Meli Cafe – Angus Burger

Location:

Meli Cafe & Juice Bar
301 South Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 454-0748

Includes:

Cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
Baby Reds (or French Fries, Pasta Salad, Potato Crisps)
Cantaloupe Slice

Price:

$8.50

Review:

I’ve been wanting to try this place for some time now, but they close at 3 pm so I haven’t had the chance until now. The staff and atmosphere is quite nice and attentive, and my buddy was crushing on our waitress. “Something about her glasses,” he kept telling me.

They are keen on freshness and organic-mess, and the food reflected this. The burger can described as light, fluffy, and fresh. That is not to say that it was small, but rather the way it tasted.

The potatoes were also quite good. In addition, I ordered their mango smoothy and was not disappointed.

I did not get a chance to try their eggs, skillets, crepes, or omelets, but they looked and smelled overwhelmingly delicious.

Highly recommended!

Rating:

 ★★★★★★★★½☆ 

Catch Thirty Five – Fish & Chips

Location:

Catch Thirty Five
35 W. Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 346-3500

Includes:

Tartar Sauce
Malt Vinegar
Cole Slaw

Price:

$16.95

Review

My search for Chicago’s best Fish & Chips continues. I feel like Cap’n Ahab looking for the elusive best fish & chips in Chicago only to be constantly disappointed.

This time, I was pleasantly delighted, but not impressed. Catch 35′s take is definitely the freshest tasting I’ve had to date. Also distinctly crispy and crunchy, due to the non-traditional batter. Not bad at all.

My only gripe was that the fish was seasoned sparingly.

The chips were good, but not spectacular. The cole slaw is not worth mentioning.

Recommended Overall.

Rating:

 ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 

Catch Thirty Five – Point Judith Calamari

Location:

Catch Thirty Five
35 W. Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 346-3500

Includes:

Tofu Satay
Cocktail Sauce
Tartar Sauce

Price:

$8.95

Review:

Catch 35 is one of my favorite seafood joints in Chicago. A bit pricey, but definitely worth it.

Their calamari are some of the freshest tasting I have ever had a chance to try. Not fusion-y, tangy, or uniquely spiced, but as far as traditional fried calamari go, they are top notch.

Also, the tofu satay was a perfect complement. Simply excellent flavor; perfectly fried with sweet peppers.

Highly Recommended.

Rating:

 ★★★★★★★★½☆ 

Banner for a Festival on the International Children’s Day sponsored by Bright Future International.

Pretty straight forward. I drew the kids in Illustrator. Everything else was created at very low resolution to save time.

Grand Lux Cafe – Fish & Chips

Location:

Grand Lux Cafe
600 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 276-2500

Includes:

Peanut Cole Slaw
House Tartar Sauce

Price:

$16.50

Review

I’ve been to the Grand Lux many times and cannot recommend their burgers more, but this time I wanted to try the Fish & Chips.

Long Story short – My search for Chicago’s best Fish & Chips continues. (Although at this time, any good Fish & Chips would be very welcome.)

The fish itself was probably fresh, but not perfectly cooked, nor generously portioned for the price. However, the batter and the tartar sauce on the other hand were pretty good. In fact the batter/spices, tarter sauce, and cole slaw were all top notch. My problem was with lukewarm wimpy fish and average chips (fries). Their fries cone causes the them to get cold instantly; it looks good, but is not functional.

Rating: Meh – not worth getting the Fish and Chips, but Highly Recommended for other things.

Rating:

 ★★★★★★½☆☆☆ 

Grand Lux Cafe – Crispy Calamari

Location:

Grand Lux Cafe
600 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 276-2500

Includes:

Marinara Sauce

Price:

$5.50

Review:

As far as appetizers go, I feel that you can’t go wrong with calamari, and at under $6 this is a great choice. (They also have a big calamari platter that comes with the trimming for more than double the price.)

These calamari are covered with the exact kind of crispy and crunchy batter that I prefer over the fluffy kind. Instead of cocktail sauce, the Lux went with warm Marinara sauce, and I have no complaints.

The atmosphere is not too bad, especially if you have a view of Michigan Avenue.

Highly Recommended

Rating:

 ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 

Jersey Mike’s – Chipotle Cheese Steak

Location:

Jersey Mike’s
200 West Monroe Street (Suite 120)
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 263-0830

Includes:

Grilled Onions
Peppers
Chipotle Mayo
Jalapenos (by request)

Price:

$6.75

Review

I go to a lot of chains, but I don’t usually review them. So if a place isn’t very good, I don’t bother reviewing it.

As we walk into this place and I realize that we are the only people in there. The staff jokes with us and we talk about their recommendations. The cashier says that the best hot sub is the Chipotle Cheese Steak with jalapenos. (I am sold) He goes on to say that the cook on shift is the best one working at the location. (I am getting interested)

Let me start by saying that I don’t like mayo on my burgers (or steak sandwiches) because it dulls the taste. On a cheese steak where the cheese already mellows the flavors I was very apprehensive about the mayo. Fortunately the sub delivered, even though it was mild in flavor. However, this was on of those rare times where the mellowness contributed to the melt-in-your mouth effect. I am glad I went with the japapenos as well. I wish it had more flavor, but it was excellent nonetheless.

Rating:

 ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 

Review of Big & Little’s – Fish & Chips

Location:

Big & Little’s Restaurant
860 N Orleans St
Chicago, 60610
(312) 943-0000

Includes:

Tartar Sauce
Lemon Slices

Price:

$15.00

Review:

I’ve read and heard a lot of good things about this place. But looking at those good reviews now, many came from the English, and from my experience, England is not known for cuisine. So let me summarize by saying, this is not the best fish & chips in Chicago and I have no idea where the hype comes from.

The fish itself was fresh, perfectly cooked, and generously portioned. However, the batter on the other hand was flavorless and oily. Even though they had a bunch of sauces on the tables, there was no way to correct a flavorless fish.

The fries were flimsy, flavorless, soggy, and oily.

Like the mayo v miracle whip debate, I didn’t like their versions/brands of malt vinegar and tartar sauce.

On a final note, even though I didn’t particularly enjoy their food, others might. I did like the atmosphere and I was very interested in what others where eating as everything ‘looked’ delicious. I’ll probably go back someday to try something else, but skip the fries.

Rating:

 ★★★★★½☆☆☆☆ 

The Smoking Froggy is based on a very similar tapestry I owned years ago. After I finishing the drawing I was disappointed in the final product because the blacks were nowhere near dark enough, that made the colors dull, and a few colors didn’t come out as expected because the clipboard was tan not white. But after some time with Photoshop it came out exactly how I pictured it in my mind.

PROCESS

I started with a recycled-wooden clipboard, a couple Pigma Microns, and a whole lotta of Sharpies. Long story short, I did all the linework first, then added the color, and finished up with the hatching.

After getting it into Photoshop, I used a bunch of adjustment layers to mess with levels/contrast/saturation/vibrance and all that good stuff, some with a bit of custom mask work. In terms of ink work the final is virtually identical to original.

Mike Ditka’s – “Kick Ass” Kobe Burger

Location:

Mike Ditka’s Restaurant
100 E Chestnut St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 587-8989

Includes:

Melted Brie
Grilled Sweet Onions
Arugula
Tomato
Truffled Balsamic Mayo
Truffle Fries

Price:

$16

Review:

Oow-Wee this is one darn good burger.

Rather, this is one “Kick Ass” burger!!!

“Wow” is all I ‘d like to say. Every single ingredient was perfect, each complemented the other, a flavor explosion.

The fries themselves was so-so, but the garlic/truffle seasoning on them was spectacular. Or perhaps the fries to were amazing, but were eclipsed by the savory, melty-goodness of this perfect burger. And trust me, because it’s not apparent from the photo, this burger is HUGE.

From the atmosphere to the wait staff, Ditka’s is all top notch. Highly recommended!

Rating:

 ★★★★★★★★★½