Italian Village

In retrospect, there are probably one too many Italian places to eat at in Chicago. I have nothing against Italian cuisine, but…well, it can get boring sometimes with the same pasta or pizza or risotto etcetera etcetera dishes. Plus it’s usually easy to make at home. I don’t like eating food at restaurants that can easily be made at home. So I’m pretty glad that the Italian Village in downtown Chicago has a wide selection of Italian food – so wide that they had to have three different restaurants to accommodate it all.

The Italian Village restaurants are located in one building on 71 West Monroe, with three different ‘grades’ of restaurants. The upstairs level is called The Village, which is actually the lowest grade, filled with more ordinary yet very filling Italian food. The street level restaurant is Vivere, the highest grade, and most expensive out of the three. And La Cantina is the basement level restaurant, and is the middling grade restaurant.

I kind of expected the three grades of restaurants to correspond to their floor level, so was surprised when they didn’t. Now that I think about it, the reason why they put Vivere on the street level was probably because they want to force those who are too lazy to walk up or down the stairs to walk straight into the most expensive of the three restaurants. Strategic placement. Very strategic. But I still went to The Village with my ‘date’ for Valentine’s Day, so I suppose everything’s fine.

The Village is a very dim, rustic place with a bar and many little “cul-de-sacs” with booths in them, adding to the private yet cosy atmosphere. Well, it would have been cozier if it wasn’t so dark. So maybe the atmosphere was more like “slightly suspicious” than “cosy”. Hm. Anyway, I did like the walls with the 3D Italian landscape and LED lights embedded in where the windows and stars are supposed to be. I guess the place wanted to pretend it was somewhere overlooking the romantic shores of Italy, which was why there were no windows in the place at all. Pity.

Food-wise, I got some minestrone soup, and also tried their seafood ravioli. The soup was very average, and kind of pricey for its size, but what can I do? Prevent inflation? If I had a superpower, it would be to prevent inflation. And to be able to single-handedly cure any economic crises. As for the ravioli, it was really good. I really enjoyed the creamy tomato sauce, which was more like a bisque, and the shrimp and scallops were cooked perfectly. The scallops were a little bland, but the sauce totally made up for it. The ravioli itself was okay; maybe a bit too cheesy because it was supposed to be filled with blended seafood but all I could taste was the cheese.

Service-wise, it was very fast and efficient. A little too fast and efficient if you ask me, because it felt like we were forced to rush through all our courses. We were in and out of the restaurant in 30 minutes! The waiters kept running about, so I’m sure they’re getting a lot of exercise while making sure they covered all the hidden booths, but still. They could have relaxed a little, and be more friendly, more Italian…I’m nit-picking again.

About $15 to $25 per person, so even though it was the cheapest of the three restaurants it still wasn’t that cheap. 6.5/10 stars.

Kegon

About 90% of the time, I go to Japanese restaurants to have nothing but sushi. That’s usually what makes or breaks a Japanese place for me – whether their sushi is good. But since I’ve never been to a teppanyaki place before (“teppan” is an iron plate used for grilling, which translates to “yaki”), I decided to skip out on the sushi and go for the restaurant’s specialty. Besides, it makes more sense to order the restaurant’s “special” foods, since it should be what sets the particular restaurant apart from others.

So the place I went to is called Kegon, located in Northbrook. I know there are several branches of Kegon, including one in Hawaii, and this one was the first one I’ve been to. It’s quite dimly lit, which was probably for the best because the interior is clean, but tacky. There are plastic plates on plastic tables that are weirdly surfaced with a clashing colour scheme (ours was mainly purple with a pink and green triangle). Not only that, but they mixed too many different textures and materials – there are plastic tables, wooden pillars, carpeted and tiled floors, and metal grill plates. Not my cup of tea.

But the cooking performance, now that was something else. I’m pretty sure the chefs do the same routine at every table, every single day of the week, because the chef we got had a blank smiley face on all throughout his cooking. But I didn’t care. It was really fun watching him juggle his cooking utensils, set the oil on fire, make a volcano out of an onion half, and throw broccoli at my friend so she could try to catch it with her mouth. It might get old if you eat here every day, but for me, it was a novelty. As long as no one gets stabbed with a wayward fork, it’s all a very entertaining performance.

As for the food, I really enjoyed my swordfish teriyaki dish, which came with miso soup, salad, and rice. The miso soup was meh, salad was fresh (especially liked the homemade dressing), and the swordfish was perfectly cooked and seasoned. It also felt like I had the “true” teriyaki sauce with it, because instead of it being a really thick, gooey sweet sauce, their teriyaki sauce was light and not overly sweet or overpowering in taste. I could actually taste the fish underneath all the sauce! But above all these things, I think I loved the grilled veggies the most – they were very fresh and cooked just right, not like some of the soggy veggies you get as side dishes at other restaurants. Again, they were seasoned just right, so kudos to the blank-faced chef! He could probably do everything in his sleep!

The service was pretty fast, maybe because of the fact that we were the first customers for the dinner shift. Otherwise, I think I’d definitely want to return – this place satisfies all five senses in the most delightful way. 7.5/10.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Another one of those sports restaurant/bar places! Good for big parties, better for big parties who are also fans of major sports, and horrible for single people looking for good food. This time it’s Buffalo Wild Wings, a place that specialises in – you guessed it – buffalo wings. I never understood why they’re called “buffalo wings” when they’re clearly chicken wings. It’s not like buffaloes were ever able to fly, not even their first evolution species. Maybe these particular buffalo are of the Red Bull species.

You can find a Buffalo Wild Wings pretty much anywhere, since they’re a chain restaurant company, and the one I went to was in Vernon Hills. Quite a big space filled to the brim with sports paraphernalia and televisions with different sports channels playing, and they even had some arcade games tucked next to a pillar or two. My group was situated right next to one of those claw machines, so the place definitely had a very casual yet competitive atmosphere to it.

I had a half dozen of their traditional wings with spicy garlic sauce and carrots. It was meh. Nothing too special to it; the wings were cooked well, although the sauce was not garlicky at all, which was what they promised on their menu. I couldn’t taste any hint of garlic whatsoever, and this is coming from someone who cooks a lot with garlic (it’s pretty much a compulsory ingredient in Chinese food). In fact, BBW should have named it “Sour and spicy sauce”, because it was very sour, maybe only slightly less sour than eating a lemon. And it was quite spicy. How they determined the level of spiciness was pretty accurate – I’d expected a “medium spice” level to be a lot more mild, like most American cuisines (from what I’d experienced in the past, if a dish is labelled “spicy” at an American restaurant it’s usually extremely mild to nonexistent). I’m pretty glad I played it safe and got something a few levels lower than I’d originally planned. As for the carrots, well…they were raw carrots. Crunchy. Nothing to write home about.

Overall, a very average place that is more for watching sports communally, rather than a place to eat. The service was pretty quick, and our server was very accommodating with giving us all separate checks. But otherwise, like I said, nothing to write home about, unless you go with a daredevil friend who orders the spiciest sauce with his or her wings. Average price about $10, and 4/10 stars from me.

Magnolia Bakery

If food was part of the fashion world, then cupcakes are definitely “in” right now.

While there are certainly very mixed reviews for Magnolia Bakery on Yelp, that didn’t deter me from going, not when one of my friends told me to at least try their banana pudding. Anyway, although their main store is in New York, the company decided to branch out to the Windy City, and place themselves right smack-dab in the middle of the Loop on State street – a very prime location, among all the ritzy stores that are part of Block 37.

Magnolia seems to go for the whole pastel colour palette, which I thought looked a little out of place since I always associate pastel colours with baby things. But since most of their baked goods are decorated with pastel-coloured frosting, I suppose they might as well try to match the interior with their products. The layout of the place, though, could use some revision – it was quite confusing, such as hiding the utensils ledge behind a pillar and having different lanes for ordering drinks, baked goods, and paying. It also wasn’t very clear which direction the lanes were going in, especially if there’s a big crowd coming in from both entrances (there’s one leading outside to State street and one leading into the shopping complex).

Service-wise, I went in during a not-so-crowded time, so service was quick. The downside was that it felt more of a “I’ll fulfill your order quickly so please leave after you’re done” than a “I’ll serve you as quick as I can, and I hope you enjoy your day!”. Maybe I’m just nit-picking now.

Like I said before, I had the banana pudding, which was very good, like everyone says. Very fluffy with a smooth and creamy texture, with vanilla wafers and bits of banana scattered through, making the sweetness level just right (I hate sickeningly sweet foods). I don’t know why but I was half expecting the pudding to be served warm, but it was cold instead. It was the best banana pudding I’ve ever had, so it didn’t really matter whether it was cold or hot. I thought the banana was a little too ripe, although that’s my personal preference since I know some people who prefer their bananas very ripe. Otherwise, a very good pudding. Next time I’ll have to try the red velvet cheesecake, which is the other “must-eat” food at Magnolia.

The nice thing about it was that there was a space to sit down, eat, and chat with friends – something many bakeries don’t have on account of saving rental space. The decorators also frost the cakes out in the open for you to see, serving as entertainment for the curious. This is probably the extra that you pay for, though, because the price of each pudding and cake is quite hefty, with banana pudding at $4.75 apiece (small size) and cupcakes at $6.50 apiece. I say go here once to get a banana pudding and red velvet cheesecake, then never come back again. If you want their banana pudding again, you can make it yourself using this recipe and save yourself the trip and money. 5/10, with most of the points being for the banana pudding itself.

Drip

My friend and I paid another visit to Tatami again (their sushi is just too good to resist). This time, we were served by an older waitress, but the strange thing is that she seemed to be less experienced than the younger waitress we had last time. For one, her English was more broken, and two, she seemed more concerned with getting all her customers’ orders in than actually staying and listening to what the customers wanted to say. For example, I noticed that the dispenser for the soy sauce wasn’t the usual red-topped, hourglass-shaped pourer, but a squarish one with a pointed spout. It was the perfect solution to prevent soy sauce from dripping and running down the sides of the container, something that my own soy sauce pourer (the one I use at home, for cooking purposes) couldn’t do. So I asked the waitress where I could get one of those. She smiled a very nervous smile, and dismissed me quickly with a “Yes, yes, very good!” before practically running away to attend to another table.

So now, I continue on my hunt for the drip-less soy sauce dispenser. I mean, I do know a trick to prevent dripping spouts, which is rubbing a layer of wax or lip balm on the underside of the spout’s tip, but this is only a temporary solution. Boo. At least my friend and I got free bowls of miso soup out of the whole deal, because we were made to wait more than 15 minutes for our food to arrive. Hooray for free food!!

Noodles “Pho” U

More eating out in the suburbs! This time, I went to a restaurant that was recommended by a friend. As you can probably tell, Noodles “Pho” U serves mainly Vietnamese food (with some Korean and Thai dishes thrown in the menu), and I must say that this place is just about as good as the pun its name tries to make.

Located on 2532 Waukegan Road in Glenview, this restaurant has the air of a semi-fast food place, with very simple interior and exterior décor, although customers do get to sit down with individual menus. There’s only one server, who also happens to be the cashier. Thankfully, the place is well-ventilated, so there’s no danger of coming out of the place with the smell of oil drenching your hair and clothes. I’ve been to some Vietnamese restaurants that don’t do so well in that respect, so that was a plus.

Everything else was more of a “meh”. Average at best. I had their shrimp rolls as my appetizer, which was about the same as every other Vietnamese shrimp roll I’ve ever had. Then I had their satay noodles with beef, which was kind of strange. It certainly was hot enough, but not as spicy as I’d have liked. The soup was also very thick, almost jelly-like in consistency, which made it appear less appetizing than it was. The thick soup was also kind of deceptive because it made me think that there would be a stronger taste of satay, but the real thing was more like a beef broth with a tiny hint of satay. The slices of beef were very stringy as well, and the noodles were clumped together in the soup – a sign that the noodles had been allowed to sit in the bowl, get cold, and stick together before the other ingredients were put in. Overall, it was difficult to enjoy the dish. Its only saving grace was the fact that the plateful of bean sprouts and lettuce I was given was very fresh.

Service was quick and easy, but for the price, I expected better food. It costs about $10-$15 including tax and tip, about the same amount of money I spend in Chinatown on dim sum. And I always get a ton of leftovers from dim sum. But like I said, this was a very average place, which disappointed me since I went to this place on a recommendation. Maybe I just didn’t order the right food or something. 3/10, and l won’t be coming back  ”pho sho”. Unless I’m craving for some Vietnamese rolls or something.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

I’m quite a big fan of the mystery genre, but even so, I’m definitely more of a Conan Doyle fangirl than an Agatha Christie fan (or otherwise). It’s most likely because the Sherlock Holmes’ series were the first mystery books I’d ever read, so in addition to the intriguing stories, there’s an added bit of nostalgia, kind of like meeting up with an old friend. So I couldn’t miss the opportunity to watch the new Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows movie directed by Guy Ritchie.

When the previous Sherlock Holmes movie came out, Warner Brothers also released an online mystery/puzzle game you could play via Facebook. The game allowed you to partner up with a good friend, with one playing as Sherlock Holmes and the other as Doctor Watson. The company released the game in “chapters”, which was quite appropriate since there was a story woven into the game, and had events that led up to the events in the movie (a kind of prequel). So I was kind of disappointed that they didn’t do something similar this time, but I guess that’s because the prequel to A Game of Shadows was the previous movie.

Although I said all that, this new movie ultimately doesn’t rely on its predecessor. The timeline is in order, so some events did carry over (e.g. Watson being engaged in the first movie, then finally getting married in this one). Otherwise, you don’t have to watch the prequel to know what’s going on. Anyway, in A Game of Shadows, Sherlock Holmes (played by Robert Downey Jr) is on another case – in his words, the “most important case of his career”. He’s discovered that many of the recent happenings are a result of one man pulling the strings behind an elaborate network of lackeys, and hiding in plain sight as a genius math professor. James Moriarty (Jared Harris) is the man, the famous arch-villain-rival of Holmes in Doyle’s books. The problem is, Holmes has no solid evidence against Moriarty, and his trusty sidekick, Watson (Jude Law), is busy getting married and preparing for his honeymoon. What’s the world’s only consulting detective to do? Why, throw the newly-wed wife out of a moving train and kidnap Watson while disguised as a drag queen and dodging bullets and exploding bombs, of course! Both Holmes and Watson have to untangle the elaborate web Moriarty has woven, figure out how to prevent a war from breaking out between France and Germany, and try to stay one step ahead of the Professor’s game. And they’d better get it right, because this particular Professor doesn’t leave any loose ends behind.

Definitely just as action-packed (if not more!) as its prequel, A Game of Shadows pretty much had me on the edge of my seat. There were also some light comedic parts here and there, to ease the tension, but pretty soon we’d return to the important plot at hand. Downey plays a brilliant Holmes, albeit a less manic one than in the previous movie, which I thought was actually very appropriate because Doyle’s Holmes acted the most sane when he had an interesting case to work on. And Law’s Watson complemented Downey’s acting very well, being much more down-to-earth and still Holmes’ best (read: only) friend. SPOILER WARNING!!! CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK! The only thing that was strange for me was how calm he seemed even after Holmes’ supposed “death”, or during the scene where he’d just collapsed a building on top of where Holmes was being held hostage. SPOILER END. I guess it was a little out of character for me, but oh well. Maybe Guy Ritchie wanted to show Watson as being a good friend of Holmes, but also that he could easily break off the relationship with the slightly insane detective, kind of like putting up with a hyperactive child. It’s shown in how Watson decides to get married, and moves out of 221b without a second thought. The other strange thing I found was the casting of Stephen Fry for Mycroft Holmes. Firstly, he looks nothing like Downey, so it was a little unbelievable that they could be brothers (just because Fry is a rotund, bonafide Londoner doesn’t mean he’s automatically the best fit for Mycroft). Secondly, he doesn’t really follow Doyle’s version of Mycroft – he’s much too active, for one. And is portrayed to also be slightly off his rocker, like his brother is. I might be being too picky and bringing down the gavel too harshly since these are stylistic choices of the director, but meh. I’m more a fan of the canon, so any character traits that deviate might irk me more than the average person.

Overall, though, I am thoroughly satisfied at spending my time watching this action-packed film. The cinematography was done very well too, with many slow-motion effects added in and good “predictive” scenes where Holmes can already deduce exactly how his next fight will go. Filled with an exciting plot, a devious villain, a brilliant hero, and plenty of things blowing up, I guarantee you that this movie will keep your mind buzzing like being on a caffeine high. 7/10, so go watch it now!