Tamalli

Last night my mom and I ate at Tamalli. We were very excited about eating there. But first, we had to find it - we nearly walked by as it is an unassuming storefront on Armitage - only the awning tipped us off!

There was only one couple dining when we entered, and while we were there, no other diners came in. As a result, we had very attentive service.

The space felt a little sterile to me, possibly becuase there were so few diners. It's an open space with the tables arranged in rows. The tabels and the walls are bright and cheery colors, as is the artwork on the walls.

I had been expecting a fairly small menu, since the focus is on tamals. But the menu is pretty extensive with a lot of options. We decided that we would order the way we do at Maiz, basically treating the menu as though they are tapas and planning to share each dish. After some debate, we settled on the Tamal De Chorizo En Hoja De Platano and Tamal Nejo al Pastor to start. We also got flavored waters, cucumber and pineapple.

The waters were absolutely delicious and we were tempted to slurp them down, but resisted. The tamals were also excellent - the Nejo was on a fairly flat bed of cornmeal, while the de Chorizo was on a big, thick bed. We both preferred the de Chorizo slightly; my mom liked the thicker bed while I absolutely loved the flavor of the meat.

We got a bit greedy at this point and decided to order tacos. We must have had a taste for beef, as we ordered picadillo and steak marinated with onion. When the tacos arrived, we were surprised that each order consisted of two! The meat fillings were good, but a little salty for my mom's taste. The consensus was that the tacos were decent but we should have stuck to the house specialty, tamals.

All in all, we were pleased with our dinner at Tamalli. The tamals and drinks were excellent, and while the tacos were not quite as delicious they were pretty good. Our total bill was $31, which is not bad for a very appetizing meal for two (and we were stuffed!). I look forward to returning to Tamalli and sampling the rest of the tamals on the menu!

Fonda del Mar

Back in March, I ate at Fonda del Mar. It was Lent and a Friday, and my mom and I needed somewhere meat-free to eat. I'd read a couple of good reviews of this restaurant and was intrigued.

When we parked across the street, we were less than impressed - the block is not a very attractive one, with somewhat dingy storefronts. You walk into Fonda del Mar, however, and it's a different story; the decor is warm, cozy, and inviting.

I looked at the drink menu, and the Rustica maragarita jumped out at me immediately. Described as "a rustic, smoky and toasty margarita made with Chacmol mezcal from San Luis Potosi, Gran Gala orange liqueur and fresh squeeze limonada," it sounded too good to pass up. And it was as good as it sounded - with just a hint of smokiness beneath the typical, bright flavors of a margarita, it seemed like a more sophisticated and sultry twist on the usual.

For my entree, I got the Pescado Tikin Xic: "Achiote marinated mahi mahi cooked in banana leaf served with room temperature chunky roasted tomato-jumiles sauce , pickled onion and garlic mashed potato." It was delicious. The sauce was incredibly flavorful, perfect for the mild-flavored mahi mahi. The mashed potatos were also tasty, although (amazingly) I abandoned the idea of finishing them off in favor of eating all of my fish - and I love my potatoes, so you know the fish was good!!!!

My mom got the Tilapia En Crema Poblana: "Garlic marinated sautéed Tilapia in a cream of poblano pepper served with white rice." She was somewhat disappointed with the dish, as it wasn't as flavorful as she expected. The cream of poblano pepper lacked any punch, and paired with the tilapia, it made for a fairly bland combination. The rice, however, was perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious.

The dessert menu was fairly large and varied (not to mention tempting). Unfortunately, we were too full to order anything. Another time....

I would definitely recommend Fonda del Mar. The ambience was fantastic, and my entree was unbelievably good. I'd like to try a couple more dishes on the menu that look very tasty - if I do, I'll report back!

Paramount Room

I ate lunch at the Paramount Room (Milwaukee & Kinzie) a couple of weeks ago. The food was delicious, and the space was very tastefully decorated.

We didn't order a huge variety of food - in fact, the 3 of us all ordered salad, and 2 of us had the same salad. I had the Cobb, which was made with duck confit instead of chicken or turkey. Everything was very fresh, and I really enjoyed the light coating of dressing on the salad - just enough to add flavor without drowning it.

The highlight of the meal, though, was the order of fries we shared. They came in a paper cone and with a side of garlic aoli. YUM. Even my non-grease-eating friend couldn't keep from having a couple - they were seasoned to perfection, and a dip in the aoli made them pure heaven.

The only downside is that it is fairly pricey for bar food - three salads, an order of fries, and two ice teas came to $25 or so. Which isn't bad, except that it was all half off due to a pre-tax-day special -- so double that for the normal prices.

Even so, I'd love to go back one evening and check out the beer selection, which looked balanced and interesting. A thumbs up for Paramount Room!

Curio Cafe

This morning I had brunch with a friend at Curio Cafe. I had just read about Curio Cafe in last week's Time Out Chicago and their review was quite positive, and it's not far frmo my place, so I suggested that we go there.

What a great little place! It is very child-friendly, with a play area and tons of toys; child-averse adults should be aware before going. There were no tables open when we arrived but the friendly staff brought one up from the basement and created a table for us.

The breakfast/lunch menu is extensive. We each changed our minds 3 or 4 times before the waitress took our order. I ordered the plato tipico, which was very tasty and just the right amount of food. The black beans and tortillas were especially delicious. My friend ordered cranberry pancakes - the pancakes here are monster sized. She barely got through half of the three served.

Curio Cafe is family-owned and most, if not all, of the staff are family members. And they are all very warm and friendly. Service is attentive and fantastic; I almost felt as though I were a guest at a friend's home.

We were informed that the restaurant started serving dinner in December to see how it worked out, and that it has been diong well. The dinner menu looked very good and well-priced. Right now, dinner is BYOB with a $3 corkage fee.

I'm very glad to have discovered this little jewel and look forward to dining there again.

Welcome!

I know: there are a ton of food and restaurant blogs, why do I need to have one of my own? Excellent question!

This blog has no grand aspirations. I'm not a food writer or restaurant critic. But I thought it would be nice to have, in one handy place, my thoughts on places I've dined. (And any other food-related topics that may inspire me.)

So welcome, and enjoy.