Leena Eats, Gourmet Communication ... Food, Travel, Gastronomy

My cinnamon tea cake with caramel butter($4 USD).

I had another delicious brunch at Lula, only my second ever, but totally worth it. Typically they have a breakfast pastry of the week, and this time, I opened with their cinnamon tea cake with caramel butter ($4 USD). The cake was similar to a cinnamon coffee cake, with a nice, thick swirl of cinnamon on the inside of the cake. The butter was so damn good, my brunch mate had to keep me from licking it off the plate. Then she tasted it, and I had to do the same for her! Read the rest of this entry »

The sad chicken pate that should have never lived.

Not only has it been a crap couple of months as far as cooking and baking goes, but the same goes for eating. Seriously, the last couple of big dinners I have eaten out just haven’t been worth leaving the warm, toasty apartment for. From surprise raw vegan dinners (how many foods can YOU squeeze the word “vitality” into?) to unbearably long and cold waits for delicious hot dogs (I spent two hours in 20F weather for Hot Doug’s…You make a killer dog, Doug, but it ain’t worth two hours and a bad frost bite on my toes!), I have been royally screwed up the ass by the culinary gods when it comes to eating lately. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to the magical land of Hot Doug’s. Be sure to genuflect upon entry!

Are ready for some hot and heavy hot dog porn?! Last week, I had the joy of eating at Hot Doug’s in Chicago for the time, the gourmet sausage emporium. This place is legendary. They make all of the sausages and hot dogs that they serve, and there are always at least 8 solid gourmet selections, with their popular duck fat french fries on Fridays and Saturdays. If you love encased meats, this is the place to be. Sorry, but heart pumps are not available at this location. Read the rest of this entry »

Chicken liver pate–best part of the entire meal!

When a friend from college told me she was coming to Chicago, pregnant, and wanted to eat a delicious dessert, I knew Hot Chocolate would be the place to go. Chef/owner Mindy Segal has been known to create a kick-ass dessert or two thanks to her extensive background as a pastry chef (past work has included stints at Ambria, Trotters and mk), and I’ve been curious to see if her savory dishes could stand up to the desserts. Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing says happy birthday like crab-stuffed shrimp.

I woke up the week of my birthday with the WORST COLD TO EVER HIT CHICAGO. Body aches, throbbing headache, sore throat, sneezing, coughing, running nose…the sort of cold that you makes you wish you never would have left the 44C heat of Australia. I spent the better part of the week on the couch, and certainly wasn’t feeling in the “birthday” mood. Read the rest of this entry »

My breakfast of champions: pork cutlet, fried shrimp, Vietnamese sausage, rice, fried egg!

Part of the fun of eating in an Asian restaurant is not knowing what the hell you are eating. And let’s be honest, sometimes, it is best you DON’T know what that mysterious cube of jiggly purple-ness is. All you need to know is it tastes delicious and is cheaper than a date at McDonald’s. Read the rest of this entry »

Decent cider? CHECK!

If you know me at all, you know I’m a sucker for a good gastropub. Namely, The Hopleaf, which you might remember from such drunken posts as this one. Chicago seems to be having a gastropub boom with at least two new ones opening in the past year that I have visited. My heart belongs to The Hopleaf (and their frites…and aioli…and pork belly…), but just because I’m married doesn’t mean I can’t look, right? Damn straight. Bring on The Bristol. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a confession to make. I have a food crush on Blackbird. I swear, I could eat almost anything from this place and be happy, and I know this after only dining here a mere three times. The only downsides to this restaurant are the tiny space (call me crazy, but sometimes, I just don’t want to sit so close to my neighbors that I can smell what they ate), and the high price tag, which prevents me from eating it EVERY SINGLE DAY. Other than that, it was perfect. My husband and I had the pleasure of joining some of his work friends for a Friday night dinner at Blackbird. Here are the beautiful, food porny details. Our amuse bouche, which I believe had a housemade sausage and date puree in it:

Amuse bouche: housemade sausage with date puree

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Could the pizza make up for the location?

I’m a total pizza slut, and when it comes to slice shops, I go crazy. There is nothing better than a slice, topped how you like it, heated and melty, slightly crisp on the bottom—ugh. I would do very bad things for a proper slice of pizza. New York, now they know how to do a proper slice shop. But Chicago? For the longest time, the only slice shop in Chicago was Pizza-Ria, known for serving massive slices of just okay pizza. When my pal Amy went on for an hour about the new slice shop in Wrigleyville, I knew it had to be good—no one likes hanging out in Wrigleyville! At least, anyone who doesn’t fall into the frat boy-cubs fan category. But apparently, this slice shop was worth the crappy parking and obnoxious neighbors. These were supposed to be gourmet slices. Read the rest of this entry »

The trees outside of my apartment are naked and skinny-looking. The once freshly-fallen snow has mixed in with the street grime, turning it a lovely shade of jailhouse gray at the edges of street. It is cold as hell outside and I have fallen on the ice no less than four times in the past week. And yesterday, I am pretty sure I slipped on a piece of frozen dog poop. Welcome, winter. So to warm my bitter, frost-bitten ass, I like to head over to Lula Cafe’s Monday night farm dinners. Delicious food, affordable prices, and usually a Bobby in tow. You might remember the previous Lula farm dinner I had with Jen, or that kick-ass brunch I had shortly after returning to Chicago. If you don’t remember, allow me to summarize for you: freaking delicious. A bit pricy, but totally worth it. The farm dinners are a set menu available on Mondays, three courses for $28. We started with the risotto with olive oil poached chestnuts, chanterelles, golden turnips, and Sardinian pecorino.

Lula’s risotto with chanterelles and pecorino.

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Cow bit #1: Veal sweetbreads with glazed bacon, white polenta and trumpet mushrooms.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr, it is getting CHIL-LY out there! I don’t know where you are reading this from, but in Chicago, it is a bitter 30 degrees F (-1.1 C). Some people fight the winter blues with a cup of hot cocoa or a hearty veggie chili. Me? I like to eat an entire cow. Preferably during the course of a single meal. Oprah ain’t got nothing on me! Read the rest of this entry »

This is exactly why I should never be left alone with food.

Tango Sur is an Argentinian steakhouse in Chicago revered for its meat and great BYOB with no corkage fee atmosphere. I went there with a group of friends, and we could barely finish the meal, but it was delicious. Only real complaints were about chimmichurri sauce, which I felt tasted more like garlic oil and less like tangy, delicious chimmichurri sauce should. I also didn’t love their empanadas. It wasn’t the right ratio of ground beef to raisins, and again, the chimmichurri sauce left something to be desired. But what I did love? THE MEAT! Read the rest of this entry »