food coma.

so i had another food filled extravaganza last week and i have a lot to report! it started on monday at the crossing's soft opening (www.crossingtavern.com). the crossing tavern is part of the four corners tavern group. my good friend, shalva works at brownstone so she got invited to the crossing's soft opening and invited me and my other friend, tara. the bar itself is really nice and spacious with tons of tvs. we sat down and were informed we could order whatever we wanted for free and our beers would be half off. we were in heaven. we got cheesy garlic bread which is made on their pizza crust - so tasty. then shalva ordered their signature meat covered pizza, i got a turkey ranch burger and tara got their korean tacos. the turkey burger was definitely my fave - i loved the seasoning and the sweet potato fries i got with it. the pizza was our least favorite and the tacos were just fine. we ended the night with a chocolate skillet cookie. it was ridiculously good and we ate every last bite. overall it was a great night with good bar food and even better girl talk.

the next night we had a high school girls dinner at longman and eagle (longmanandeagle.com). the servers were very helpful - they helped us figure out which drinks we'd like best and told us what they honestly thought about each menu item. we started with meatballs with creamy polenta, parsley pesto and fontina cheese fondu and a soft pretzel with welsh rarebit. the meatballs were divine - a tad too pesto-y for some but overall amazing. the pretzel was fine but the dipping sauce was fab! then i ordered the pork belly which came with hazelnut spaetzle, red cabbage and apple fennel conserve. MIND BLOWING. seriously probably the best thing i've eaten all year. the pork belly was crispy and the red cabbage complimented it perfectly, adding a little eastern euro flair. the hazlenut spaetzle was equally ridiculous and made the plate more modern and unique and the apple fennel conserve was a perfect sweet touch. we all tried bites off each other's plates and there wasn't anything i didn't like. it was a great meal. sometimes i wonder if the company makes the food taste even better :) i love these girls dearly and we always have amazing meals together.

on friday rob and i joined vanessa and tobi, their friend and nessa's sis val and her bf at chizakaya, the new japanese small plates place in lakeview that everyone is raving about. to be honest, i don't really remember what we ate but here's what i do remember - puffed pig ears (just like pork rinds), black endamame with sea salt, a taste of bone marrow, beef cheek, pork meatballs, beef sirlon with lime wasabi, a noodle dish with veggies - so yummie, fried corn fritter and a variety of other things. some stuff i loved, other stuff not so much. it was interesting and i'd try it again! i liked the vibe of the restaurant.

saturday morning i went to brunch at ann sathers with ness and part of her family, who i love! it was nice to spend the extra time with her before she left and eat the giant cinnamon rolls of course. later that night rob and i joined my family at pequods for my brother's birthday. he loved the pizza there, who doesnt!? it was just as good as i remembered and i was happy to give him a nice birthday.

i ended the weekend off with dinner at revolution brewing for my friend molly's birthday. i wasn't feeling so hot but i wouldn't miss the celebration for anything! we all shared bacon fat popcorn with crispy sage and shaved Parmesan. soooo good. then i got a mustard herb chicken sandwich with fontina cheese, arugula and roasted garlic. it was super flavorful and very tasty. i really liked it! then we ended with a red velvet cake made by her roomie that was super good!

by the end of a full week of dining out, i was in a definite food coma. i also had caught the flu along the way :( i'm still recovering but i'm pretty much better now and i'm looking forward to enjoying food again!