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Review of "Shula's" Steak House

In celebration of our second wedding anniversary, my wife and I decided to dine at "Shula's". It's located inside the Sheridan hotel at 301 East North Waters in Chicago. Parking is valet or you can try to find a meter but it is downtown, so good luck. Reservations are recommended but it wasn't so crowded that it's mandatory.

Once inside you are greeted by dim lights and football. Since Don Shula was the coach of the Miami Dolphins there are framed pictures of Dolphins players and coaches all around the restaurant. But this is no sports bar. Dim lighting and white table clothes complete the look and you have a double server approach. One tells you all about the food and the other takes your order. Both assist in anything else you might need.

We start off with their signature appetizer, which is bbq bacon wrapped shrimp stuffed with rosemary. My wife gets the Caesar salad and I get the beef steak tomato and gorgonzola salad. For our entrees, which are a la carte, my wife orders the fillet with hash browns and I order the Cowboy (bone in rib eye) and a baked potato. One neat feature that creaped my wife out was when the server was presenting us the selection of steaks and seafood, they actually had a live lobster on the tray. I thought it was cool, but my wife just wanted the lobster to stop staring at her!

The shrimp arrive and they are darn good. Big juicy shrimp covered in a tasty bbq sauce, stuffed with rosemary and wrapped in bacon. Honestly you could wrap a truck tire in bacon and bbq sauce and it would taste good. Salads were next and my wife's Caesar was good and had homemade croutons on them. My salad was very tasty and a nice change from the usual selections that restaurants offer. Big slices of tomato rest on top of field greens and covered in balsamic vinegar and gorgonzola cheese. Definitely worth a try.

Dinner arrives and it doesn't disappoint. My wife's fillet was so tender you could have practically cut it with a fork. Nice mellow flavor and cooked to perfection. The hash browns were nice and flaky, but still just hash browns to me. My 22 oz Cowboy steak was made perfectly. Nice crust on the outside and very juicy on the inside. Texture is a big deal when it comes to food and they understand this and execute it perfectly. If you enjoy big beefy flavor then this is the one for you. My baked potato was assembled right in front of me and was hot and fresh. Definitely not sitting in the oven all day long.

Dessert is next and we decide to go for the molten lava cake. Warm chocolate cake filled with a river of warm chocolate ganash. It's accompanied with vanilla ice cream and homemade whipped cream. Now this is decadent. As good as it was, it was so rich that we had to stop eating it after the ice cream ran out! One nice thing to point out was that the staff treated us to complimentary champagne and dessert since it was our anniversary. Not needed but a very appreciated touch.

Final bill with tip came out to $200. Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely.Overall "Shula's" proved to have excellent food and service. You pay a lot, but get a lot in return. Definitely worth a trip for a special occasion. Rating *** and 1/2 out of ****.

Review of "Graziano's"

Ah, the advantage of having parents that love your child is that they watch your child while you and the wife enjoy a night out. Tonight that meant a trip to "Graziano's". "Graziano's" is located at 5960 W. Touhy in Niles. Now we've frequented this place for some time but I'll try to narrow the review to tonight's experience.

Upon pulling up you notice a large parking lot and interesting and "artsy" banners along the outside of the building. Once inside you find out that this is a big restaurant. It's also a pretty loud place, so probably not an ideal choice for a first date. The inside is also adorned with some funky and cool art that definitely holds your attention even if the person your with doesn't. Service here is efficient but not very personal. The place is simply too big and loud for it to be any other way.

Time to order, we start off with the bruschetta and the house salad. My wife orders bow tie pasta with vodka sauce and I order the chicken marsala. Now, they are known for their brick oven pizza which is very good with a unique crisp and chewy crust. But tonight wasn't about pizza. The bruschetta comes and it's two toasted pieces of Italian bread topped with plum tomatoes, red onion, and shaved parmesan cheese. Tasty with lot's of balsamic flavor throughout. Next is the salad and this is something everyone should get here. Their salad dressing might be the tastiest I've ever had. It is a creamy Italian/garlic hybrid that is simply delicious. It's so good in fact that I've purchased some to take home in the past.

Dinner arrives and my wife's pasta is al dente with a lovely tomato and vodka flavor. While I would have added some chicken to it, my wife enjoys it as is. Next is my marsala and I have to admit that I am impressed. Two large chicken breasts swimming in a lovely pool of mushrooms and marsala wine sauce. The sauce is a little thicker than some, probably some added flour with the wine but still pretty tasty. The chicken is done nicely but not as tender as it could have been. Still overall nicely done.

Have to end with some dessert. We opt for the blueberry crostada. Warm blueberry filling sits inside a warm outer crust and is topped with some vanilla ice cream. Think of it like a calzone of sorts. The dessert is very tasty and can be best described as "comforting".

Overall "Graziano's" offers good food, good prices, good parking, and decent service. Hold off bringing a date here until after you've gotten to know each other better since you might have to talk slightly louder during busier times. Rating ** and 1/2 out of ****.

Review of "Babaluci"

With the birth of my daughter, you may have noticed that the reviews haven't come all that often lately. But, last Friday my in-laws were gracious enough to babysit while the wife and I enjoyed a nice dinner out. Our choice this time was "Babaluci". There are two locations, one at 2152 N. Damen in Chicago and the other at 1001 W. Golf in Hoffman Estates. Being from the 'burbs' we obviously went to the Hoffman location. Truth is that if it didn't have a large maroon canopy you would be hard pressed to find this place. It's in a strip mall and a bit recessed from the road.

Once inside you notice that this is not a large place. Weather permitting there is a small outdoor seating area but overall the dining room is pretty small. But with it's dim lighting and candles on the table it definitely gives it a cozy and warm feeling that would be perfect for a date night. Service here is very friendly and personal. Our waiter not only was very knowledgeable about the food, he also loved to talk to us about children and life in general.



For starters we went with the bruschetta and the panzanella salad. The main courses were chicken marsala and chicken vesuvio. First out was the bruschetta, which differently than others served the tomatoes on the middle of the plate and toasted bread along the outside. The bruschetta had excellent flavor with plenty of balsamic vinegar taste running through it. Next was the salad which was a mixed greens salad loaded with parmesan cheese and peppercini peppers all tossed in a very tasty Italian vinaigrette.



Dinner arrives and now it's time to see how this place really stacks up. The vesuvio was all white meat chicken, peas, and roasted potatoes swimming in a wine sauce. I was ecstatic! This is the second best vesuvio I've ever had next to "Harry Carry's". The chicken was tender and the potatoes were slightly crisp on the outside and tender in the inside. Next is the marsala and let me tell you first that I'm a chicken marsala snob! I've had it at many places and it never stacks up to my favorite from "Rossini's"(review coming soon). Most places serve it with mashed potatoes which in turn soaks up all the wonderful marsala wine sauce. I'm happy to say that they do not do that. Moist chicken is topped with mushrooms and is swimming in a lovely pool of marsala wine sauce. It's accompanied with some garlic pasta, zucchini, and squash. This was the second best chicken marsala I've had!

Last off are the desserts. And in the interest of everyone reading we sampled three! We had tiramisu, cannoli's, and a pistachio tartufo. The tiramisu was sweeter than most and had plenty of whipped cream on there. Still pretty darn good but a little sweeter than I expected and a little less espresso flavor than I'm used to. Next were the cannolli's which were 2 large pieces filled with smooth ricotta cheese and had pistachio pieces on the end. Very tasty and highly recommended. Last off was the star of the desserts, the pistachio tartufo. If you like pistachio's then this is the dessert for you. It's almost like a pistachio sundae. Chocolate sauce, homemade whipped cream, and vanilla ice cream rolled in more pistachios than you would believe. You literally have pistachios in every bite!

Final bill with tip came out to about $70 for the two of us which is reasonable considering how much we ate and took home as left overs. Overall "Babaluci" has very good food and very good service for "Olive Garden" prices. This was truly a little gem that we stumbled upon and definitely worth a try. Rating *** and 1/2 out of ****.

Review "Taste of Chicago" 2007

Merry Christmas! Well, for an avid food lover " The Taste" might as well be. Where else can you sample 64 different eateries all in one place? Here's how it works, you buy strips of food tickets from either Dominick's or booths located throughout Grant Park. You then in turn use these tickets as payment at all the vendors. You can choose a full serving or a "taste portion" for only 3 tickets. Most of the things I ate today are taste portions with just a few exceptions. Eating the taste portions is a great way to sample a larger variety of food. Next I'll do a mini review of each place I sampled today so you can have a good idea of what to try and what to avoid.

Abbey Pub- Irish curry fries: Soggy and bland. Don't bother.(taste)

Aunt Diana's- Chocolate frozen banana:Cool and refreshing.(taste)

Billy Goat Inn- 1/2 Cheeseburger: thin but tasty. Chicago classic(taste)

B.J.'s Market- Mustard fried catfish: normally outstanding but today undercooked. Still worth
a try.(taste)

Bolat African Cuisine- Coconut rice with sauteed goat: Goat very flavorful/rice mild flavor. Worth trying something different.(taste)

Buona-Italian beef sandwich: Thinly sliced beef was tender and moist.(taste)

C'est Si Bon!- Sweet potato biscuit: Biscuit was grey in color and just plain gross.(taste)

Chicago Chocolate Company- Chocolate covered strawberries: Juicy, fresh, & decadent. A must try!(full size)

Chicago Joe's- Chili: Very meaty and tasty (taste)

Connie's Pizza- Meatball sandwich: Tasty but not spectacular. Pizza should have been taste portion.(taste)

Costa's- Saganaki:Not really saganaki. Not flaming cheese. More like a mozzarella square. Tastes ok(taste)

Eli's Cheesecake-Frozen chocolate crunch dipper: Cool, rich, decadent, & awesome. Must try!(full size)

Fireplace Inn- BBQ meatballs: Meaty and saucy. Sauce is on the sweet side.(taste)

Grazie!- 1/2 BBQ buffalo burger: Gamey but still tasty(taste)

Harold's Chicken- Fried chicken wing & okra: Crunchy, slightly salty, best chicken in city. Okra is better than fried zucchini.(taste)

Lagniappe- Beignet: greasy and not very good. Disappointing.(taste)

La Justicia- Enchilada: good flavor but could have used more meat and less potato.(taste)

Los Dos Laredos- Steak Taco: fresh ingredients, tasty, steak could be more charred.(taste)

Lou Malnati's- Sausage Pizza: Great tasting crust and sausage. Best pizza in Chicago.(full size)

Mazzone's-Blue raspberry Italian Ice: Cool and refreshing.(taste)

O'Briens-Celtic Corn: Sweet/ buttery. Adding the Celtic seasoning= the best corn at the taste.Must try!(full size)

Original Rainbow Cone-Rainbow cone: Classic, cool, tasty,& fun. Must try! (full size)

Pars Cove-Hummus shirazi: Salad was refreshing, hummus had good flavor, whole wheat pita was weird.(taste)

Polo Cafe- Garlic-mozzarella cheese bread:Good size and very flavorful.(taste)

Ricobene's-Italian breaded steak sandwich:Good size, great bread and sauce. Must try!(taste)

Robinson's #1 Ribs- Boneless rib sandwich: Large and expensive. Tender, saucy, and very good. A "Taste" classic.(full size)

Sweet Baby Rays-Boneless rib sandwich: Sweet sauce & tender pork make this a winner(taste)

Superossa- Cheese pizza: Thin and nearly flavorless. Avoid.(taste)

Tuscany-Toasted Ravioli:Good size, served hot, very toasty, saucy, & very tasty(taste)

Vee-Vee's African Cuisine-Jerk Chicken: Tastes like it was boiled in water and pepper. Awful.(taste)

Vienna Beef/Gold Coast-1/2 hot dog: Almost perfect except for the pickle. Instead of a spear it was a slice. Still good.(taste)

Review of "Claim Jumper"

Recently my wife has been mentioning this new restaurant called "Claim Jumper". The not so subtle hints worked and we decided to give it a try. We visited the Hoffman Estates location which is at 2610 Sutton Rd inside the Poplar Creek shopping center. There are two other Chicagoland locations in both Lombard and in Wheeling.

When we pull up to the restaurant we are greeted by a very outdoors/cabin type of look. Parking is typical suburbs free and since it is in a shopping center there is plenty of it. Once inside you realize that this a very large place. A large bar area and a very large dining room help accommodate the high volume this restaurant handles. The tables are all solid wood, as are the extremely heavy chairs that you sit in. My poor wife could barely budge the chair!

We sit down to look over the menu and were floored by how large this menu is, 5 pages long! Our server arrives and she like all the other servers is wearing a badge and western themed outfit. We order the "thin" onion rings and house salads to start. My wife then orders the 5 cheese rigatoni for her dinner and I order a slab of baby back ribs. I was intrigued by the ribs due to the $26 price tag. I wondered how good these ribs could really be?

First out was the onion "rings". They were tasty, crunchy, and not rings at all. They were a tangled jumble of breaded onions that were good but should not have been called "rings". Next was the salads and they were of the loaded variety. Greens, cheddar and jack cheese, egg, bacon, and corn bread croutons made up this very crunchy and tasty salad.

Our dinners arrive and my wife's pasta is surprisingly not overwhelmingly huge. Most places when you order a pasta dish it's roughly the size of you head! Her rigatoni was nicely al dente and had lots of good cheese flavor. Texture was a plus as well with pieces of prosciutto throughout and a bread crumb topping. My ribs were next and boy was I excited! I took my first bite and thought, $26 for this? Don't get me wrong, these were definitely good ribs. But at the same time there was nothing that warranted them to be the most expensive ribs I've ever ordered. Carson's ribs are my favorite and they're $21. These are not as good as Carson's ribs or Smokey Bones ribs for that matter. The ribs were tender but had no smoke flavor. The sauce was tasty and slightly sweet but also nothing new. Good ribs-bad price.

Last off was dessert. I ordered the "Worlds Smallest Sundae" and my wife ordered the red velvet cupcake. My sundae was personal size and not really that small. It was creamy vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream. It was quite good and actually just the right size. My wife's cupcake was a little larger than you normal cupcake and was sitting in a pool of hot fudge. The cake was moist and tasty. While she was not a fan of their fudge, I found it to be quite good.

Final bill with tip came up to about $90. This was more than we were expecting to spend for a casual dinner out. Overall "Claim Jumper" has good food at an unreasonable price. Rating ** out of ****.