First, lets talk about the bakery! Both my husband and I love sweets! Since we moved into the Lakeview neighborhood, I have walked past Dinkel's Bakery numerous times. So, I decided to do a little research and was pleasantly surprised to hear all the rave reviews. I'm a sucker for tradition and small family owned restaurants. Dinkel's has been at the same location since 1922 and four generations later they are going strong. I was happy to find out they were able to do a small birthday cake with little notice and ordered a chocolate cake with chocolate mouse and a chocolate gnosh topping. Needless to say my husband is a chocolate addict. The cake was moist, not overly sweet and very good. The service was excellent, the price was average and I plan to stop back in when I need that sweet treat.
Our next adventure was the Burger Bar. This is where my hubby wanted to eat for dinner, so as true Chicagoans, we hopped onto the L and a few minutes later we were sitting at the burger bar. Right of the redline, the burger bar is located on Clyborn in Lincoln Park. Though it was a Wednesday night, they were rather busy and to our delight were able to seat us quite quickly. We started our meal with fried pickles and two beers. The beer selection was great and they had specials on numerous craft beers, another plus. I ordered the Wild bill, which was a bison burger with arugula, goat cheese and tomato chutney on a pretzel bun. Though it was very good burger, it was a little dry and just didn't wow me but with that said, my husband ordered the sausage burger and it was fantastic, cooked to perfection, juicy, tangy and a definite try. They have many choices, numerous toppings and the best sweet potato tator tots I have ever had. I love that they support local farmers and the burgers are organic and hormone free. All in all this was a great experience and with all the choices available in Chicago, we will be coming back to the Burger Bar.
So the final adventure was Italian restaurant off the beaten path. We usually do not go out for Italian, I am a little spoiled and let's say picky growing up eating my Sicilian grandmothers food but I had heard about Ignotz Ristorane and how they have been around since the early 1900's and how it was traditional, so I wanted to give it a try. We walked in and were immediately greeted by the owner, Roger. Who was very nice and welcoming, it was Saturday night and the place had a few empty tables so I wasn't sure what we just got ourselves into. After being seated we ordered two glasses of wine and the fried calamari. The calamari was OK, I loved the spice and light breading but it was on the chewy side. I ordered a seafood fettuccine with a spicy red sauce, clams and oysters. Ben ordered veal parmigana. Both of our meals were very good, the service was excellent all in all it was a good experience and I'm glad we ventured in but not sure it is worth a second trip.
We have really enjoyed our new City, spent the entire Sunday just taking in all the sites via bicycle and are so thankful to finally have some great weather. Stay tuned for a great BBQ Ribs recipe, perfect for Father's Day.
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