New Year Resolution - Hone Up & SLOW DOWN!

This one time, in band camp… okay, no it was actually in Tanoshii… I walked in with a bottle of wine, ordered an appetizer, poured myself a glass of vouvray, wolfed down both the appetizer and the wine, ordered a special roll, poured another glass, the roll came, I devoured two bites when Sushi Mike barked, "Slow DOWN!" I heard him. On multiple levels. Sure, I was really hungry, but that is not why I go to Tanoshii. I go to Tanoshii for the enjoyment, for the exchange, it's like a dance, a sexy delicious dance. We talk, we laugh, Mike, Chris, Cliff, Max all take great care in preparing these amazing rolls so how rude of me to just snarf it down like a dog without stopping to show the same respect and care in eating it! What disrespect. Reminds me of Juliette Lewis as Mallory Knox in "Natural Born Killers": "Next time don't be so fucking eager!" I mean, damn, I came to enjoy it. SO SLOW DOWN. ENJOY IT. And ease up on the wine already. A taste is to be savored, it's not meant to be shotgunned like some tailgating college freshman who's just lookin' to get sloshed.

I have usually been my own worst critic which in a lot of jobs has served me incredibly well because I am recognized as someone with a kick-ass work ethic who constantly raises his own bar. However, on a personal level, it sometimes does not serve me well… rather, my self criticism creates dread and doubt which can be debilitating at times. Like returning to blogging. I was so full of dread and self doubt - "who's going to want to read my blog?" "who am I to try to write a food blog?" "what if it sucks?" that I hurriedly put it together, just wanting to get it done. Reading other people's Best-of Lists, Year-End Reviews and re-reading my own I think of what Sushi Mike said… SLOW DOWN. Mine kind of reads like a hurried bowl lickin' and comes nowhere near capturing any of the amazing experiences as I actually enjoyed them. I would say my writing is rusty at best. So I gotta hone up them skills… and Slow Down. Those are my new year resolutions.

In reading the year-end and best-of lists of others I also realized I shortchanged Ruxbin where I ate every bite and really did lick the plate(s) in a state of total bliss and was treated like gold! So that'll be fixed.

Wishing you and yours a Happy and Healthy New Year!!

Major Plus Awards 2013

The Inaugural Major Plus Awards --- 2013

Let's just get right to it…

+ Major Plus Awards +

1. Yusho 

2. Union Sushi + Barbecue Bar

3. Pleasant House Bakery

4. Mott St.

5. Kai Zan

6. Ruxbin

7. TWO

8. Yuzu Sushi & Robata Grill 

Best Dishes Tasted in 2013

So hands down, Yusho gets the Best Dish Trifecta! Actually, that's me restraining myself, too. The first time I ate at Yusho my initial response was "when everything is so perfect I need someone to punch me!" Thankfully, no one did. But seriously, I swear, there is nothing better than tasting something amazing that you have never tried before… that also comforts you in that way that only mom's familiar cooking could! The comfort factor is a ten! Yusho, the menu is so much fun to explore… ask questions, learn what things are… and several tastes, like 3 or 4 different dishes will give you an exceptional feel for what they've got going on. Always magical! Given the superiority of skill, quality ingredients, creativity and exquisite everything Yusho and anything by Matthias Merges and team is on the top of my list! Kudos!

• Yusho - Takoyaki, The ingredients of this incredibly satisfying dish change seasonally but the deliciousness is not a matter of question. Often adorned with a flavorful, fresh and perfectly dressed vegetable of some sort and accompanied by a flavorful complimentary paste or sauce.

Takoyaki at Yusho.

• Yusho - Cosmo Blood Sausage Steam Buns, Because OH MY GOD WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS… YOU SHOULD BE EATING ONE. 

• Yusho - Soft Serve, I absolutely love the soft serve at Yusho. The ingredients may vary seasonally but once more, the deliciousness is consistent. My favorite so far has been hibiscus, tamarind & sancho pepper. Because I just had no idea! So so good! Now, if the Mochi dessert is also on the menu you're probably going to need to get both. I'm just sayin'.

Soft serve at Yusho.

• Mott St. - Brussels Sprouts, Wok fried with lamb pancetta and maple brown butter. Much has been made over brussels sprouts and that's all well and good but you have not lived until you have tasted this divine perfection. The pancetta… the maple brown butter! Get thee to Mott St.! Plus Jenny, Nate and the rest of the gang make you feel right at home. This is a fun place, everything I've tasted (Gai Lan, Imperial Rolls & Steamed Dumplings, Kimchi Udon were delightful.)

• Pleasant House Bakery - Steak & Ale Pie, Speaking of COMFORTING… buttery crust, filling so warming… you'll want to take some home, AND YOU CAN! Locations in Bridgeport and in Three Oaks, MI… 

Steak & Ale Royal Pie at Pleasant House Bakery.

• Pleasant House Bakery - Seasonal Green Salad, Pleasant Farms greens with herb vinaigrette. Yes, THEIR OWN greens! I've never had a salad that was as varied and perfectly delectable as this.

Seasonal Green salad at Pleasant House Bakery.

• Union Sushi + Barbecue Bar - Prosciutto-wrapped scallop, Exquisite & Delicious. Wasabi avocado puree, sweet plum sauce, fried ginger. Also, this place is tons of fun!

Prosciutto wrapped scallop at Union Sushi.

• Union Sushi + Barbecue Bar - River North Roll, It's wrapped in Collard Greens. I'm from VA. So, you know…

River North Roll at Union Sushi.

• Billy Sunday - Asparagus salad, olive poached tuna, pumpernickel, hen egg. It's relentlessly perfect, like everything at Billy Sunday. 

Asparagus salad at Billy Sunday.

• Kai Zan - Orange Rush, Gorgeous presentation. Equally delicious. 

Kai Zan.

• Ruxbin - Sockeye salmon, brioche crust, cerleria purée. 

Best Value Wine 

• Bertrand et Guillaume Gonnet Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2011 Franco Serra Barbera d'Alba
• 2011 Azienda Agricola Cirelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo  

Best Bottleshop

• In Fine Spirits, Andersonville

Best Cocktail

• Billy Sunday - Cocktail, Malted Rye, Spanish Brandy, Ambergris Laced Palm Sugar, Water, North Bay Bitters. Then life began. Alex is relentlessly in pursuit of all things exceptional. As is everyone at Billy Sunday.
• Yusho - Soldier of Valerius and Red Hook (Johnny Drum 101 bourbon, Vermouth di Torino, Barolo Chinato, cherry) Steve makes an exquisite cocktail.

Best Beer

• Dos Osos, or "two bears," collaboration brew between Revolution Brewing and Firestone Walker Brewing Co. - IPA, dry, crisp and clean.
• Surly Furious, Surly Brewing Company, IPA, burry me in a Furious Cask!
• Sculpin IPA - Ballast Point Brewing. Top drawer.
• High Fidelity - Gigantic Brewing Co., American Pale Ale. Pour it, drank.
• Cruisin for a Brewsin - Lake Effect Brewing Company, Belgian IPA, freaking' delicious.
• Mr. Inappropriate - Solemn Oath Brewery, Belgian Wheat.

Best Coffee

• DARK MATTER - Doing so many splendid things, all up this muthafucka! On Western Ave. at Chicago Ave. and also at Star Lounge Coffee Bar where I die for the Dolor de Oro.

Best Food Truck

• Eastman Egg Co.
• 5411 Empanadas 

Best Social Media

• Yusho
• Union Sushi + Barbecue Bar 
• Pleasant House Bakery 
• Proving that social media can be used to enhance the overall experience, expand your brand and serve as an additional extension of reach for customer relationships! A re-tweet can feel like a fist bump! A link can educate! Thanks for sharing, everyone!

+ Major Plus Awards +

One visit is not sufficient to judge a business. One visit certainly provides for a distinct first impression but for me to award a Major Plus I have to visit more than once. I know what I like and my judgements are based on my overall experience. This award goes to restaurants who blew me away on every possible front. Rated on another system they may be five stars or whatever, on mine they have by far earned that Plus! I judge based on ridiculous amounts of scrutiny to every possible detail, including but not limited to: 

• Menu (Actual Menu, the Food, the Drink, Taste & Execution, Creativity) 
• Atmosphere (Interior, Exterior, Service & Presentation and is the baseboard spotless, are the ceiling fans clean?)
• Overall Organization (Dining Stages, Operating Culture, Reservations system. Did I see an avoidable traffic jam? Is something getting missed? If so, I'll find it.)
• Overall Service (Wait Staff, All Points of Contact, Front of House. I watch how the mail carrier is treated. Honey, this is what I do.)
• Bathroom (I have a strict rule: Bathrooms, while they can not MAKE a restaurant they certainly can BREAK one.) 
• Media (Is there a presence, Relationship? Fun? Responsive? One time I tweeted that the music was too loud and the response was IMMEDIATE. I was like "Dayum!")
• Cost. While I will judge "is this worth what I payed" I will not base a review on price, you price it how you need to run your business, however; if you price me out, well then I guess I am just priced out, right?

Closure Predictions:

I predict Bull Horns Taco Bar will close in 2014.

Welcome to It's A Major Plus

Thanks for stopping by. Welcome to It's A Major Plus. This is where I write about my dining and drinking adventures.

How it all began. 

I've been maintaining a list of my favorite restaurants, bars and coffee shops in Chicago for years which I'd share with clients, colleagues and friends. For years the list was primarily focused on what at that time was my own somewhat limited footprint in the city. It favored Andersonville (which is a lovely place to dine and shop, one of my most favorite neighborhoods in Chicago) and a few other spots which I had been lucky enough to come to know by word of mouth.

This was my first Major Plus list:

• Lula Cafe
• Jin Ju 
• A Tavola 
• Piccolo Sogno 
• Sunshine Cafe 
• M. Henry 
• Masouleh 
• Taste of Peru 
• Hopleaf 
• Cumin 
• Tanoshii 
• The Publican 
• The Bristol 
• Hot Doug's
• Ante Prima 
• The Coffee Studio 
• The Long Room 
• Kopi Cafe 

Then… my friend Jose came to visit me one spring and we had a fun, long weekend dining at many fine establishments, licking our fingers, snapping pics and literally smelling the roses - well, tulips - you get the gist. He taught me some ways to improve my photography and set me up with a twitter account. Things have not been the same since.

Since then I have made it a point to expand my drinking & dining horizons and to document my dining & drinking adventures via Twitter with pics and what I consider my signature focus on being positive, or at least as much as possible. Being real but leaning heavily towards positivity. The eating frenzy often left bits of bacon and shards of sourdough in my hair… While I managed to squeak out a few 140 character or less reviews, leave maybe a 'Tip' or two on Foursquare I never really wrote as much as I would have liked about these often inspiring experiences… so now I am embarking on a this, my new food blog. As someone who has tremendous attention to every detail, I really want to capture more of my experiences to share with others.

This year, in 2013 I focused a lot on what's happening with Japanese cuisine, robato grills, sushi and with all the new independent breweries, a scene which is positively exploding. I had lots of help from a handful of favorite sources determining where to go and what to try, EaterChicago, LTHForum, The Local Beet - Chicago Edition, Tom Keith's Hopping Around column, Mash Tun - a Craft Beer Journal and of course, Twitter. So I set out to investigate the likes of Yusho, Slurping Turtle, Yuzu Sushi & Robata Grill, Kai Zan, Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar, Katsu, Kabocha and Kamehachi...  and a couple, Arami and Sumi, remain on my must-do list for 2014. I also got swept away discovering amazing restaurants and bars that were either new or had been around a while but I'd not been to yet… Nightwood, Balena, Pleasant House Bakery, Maria's Packaged Goods, Mott St., Ruxbin, Billy Sunday… to mention a few. I've met lots of great new friends and 'tweeps' along the way and been astounded by the graciousness of many chefs (in particular Matthias Merges of Yusho and A10 Hyde Park, Chef Chao at Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar, Jason Vincent at Nightwood and Roy Choi or LASon whose new book you simply have to have!); business owners (especially Art and Chelsea Jackson the chef/owners of Pleasant House Bakery); 'Drink Folk' - the cocktail/bar program directors (Alex Bachman of Billy Sunday and Yusho), sommeliers, cicerones, bartenders, bar-backs, ice carvers; servers (every single one at M. Henry); and I have had a blast meeting other customers… So much goodness!

Soon I will be announcing my favorite dishes, places, wines and beers from 2013, I hope you'll visit It's A Major Plus again soon!