Donatella is in running about, brow sweating. She is everywhere, in the kitchen, in the front, pouring water, fetching glasses and cursing in Italian at Paolo, the round faced twenty-something in the kitchen. Its a loving scolding of course and always in pursuit of true Italy in heart of the American Midwest.

This spring Evanston has been treated to something great, a long awaited Italian BYOB amidst a slew of mediocre Asian places. Donatella’s on Sherman is the reinvention of her long adored establishment on Howard Street, closed in 2008. I first visited on opening night, then again with my family and friends over Northwestern graduation weekend. By the end, Donatella was teasing me as if I had known her since childhood. Its that Italian way.

On that first visit, Sandeep and I walked in around 8:30 with three bottles of wine, two for us and one for the staff. I mean, how were we to know which we would like more with the food, the red or white? I fell in love with the place right away.  Sponge painted walls, tiled tables and hanging philodendron plants wrapped in a perpetual Tuscan afternoon.  The espresso maker humming away behind the case of buffalo mozzarella, imported artichokes and paper thin prosciutto proudly displays to hungry patrons.

We really wanted to order the whole menu, but settled on the seafood mixed grill, mushroom pasta featuring homemade linguini and five different mushrooms, beef carpaccio with arugula and finally white wine steamed mussels. Yep, we were indulgent.  Tender and well seasoned with fragrant olive oil, oregano and lemon, the octopus in the mixed grill was the stand out for me.  At the end of the meal, the flushed and tired staff shared their champagne with us, and we toasted to their future.  Not a bad introduction to the new Italian eatery.

Following its grand opening however, Donatella’s was bashed by Yelp and Urbanspoon for disorganized and slow service, no bread and butter upon sitting down and subpar food. Didn’t deter me and I dined there twice last week, once with my immediate family, and the following night with a group of 12. I was not disappointed, on the contrary, I wish I could go back and have those artichokes again….

In fact those ‘chokes are special. Unhappy with the quality of the cured veg she could find in Chicago, Donatella phoned home to an Italian producer.  She now imports artichokes and other Italian treats for special plates like this one, featuring burrata cheese (think mozzarella with a creamy center), prosciutto and speck.

The night of the 12 people, we basically ate the whole menu– and the vast majority was delicious. My salmon crudo, and dad’s lamb were stellar.  Of course you can’t bat 1000, and there are flaws. In general, there is a smidge too much oil, the mushroom pasta lacks the lightness that spring weather demands and, to be honest, I do always ask for bread.  The meal might not explode your brain with haut cuisine chemistry, but Donatella’s adorableness and dedication to your enjoyment will surly make you and your tummy smile. Also, each time I visited the service has improved, which bodes well for the coming days.  Its sad that Donatella arrived just as I was leaving. When I visit Evanston, I will have to stop in for a seafood mixed grill and panna cotta which can only be described as manna from heaven.

The Facts
Donatella’s
1512 Sherman Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
328-7720

Open for Lunch and Dinner

Muah, molto buono!: Seafood mixed grill, mussels, antipasti appetizer (or whatever includes cheese, meat and if you’re lucky an artichoke), panna cotta

Meh: Lobster pasta special with brandy and cream…gross, brandy. Mushroom Pasta.

Extra Reasons I like it: Outdoor dining; Donatella; BYOB (if you forget, Sandeep with deliver wine from Vinic straight to your table. Seriously, he runs it over on foot).

This weekend, as part of my “Don’t say no” last few months in Chicago, I dragged my tired self to a feast.

“We are eating duck tonight Ellie,” said Sandeep, my wine guru and dining buddy.  “This is not an option, sleepiness is not an excuse.” And so I was off to Sun Wah, a Chinese BBQ (and deliciously BYO) on North Broadway. Game time.

Peking Duck  is an ancient recipe.  Historically, it calls for an Imperial Peking duck, a special variety of fowl. The birds are force fed and kept in a small cage to make sure their meat is tender…..its basically what the witch did to Gretel and what the French do for foie gras (we Chicagoans like it a lot….)

Heads up, cause the prep is kind of gross, but the result is awesome.  First, all the insides are removed and the tushie sewn shut. Next air is forced inside to stretch and poof the skin so the fat will render properly, producing the crispiest, most delicious and choicest part of the duck– the skin.

When its all set to roast the cooks paint the naked bird with a sugar and garlic sauce then dry it out, suspended in mid air. The preparation at Sun Wah is pretty traditional, though I didn’t spot the cylindrical clay ovens used to roast the duck like in the olden days.  Didn’t seem to matter, the end product was beautiful.

Our bird was carved table side by the daughter of the owner.  “I alternate between duck and barbecued pork for breakfast” said the slender Chinese women wielding the massive knife slicing up the fowl. I was pretty sure she could eat me for breakfast if I wasn’t careful.

Before Sun Wah opened more than two decades ago, the owner Eric Cheng studied in the Guangdong Province to get the hang of Peking Duck from the experts. It shows. The duck is served in three courses- a gut busting and delicious manner which includes the duck itself, an egg drop soup (with duck bones for flavoring of course) and fried rice with lots of peas. I do like peas in all forms.

Our duck came out, skin glistening, sweet smelling steam rising into the air, and my appetite skyrocketed. Based on the smell alone I could have eaten the whole thing– even after a big plate of sautéed baby bok choy with garlic sauce. Yum.

Traditionally, the sliced duck breast are eaten in small wheat pancakes or “lotus buns” like mini sandwiches. Topped with pickled carrots, scallions and jicama and a dab of hoisin sauce, I ate about a zillion. I still had stomach space to crunch through a bit of golden skin.

Photo by Agashi

While I have nothing to compare it to, I think this was damn good Peking Duck. I’m definitely not alone in my tastes either.  When I visited at 9:30pm on Saturday, the place was packed. And as the BYO trend continues to gain force, Sun Wah shows no sign of slowing down. With our meal, we opened a bottle of peppery, and zesty Rioja which cut through the fat of the bird and provided a killer compliment to its earthy taste.

I left a happy and very full person.

5041 N Broadway
(between Winnemac Ave & Carmen Ave)
Chicago, IL 60640
Neighborhood: Uptown

Why venture to Central Street (If you happen to live in Evanston, IL.) for your weekend BYO plans? For a little-known Thai restaurant that serves gingery tilapia and lets you tipple in peace. At Thai Pinto, it’s offbeat dishes that shine: the soft shell crab, the whole fish or the cheap and generous sushi rolls. And, of course, it’s BYOtastic.

In daytime, light streams into floor-to-ceiling windows, warming the white-walled, 20-seat restaurant with a happy charm. The atmosphere is friendly, the service not oppressive. It’s a perfect lunch spot, ideal for a serene date with a good book.

My first visit was a business meeting of sorts. Over edamame and a steaming plate of crab-eggplant curry, we discussed matters of grave importance, like New York’s latest fashions and the best way to cure a hangover (something I would come to need after my second visit).

I tend to avoid soft shell crab. Something about the texture (or the taste) of eating shell soft enough to bite through rubs me the wrong way. I’m no convert, but this might have been the best soft shell crab I have ever had. The crustacean’s golden flour crust stayed crispy on top. It soon began to soak up the delicate curry sauce on the bottom of the plate, creating a wonderful ménage à trois of texture: crunchy, succulent and smooth. The best part? The eggplant had been generously snuck all around the crab. It should have been cooked just a bit longer, to remove more of the vegetable’s natural starchiness, but the taste meshed well with the brininess of the dish.

(These are Thai eggplants! YUM)

It would be a shame and a travesty to visit a BYO restaurant and not participate in the BYO-ness of the place. In this spirit, I hauled three friends up to Central Street in the middle of a torrential rainstorm to eat some dinner and do a little sipping. Ok, a lot of sipping.

“So you would like wine glasses as well?” our emotionless waiter asked when he spied the three bottles of wine we’d brought for our four person meal. (Yes, yes we would.) The rain poured down. We were not leaving anytime soon. As we were the only guests—it was a Monday night—the nearly silent staff didn’t seem to mind. So eat and drink we did.

Four is the perfect number for dinner. It lets you explore the menu. Unlike most Thai or pan-Asian restaurants in Evanston, Thai Pinto offers sushi. The unagi roll we sampled was an eight-piece log of freshwater eel. Now, you can get much better sushi in Evanston. But Pinto’s trumps what you can get at Norris or Whole Foods, and rivals Sashimi Sashimi.

It has more variety, better ingredients and gutsier options than the usual suspects (I’m looking at you, Cozy) in Evanston.

We’d mowed through our bottle of white with the eel. Which was fine: these girls are red wine drinkers, not a bad choice for spicy food. A light Pinot Noir cuts the spice, calming the tongue. The first bottle gone, my compatriot Sara looked around the table warily and asked, “Family-style, right? I don’t know why you would come to a Thai place and not order family-style.”

I couldn’t agree more. That’s the beauty of Thai: it’s almost always shareable. Order envy? Never. We selected three entrees: coconut chicken, pepper beef and ginger tilapia.

The more we diverged from routine choices, the happier we were. The light tilapia paired well with the fresh ginger, which had been sliced into thin strips and woven in and out of a mix of snow peas, baby corn and big hunks of red pepper. A few mushroom caps were scattered about, surprising in the light dish, but their warm, earthy flavor complemented the sharpness of the ginger.

I’m under doctor’s orders not to eat coconut, but I gave the coconut curry chicken a go anyway. Not worth it. Good flavor, not too rich nor thick, but the chicken was bland. And the noodle extravangza—egg noodle in the Khao Soy curry broth and crispy noodles on top—was overkill. Three bites in and I was gastronomically bored. (Also, a little visually grossed out by the noodles.)

It got more disappointing from there. The peppered beef, which did venture away from the usual vegetable pattern with lots of cabbage and asparagus (its only redeeming qualities) was utterly unsurprising. I shouldn’t have been surprised, I suppose. This matched the pattern of my first meal: The soft shell crab had surprised, and the second dish, the Thai standard mysteriously called spicy basil, had fallen flat.

After four years repeatedly trying everything Thai in Evanston—including the old standards—I remain amazed that the most basic dishes don’t blow my mind. They should! A good pad see ewe should rock like a Bobb-McCulloch bed on Mondays and the spicy basil should be really, really spicy.

On that sour note, if your tongue is tempted to step out of your Thai box, do it at Pinto. It has more variety, better ingredients and gutsier options than the usual suspects (I’m looking at you, Cozy) in Evanston.

Dishes to dive into: Softshell Crab, Curry, Tilapia, what the owner suggests when you ask him for a strange recommendation. He knows.

Avoid like MSG in the 1980’s: salt and pepper calamari, mixed vegetable stir fry (boring), cucumber salad (sweet like candy, in a one-dimensional way)

What to drink: If you like red, a light Pinot Noir will go well with the spicy flavor and won’t knock your taste buds out of your head with tannins. If you like white, you can’t go wrong with a bottle from French Alsace or its neighbor, Germany.

But you know what goes really well with Thai food and Asian cuisine in general? Beer. Pilsner. Go nuts.

Pinto Thai Kitchen

1931 Central Street
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 333-2976

Hours

Monday-Friday: 11:30—9:30
Saturday-Sunday: Noon—9:30

I love a restaurant where I can draw on the tablecloth. Even better if the crayons (and toy dinosaurs!) are provided for me. And so it was last Saturday while I dined on casual Greek and American fare at Cross Rhodes, a family-filled bistro near the intersection of Chicago and Main. The south Evanston spot draws an eclectic crowd—from big Evanston families with well dressed kids, to young Rogers Park couples coming for the cheap wine and good food. And far too few Northwestern students.

The fare at Cross Rhodes is exactly what its name implies: cuisine at the intersection of taverna Greek and fast-food American taste. It’s all comfort here: kebabs, pita, and gyros alongside burgers, fries and chicken sandwiches. As Evanston’s only Greek restaurant, it’s a shame that NU kids only know Cross Rhodes as a burger joint. Not that they shouldn’t—the restaurant does serve damn good charburger.

Just $5.75 gets you a half-pound of balanced burger meat, with just enough fat to make it juicy and flavorful. For a few meager quarters, I dressed my burger with two thin slabs of feta. Greek feta has a addictively tangy quality and loud personality that compliments the thickly charred meat perfectly. The thick cut French fries were finished “Greek style” with a white wine sauce and plenty of aromatic oregano. On my first visit, I was one happy 22-year-old kid: crayons, red meat and a $2.50 Miller Lite.

When I go out, I tend to choose companions with big appetites and hearty laughs. We needed the latter when my taramousalata arrived: described as “a Greek caviar spread,” I expected something inky and briny. I didn’t recognize what I got: a bright pink ice cream scoop of fish mousse. Whipped fish, in this case combining lemon juice, olive oil, and breadcrumbs, is a cruel mistress and must be handled with care.

Taramousalata comes from two Greek words, taramos, meaning salt-cured cod eggs, and salata, meaning salad. It is commonly featured in Greek homes and restaurants with raw vegetables or warmed bread. It wasn’t bad, but the olive oil and bread masked any real roe flavor, and its mouth-coating texture sent me searching for pita. Thankfully, piping-hot flatbread sat beside it in copious piles.

Cross Rhodes’ real strength is its meats. The traditional kebabs called souvlaki can be ordered with pork or chicken. Both are good. The exterior of the meat arrives gently seared, creating a crust of herbs that keeps the interior moist and flavorful. I opted for the sandwich version, which is served wrapped in pita and dressed with tomatoes, onions and a Greek yogurt sauce called tzatziki. The roast Greek half chicken is also tasty and might be the best roast chicken I’ve had in Evanston. With the Greek rice along side, this dish is the culinary version of mom tucking you into bed at night when you are little. Talk about comfort food. Unfortunately, the gyros are tough nuggets of ground meat instead of actual pieces of steak.

When sampling a new place, I like to visit twice. The second time I dined at Cross Rhodes, I arrived for a late dinner with the owner of Vinic Wine Company on Chicago Ave. I love it when the wine decision isn’t up to me. My sommelier friend chose a Roditis rosé to complement our spanakopita appetizer, as well as any meat dish the kitchen would throw our way. Roditis is what the Greeks drink in Greece; it’s light, crisp and not at all saccharine. This is no Franzia Sunset Blush (I’m a Franz Chardonnay girl myself). While we sipped our wine, a table of old working men in dirty overalls took shots of some strong, clear alcohol from water glasses. The restaurant owner poured himself a glass too.

My spanakopita starter was lovely. But how can you go wrong with buttery yet airy phyllo dough enveloping slow-cooked spinach? You simply can’t. The spinach-to-feta proportion was a perfect balance of tart, creamy and earthy. I was much less impressed with my moussaka. Moussaka is a generic name for a Mediterranean dish that combines meat, vegetables and a full-bodied tomato sauce in a baking dish. Traditionally topped with béchamel sauce, it’s essentially Greek lasagna, sans pasta. For the Greeks, lamb and eggplant are the stars. Cross Rhodes uses spiced beef instead of lamb and ups the cheesiness to tempt the American palate. They also offer a vegetarian form with zucchini, potato, and eggplant. The egg custard topping on both versions was little rich for me; half-a-dozen bites and I was all done.

The meal ended pleasantly tipsy and chewing on baklava…opa! This is the way any Greek meal should be. The flavor of honey and walnuts still lingering, I returned my crayons. Throughout my visits, I was impressed by the hospitality, the homey atmosphere, but not particularly by the food. Considering the bargain, I might venture back. I will order one spanakopita, one bottle of Roditis ($11 dollars) and the Greek half chicken. It’s fun, it’s cheap, and it’s decent food. And you get to play with dinosaur toys, if you’re feeling so inclined.

Down and Dirty Details

Cross Rhodes
913 Chicago Ave. • Evanston, IL 60202
Telephone (847) 475 4475
http://www.crossrhodes.biz/

Hours
Mon-Sat: 11:30 a.m.—10:00 p.m.
Sun: 4:00-9:00 p.m.

Gotta Try: charburger with feta, spanikopita, Greek half chicken with rice, and pita, pita, pita

Meh, lets skip it: taramoussalata, king size gyros (just the same everywhere else), mousakka

Booze? limited beer and wine list, but very cheap at that!

FYI: cash only

A few weeks ago two of my friends,  Marshal and Justin came to visit me from Minneapolis.  In need of some really good food, we were ready to hit the town. The weekend, shall we say, set us all back a bit financially. But dipping into the “rainy-day fund” was 100% worth it.  (And truth be told, it was raining).  Wandering downtown, Justin had his heart dead set on dinner at Rick Bayless’s Chicago establishment, Frontera Grill.  Frontera Grill opened in 1987 to wild success and was followed two years later by Topolobambo, one of the nations first upscale Mexican restaurants.  The pair have earned Bayless accolades all over the map including a James Beard Best Chef title and Outstanding Restaurant award. Clearly, I like the guy….he’s a great chef, a humanitarian, and a good dad–he co-authored a cookbook with his daughter Lanie.  Ok, but on to my extensive drinking and eating.

To make reservations at Frontera, you have to call weeks in advance.  But to eat there on a Saturday night, you just have to be patient. At 6:00 pm Justin, Marshal and I put our name on the waiting list.  “Ok, you’re going to want to check back in about three hours,” said the friendly hostess.  To be expected; time enough to recover from the bottle of red wine at lunch, have a nap and a shower and get ready to hit the town.  At 8:00ish we arrived back at the restaurant, grabbed a beeper and posted up in the bar.  Let the margaritas begin.

Previously, I would have told you that I hate margaritas.  Truth be told, I do hate bad ones. But these were powerful potions of crisp agave, teasing my lips with just enough salt to cut into the limey sweetness of cointreau and blanco tequila.  The boys favored the Mescal Margarita, with intense an spicy, the Oaxaca based liquor flowed all night.  Before he had had three sips on his first, Justin flagged the waiter for another, and a round of house made (obviously) guacamole. Let the debauchery begin. After three rounds  we had successfully tried the entire margarita menu– including El Vampiro, The Gold and the Champagne–and settled comfortably on our favorites as we sat down to dinner.

Oysters and a trio of ceviches started the meal, and to be perfectly honest, they were the highlight.  Trio! Trio! Trio!, is the best ceviche sampler I have ever had.  Changing seasonally they range from very traditional with fish marinated in serrano chili, lime and cilantro to a rich pumpkin broth with Pepita seed garnish. Each one hit home, singing unique, yet complimentary tunes.

Next came enchiladas with mole (my choice and I was very pleased) and two entrees that were fine, but forgettable, one stake and one pork. Understand what when I say fine, I simply mean not as freakin’ unbelievable as the ceviche.  The meat was still tender, the sauce creamy and intense and the tamale expertly wrapped in banana leaves.

Stepping into Frontera out of the slushy, gray Chicago day was like being teleported to Mexico.  Everyone speaks Spanish (and the more tipsy I got the more I spoke it too), the colors are vibrant and the scents of cumin and lime hang in the air. At the end of the night, we had a special treat.  Mr. Bayless himself showed up at the bar.  Are we stalkers for taking a clandestine photo? Nope, its just that for me, he is a celebrity.

The night was a complete success….far too much food, far far too many margaritas, but I wouldn’t un-drink a single sip. Did we end the night playing ding dong ditch between our hotel rooms? Yes. Are we all in our 20s? Yes.

Advice to the Undergrad:  This is the way to do Frontera, and I do hope you take me up on it.  Save up a little cash and get yourself to the bar.  Order a margarita.  Then the guacamole, then another margarita. Then a few appetizers and ask for the check.  You won’t break the bank, your stomach will thank you, and you’ll impress the pants of your date, your dad or your boss. Expect a bill of $55 for 2-3 appetizers and 2-3 drinks.

Salud, Amigos.

I have been doing quite a bit of eating since I last posted. Some of it tasty (homemade bread, Asian meat balls) some of it not (midterm-in-the-morning dinner of yogurt and icky banana…) but I have some highlights to report.

Here are two new restaurants to check out, Jamaica Jamaica in downtown Evanston and Belly Shack, brain child of the couple behind Urban Belly. Luckily, I had help from my friends: Bentley, Ryan and Jake’s stomachs helped me try a huge variety of dishes.

Jamaica Jamaica

When I was little, I used to spend 2-4 weeks every year in Long Bay Jamaica, far away from the Club Med and sorority spring breakers. We stayed in “the glass house” not because it was made of glass, but rather because it had two windows with panes in them. I still have dreams about Mama Lou’s biscuits in the morning, always hot and fluffy and for lunch, rice perfectly done with so many spices…….oh I’m salivating right now.

Anyways, Jamaica Jamaica in Evanston does bang up jerk meats with tasty sides that take me right back. On my visit, which started with a Red Stripe (of course) I had the jerk chicken and my buddy had the oxtail. The two meats took to the jerk seasoning very differently, one creating a molasses like crust (below) and the other juicing pleasantly into the rice.

I am definitely headed back. Though it didn’t blow my socks off, I think they deserve another shot, especially with a full bar (Juice and liquor) and a great lunch special.

1512 Sherman Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-1000

I have to eat more before I recommend things…

Belly Shack

On Halloween friday, I skipped out of Evanston to try the new hot spot Belly Shack. This is the newest creation from Bill Kim and Yvonne Cadiz Kim chef owners of Urban Belly. They wanted “bring the outside in , in an urban way.” And that is just what they did, placing it under the EL tracks and tossing some graffiti art on the walls.  It has gotten a lot of press lately, and it’s worth a trip. The couple who hail from Korea and Puerto Rico respectively fuse the two cuisines in fascinating ways, sweet and sour soup based on a Central American hominy stew and roasted squash with pho spices.

The highlights for me included this Somen Noodle Salad with oil poached shrimp and tortilla chips. The oil poaching works some magic on the shrimp—the turn out velvety and sensual.

These Asian Meatballs did indeed live up to their hype. With mint and rice noodles, it’s a meal in itself, but that didn’t stop the intrepid eaters as we dove into the Roasted Squash and Brussels Sprouts with Chorizo (they were awesome.) “What, I’m eating Brussels sprouts??” said Bentley, “I’m a big boy now.” Chef Kim can really get you to eat your veggies; the menu is veggie friendly from start to finish.

Lastly the vanilla soft serve with chocolate chip cookie crumbles from HotChocolate’s Mindy Segal and bacon bits is out of this world. If you’ve never had bacon in a dessert you’re not only behind the trend (but who cares about that) but you are seriously missing out. This was great-sex good, after a massage good, and a perfect end note to a solid meal.