Gingerbread, Takoyaki, Eggplant, Oh my!

Saturday:
I've decided to start posting a "lake shot of the day" photo:
I woke up this morning... It was beautiful, as per usual, so despite my aching legs, I set out on a run... nothing fancy, just to the playground and back (about half of what I did yesterday). My pace was faster, but MAN, was it windy! On the way back especially, there was a crazy amount of resistance.
I came back and made a beautifully light yet decadent breakfast:
A slice of gingerbread, heated
The last of the Greek yogurt
Half a banana and a tangerine



I found 4 apples WAY past their prime and decided to make an impromptu applesauce... the problem was I forgot about it and it burned like crazy. The whole kitchen was filled with smoke... and we have no ventilation. I had to open the door to the hallway and neighbors were asking if everything was okay... yes, it was pretty embarrassing.
BUT I could get all fancy and pretend it wasn't a mistake. In fact, I'm calling it caramelized apple chutney, because that's what it is now. I got rid of the charred bits, but I used some of the syrup I made from quince and pear better back on Thanksgiving, and it really did get a gorgeous copper hue and smokey flavor. I didn't puree it... hence, chutney! I also added lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and of course, some salt.
This would go REALLY well with poultry or pork, if I ate either.


I went to music school for my quartet at 11:30. I had a break from 12:30-2:00, so I decided to check out a cute little (new) sushi joint around the corner called Sushi Pink. It outdid my expectations! I managed to get three little dishes for 11.00 including tax (not tip, though)!
First of all, the atmosphere was awesome. The whole place was decked out in red and mirrors (why not pink though?). I ended up sitting at the bar, which I've never done, surprisingly.



I COULD NOT DECIDE WHAT TO GET, since I've never gone to a sushi place alone before. Should I get sushi over rice, or a handroll, or mix and match? I decided to mix and match: they said their special was grilled octopus, so I got that, plus 2 pieces of hamachi (my love) nigiri and a seaweed-cucumber salad.
The seaweed salad was just the way I like it: chewy seaweed on a bed of crunchy cucumbers with lots of sesame oil and vinegar.

After that, I waited... I couldn't figure out what was taking so long. Meanwhile, I saw some other people get brought a platter of fancy over-the-top rolls that had FLAMES in the center of the plate! No joke... I couldn't see far enough, but they had obviously put something flammable in the center and lit it on fire for dramatic effect.
When the octopus came, I realized what had taken so long. Instead of charcoaled octopus like I'd been expecting, I got TAKOYAKI! In case you don't know what that is, it's basically balls of egg batter with octopus hidden in the center. It can be baked or fried, and is usually served with okonimyaki sauce (kind of like worchestershire sauce) and a little mayo.
Now, that DEFINITELY doesn't sound like the kind of thing I would normally order, but I'm so glad I got to try it! I remember being at a food court in Singapore, watching them make the little balls and being so curious. Luckily, mine were baked, not fried. They were slightly crispy on the outside, eggy and creamy on the inside, and studded with little chunks of chewy, savory octopus. Almost like a savory profiterole or something! They were actually really light, except for the mayo, which I pretty much wiped off (hate mayo). The sauce was tangy, like barbecue sauce, and pretty addictive. There were 6 little balls, the perfect portion.
As for the hamachi, the fish was really fresh. It was hamachi, which I know and love... not much more to say about it.
Oh! Their bathroom has a 1-way mirror, so it seems as though everyone can see you through a window, but if you go outside it's just a mirror. Freaky! And the water also came out of the faucet like a waterfall.
I would definitely come back! Very decently priced... the only thing is that I heard the staff speaking Chinese... so maybe it's not the most authentic, but who am I to say that? Sushi Pink, you rock!

I went back to music school for theory, then ditched assembly to go get a much needed caffeine boost. I must say, this lunch didn't really hold me over that long... Now that I think about it, it really wasn't THAT much food. So I went to Starbucks for a banana and a nonfat latte that I sprinkled cocoa powder on.

But this is the embarrassing part-- my old music theory teacher and a flute teacher walked in and said, 'hey, aren't you supposed to be in assembly?"
I didn't lie or anything. I just kind of smiled and set "yes."
and they pretty much said "oh, okay."
Me: I usually go!
Theory teacher: Lida, I don't really care. So how's your book?
Ha, awesome.

After assembly was piano duo, and after that was GROCERY SHOPPING! We went to Whole Foods and then Chinatown.
The problem is, now our fridge is so full it can hardly close, what with the leftovers from last night, what we bought, and leftovers from dinner tonight. Goal tomorrow: do not cook at all!!!!!

Dinner was tasty and fast, and my dad is a genius.
Stir-fried mung bean sprouts, my favorite.
Another stir-fry of eggplant, green peppers, and a kind of smoked tofu, which is chewy and delicious.
I was starving and ate a lot.

Dessert? I don't know... we have so much stuff to use up! But I don't know if I'm in the mood. An apple should do for now.

Piano lesson, AVEC

Let's make this a quick one.
Breakfast: oats with 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup water, chopped up cinnamon roasted pear, almonds, and pear butter. (PS, I always add vanilla and cinnamon to my oats)
On the side: Greek yogurt with pomegranate seeds, pomegranate molasses, and a drizzle of honey. Chocolate soy milk. A lot of it. This stuff is deadly because I can't stop at one glass.
3rd period (was hungrier earlier today) snack: Kashi bar.
WAS STARVING BY 5TH PERIOD, which is English. I love discussion, but I was so hungry today for some reason that I could hardly sit still by the end.
Lunch: interesting variation on the PB and banana sandwich-- peanut butter, 1/2 sliced banana, the leftover pumpkin from yesterday, pumpkin butter, and a thin layer of whipped cottage cheese, which is spreadable. It was delicious, but like most PB sandwiches, didn't fill me up at all.
However, I had a lot of fiber on the side, so although I thought I was still hungry, I was able to get full later on--
Celery and red pepper with hummus
some lettuce with lentils thrown in, but for some reason it tasted weird and grassy, so I took about 2 bites and then put it away.
An Asian pear. These are so full of water that you might as well be drinking a glass of pear juice instead.
My body was definitely craving more carbs, since I usually have more than just this at lunch, but since I missed swim practice to make up the piano I'll be missing on Saturday for Sectionals, I knew I didn't need to eat more today.
I spent my free period working on my model city for my Sustainability project in art, but I don't think this is how I'm going to end up assembling it-- I'll probably do an installation in a glass case where you can see it at every angle. Cool, right? It's all made of recycled stuff.
After school I went straight to my music school, but I first stopped at Starbucks (did you know it's named for Starbuck, the 1st mate, in Moby-Dick?) for a nonfat latte pick-me-up.
So basically I had an hour of piano duet and then an hour private lesson with about an hour and a half to kill in between. On Wednesdays if one parent is out of town we usually go out for dinner afterwards, but lately we found that we had just been getting home too late, so we decided to eat early. This was actually a perfect plan because my music school is in a really trendy restaurant neighborhood, and some of the restaurants don't take reservations, so it's hard to get in unless you go early. We went to Avec, which is hands down on of the best restaurants in Chicago. It can be pricey or moderate, depending on what you do. It's basically tapas, but not necessarily Spanish food. There are small plates and large plates, and all of it focuses on rustic fare and fresh produce.
The restaurant looks like a wooden box. The seating is communal and it's really noisy (you usually end up making friends with your neighbors). The back wall is completely made of green glass bottles, which is amazing.
I have to say, though, out of all the times we've been here, it was the worst today. I think it's because they don't actually have a lot of vegetarian options (because they use a LITTLE bit of meat in everything for flavoring, so there wasn't much to choose. The last time I went there, I was definitely ordering the chorizo-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon (this was a LONG time ago... maybe 3 years ago, actually? God, was that really the last time I went there?).
We didn't order a huge amount of food, but since I didn't swim today, it ended up being okay. We ordered 4 small plates, one that my mom was skeptical about, but which turned out to be the best-- house-made barley bread with their own cottage cheese and spicy quinces, with a salad of greens on the side. Of course, I realize that we could even make this at home with the cinnamon pears, but I had never had quinces before and they were great, not to mention really beautiful! Their soft, pink, silky texture reminded me almost of smoked fish on crostini. They were spicy with cinnamon, but also actually hot with what was probably cayenne. Even the cottage cheese was extra creamy, probably because it wasn't low-fat (although cottage cheese IS already naturally low in fat).
My mom for some reason lately has been obsessed with trying dishes with salted cod, and so far none of her attempts have been successful-- in Greektown she ordered what she thought was a casserole dish, but turned out to be fried fish, and at Avec she ordered the brandade, which she didn't realize was a dip (I did). It was served with garlic bread, and was way too creamy for me-- it tasted like fish, but was full of cream, onions, olive oil, and topped with little potato croutons. I took a few bites before I realized what it reminded me of: CLAM CHOWDER! I had hit the nail on the head... or I suppose it was more like clam chowder fondue. My mom didn't eat too much more after I made that comment.
We also ordered an octopus dish in a spicy sauce with spinach. Originally the dressing had pancetta with it, but they were able to do it without. The flavor of the dish was fine, albeit a little salty (can you imagine what would have happened if they hadn't left out the pancetta?). The problem was that unlike the octopus at Greektown, which was crispy and charred, this was too soft, so that the whole time you were eating it you were absolutely aware that you were eating octopus. Actually, I got a little scared when I saw the OCTOPUS HEADS at the bottom of the dish! I could even see the eyes!
One of the specials of the day was rapini with lemon and garlic, which is honestly exactly the kind of dish we make at home. Unfortunately, this was so bitter I could hardly eat it! It tasted like horseradish, or those crazily bitter mountain greens in China that even my dad couldn't choke down.
We were rushed for time, but we probably wouldn't have gotten dessert anyway (options that night didn't sound that great). I realize that I'm really not doing this restaurant justice, but it really is wonderful. The chef also owns Blackbird, which is fancier. But just to put it into perspective, here are some other dishes on the menu that I would have ordered if I ate meat:
slow roasted crispy duck leg with marinated plums, tarragon, grilled onion and savory streusel
portugese mariner's stew with tripe, manilla clams, rice and housemade preserved lemon sausage (not sure about the tripe though)
"la quercia" prosciutto with market pears, lemon, slivered almonds and marinated manchego 20.5
There was also a pheasant sausage dish with lentils that sounded really interesting.
So we rushed back to music, I had my private lesson, and came home, where, despite my smallish dinner (these are SMALL plates, and we didn't eat everything), all I needed were some strawberries. See how much less I eat on days without swimming? I really do think that, counterintuitive as it seems, I might lose some weight when the season ends.
Jeez, that wasn't that quick a post, was it? Good night.

Sepia

Last night was my dad's birthday and we went to Sepia, another hip restaurant in the West Loop. Seriously, all the good restaurants are there: I think it's something about the contrast of the starkness of the meatpacking district to the comfort and upscale quality of the restaurants that seem almost like oases (is that the plural?).
Some great restaurants in the area: Avec, Blackbird, Meiji, Moto, Otom (haven't been there), Follia (my parents have), Sushi Wabi, De Cero. The list goes on.
How to define the cuisine at Sepia? Of course, it's categorized as "Contemporary American," but I hate that term with a burning passion. I would say that it's a lot like the food at Avec: both classic and modern, rustic but with interesting combinations.
The food was great, although very protein-focused. I was at least glad that I ate fish, and even then it turned out to be a little complicated to negotiate my way out of bacon grease, etc. It will certainly make things easier when I start eating meat again.
My Aunt Claire came up from Madison, and since she didn't do anything for her birthday, which was in October, we decided to have a joint birthday dinner.
One of the exciting aspects of Sepia is the location: an old print shop. You could tell that they had tried to keep its vestiges in all their glory: an old accordian camera, a rough-cut wooden door with a brass knocker.
Speaking of cool locations, Spring is located in an old bath house, and it's another restaurant I've been meaning to visit.
The inside was dark and noisy, with a definite modern-retro feel: there were chandeliers surrounded by glass and in the corner, a light made of a thin mesh design of metal, a bit like the Olympic Bird's Nest.
Our waitress was incredible, and unlike most waitresses, who look like they never eat their restaurants' food, she looked like she had enjoyed every dish on the menu, and she could describe each distinctly.
To start with, my dad ordered one of the craziest cocktails ever, and which my mom pronounced the best she had ever had. My tastebuds probably aren't evolved enough when it comes to alcohol, but it was so strong that I could mainly taste only bourbon. It was called the Chipotle Old-Fashioned: smoked chipotle pepper-infused ridgemont reserve 1792 bourbon, triple chocolate and balsamic vinegar bitters, muddled orange and cherry.
The chocolate was so subtle that you could barely tell it was there, but definitely added another dimension to the aftertaste. The bourbon was firy enough, but the chipotle added extra heat.
We also ordered red wine, which I had a few sips of, but decided for me, wasn't really worth all those extra calories.
To start, my dad, against my will, ordered STEAK TARTARE. It's not even because I don't eat meat that it grosses me out... the idea just seems so unsanitary, and with the addition of the raw egg, just too much. Aunt Claire, who doesn't eat red meat, and I decided we needed to construct a brick wall between us and his plate.
Originally, I was going to order the charred baby octopus with roasted tomato sauce and baguette, but also didn't want to order too much food. Aunt Claire ended up ordering it and said she would share. Although it was maybe a little similar to the food I eat at home, thanks to my squash obsession, I ordered the market squash with serrano ham (minus the ham), arugula and walnuts. The squash was red kuri squash, which I had seen at the Farmer's Market that morning and been excited to try. It had been seared in a little maple syrup, and the whole dish was light and fresh, and definitely a good choice for a starter, since the rest of the food we ordered turned out to be quite heavy. There was something about the dressing the made the salad great, although now that I look back, it seemed to be just a simple vinaigrette with the addition of some secret ingredient.
The octopus was INCREDIBLE! I would go as far as to say that it was the dish of the night. I almost regretted not having ordered it, but once again, I didn't want too much food. I had never had octopus with tomato sauce before, and the bitterness of the burned octopus and the sweet tomatoes paired perfectly. The presentation was also breath-taking: a stack of tiny tentacles and crostini arranged on a pool of sauce. Octopus has an incredible chewy texture and smoky flavor that really does remind me of meat.
My mom ordered the sea scallops with pork belly, knob onions, and brussel sprouts... at first I thought it was strange, since we eat a lot of scallops at home, but she wanted to try the pork belly and brussel sprouts.
Of course, the portion turned out to be two humungous scallops, which looked great.
Between the appetizers and mains, we realized that they had forgotten to bring us bread and asked for some. The bread turned out to be some of the best multi-grain bread I had ever had: warm from the oven, with a crispy crust and chewy inside. I was good and only had two bites.


The service was pretty fast! They were really good at getting everything on to the table at the same time.
On to mains: My dad, being extremely carnivorous when not cooking for a vegetarian, ordered pork chop with arugula and apple.
My mom almost ordered fish, but my dad convinced her that we don't eat much meat at home, so she ordered braised veal short ribs with mint noodles and truffle butter, which sounded like one of the heaviest, most decadent items on the menu. She didn't even end up eating a quarter of it when she found out how big the portions were. She said the noodles were great, but that the mint flavor didn't come through.
Aunt Claire doesn't eat red meat, like I said, but she was so tempted by the roasted cod, spaghetti squash, and wild boar sausage with paprika sauce that she decided to go for it. Truth be told, that was the entree that appealed most to me too, and that's what I'm looking forward to about not having such strict restrictions on myself: when there's something I really want on a special occasion, I'm going to go for it.
I was disappointed at first, because the dish I wanted, skate wing with braised greens, carrots, and grape-pine nut sauce, had bacon fat in the greens. I didn't want the other fish options, so I asked if the could sub the greens for another vegetable, and they ended up giving me sauteed spinach, which was nice.
Once again, huge portions (probably only ate half of the fish). My favorite part were the carrots, which were tiny and obviously locally-grown: you could tell that they were young enough that their skins didn't even need to be peeled off. The addition of grapes was interesting, but I would have preferred if the pine nuts and grapes had been cooked and blended a bit into a sauce, rather than I got, which were halved basically raw grapes on top of the fish. The idea was a good one, though, and the skate wing was perfectly cooked.
For extreme decadence, they also ordered a side of duck-fat fried potatoes. Wow.
Because they had had wine, bread, potatoes, and heavier appetizers/ main courses than me, I was really the only one interested in dessert. I convinced them to at least get one to share for the table. The dessert of the night was an insane chocolate cake with peanut butter mousse the size of a dictionary, that the surrounding tables were all ordering... TOO MUCH FOR US!
The dessert we ordered turned out to be the perfect portion: sweet potato spice cake bread pudding and caramel thyme ice cream.

See what I mean about heavy dishes? The portion wasn't outrageous like that cake, but served the four of us perfectly. The sweet potato flavor didn't come through too well, but there were small chunks of sweet potato buried in the spice cake, which was out of this world. It was like extremely decadent French toast, and the ice cream was also great, although I couldn't taste the thyme. At these restaurants, it's all about the descriptions.
I can't decide which restaurant out Blackbird, North Pond, and Sepia is the best. However, Grandma, if you're reading this, Sepia is the place to bring you-- one of the dishes on the menu was amish chicken with acorn squash and serrano ham.