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Thursday, March 3, 2011

Capital Grille

Happy Anniversary (to my boyfriend & I)!

My sweet boyfriend surprised me on our anniversary 03.01.02 by bringing me a bouquet of roses & calla lilies, a gift (2 pairs of my favorite circle lenses), & a great dinner at one of our all time favorite restaurants: Capital Grille. As always, we had a lovely dinner with great service & delicious food.  Here are some snap shots of our evening:

Hemmingway Daiquiri & Mojito de Uvas
We arrived a bit early so we decided to relax and have a drink by the bar.
Hemingway Daiquiri: Cruzan Estate light rum, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, freshly squeezed lime, ruby red grapefruit juice & cane sugar syrup
Mojito de Uvas: Bacardi Light Rum, lime juice, cane sugar syrup, chilled Champagne, muddled mint & green grapes

Whenever we dine here for a birthday or other special occasion & RSVP in advance, there is a card waiting for us...

Capital Grille's Chicago Restaurant Week 2011 menu

Hm...what appetizer should we order... 

Musar Jeune Red 2008, Bekaa Valley, Lebanan 13%
An unoaked blend of Cinsault, Syrah, & Cabernet Sauvignon
I love the design on the bottle!

Musar Jeune Red 2008, Bekaa Valley, Lebanan 13%
An unoaked blend of Cinsault, Syrah, & Cabernet Sauvignon


New England Oysters on a Half Shell
Our favorite appetizer from Capital Grille. It makes me drool just thinking about it...

My first course:
Clam Chowder

My second course:
8 oz Filet Mignon

Our sides: 
Creamed Spinach & Sam's Mashed Potatoes
You can also see his Herb Marinated Tenderloin with Roasted Tomato Relish 

My dessert:
Creme Brulee
He got the Capital Grille Handcrafted Ice Cream (chocolate), but it didn't photograph well

Free champagne & my sweet boyfriend...<3



Chizakaya (Japanese Pub)

I always look forward to the yearly Restaurant Week in Chicago!

It was Chicago Restaurant Week 2011 (some restaurants have extended their pre-fixed menus) so my friends and I decided to try out a new place. After looking through the extensive options, we decided to try Chizakaya, a Japanese Pub.  Here are a few pictures from our dining experience:



Chizakaya's Restaurant Week Menu

Cocktail menu


Puffed Pig Ears
(Yes, this appetizer is made from thinly sliced, deep fried pig ears). Surprisingly, I enjoyed these crunchy, salty pig ears :)

Black Edamame
I only wanted to try these because of the name. You can imagine my disappointment when they weren't really black. HA! I later learned that they're called "black edamame" because the soybeans have been matured on the stalk, eliciting a sweeter flavor.

Poor Cousin
Tariquet armagnac, lemon, ginger syrup, & sparkling wine. Light, clean, sweet flavor. It reminded me of a lemon drop.

Sweet Potato Fries with spicy mayo

Trio of Skewers (From left to right:)
Sweet sausage, Duck confit, & Shishito pepper
The sausage was my favorite - it was definitely drool-worthy with some lime juice.
The duck confit was just alright - nothing to write home about. It seemed overly breaded and bland.
The shishito pepper was the only thing that I didn't finish. Enough said.

Kakuni Pork Belly with Egg
Doesn't the plating remind you of a Japanese Garden? 
It was a bit too salty, but I can see how it'd be a great dish to eat while drinking some beer.

Honey Toast
Honey toast, tres leches ice crean, Sailor Jerry rum honey

Warm Brownie, bay leaf ice cream, caramel, pretzel

Taro Rice pudding with coconut