Entries Tagged as 'brunch'

Nice Cream

August 10th, 2011 · 1 Comment

I was just reading about how the government wants to shut down Nice Cream (fresh, organic, local, handcrafted ice cream made at Logan Square Kitchen), when I stumbled upon it at the Logan Square Farmers Market. I guess to say that the government wants to shut them down is incorrect. They’re adding so many regulations that it will not be possible for Nice Cream to stay in business. I think that’s a more accurate description of what’s going on. Read more about it here.

Anyway, my brother and I went to brunch at Dunlay’s on the Square and walked through the market afterwards. I was pleasantly surprised to see Nice Cream selling there and we each sampled a few flavors. This is their summer line up (from their site):

Blueberry Pie Our Blueberry Pie ice cream is like a warm slice of pie with vanilla ice cream on top – except the other way around! How do we make it so delicious? Easy. We get blueberry pie from Bulldog Bakery here in Chicago and smash it right into our vanilla bean ice cream, crust and all!

Cashew Crunch For our brand new Cashew Crunch ice cream we take chunks of cashew peanut brittle from Mama’s Nuts in Chicago and mix them into creamy vanilla bean ice cream. And here’s the best part: the brittle melts a tiny bit when we mix it, forming pockets of gooey caramel with a nutty crunch. This might be the best thing we’ve ever made.

Chocolate Basil Think Chocolate Mint, but a little bit more…adventurous! For our Chocolate Basil ice cream we infuse freshly picked organic basil leaves from hereTM in Chicago, Illinois and mix in 72% dark chocolate for a rich, sweet taste, straight out of the garden.

Strawberry Cupcake We took last year’s Fresh Strawberry ice cream and made it even better! Strawberry Cupcake has delicious bites of cupcake and buttercream frosting from the renowned Southport Grocery in Chicago. And the strawberries? We still pick ‘em ourselves (really!) at Susie’s Garden Patch in Garden Prarie, IL.

We ended up purchasing cute tiny baby cones, which was just enough sweet after our savory brunch at Dunlay’s. I got the cashew crunch and my brother got the blueberry pie. Delicious! Save this business!

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Springtime Clothing Swap Brunch

May 11th, 2011 · No Comments

I attended a swap party at Jess’s house once a couple years ago and always wanted her to have another. .. finally she agreed to do it, like for real, but she was moving.. so we co-hosted a swap and had it at my house this past weekend. We did not have a ton of people at the party, I think because it was Mothers Day weekend and a lot of people were busy. It was still a great time with a smaller, more intimate group.

Each girl that came over brought clothing and accessories that were in good condition, but that they didn’t want any more because they were sick of them or they didn’t fit, or whatever reason. We set everything out by category: pants, dresses, jewelry, coats, etc. Then we spent the day eating and drinking and “shopping” around the different rooms of my condo. At the end of the day we donated whatever was left to the White Elephant Resale Shop, where proceeds to go Children’s Memorial Hospital.

It was funny to realize how emotionally attached to things people are. A lot of people had stories of why they loved or hated something.. I wore this on a date with a creep-o guy, I wore this to an awesome concert, this was an ex-boyfriend’s tshirt, etc. But, like all baggage, you have to get rid of it at some point and it felt good to cleanse.

Jess was in charge of drinks and hooked us up with bloody marys with blue cheese olives, mimosas, and screwdrivers. I made mini quiches, espresso chocolate shortbread, and mini loaves of Hawaiian banana bread. (Recipes coming soon.)

What a fun day! I think we for sure have to make this an annual event. It was so great to hang out with all the girls, but also to get rid of old clothes and find some new ones – for free!

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Sola Brunch

October 30th, 2010 · 1 Comment


Malasadas, Sola, North Center, Chicago

On the last day of our weekend together we all went out to drink my favorite drink at Sola. (According to the bachelorette quiz, Dallas thinks my favorite drink is coffee.) I insisted that we start off by sharing a couple plates of malasadas, a Portuguese doughnut that is popular in Hawaii. At Sola the malasadas are served with raspberry coulis and hot fudge. Awesome way to start off the day.


Rachelle

Jess B and I decided to indulge in a couple more drinks. Sola has a wasabi bloody mary but when I asked the waiter about it, he said he preferred the classic bloody mary and the wasabi one was more of a gimmick. I took his recommendation and it was great. Jess B got one of the mimosas, I believe.


Jess B

All of the brunch entrees on the Sola menu looked so delicious. I was sitting by Jill and Amanda and we all flip-flopped so much. In the end I got the kalua pork hash (poached eggs, pico de gallo, guacamole). It was good, but I’ve had a ton of kalua pig in Hawaii and it wasn’t as good as there. Jeannette also got the kalua pork hash.


Kalua Pork Hash (poached eggs, pico de gallo, guacamole)

Kristin got the classic eggs benedict (poached eggs, house made canadian bacon, hollandaise, english muffin), Amanda got the short rib benedict (poached eggs, cheddar biscuits, pesto, hollandaise), Jill got the ham and cheese french toast (mustard honey, plum preserves), Jess G shocked her system with vegetables by ordering the chicken salad (napa cabbage, carrots, snow peas, bean sprouts, miso vinaigrette, crisp wontons), and Jess B got the wild mushroom omelet (leeks, asparagus, prairie fruits farm goat cheese).


Wild Mushroom Omelet (leeks, asparagus, prairie fruits farm goat cheese)

After brunch we were all outside chatting. It was such a nice day. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. For some reason flashbulbs started going off on Jill and I.


Rachelle & Jill

Another angle!


Rachelle & Jill

Then someone suggested we all take a photo together.


Jess B, Jess G, Rachelle, Jill, Jeannette, Kristin, Amanda

What a fun way to end the weekend! Thanks to everyone for the planning they did and for the out-of-town guests for coming to Chicago to help me celebrate!

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Brunch at Green Zebra

January 5th, 2010 · No Comments

Dallas’s cousin Danny cooks at two of Executive Chef Shawn McClain‘s Chicago restaurants, Green Zebra and Spring. Dallas and I have been to Spring and we’ve been to Custom House, which used to be under McClain’s umbrella, but we’d never been to Green Zebra. Danny invited us to come and eat brunch so we went on Sunday with his sister Cory and her husband Chris.

Dallas, Cory, Chris and I ordered a few things for the table and then the kitchen hooked us up with the rest. Everything was so delicious. Green Zebra is a vegetarian restaurant, but the way that these dishes came out, you never really even think about the meat being missing. My favorites were the chilaquiles, the blt, and the popover. This is everything we had:

  • Cornbread Madelines
  • Sticky Buns
  • Coffee Cake
  • Parmesan truffle frites
  • Gingerbread hotcakes with kumquats
  • Stuffed popover
  • BLT (I think the “B” was brioche!)
  • Chilaquiles
  • Eggs Benedict
  • Candied Kumquats

For a fine dining restaurant, I thought the prices were pretty good. I think an average entree was about $8 – $10. Cory and I had $8 bloody marys and Dallas and Cory had Domaine Dupage French Country Ale for $5 each. We’re gonna have to remember Green Zebra next time we’re thinking about where to go for brunch. I’d like to also someday go for dinner and see what that’s like.

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Brunch at Cookshop

November 18th, 2009 · No Comments

cookshop
Cookshop, Chelsea, Manhattan

On Sunday Jess and I met up with Jeannette at Cookshop in Chelsea for brunch. We’d read on line that it was good and wanted to try it out. We had to wait 30-45 minutes to get in, which was ok because Jess and I were a little late anyway. Jeannette put our names on the list.

All three of us shared three brunch entrees plus the beignets for an appetizer.

cookshop_beignet
Fresh ricotta beignets with apricot compote

cookshop_fried_chicken
Buttermilk Fried Baby Chicken with baby lettuce, shaved radish, ranch dressing & honey

cookshop_french_toast
Semolina-Raisin French Toast with vanilla-mascarpone cream, toasted almonds & dried apricots

cookshop_egg_scramble
Cookshop Scramble with 3 eggs, carmelized onions, creme fraiche, chives, buttermilk biscuit, & applewood smoked bacon

water_street_waterAfter brunch we went up to the AMC in Lincoln Square and saw the move Precious. Really brutal. Rough topics. But there is dark humor mixed in to break it up a bit. The movie is definitely draining though. You might experience an irrational need to cry when talking about something completely unrelated hours later. Or maybe that just happened to me. ha

Jeannette and I were at the Food Emporium before the movie I bought this water. We got snacks for the movie, but then no one ate them. Not that kind of movie.

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