As many of you know I hurt my ankle only two weeks after we moved to Chicago, so exploring the City has been put on hold since I was on crutches. Finally 12 weeks later I am walking without any assistance. So last week was my first week to venture out of the house in quite some time.
Being new to the area I have joined a few Meetup's. If you have never heard of Meetup you should check it out. It's a great place to meet people with common interests and hobbys. I recently joined a Book Club and I attended my first Meet up last week. The host picked a Moroccan Restaurant: this would be my first time trying Moroccan cuisine and had no idea what to expect. So I made my way to Andalous Moroccan Restaurant and was pleasantly surprised. Upon walking into the restaurant the atmosphere is very inviting and warm, with lots of color. The overall space is on the small side but the layout and table settings make for easy conversation. This is a BYOB place which is always nice and to add to its appeal NO corking fee. My group of 6 started out with a white bean dip appetizer that was accompanied with pita bread. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would have to rank this a 3. The dip was bland, looked unappealing and cold, which might be authentic but a major turn off to me. Plus, the pita bread was definitely not homemade nor fresh. For my main course I ordered the Kefta Kabob, seasoned beef accompanied with a couscous and vegetables. The beef was very good, it had a mild spice to it and grilled to perfection. I also enjoyed the couscous, it was light and fluffy with a nice nutty flavor. My only complaint is that the grilled vegetables as they called them, were just a few pieces of onion and red pepper, not exactly what I was expecting. Overall, the service was great, the atmosphere was inviting and the food was decent. For my first Moroccan experience I give it a 5; maybe next time I will venture out of my comfort zone and try something a little more daring.
My second adventure last week was Saturday afternoon. Much to my husband's dismay, I was itching to get out of the house and run some long needed errands. Since I am still not able to drive nor did I want to run the errands by myself my husband was enticed to come along. After dragging him to numerous stores, I thought it was time for lunch and a cocktail . We were near Old Town so what better place to stop for lunch. After driving up and down the street, we noticed O'Brien's. From the outside it look liked an average Irish Pub and they had free parking to boot! We were SOLD. We parked and made our way inside, upon entering we realized this place was not a typical Irish Pub. The decor is a bit out dated but overall the place was very clean. We sat in the bar area and reviewed the menu. The menu was eclectic to say the least, offering Irish favorites, American and Seafood to name a few. After reviewing the menu, we both decided on the Black Angus Burger, which came with parmigiana cheese, arugula and white truffle oil. I ordered a Beer and my husband a Bloody Mary. As Bloody Mary's go this one was a 10 and my husband considers himself Bloody Mary expert. It had just the right spice, celery, olives and lemon plus celery salt around the rim! And for only $5! How could you go wrong! Our server was prompt and pleasant. Our burgers were cooked perfectly but next time I think I would ask for the truffle oil on the side as it really took over the flavor. I expected to taste the saltiness of the cheese and the peppery bite of the arugula but all I could taste was the truffle oil. Overall I would rank this place a low 6. With all the options available not sure that I would visit O'Brien's again anytime soon but my experience was a good one.
For all my home cooks out there keep tuning; in a recipe will be coming shortly!
Enjoy your Wednesday
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