my improvisations never turned out very good. However, with a little reading up and studying some techniques, I feel like my sauces are getting markedly better.
The other latest food obsessions have been experimenting with different vegetables and fruits. By and large we've had good success with this (celery root, parsnips, rutabega) but a few notable misses (quince and Palestine limes). The quince we tried raw and was hard without much flavor. The Palestine limes (which are yellow) had an off-lime/orange flavor and a weird sweetness without much balancing acidity. I wasted some of my Cacacha trying to make a Palestine lime caipirinha. Bummer. The root vegetable purées have been nice though. I love the celery root best (cooked in stock with a lesser amount of potato), but the parsnips and rutabega were also a welcome change from the everyday mashed potatoes. The parsnips were particularly interesting finished with a little nutmeg and truffle oil.
Speaking of truffle oil, I made a mushroom risotto using mushrooms from Trader Joe's (oyster, crimini, shitake) and finishing with a healthy pour of truffle oil. Basically, you saute onion until translucent, add a little garlic, the chopped mushrooms thyme and sage and saute until softened. Add the risotto (I did two cups) and stir until it becomes chalky. Add white wine (about a cup), stir until absorbed. Keep stirring and add chicken stock a little at a time until it is al dente (about five cups). I finish with about a cup of grated parm and a little half and half in the pot, and the truffle oil at the plating.
Finally, although I am a huge proponent for eschewing short cuts for natural ingredients and freshness whenever possible, I am addicted to Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasonings. I use their seasoned salt on so many different things from hamburgers to frittatas. My favorite though is the Pork and Veal Magic, which I use as a rub and then in the pan sauce I make (whether it be a pear sauce, cream sauce, sherry sauce or even a marsala sauce I made.
More to come.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Quartino, utterly disappointing
Sometimes your reputation, even a positive one, can be your worst enemy. Natalie had raved about the atmosphere, prices and food and drink at Quartino, a neighbor and counterpart to Osteria via Stato. Following a similar "small plates" design and wines sold by the quarter (quartino), half and full liter, Quartino matches Osteria via Stato's prices and exceeds their ambiance. Where Stato had blaring techno music paired with faux rustic decor, Quartino had the simple but elegant atmosphere nailed down to their charming retro bathrooms.
However, this is where the praise ends and I haven't made it to the most important element — the food. We ordered a mezzo of Ruffino Orvieto Classico, which was fine. There were other options that looked interesting, but at double to price, we stuck with a solid, if predictable, stand-by. We ordered the bigoli with a "venetian duck ragú" and a quatro formaggio pizza. The bigoli, similar to pici in many ways, was a nice pasta, but the sauce was a real disappointment. In my opinion, they made a mother red sauce and threw in some duck at the end. The duck was not falling apart and the sauce didn't have that braised in flavor. This is a pretty shoddy way to make a sauce and by no means lives up to their "authentic" cred. Even worse was the pizza. The crust was thin but still doughy, nothing like real Italian pizzas. It had none of the nice charring on the bottom and was just blah. To top it off, they added the same bland, overly acidic red sauce to the quatro formaggi. I've had quite a few four cheese pizzas in my time and they never had a red sauce, maybe some garlic infused olive oil, but the cheese is supposed to be the star. Here, you could hardly distinguish between the cheeses. All in all, this was a spot-on interpretation of an "authentic" Chuck-E-Cheese pizza — definitely not what I expected.
Quartino could be great. Natalie has seen them be great. I hope they get there. But I won't be back and I suggest you don't go either if you're looking for anything more than a glass of wine.
However, this is where the praise ends and I haven't made it to the most important element — the food. We ordered a mezzo of Ruffino Orvieto Classico, which was fine. There were other options that looked interesting, but at double to price, we stuck with a solid, if predictable, stand-by. We ordered the bigoli with a "venetian duck ragú" and a quatro formaggio pizza. The bigoli, similar to pici in many ways, was a nice pasta, but the sauce was a real disappointment. In my opinion, they made a mother red sauce and threw in some duck at the end. The duck was not falling apart and the sauce didn't have that braised in flavor. This is a pretty shoddy way to make a sauce and by no means lives up to their "authentic" cred. Even worse was the pizza. The crust was thin but still doughy, nothing like real Italian pizzas. It had none of the nice charring on the bottom and was just blah. To top it off, they added the same bland, overly acidic red sauce to the quatro formaggi. I've had quite a few four cheese pizzas in my time and they never had a red sauce, maybe some garlic infused olive oil, but the cheese is supposed to be the star. Here, you could hardly distinguish between the cheeses. All in all, this was a spot-on interpretation of an "authentic" Chuck-E-Cheese pizza — definitely not what I expected.
Quartino could be great. Natalie has seen them be great. I hope they get there. But I won't be back and I suggest you don't go either if you're looking for anything more than a glass of wine.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Sweets and Savories, Redux
Nearly a year after our first visit to Sweets and Savories, on Fullerton near Ashland in Chicago, we returned with out-of-town guests. Monday nights are definitely the night to go — they have a seven-course no menu meal for $50 with free BYOB, which can save you a bundle and let you bring a special bottle or two from home to enjoy.
There had been some disparaging comments on Metromix about the restaurant either about the quality of the food or the service. I have to think that those people either are too uptight, i.e. food like this should be served by stuffy individuals, or are not adventurous eaters, i.e. what's risotto?. We had the same server as our previous visit and he is quirky and funny, but not intrusive. Very knowledgeable about the food and proud to work there. I'd rather have someone like that to interact with than someone completely detached who doesn't care about the food or the person being served.
That said, the food was outstanding. We started with a dish of mussles in tomato fumé with sausage (possible andouille). We all were scraping the plate to get every last bit cleaned. This was a nice starter and we opened with a 2005 Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, which was a very good Sauvignon Blanc — tropical fruit, pears, even a little apricot on the nose and continued through the finish.
The second course was very good and visually interesting. It was a seared scallop on celery root purée with chevril on top with a streak of bright yellow-orange mango coulis. The celery root was perfectly salty and the scallop had a great texture and flavor that came through clean.
The third course was probably everyone's favorite and one that I will mimic at home. It was a striped sea bass on top of saffrom-goat cheese grits with a salad of lamb's lettuce on top — very interesting, but simple too. Really perfect.
Then we had a duck leg confit on blueberry risotto finished with truffle oil. This was very good. The last time we were there they had blueberry risotto that I criticized because there were seeds in the risotto that took away from the texture enjoyment — this time that had been remedied and was perfect.
Moving toward the home stretch, the next course was a baby arugula salad with a lemon/truffle oil vinegarette with grana padano on top. Very nice transition to the sweets portion of the meal.
Next was an apricot-chardonnay sorbet. Nice palate cleanser. Good consistency.
Finally, the finish was the big dessert bang —a warm chocolate budino with chocolate ganache, chocolate sorbet and Scharfen-Berger bigs. A beautiful plate and very good finish.
For the wine, after the Kim Crawford with the sea food dishes, we had a Praxis Pinot Noir that we purchased at the Oakville Grocery in Napa based on a recommendation. It was very good — nice dark cherry notes and a smooth finish. Then we had a bottle of Amphora Dry Creek Syrah, brought by our dinner guests, that was also very good — jammy, but not over-the-top. Finally, we ended with a Quady Elysium dessert wine made from black muscat. This had an almost bubble gum flavor that is a wonderful, lively finish to any meal.
All-in-all, an incredible deal at $50 and a meal that is not soon forgotten.
There had been some disparaging comments on Metromix about the restaurant either about the quality of the food or the service. I have to think that those people either are too uptight, i.e. food like this should be served by stuffy individuals, or are not adventurous eaters, i.e. what's risotto?. We had the same server as our previous visit and he is quirky and funny, but not intrusive. Very knowledgeable about the food and proud to work there. I'd rather have someone like that to interact with than someone completely detached who doesn't care about the food or the person being served.
That said, the food was outstanding. We started with a dish of mussles in tomato fumé with sausage (possible andouille). We all were scraping the plate to get every last bit cleaned. This was a nice starter and we opened with a 2005 Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, which was a very good Sauvignon Blanc — tropical fruit, pears, even a little apricot on the nose and continued through the finish.
The second course was very good and visually interesting. It was a seared scallop on celery root purée with chevril on top with a streak of bright yellow-orange mango coulis. The celery root was perfectly salty and the scallop had a great texture and flavor that came through clean.
The third course was probably everyone's favorite and one that I will mimic at home. It was a striped sea bass on top of saffrom-goat cheese grits with a salad of lamb's lettuce on top — very interesting, but simple too. Really perfect.
Then we had a duck leg confit on blueberry risotto finished with truffle oil. This was very good. The last time we were there they had blueberry risotto that I criticized because there were seeds in the risotto that took away from the texture enjoyment — this time that had been remedied and was perfect.
Moving toward the home stretch, the next course was a baby arugula salad with a lemon/truffle oil vinegarette with grana padano on top. Very nice transition to the sweets portion of the meal.
Next was an apricot-chardonnay sorbet. Nice palate cleanser. Good consistency.
Finally, the finish was the big dessert bang —a warm chocolate budino with chocolate ganache, chocolate sorbet and Scharfen-Berger bigs. A beautiful plate and very good finish.
For the wine, after the Kim Crawford with the sea food dishes, we had a Praxis Pinot Noir that we purchased at the Oakville Grocery in Napa based on a recommendation. It was very good — nice dark cherry notes and a smooth finish. Then we had a bottle of Amphora Dry Creek Syrah, brought by our dinner guests, that was also very good — jammy, but not over-the-top. Finally, we ended with a Quady Elysium dessert wine made from black muscat. This had an almost bubble gum flavor that is a wonderful, lively finish to any meal.
All-in-all, an incredible deal at $50 and a meal that is not soon forgotten.
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