Indie Cafe

i'm so happy to have found this place in our neighborhood. until today we didn't really have a favorite noodle/thai place around us, probably because we have Noodles Etc at work and we used to eat there at least once a week, which took care of our thai craving (well, mainly MY thai craving. ben doesn't mind eating pbj for dinner every day).

anyway, we discovered this place today, just a few blocks from us. the atmosphere is very nice, lively, the place was pretty full but we didn't have to wait.
we ordered Crab Rangoon, drunken noodles and green curry.
unfortunately, Ella had other plans for us, so we had our dinner packed to go and took it back home with us.
it was delicious! the crab rangoon was amazing. (Nicole, FYI!!)
ben loved the curry, he said that it was finally spicy enough (even when he asks for "extra spicy' at Noodles - it's not enough for him). i really liked the drunken noodles, but i would have preferred thin noodles and not wide noodles.

yum!

Indie Cafe Thai & Sushi [yelp]

Popcorn

On one of our trips to Jackson Blvd, our nostrils were overwhelmed by a distinct smell of something fabulous. The line was short, we went in and out in a few minutes, equipped with 2 small paper bags: cheese corn and caramel corn. yummmmmm. You can only eat a few at a time, the flavour is so intense, and definitely a small pack is more than enough... if you are anywhere around the loop, or Michigan ave, it's as good as the rumors say it is! garrettpopcorn.com

Eating/Chicago

Chicago Restaurants Review

Habeebi's
(1131 W. Bryn Mawr, 773-878-6600)
Wed, Jan 24, dinner. We had a plate of Hummus, Kube and Shawarma, at "Habeebi" restaurant, just down the street from us.
[Hummus: 2.95; Kibbeh: 1.65; Lentil soup: 1.95; Chican Shawarma (plate): 7.50]
When we asked Yussuf Habibi, the owner, where he was from, he said: "Palestine". Later on, we talked with him some more, and learned that he was actually born and raised in Jordan, and spent most of his life in Europe/America, but his family are from Jaffa. We got some "Baba ganush", which is eggplant in thina salad, on the house, as well as a 2nd bowl of lentil soup and a couple of fallafel balls that were left at the end of the day.
surprisingly, everything was very good, except for the pitas which were the flat thin american pita bread that you get at the grocery store. Is is so hard to make good pitas?!?
When we suggested that to Habeebi, he said that he had planned to have a pita oven but the architect took too much room for the men's restroom, and there was not enough space left in the kitchen. Too bad! This could have been a pilgrimage site for all israelies in Chicagoland.
We don't have a rating system yet, but this one is definitely a good israeli/mizrachi (outside Israel).
delivery+ lunch+ location+

Shiro Hana
3242 N Clark, 773-477-1652
Thu, Jan 25th (Ben's birthday)
Japaneze/sushi place. We found this one through the lonely planet book. It's located on the lively Clark street, and serves all kinds of sushi combinations as well as other Japanese food.
We had a few rolls of sushi - spicy tuna, California, salmon&avocado, shrimp tampura, and spinach, that didn't really belong. the wasabi wasn't spicy enough, but the ginger compensated for that. two cups of great misu soup came with the order. the prices ranged between 3-5$/roll (there were more expensive rolls on the menu), their wine/beer list is very limited, but the food, atmosphere and price were good :)
all in all, the best sushi joint we've been to in Chicago. that doesn't say much yet, as it's also the first one...

Pho777
1065 W Argyle St, Chicago, IL (773) 561-9909
We went there with Noga. It's a few blocks south of our apartment, and there's plenty of parking. the food is vietnamese, and the clients are too, which impressed Noga a lot. the interior design was too green to my taste... but the atmosphere was nice, and the company was superb :)
we had an appetizer which translates to "vietnamese pancake", don't remember what the real name is, but it was a pile of meat and sprouts covered by a yellowish pancake (looks more like an omlete i think), with a side of vegetables (lettuce, cucumbers) and sauce. it was good. for mains we had a chicken nest, fried noodels in a shape of a nest and with a herd of sea food and vegis in it, and delicious sauce, and ben had some beef+vegetable course. it is a byob place, meaning - we sent ben to the store next door to get a couple of wine bottles.


hop leaf
mmmmmmmmm... muscles in wine broth. good even without garlic. an when the musscles are all slurped, dip a piece of bread in it... mmmmm good beer, too!