Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless

If you have ever passed by Terminal 1 of Chicago O'Hare Airport, you probably have passed by this eatery by Rick Bayless.  I have heard a lot of good things about Chef Bayless' restaurants so I decided to give it a try on my way to NYC.

Little Goat Diner

I have always enjoyed "Girl & the Goat" in Chicago so when I was in town for a visit in December 2013, I visited the sister restaurant just across the street.  The Little Goat is more casual with a diner setup.  It's a great place for brunch with friends on a weekend.

Girl & the Goat

When you have to make a 3-month advance reservation at a restaurant (and the restaurant is already telling you the Saturday you wanted is already full), you just can't help but to develop a very high expectation...

Chicago Dining

Most of my friends know I love to eat... so they often come to me for restaurant recommendation... and I can usually give it to them, except when they ask me about Chicago...  since I cook when I am in town...

Chicago Restaurant Week 2011

Well, I can't believe I missed restaurant week in Chicago every year even though I have been living here for a while...  so as I was researching about NYC's restaurant week, I also looked up Chicago's and I realized how little I know about the good restaurants in Chicago... (so yeah, I am NOT the person you want to ask about dining options if you ever visit Chicago)

I did my homework and I have my list now... I guess I should also make a wishlist some other time based on Urbanspoon / Yelp / Chowhound recommendations...

1. Cafe Des Architectes (just made my reservation - the weekends are filling up fast!  I am excited!)
2. Chizakaya (don't want to go during RW but a good place to check out)
3. HUB51 (again, just thought the place look cool, but... not worth to pay $33 for what they are offering in my opinion)
4. Japonais (hmm... I think I prefer ordering a la carte)
5. Le Colonial (another fun place to check out outside of RW... the decor is seriously too cool for a vietnamese restaurant)
6. Mercat a La Planxa (made my reservation - have been wanting to try this restaurant since I enjoyed Chef Garces' other restaurants in Philadelphia so much!)
7. Piccolo Sogno (has been on my urbanspoon wishlist for a while now)
8. Vermilion (the chef is an iron chef contender and I have been craving good Indian food lately)

Tentsuke

Tentsuke is a Japanese groceries store w/ a food court that's packed at lunch every single day.  It's located in Elk Grove Village, IL and it's one of my favorite place for a good, quick, and cheap lunch.