Restaurant Card: Blackbird

Review: Inspired by my recent jaunt through the Taste of Randolph Street - - Chicago's highly acclaimed foodie fest where the gastronomical genius of the warehouse district come out to show off - - I promptly decided that my upcoming birthday dinner should be spent enjoying the expanded version of these tasty samplers. Intrigued by the uber-trendy exterior of Blackbird, this became my choice local. There was a fresh, clean vibe immediately upon entering the front door. We quickly noticed that most of the servers were not sporting the usual pressed white shirt and apron, but rather were strutting confidently through the restaurant in suits and ties. Because I don't drink alcohol, I often find it difficult to find something to excitedly wet my whistle. I left my drink decision up to the discretion of Blackbird's mixologist, Kyle Fountaine, who didn't dissappoint with a light, fruity and herbal tea mixture in a martini glass. I always applaud liquor-less cocktail creativity! From the amuse-bouche to the dessert, we happily enjoyed the nicely portioned plates and their aesthetically pleasing appearance. My quail appetizer was small but magically chalk full of very different and unique flavors. Pleased to find my latest food fascination on the menu, I thoroughly enjoyed the pork belly as my main course! And then what's a birthday without a dark chocolate cake topped with dried apricots? Overall, I found the meal to be wonderful, the atmosphere to be chic and lively, and the service to be comfortably attentive. Next time, I will try to sit on their patio because when dining in such a hot little west loop mecca, one might as well seat themself in the best people-watching position possible, right? Yum!

Search Words: Blackbird, 619 W. Randolph, Chicago, Chef Paul Kahan, James Beard Foundations Award for Best Chef Midwest 2004, Outstanding Chef 2007 Nominee, Pastry Chef Tara Lane, Seasonal Contemporary American & Game, Best Fine Dining 2006, Best Restaurant Design and Best Restaurant Design Graphics 2004, Gourmet Magazine 2004 One of Country's 50 Best Restaurants, Hyper-trendy!

**PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS: Click on the Restaurant Card. Feed a 4x6 index card into your printer then go into your Print Properties and switch the Orientation to “Landscape” and the Paper Size to “Photo”. Please let me know if you experience any difficulties printing!**

Restaurant Card: Volo

Search Words: VOLO Restaurant & Wine Bar, 2008 W Roscoe St, Chicago, Chef Stephen Dunne, American Contemporary Cuisine, Seasonal Menu, Best Wine Bar 2006, Best Wine List 2006, Best Wine List 2007, Chicago's Best Date Spot 2007, Chicago's Best Outdoor Dining 2007

Restaurant Card: Cafe des Architectes

Search Words: Cafe des Architectes, 20 E Chestnut St, Chicago, in the Sofiten Chicago Water Tower, Chef Gilles Arzur, French, Mediterranean and Latin American Cuisine, Best Brunch under $24, 2007 Best Conversational Bar, Best Restaurant for Business

Restaurant Card: MK

Search Words: MK The Restaurant, 868 N Franklin St, Chicago, Chef Eric Simmons, Chef-Partner: Michael Kormick, Best Chef Midwest Nomination, Best Special occasion Dining 2007

Restaurant Card Intro

Did you have birthday traditions when you were growing up? Maybe your dad took you fishing or mom made your favorite waffles on the morning of your big day. Not totally out of the norm, my family went out to dinner at the restaurant of the older-and-wiser one's choosing. Until approximately age 10, Chuck E. Cheese was my personal dining preference. The puppets were admittedly a little ominous and freaky, but I killed at skee ball. As my taste buds became more refined, I advanced to Beni Hana. This was my b-day destination spot for probably a few more years than I'd like to admit; the "Beni Hana bersday" song still resonates in my mind, and I maintain a bizarre penchant for little Buddha statues.

Eventually, my grasp of the fine dining experience did evolve. I started to select restaurants in the city instead of those in local strip malls; the menus no longer contained the word hibachi; the ambiance was not defined by the shrill cries of Ritalin-deprived adolescents; and my expectation for the service within went beyond the chef being able to flip a shrimp tail into his hat on command (I love you, Beni Hana). With a family of five, five birthdays a year allowed us to sample a myriad of chic San Fran hot spots and famous eateries riddled with Bay Area history. Here, my affinity for fine fare began.

So when my mother recently moved to Chicago, it was no wonder that she wanted to immediately familiarize herself with the local gastronomy. She searched through magazines and web sites but found she was unable to keep track of all the restaurants she liked, disliked, or had yet to visit. Fear not - a solution I did create! See, I regurgitated all the information, research, and reviews I could find about a particular restaurant onto a 4x6 index card and compiled a vast number of cards into a cheap Walgreen’s photo album. In essence, I created an assignment book of restaurant cards for my mother on which she could directly document her dish, experience, and thoughts about the eatery! The effort put toward this on-going gift to her did indeed prove to work in my favor, too; every time she wanted to sample a new spot, guess who she called on as her dinner date!

I discredited my mother’s suggestion to make these cards public because, well, she’s my mother - - she used to frame my pre-school finger paintings - - of course she’d be proud of my latest creative output. But when some friends started asking for copies of the restaurant cards as well, I figured this might be a nice offering to the extensive food-loving population in Chicago. So here you go... look for all my posts with the blog label "Restaurant Card" and keep checking back for new additions!

**PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS: Click on the Restaurant Card. Feed a 4x6 index card into your printer then go into your Print Properties and switch the Orientation to “Landscape” and the Paper Size to “Photo”. Please let me know if you experience any difficulties printing!**