Never heard of it? It’s that weird lower level ally that runs between Kinzie Street and the Chicago River. Here’s a nighttime view of it from Clark Street looking west.
Entries from December 10th, 2010
Havana Grill
December 13th, 2010 · 1 Comment
Havana Menu, River North, Chicago
Havana Grill, River North, Chicago
Ceviche Mixto: Marinated seafood in lime, veggies, mango and avocado. served with tri-colored chips
Torta De Pollo: Our specialty seasoned chicken breast with lettuce, tomato, onions and chipotle mayo. served in an onion ciabatta bread
Cross section of the Torta Cubana
Torta Cubana: Traditional cuban sandwich with smoked ham, pork loin, melted cheese, spicy mayo, pickles, tomato and lettuce. served in a brioche bun
I had a Groupon for Havana, so Alden and I went and checked it out for lunch. I had been to this restaurant before it was Havana. It was called Mambo Grill. Someone’s still paying to keep Mambo Grill’s site up, and if you look at it you’ll see the menu for Mambo and the menu for Havana are almost exactly the same. If you look at photos on Yelp, you’ll see that the interior has not changed at all either. Second verse same as the first.
Annnyyywayyy….. I liked it. The ceviche was awesome. And big. I thought the long plantain chips were a unique touch even though I kind of liked the crispness of the tortilla chips better. And maybe it was because I gorged so much on ceviche, but I could only eat half of my sandwich and fries. I ate the other half for lunch the next day. I had the cubano, Alden had the pollo. My sandwich was tasty, but the chimichurri sauce was not good. Not when you’ve had chimichurri from El Nandu! Also, all sandwiches are served with “Latin fries.” The fries were tasty, but there was nothing Latin about them, that I could tell. They were a mix of regular and sweet potato fries.
I think we only paid in the single digits for lunch that day, after the Groupon. Awesome. I’d go back.
Tags:alden·Chicago·el nandu·groupon·havana grill·mambo grill·river north
The Most Random Day in November
December 12th, 2010 · No Comments
Unnamed friend with 5-Hour Energy in his vodka drink:
Halle decked out in Northwestern football gear:
Shuffleboard:
About to be attacked by John:
The End.
Tags:5-hour energy·Chicago·dallas·halle·john·north center·northwestern·shuffleboard·the piggery·toons·wrigleyville
This Pretty Much Sums Up Dallas’s Birthday Celebration
December 11th, 2010 · No Comments
Double Chocolate Pecan Banana Bread
December 10th, 2010 · No Comments
One day I decided I wanted to make a chocolate banana bread. Not just chocolate chips, but a chocolate dough. I found this recipe on Joy of Baking and decided to give it a try. The recipe is for Chocolate Banana Bread but because the dough is chocolate and it has chocolate chips, I think Double Chocolate Banana Bread is a better name.
The dough didn’t come out that chocolatey. And I was afraid that I’d overbaked the bread a little bit. I thought it might be dry. I was kind of hesitant, but I took the bread to work anyway. In our kitchen I left it out, but didn’t put my name on it. Everyone guessed it was mine, though and started IMing me to say how delicious it was. By about 10:00 a.m. it was all gone. Score!
Double Chocolate Banana Bread
From: Joy of Baking
1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white or dark chocolate chips
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe bananas (approximately 1 pound), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.
Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 – 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter is thick and chunky. Fold in the nuts and chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan and sprinkle the top of the bread with coarse brown sugar (optional). Bake until bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.