01/07 Joy Yee Noodle Shop, Chicago

• Occasion: Night on the town with the lovely Diana
• Ordered: Seafood udon shabu shabu, green curry fried rice, and a kiwi-peach shake
• Rating: 5/5
• Review: Was craving soup because of the cold weather, so I tried the shabu-shabu instead of my usual kim chi. Huge portion of house-made udon noodles, shrimp, fish, muscles, and calamari. The whole egg cracked into the pot at tableside was a nice touch. Kinda cool to watch the yolk solidify instantly in the steaming broth. Green curry fried rice was moist and flavorful, but could’ve been spicier.
• Note: Diana and I were on our way to a party, so we gave our (massive) leftovers to a homeless man.

01/09 Cobra Lounge, Chicago

• Occasion: Post-Apocalyptic Burlesque Show
• Ordered: Signature “Cobra Burger” with mushrooms and roasted red peppers, house-made hummus, and many shots of Jack Daniels.
• Rating: 4/5
• Review: A charbroiled 1/2 pound hamburger always hits the spot after a night of drinking. Love the selection of gourmet toppings. Burger was succulent and perfectly cooked. Hummus wasn’t as good as I remember from previous visits. I think maybe they started using peanut butter instead of tahini.

01/18 Mesa Grill, Las Vegas

• Occasion: Las Vegas Vacation, Lunch
• Ordered: Wild mushroom quesadilla with white bean hummus, goat cheese queso fondue, and peach margarita.
• Rating:3/5
• Review: Quesadilla was hearty and earthy, exactly what I expected. Hummus, however, was just pureed white beans with no tahini or truffle oil. Kinda disappointing. The goat cheese fondue stole the show with an intense mix of flavors, pair perfectly with fried blue corn tortillas. Glad to see goat cheese incorporated into Tex Mex cuisine. Paid $14 for a peach margarita that tasted like cheap, watered-down tequila. Not even a speck of salt on the rim! What up wit dat?

01/18 Barmasa, Las Vegas

• Occasion: Las Vegas Vacation, Midnight sushi craving
• Ordered: Grilled unagi with avocado roll, mirugai sashimi, maitaki mushroom with black truffle roll
• Rating: 3/5
• Review: Barmasa is located in the lobby of Aria hotel, the perfect destination for a late-night sushi craving. Grilled unagi with avocado was an interesting combination of textures, but otherwise disappointingly average. I was grateful for the house-made miso to spice things up. Mirugai (giant clam) sashimi, a recommendation from my server, was mild and buttery. Maitaki mushroom roll was my favorite part of the meal, full of natural sweetness that paired well with sake.
• Note: Dad ordered the tuna roll with green chilis and was impressed with it. The tangy crunch of the chili peppers cut through the fatty tuna very nicely. Would order this again.

01/19 Enoteca San Marco, Las Vegas

• Occasion: Las Vegas Vacation, Lunch
• Ordered: Winter squash flatbread pizza with pistachios and sage, spiced cider
• Rating 4.5/5
• Review: I was skeptical of the unusual combinations of flavors, but the rosemary and sage baked into the flatbread lent this dish a classically Italian flavor. The flatbread was flakey and light, contrasting nicely with the rich heartiness of the squash and pistachios. The whole dish was a little dry, though. Could’ve used a drizzle of olive oil or maybe a dash of parmesan cheese.

01/19 Julian Serrano, Las Vegas

• Occasion: Las Vegas Vacation, Dinner
• Ordered: Sea scallop tapas with spring greens, garlic chicken skewers over tomatoes, and paella with chorizo and rock lobster.
• Rating: 2/5
• Review: Sea scallops were the only saving grace of the meal. Perfectly seared, with a briny taste and a silky smooth texture. Spring greens were crisp and refreshing. Garlic chicken skewers were so oily and fatty they were almost inedible. Tomatoes tasted like they came from a can. The paella portion wasn’t nearly enough to feed our party of 6, though the waitress had assured us it would be. Paella was drastically under-seasoned, with hardly any saffron in the rice. Lobster and chorizo were passable, but not good enough to compensate for the bland, uninteresting meal.

01/20 Society Café, Las Vegas

• Occasion: Las Vegas, Brunch
• Ordered: Market Chop Salad with organic turkey and white balsamic-tarragon vinaigrette, Cajun Bloody Mary.
• Rating: 4/5
• Review: Located in the Encore hotel, Society Café was rated Best New Restaurant 2009 by Esquire magazine. The lounge was plush and chic, with hot pink fainting couches and heavy, boldly patterned draperies. Food was simple, straightforward New American cuisine with a whimsical twist. Loved the refreshing chop salad with turkey, avocado, carrots, celery, pumpkin seeds, and havarti cheese. I usually don’t like turkey but this was so lean and smoky-tasting, I couldn’t complain. Cajun Bloody Mary was the best drink I had in Las Vegas, with Absolut Peppar, a unique blend of southern spices, and a grilled tiger shrimp skewer marinating in freshly squeezed tomato juice.

2/06 Le Colonial, Chicago

• Occasion: Shopping downtown with mom
• Ordered: Tom cuon ram, shrimp beignets with orange ginger sauce and ga xao cari, yellow curry chicken with eggplant, mango, yam and cashews.
• Rating: 4/5
• Review: Inspired by Southeast Asia of the 1920s, Le Colonial offers up Vietnamese-French fusion dishes in a romantic, tropical setting. The tom cuon ram were slightly overcooked, causing the breading to become dry and crumbly. I had to use a fork instead of consuming this finger food as intended. However the minced shrimp and Asian vegetable filling was so delicious I hardly noticed. The dipping sauce was delightfully tangy, not at all comparable to the sticky-sweet mess passed off as orange ginger by most Asian restaurants. The ga xao cari was the best yellow curry I’ve had outside of Southeast Asia. Spicy, creamy and severed with a heaping pile of jasmine rice.

2/11 Gamba's, Merrillville IN

• Occasion: Birthday dinner with my parents
• Ordered: Red pepper crab cakes, rock shrimp risotto in lemon butter sauce
• Rating: 2/5
• Review: The whole meal was rich and decadent to the point of obscenity. I was enticed by the combination of crab cakes and red pepper, but was disappointed to find minced crab meat rather than the jumbo lump I would've preferred. I loved the creamy texture of the risotto, but the rock shrimp were overcooked and the lemon butter sauce was so heavy that it overpowered any natural sweetness the seafood may have lent to the dish.
• Note: Gamba's used to be called Café Venetia until recently, when the owners relocated in an attempt to "modernize". It breaks my heart how this place has gone downhill. I won't be back.

2/13 Joy Yee Noodle Shop, Chicago

• Occasion: Chinese New Year
• Ordered: Cream cheese and spinach rangoons with Szechwan chili sauce, seafood kimchi chow udon
• Rating: 3/5
• Review: Rangoons were fried to crispy perfection, providing a wonderful textural contrast with the soft filling. The chili dipping sauce was flavorful but unnecessary. The rangoons were better off without oiliness weighing them down. I tried the kimchi chow udon as an alternative to my usual kimchi baked rice. It was a nice change, but I missed the stone bowl presentation of the baked rice, as my noodles were served a little cold and took on an unpleasent sliminess as the meal progressed. Loved kimchi flavor (as always!) but I ended up picking the seafood and vegetables out of the dish and leaving a sizable portion of noodles behind.

04/05 Pikks Tavern, Valparaiso IN

• Occasion: Date night with JR
• Ordered: Guacamole prepared tableside, pad thai and a specialty drink called Spring Fever.
• Rating: 2.5/5
• Review: Guacamole was very fresh, served with plenty of garlic and ancho chili peppers. Tableside preparation was a nice touch. Housemade tortilla chips were also excellent, though the portion was way too small for the amount of guacamole provided. Had to ordered more, thus incurring an extra charge. Pad thai was featured on the "Light & Fit" menu, which should've tipped me off. It was really just salad greens served over cold glass noodles. No peanut sauce, no scrambled egg. Very disappointing. Spring Fever, the drink special of the evening, was a colorful martini featuring Midori melon vodka and vermouth. Sweet, cheerful and garnished with an orange slice, this cocktail lived up to its name!

04/14 Joy Yee Noodle Shop, Chicago

• Occassion: OMD job interview
• Ordered: Curried soft shell crab over rice, pomegranate lemonade
• Rating: 4/5
• Review: The crab was tempura fried and served whole over a steaming bowl of curry and white rice. Crispy on the outside and succulent on the inside, with a healthy portion of roe, the crab was a rare treat. The rice and curry, less so. The curry was intensely seasoned with caradmom and whole bay leaves, but the meager spoonful provided was not enough to saturate the giant mound of rice. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the stone bowl presentation of the dish and the refreshing sweet/tart contradiction of he pomegranate lemonade. Though I left a substantial portion of dry rice behind, I'll know better next time and order extra curry!

06/26 Orange, Chicago

• Occasion: Pre-Pride Fest brunch
• Ordered: "Omelet #6" with baby aspargus, forest mushrooms, truffle oil and Swiss cheese; chai tea infused French toast
• Rating: 3.5/5
• Review: Chic little brunch bistro with stylish decor and a cozy, hometown feel. The service was dreadfully slow, but we had a large group and it was a busy Saturday morning. The omelet was fresh but the asparagus had gotten a little soggy, making it difficult to cut and chew. Also, while the truffle oil drizzled on top made for an artful presentation, the strong flavor of it overpowered the delicate taste of the mushrooms. The shining star of this meal was the Chai tea French toast. Thick slabs of made-from-scratch bread, egg battered and saturated in Chai tea and milk. The result was not-too-sweet, firm little forkfulls, best served sans butter or syrup. Next time I visit Orange, I'll skip the omelet entirely and focus on the French toast!

08/02 Province, Chicago

• Occasion: Date with the Hubby
• Ordered: Summer corn and blue crab chowder, 10-hour BBQ'd lamb, roasted eggplant with chorizo cornbread, hibiscus tea sorbet
• Rating: 4.5/5
• Review: Modern Tex-Mex at it's finest, from this streamlined destination in the restaurant district. The chowder was simple, clean and surprisingly light, with none of the gritty flavor of unfresh seafood. After being slow-roasted for 10 long hours, the lamb had taken on the texture of pot roast. I put my knife aside after 3 bites and cleaved meat from bone with my fork. I found myself wishing the housemade BBQ sauce was a little more spicy. A dash of tamarind would've done the dish some good, but perhaps I've spent too much time at my local Indian restaurant. The eggplant and cornbread were the essence of comfort food- soft, warm goodness seasoned to compliment the lamb flawlessly. The hibiscus tea sorbet was little more than a palette-cleansing spoonful, earthy in flavor and delightfully floral in scent. I wish I had ordered a pint to-go!
• Note: Province was constructed using only eco-friendly materials. All of the sustainable ingredients come from Chicago's Green City Market.

09/27 Purple Pig, Chicago

• Occasion: Anniversary dinner
• Ordered: Cured Serrano ham, scallop spiedini with chickpea aioli
• Rating: 4/5
• Review: A hip, casual small plate restaurant tucked into a niche on Michigan Ave. They specialize in cured meats and cheeses and it shows. The Serrano ham was firm and nutty, with an aftertaste of grains and hazelnuts. I found the scallops to be overcooked, though I doubt it was the chef's fault- the tiny restaurant was swamped and the service struggled to keep up. The chickpea aioli perked up the dish with a pleasant mustard flavor. As with most small plate restaurants, I spent $80 and left hungry. However, I enjoyed the experience so greatly I'll definitely be returning!

10/21 Dragonfly, Dallas

• Occasion: National Student Ad Conference
• Ordered: Ahi tuna tartar, antelope steak, peach jalapeno margarita
• Rating: 5/5
• Review: This sultry hollow at the Hotel Zaza blends the elegance of traditional French dining with contemporary flair. Dragonfly is young, hip and posh at heart.

11/23 Sepia, Chicago

• Occasion: Christmas shopping
• Ordered: sweetbreads over potato gnocchi, barramundi with sunchokes and mussels
• Rating: 4.5/5
• Review: Tucked into a shadowy corner in the restaurant district, this former speakeasy retains much of it's vintage 1920s charm. The sweetbreads were crisp and pleasant in texture, served with chantrelle mushrooms and a tangy dash of sherry vinegar. The barramundi was pan roasted skin-on for a wonderful contrast with a hint of smokiness in the moist, flaky meat. The entire meal had an earthy, natural feel of comfort food done right. Perfect for the season!