Fleur de Lys - San Francisco, CA; December 29, 2010

Camerons - Columbus, OH; April 19, 2011

Xoco -Chicago IL; October 30, 2010;

This has become one of our most favorite (and most frequented) restaurants in all of Chicago. Although, can you ever really go wrong with Rick Bayless?

The Girl and The Goat -Chicago, IL; October 2, 2010

The all too highly anticipated opening of "The Girl and the Goat". The restaurant opened in June of 2010, and we were fortunate enough to slide in reservations for October. This was Top Chef Stephanie Izard's first debut since winning the coveted contest, and we were eager to taste her dishes. 

1) Hearty farm bread with a liver butter and cape gooseberry.

On the menu, there's a section just for breads. Normally, we wouldn't order $4 bread as an appetizer, but the liver butter and cape gooseberry were just too interesting to pass up. Overall, it was a good start to the meal, but not as interesting as I thought, and not necessarily worth $4. I would have tried some of the more adventurous bread offerings instead (Pretzel with smoked swiss butter and apple mustard)

2) This dish of chickpea fritters, romesco, hazelnut hummus, sesame and goat feta was by far my most favorite of the night. The dish was so flavorful with a perfect balance of textures (soft, crunchy, airy). The chickpea fritters were pretty ingenious- (think a lighter version of falafel), and the tomatoes were a juicy and sweet complement to the salad. 

This dish consisted of a hiramasa crudo, crisp pork belly. aji chili and caperberries. While the aji chili was a nice touch to this delicate crudo, it wasn't a dish that I'll remember forever. 

Ham Frites, smoked tomato aoli, cheddar beer sauce.
This is one dish I'll remember forever, and not necessarily in a good way. While the concept sounded incredible (Fries fried in ham oil), the second the heaping plate got placed on our table, I could feel myself almost swimming in the fat. These shoe string/thinly sliced potatoes are good, but after about 5, you'll feel like you need a coronary bypass. Better yet, dip them in the cheddar beer sauce and you will just have sealed your fate. Not recommended unless you have a monstrous group with which to share.

US Open -Flushing Meadows, NYC; September 3, 2010

When A and I went to the US Open last year, not only were we surrounded by great tennis (we got autographs from Murray, Clijsters, saw Nadal practice, etc...), we were pleasantly surprised to see our favorite Top Chef Masters do a few live demonstrations at the event. Walking around the grounds, we were even more excited when we saw the Top Chef Master Food Booth...with dishes from the Masters themselves! This was a must try :)

 It was later in the night, and we were starved- so not only did we get the last bits of everything, we feasted on everything we could get!

From Susan Feniger, we got the Carne Asada Tacos

 From Rick Moonen, we got the Shrimp Dog with Asian Slaw

And a Barbeque Pork Quesadilla from Susan Gonzalez

The food was a little cold when served (afterall, this was our dinner around closing time). Although we had slim pickings on the dishes, this definitely exceeded my expectations for food I've had at the Open.

ShabuWay - San Francisco, CA; August 8, 2010

If you've never had Shabu Shabu, you're missing out. I don't think I've had an authentic Shabu Shabu for over a decade, and my introduction back to the dish in August at Shabuway reminded me of how much I was missing. This restaurant is located in Mountainview- a little south of SF, a cute walkable neighborhood close to Stanford. (If this doesn't remind you of a college town, walk a block down the street and find the 3lb Pho Challenge...)

For only $14, you can get a regular platter of Kobe style Shabu Shabu beef, a heaping pile of vegetables, tofu, rice, and your choice of a traditional seaweed broth or a spicy miso brother. It was the best $14 I've spent in quite some time, and I nearly had to be rolled out of the joint afterwards.

http://www.shabuway.com/main.html

AT&T Park - San Francisco, CA; August 7, 2010

Now I know what you're thinking...AT&T Park for the Gluttonous Gourmet? How do the two go together? When A&I started this blog, we were committed to blogging about food...all food. And AT&T is no exception. They are rated as one of the top ballparks in the country with the best food. And the pictures prove it.

First up- garlic fries, fresh from the fryer. There are real garlic pieces sprinkled amongst the potato-ey goodness, so don't expect to make a lot of friends afterwards (unless you share).

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Crazy Crab'z Sandwich. Now I know what you're thinking...$15 for a sandwich? That's treason! But hey- if you've already shelled out a chunk of money for those ballpark tickets, you know what they say... "Go Big or Go Home". So take out yo Benjamins, sit back and enjoy the view, because that'll be one goooood sandwich.

M Burger - Chicago, IL - July 18, 2010

M Burger
Chicago, IL
July 18, 2010

A new burger joint opened up in town...supposedly there's 3 of these in Chicago, and they're best known for their burgers and shakes.

Kitchen of Tru

M Burger Order with Strawberry Shake
Single M Burger, Double Hurt Burger Level 2, French Fries & Ketchup
Single M Burger
Double Hurt Burger Level 2
Overall, it was a good experience, but not necessarily note-worthy burgers. Although we had quick service, this place is more of a grab-and-go type of establishment (I think there were only enough chairs for a small family). We really wanted to try their secret menu, but unfortunately they ran out of ingredients for the shake. We'll have to try the Salted Caramel milkshake next time!