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Sometimes you just gotta go for the exotic! When jet setting around the world isn’t an option, where do you go to satisfy your craving for adventure? I tend to seek out ethnic Chicago neighborhoods and obscure eateries where no one speaks English. Lucky for me, my fair city offers plenty of choices. When I got that itch recently, my gal pal and I headed to Chicago’s Chinatown.
Fusion Chili Crab (Photo by Gourmet Rambler)
There is no need to remind anyone that here at theBrideScoop, we love all things bubbly. And anyone who knows me knows my affinity for weekend brunch (see my previous article FOOD FRIDAY: Brunch is Sacred). What can be more fun than an afternoon filled with bubbly and girl talk? No wonder the brides-to-be the world over love getting together with their ladies over brunch. It is a perfect excuse to drink bubbly for breakfast!
Ladies Who Brunch (Photo by Gourmet Rambler)
Hopefully, imparting what’s important to me,
respect for the food and that information about the purveyors,
people will realize that for a restaurant to be good,
so many pieces have to come together.
~ Thomas Keller
The French Laundry (Photo by John Mariani)
I am seated in a dimly lit bar upstairs at a very popular Chicago restaurant. The colors are vibrant, the dining room below is full, the servers are bustling, the music is thumping. This could be a scene of a rowdy Happy Hour. But for me, the time slows down and the sounds fade. I focus on the parade of plates and glasses in front of me: the flavors and textures dancing in harmony, enhanced by the small sips from this glass or that. It could very well pass for a very traditional multi-course tasting menu with wine pairings at an upscale Old World restaurant. But that couldn’t be further from reality. The place is Union Sushi + Barbecue Bar, the cuisine is globally inspired and cutting edge. And the beverage progression in front of me? Sake. Welcome to The Sake Experience.
Sparkling Sake & Oysters (Photo by Gourmet Rambler)
I have a love-hate relationship with steak. Don’t get me wrong, a great steak is a thing of perfection: beautifully charred on the outside, seasoned aggressively, juicy and tender on the inside. But steak done wrong? Well, let’s just say it is really, REALLY wrong: tough and stringy and grey in color, lacking in flavor, sometimes resembling shoe leather.
The Perfect Steak (Photo by Gourmet Rambler)
Hurricane Sandy crippled my beloved New York City and I am angry. I haven’t been this angry since that witch Katrina slammed into New Orleans. Angry and helpless and worried, I find myself checking my phone every few minutes, waiting for news from loved ones on the East Coast. Many are without power. Some have gone radio silent, cell phone batteries dead and no way to charge them, cut off from the rest of us. I hate Sandy as much as I hated Katrina. I hate it for wreaking havoc amid the streets and neighborhoods I love exploring. I am angry that it probably put some of my favorite places and people out of business, out of homes. I almost feel each snapped old tree in Central Park as a personal injury. Sandy was a monster of a storm, felt far beyond New York City. But seeing this majestic city wounded hurts me the most.
Brooklyn Bridge (Photo by Gourmet Rambler)
Whatever your party affiliation in Election 2012, one thing is certain: you probably love chicken wings. So, bellyQ Chef/Owner Bill Kim and Executive Chef Jeff Schwepp are giving away free wings to all BQ2GO lunch diners the week prior to Election Day!
Gourmet Rambler’s Vote (Photo from www.houston.culturemap.com)
There are days when I work really hard. Most days, in fact. And then there are the afternoons spent on the Italian job. It’s hard work, but someone has to do it, and I am a team player. I will always take one for the team. There are many advantages to the Italian job: Aperol spritzers, hand made pastas and handsome Italian men. “Amore mio, Bellissima! I have been waiting my whole life just for you!” This maybe an exaggeration, but uttered with such sincerity, you want to believe it. Generally, such an Italian job is found, where else? in Italy. However, I have recently discovered a little spicy meatball of Italian place right here in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. On the patio of Nando Milano Trattoria, the spritzers are ice cold, the food delicious and the hot Italian men? Well, they are easy on the eyes. This, my friends, is the five-hour lunch territory. Time flies when you are having fun and drinking Italian wine.
Handsome Italian Owners ~ Dario & Alessio Vullo (Photo by Gourmet Rambler)
Last night, theBrideScoop Food Editor Tatiana Abramova a/k/a Gourmet Rambler competed in her first food challenge at Sono Wood Fired Pizzeria to benefit Share Our Strength. Her foodie competitors were tough but the blind tasting was even more difficult!
Tasting Items (Photo by CAZ)
We adore theBrideScoop Food Editor Tatiana Abramova a/k/a Gourmet Rambler and we will be at Sono Wood Fired Pizzeria on Monday, October 1, 2012, to cheer her on as she competes for charity!
Tatiana Abramova ~ Gourmet Rambler (Photo by Jeff Mota)
theBrideScoop is an amazing collaboration of wedding professionals from all over the world sharing our experience with brides.
Our writers cover everything from celebrity weddings to food to bling to fitness to marriage equality and everything in between.
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