City Girl from the Burbs in the City Part 2

On to The Dawson

Meeting up with friends that are city socialites at a restaurant that was just opened the night before, should be fun, right? It was.

Again we score kick-ass parking on the next block and waltz in to wait for our friends.  I can be a bit of a recluse at times so instead of sitting at the bar this time we went outside to sit near the fireplace.  It was completely empty so I was happy, got a few smooches in by the fireplace, then our friends showed up.  They weren't as impressed by the fireplace considering it was only 45 degrees outside so we went indoors to wait for our table to be cleaned (whole wait was about 15 minutes total, not bad).

We were seated and given menus.  I believe that there were at least a couple of different versions of the menu for that night because my menu was different from everyone else at the table, which I was fine with considering mine had more options on it.  I don't think everyone else was so pleased with that though.  My hubs made sure to include on our reservation that it was my birthday so it was a sweet gesture when the waiter told me happy birthday, along with the hostess, and a few other staff members.  We ordered cocktails to start, I ordered the liquid swords which was a sake cocktail with prosecco and orange bitters, it was tasty.  Moving on to the entrees, we decided to skip appetizers since we pre-gamed at Tanta, I took the easy route since I was already kinda full and ordered an oyster po-boy, the hubs ordered the Wood-grilled pork jowl burger.  The entrees were well planned but considering it was opening weekend, I don't think the restaurant has gotten its timing down quite yet.  The bread, oysters, and cocktail sauce had excellent flavor, but my sandwich was cold.  My hubs had the burger and again the work that went into picking flavors was evident, the pickled peppers were AMAZING but the burger, although ordered medium was pink but dry.  We'd both be willing to go back to The Dawson and order our entrees again in a couple of months when they find their rhythm because everything that we tried was well thought out, the flavor profiles were good, but the timing between the kitchen and the table weren't right.  We ordered a funnel cake for dessert, it was a fun choice, and it came to the table warm, which I was happy about!! I'd definitely order that again, although I'm surprised that wasn't comped for my birthday, but that's probably just me being a spoiled ass brat.

The highlight of our night was meeting Chef Rene as we were leaving, very nice guy, another reason to pay them a visit again in a couple months.

My birthday was awesome-sauce. We got great parking, I had some drinks, ate well, and had good company. Back to the suburbs for me...

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City Girl from the Burbs in the City - Part 1

Soooooo somebody à la me had a birthday recently and it was off to meet friends and try out some new restaurants in the City of Chicago I went.  Since my husband was behind the wheel I was OK with making the trip out of the burbs and into the city for some good food and drinks (emphasis on the drinks)!! The kids were excited for a night with their grandparents and I was ready to get obliterated, well not really, but the mom version which is equivalent to a few glasses of wine and a cocktail.  Damn things have changed, in my twenties I could go out hit up night clubs all night long, drink ridiculous amounts of alcohol, and just cab it back home.  Times have changed, but I digress, let's get to my reviews of the recently opened Tanta and The Dawson.

Someone was Excited

Pre-Gamed at Tanta:
Did someone say Peruvian? Not to mention right down the street from The Dawson!  Yes please:

The hubs and I arrived at Tanta about 1.5 hours prior to our reservation at The Dawson found an awesome (non-valet) parking spot on the next block and walked right in hoping for a couple of seats at the bar.   Luckily the birthday Gods were shining down on me and we only had to wait about 10 minutes before bar seats opened up, the place was packed.  So far so good, we sat down and took a look at the bar menu.

I figured when you are in a Peruvian place you do as the Peruvians do and I ordered a pisco sour.  As the bartender was shaking up my pisco drink, another gentleman placed bar snacks in front of us and I almost 'hit my dougie' when I saw my favorite snack of plantain chips and dip sitting in front of me.  Served alongside the plantain chips was a roasted corn snack, think unpopped popcorn that you can actually chew. While chowing down on the plantain chips and dip, my hubs ordered the Chicharrónes special for us to share and a coffee for himself.

Best Damn Bar Snacks 

Can I tell you that the Chicharrónes confit was damn near the best bite I've had all year.  The pork belly was so tender and the fat had been rendered perfectly, the sauce was deliciously sticky and it was served with a slaw that balanced the sweet of the sauce and cut through the fat of the pork belly.  The executive chef must be part chef and part wizard because that shit was MAGICAL.  Since this was just a pre-game before meeting up with friends we kept it to one drink, coffee, kick ass bar snacks, and the Chicharrónes confit.  Since I am currently obsessed with all things Tanta we will definitely be going back once we score another date night.

Chicharones Confit

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