Saturday Night With Herm & Tebbe at Longman & Eagle

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Herm & Allison are in town so they, along with Kristin, met Makai and me at Longman & Eagle for dinner. Dallas was in Madison with Danny for the UW/UH game. We had so much great food. I always love the meatballs and polenta appetizer. I could order a couple and have it as a meal! Makai liked it too. The only thing he didn’t try that we ordered was the bone marrow. And the only thing he didn’t like was the watermelon salad.

Afterward, we went back to our place. I had to put Makai to bed and Herm and Allison had never seen our house. Great times eating great food and watching TV and catching up!

An Extended Weekend of Birthday Celebrations

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My Saturday night began and ended at Liz’s birthday party. She is turning 30 and celebrated at Smoke Daddy. Dallas and Makai and I took the bus down to Wicker Park (our train station is still closed). This was Makai’s second time on the bus, but the first time was just with Dallas. We had a few drinks and some fun, but had to leave after a short while.

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Dallas and I had plans for Saturday dinner at Kai Zan. Makai got his first paid babysitter. It was a little strange, but he was with someone he knows who loves him, so it was fine. Kai Zan was delicious. We tried a lot of adventurous things. Afterwards we met back up with Liz’s party at Smoke Daddy again where we proved that three root beers (10% AVB) is not the limit, even when you’re pairing them with shots of Fireball!

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On Sunday, my parents, who were in the area for a wedding, came over. We went to brunch at Revolution Brewing and Makai got his own meal for the first time. It was a side of scrambled eggs, his favorite food. He LOVES eggs! We also got some good chores done, like finally getting the gate by the stairs installed.

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On Monday, my actual birthday, Dallas had to fly to San Francisco for work, but it was still a great day. I treated myself at breakfast and went to Intelligentsia for a great coffee and ham and cheese croissant. At lunch I ducked out to the nail salon for some pampering. And in the afternoon I got my annual flower delivery, which I completely forgot was coming until Amanda was standing at my desk with the vase of flowers. Very summery this year. Pretty colors. Lots of roses and daisies.

For dinner, I picked up Makai and met Jess at Lula. I’d never been there with Makai, but they were SUPER kid friendly (high chairs, plastic cups, crayons, and my biggest pet peeve lately – the waiter was awesome and DID NOT set things right in front of Makai so he could immediately swipe them off the table). The food was great at Lula, the weather was really a perfect summer night, Makai was well behaved, and best of all, I got to catch up with a good friend.

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And continuing on into Tuesday! At lunch I went to Eggy’s with some of my friends at work. We had to continue the birthday tradition by getting the poutine. It looks gross in the photo, but it is SO good. And then for dinner, Makai and I met Jen, Quinn, Kristin, Cousin and Donna at Longman & Eagle. Makai’s first dining experience at a Michelin starred restaurant. Ha. I wasn’t sure how kid-friendly Longman is, but they have high chairs and we sat outside, which is more casual. It was fine. Actually, it was great! Lots of fun with a bunch more friends, all while having a great dining experience!

Maybe 39 29 isn’t so bad! Thanks to all of my friends and family for all of the texts and instant messages and cards and gifts and time spent celebrating. You have made this a great birthday!

Oh. And here’s my growing list of birthday flowers!
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Remix + L&E Block Party

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On Sunday we all headed to the Remix Fest on Milwaukee Avenue between California and Fullerton. Jess, Andy, Katie, and Scotty met us over there. It was a small fest, but the proceeds benefit a local school, so we did our part.

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Jess was meeting some friends at the Longman & Eagle Block Party so I joined her. They basically had the block blocked off and you could drink and eat a limited menu outside. Perfect night for it, but for the record, I did not like that Grey Lady beer.

After a while we headed to Emporium and had some more drinks and saw some more friends. Fun night.

Excited for Summer and Fall Openings Logan Square

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1. The Radler is going to be a Bavarian beer hall and restaurant that uses locally sourced meat and produce. They plan to bring the cooking traditions of Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic to the 21st century. They will serve fresh locally-made Bavarian styles of craft beer, as well as aged beer.

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2. The Harding Tavern is a new restaurant/bar slated to open this summer. The owner is Esam Hani, who also runs the Latin American restaurant Cafe Con Leche in Logan Square. Photo courtesy of Ed.

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3. I’ve seen this guy a few days in a row painting over the Theissen Printing sign on the building. This is where Chicago Distilling Company is opening up. Spirits like vodka, whiskey and amaro will be produced on site and tours will be given on the distillation process. There will also be a bar and a retail area to sell their different products.

In addition to these three, there are many other confirmed and rumored places coming to Logan Square, within walking distance of my condo, in the next several months:

4. The guys from Scofflaw are opening something in the old Bonny’s space.

5 & 6. Russ Grant from Boiler Room is opening two new places! A burger spot called Parts and Labor will open on Milwaukee just north of the square. He’s also opening a speakeasy-style bar called Prindiville in the building of the old mental health clinic that was shut down on Milwaukee Avenue.

7. Daddy Cool’s was open for about 3 seconds before it closed. In its space, the guys from Innjoy will be opening Madison Public House. They say this place will be pretty similar to Innjoy, which has been a popular Wicker Park bar for .. ? .. ever?

8. Las Islas Marinas closed recently and they say that the guys at Violet Hour will be opening something here. Ohh, Whistler, you better watch out!

9. Ronny’s has been shut down for quite some time and finally someone is opening something in the space. Land and Sea Dept. (who do Longman & Eagle, Empty Bottle and Parson’s Chicken and Fish) are said to be opening California Point, which will have a Bavarian theme and will serve sausages and soft pretzels. Can Logan Square handle TWO new Bavarian restaurants?

10. I only visited Rewster’s Cafe on Kedzie/Diversey once, but I really liked it and was a little bummed when it shut down. The Logan Square tapas restauarant Azucar is rumored to be working on a new spot to take the place of Rewster’s.

11. Reportedly, the owners of El Souk, a popular Middle Eastern restaurant in the Gold Coast, are opening a Middle Eastern restaurant in Logan Square. It will be on the first floor, below Suite 25 and next to Rocking Horse on Milwaukee Avenue. I thought it might be open by now, but I can’t even figure out the name of it.

In addition to these 11 (!!!!), there were a few places that opened this spring that we’re already frequenting! As well, there is at least one storefront getting worked on that I can’t figure out anything about. Anyone know anything about the spot next to Chicago Diner?

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12. Parson’s Chicken and Fish is just around the corner and we’ve been there THREE weekends in a row already to hang out on the patio and sip cool drinks while indulging in the fried fish and grilled chicken, which we prefer over the fried chicken. Parson’s came to us from the Land and Sea Dept., mentioned above (#9). Since it’s opening in mid-May, Parson’s has become a real hot spot, even though it’s kind of out of the way on Armitage/Humboldt.

13. Intelligentsia opened just north of the square at the end of April. I visited with Jess once, and don’t get me wrong, I love Intelligentsia, but I don’t think I’ll go that often.. just because I pretty much have to walk past 5 other coffee shops to get there. I think I will still walk out of the way sometimes, though! I think it’s funny that the Intelligentsia says the reason they wanted to open in Logan Square is because it’s where their employees live and where they like to hang out.

14. Polanco, a Latino steakhouse opened in the old Real Tenochtitlan spot. The Reader says there are some hits and misses, but I feel like we need to check it out for ourselves one day!

Loving living in Logan Square!! Anything that I’m missing in this list?

Owen & Engine

Over the summer Dallas and I went to check out Owen & Engine, an English pub and restaurant. It’s across the street from our closest mega-movie theater, so we went before seeing the last Harry Potter movie.



Gunthorp Farm Chicken Wings, Piment d’Espelette, Sherry Vinegar, Chive Creme Fraiche


Pork Rillettes, Sweet Pickles, Lavash


Haddock “Hairy Taddie” Cakes, Tarragon, Chervil, Roasted Sweet Corn, Red Pepper Salsa


Haddock Fish & House Cut Chips, Malt Vinegar, Aioli, Pea Puree, Sauce Gribiche


Yorkshire Pudding, Beef Demi



We tried to order a variety of things off the menu. And we thought they were all good, but not outstanding, which was disappointing since we’d heard so many raves about Owen & Engine. I was probably most excited for and most disappointed by the Yorkshire Pudding. I’d never had it before but have seen it on TV and was looking forward to trying it. It didn’t look anything like the photos I’ve seen online or on TV. I don’t know if that is on purpose or what, but it didn’t taste great either.

I was also really excited about the rillettes. Dallas never had them before. I had duck rillettes at Longman & Eagle and they were outstanding there. Dallas took a taste and said they didn’t taste like anything. I took a bite and found the same. Disappointing.

Dallas did like the fish and chips, which I didn’t try. They were almost $20 though, so I’d hope they are good! That was another thing, I guess. The bill was more than we expected. I do like the look of the place, inside and out, and our waitress was really nice… .so… we really wanted to love Owen & Engine, but kind of meh food for more than we want to pay? No thanks.

Longman & Eagle

Longman & Eagle is a bar & restaurant that opened a few months ago in Logan Square. I’d been wanting to try it so I suggested it for one of the monthly(ish) dinners that I go to with Erin and Cinnamon. Luckily, they were all for it. .. but unluckily, Erin had to cancel at the last minute. Cinnamon and I went ahead and had a delicious feast. We ordered a lot because there was a lot we wanted to try. Hopefully we can go back soon and bring Erin with us because there’s a lot more on the menu we still want to get to!


After we ordered our food we were surprised by an amuse bouche from the chef. This was just a small bite of pork pate with red peppers (I think?) on the top. Whatever it was, it was delicious. Off to a great start! Thanks, chef!


Next up? House-marinated olives. .. because we love olives and you can rarely go wrong with house-marinated olives.


This is duck rillettes with mustard, buttered toasts and cornichons (fancy name for baby dill pickles!). The rillettes is cooked down meat in fat and you can see it here in the jar. It’s spread on toasts and topped with a bit of mustard as seen below.


The rillettes was soooo good. I’d go back just for this dish.


Next up we split smoked sweetbreads with salsify, roasted beet, and brown butter applesauce. If you don’t know what sweetbreads are, don’t look it up because you don’t want to know. Just know that this dish was really tasty and better than the sweetbreads I had at Custom House, the only other time I’ve had them. I think maybe because they weren’t fried.


For my meal (I know! I’ve eaten so much already!) I got the wild boar sloppy joe with crispy sage, onion, pickled jalapeño. This sandwich was pretty great. I thought the jalepeno would be too spicy, but it was not. The onions were perfeclty crispy and the boar had just the right spice. I liked this, but it wasn’t my favorite of the night.


For Cinnamon’s main dish she got the pork belly confit, pumpkin risotto, chestnuts, apple, and soy-caramel broth. This was another stand out dish (along with the rillettes). Very well balanced. The pork was salty the soy was salty, the risotto and apple was sweet, but not overly. Nutty crunch of the chestnuts. Awesome.


By this point we were so stuffed that we couldn’t move, but that did not stop us from ordering classic crème brûlée with plum compote and langue du chat cookies. Again, very well balanced. The creme brluee had the perfect crunch on the top and was creamy inside. It was sweet and the plum compote was a great tangy compliment.

At dinner I drank Half Acre Daisy Cutter Pale Ale. Cinnamon had a Manhattan that she nursed throughout dinner. Good, but strong! The beer list at Longman & Eagle is very good, so if you’re into unique brews you’ll like it. You can see from the photos above, we got to Longman & Eagle early, like 6:30 p.m. and enjoyed ourselves for a few hours. Even though the restaurant is small, we were not rushed. I would recommend going early, though, because they don’t take reservations unless you’re a party of 6 or more and it’s Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Later on in the night Jess came in with one of her friends and wouldn’t you know it? She got seated one foot away from me! I was taking a photo of our dessert and she leaned over and said “stop taking photos!” haha

Here are Cinnamon’s photos of the night at Longman & Eagle. Needless to say, I think we’d both go back again in a second!