DMK

 I've heard for awhile now people rave about DMK burger, but hadn't had the chance to seek it out since I haven't been in Chicago for such a long time. On Friday, a group of friends and I decided to take advantage of getting out of work early and have a nice leisurely  lunch. The interior is "ultra hip" and as Jaclyn called it, "burger chic", whatever that means...we'll go with it. Guess you have to just be there to experience it? Anyways, the menu looks a bit intimidating since you'll probably want to sample each one of the burgers, but once you've narrowed that down, good luck with the drink menu. Literally too many beers to choose from so some of us decided to just close our eyes and point at one. 

The selection of fries is too tempting to not sample a little of each...a few of the girls ordered the Wisconsin Cheddar & Scallion fries.

I went with the sea salt & black pepper and Jac went with the sweet potato fries.

Although it wasn't easy to choose, I ordered the #1: Aged Cheddar, smoked bacon, charred balsamic red onions, and BBQ sauce + a Brooklyn Lager.

Jac had the #9: The Patty Melt - Smoked bacon, smoked bacon, burnt onions, Leroy's Remoulade, smoked swiss, on griddled Rye.

#5: Bison Burger with fresh Goat cheese, pickled red onions, and blueberry BBQ sauce.

Many other burgers were enjoyed but I felt a bit guilty snapping pics since I could tell everyone was too eager to chow down!

Waddling out of the restaurant, all six of us agreed that we would for sure visit again. If you find yourself off the Wellington brown line stop, make DMK a must visit. I can easily say you won't regret it because I know my friends and I will be back soon. 

xx

Wayfare Tavern

For dad's birthday, we celebrated at Tyler Florence's Wayfare Tavern down in the Financial District. Neither of us had been before which is surprising since they've occupied the space for about four years. I was sold with our choice as soon as we sat down since we were greeted with warm, freshly baked popovers. One of the best parts of dining with my dad is that he appreciates food just as much as I do and likes to try everything, meaning he gave me the go ahead to order away so we could sample each others starters and entrees. 

check those badboys out... have you ever tried to make a batch?! Not easy my friends, not easy.

One of the best parts of dining with my dad is that he appreciates food just as much as I do and likes to try everything, meaning he gave me the go ahead to order away so we could sample each others starters and entrees. I opted for the Butter Lettuce Salad, which is made up of Palace Hotel's Green Goddess dressing, avocado, red radish, ruby grapefruit, and ricotta salata

Dad went with the Wayfare Caesar, which was your typical Caesar salad but made with little gems, cheese puffs, anchovies, Caesar dressing, and an egg (which I would have left out). Next up, starters. 

I ordered the Seared Octopus which was served with charred scallion hollandaise and cippolini onion.

Dad tried the American Kobe Tartare which was served with French mustard dressing, and egg yolk, and garlic popovers…drooling yet?

As soon as I spotted it on the menu, I knew I had to order the fried chicken. The organic chicken is prepared with a buttermilk brine, roasted garlic, crisp woody herbs, and lemon. The menu didn't mention that five pieces of chicken are brought to you, so we ended up taking most of it home.

 Dad had trouble choosing between the seared Day Boat scallops and the Pan Seared Skuna Bay Salmon, but chose to go with the Salmon which came with braised swiss chard, lemon, cannellini beans, parsley, and capers.

Not that we had any room for dessert, we ordered the homemade doughnuts, which are alone, worth a trip to the restaurant. Warm, sugary, and delicious – anything fried is right? Served with salted caramel, a cherry sauce, and a lemon curd, but we did just fine devouring them without any accompaniments. 

Overall, a delicious dining experience, my only complaint is the place seemed a bit packed and overstaffed with too many servers and bus boys for such a narrow upstairs place. Other than that, I'd recommend it for a nice dinner or celebration, plus I hear they have a great happy hour ;)

xx

Mission Beach Cafe

I'm a huge fan of brunch for a combination of two reasons. The first, and main, I'm never voluntarily up early enough to eat breakfast when everyone else does and it seems there's always a line in San Francisco, no matter what time you arrive. Secondly, I think you can get away with trying things at brunch that you might not care for at 9am. So when Kelsey asked to get brunch a few days ago at Mission Beach Cafe, I gladly accepted since neither of us had been before. We went for brunch, got in with no trouble (surprising right?!) and let's just say we had trouble deciding which of the mouthwatering options we wanted to try. I'm a supporter of all things truffle, but I was a bit hesitant having it with my eggs Benedict, but our server swore by it, so I went for it! 

I opted for the wild mushroom benedict with spinach, carmelized onions, truffle mornay sauce, and delicious crispy potatoes.

Kels went with the classic benedict with hollandaise, Canadian bacon, hot sauce, and crispy potatoes.

We split this glorious pancake with pistachio, vanilla creme, bourbon syrup, and fresh fruit.

Probably my 4th cup of coffee... bottomless is always a good idea.

Overall, great music, friendly servers, and delicious coffee. MBC is a spot I'd def venture back to, specifically for the lavender infused french toast with fresh fruit or the dungeness crab benedict with avocado...how is one supposed to choose?! 

xx

Chocolate Festival

WARNING: If you are hungry and/or love chocolate, it might be best to not read this post.

On Friday we had a friend in town, so we decided to show her around our favorite spots along Southbank, starting at Borough Market, with our hearts set on ending at the Chocolate Festival. Steph and Kels got started early on the chocolate hype at Borough with their cute little cupcakes! 

We were not let down once we reached the Festival…

What would this even taste like?!

Chocolate espresso beans, of course.

goodies in our bags for later, we kept walking along the river until we reached Big Ben, were overwhelmed by tourists, and decided it was time for a pint! 

xx