Balena

So glad I finally got to try Balena in Lincoln Park! I have been meaning to try this place for a while, so 5 friends and I went to check it out last week. Chris Padel, the restaurant’s head chef, was in the running for a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant; that’s some serious stuff! Balena was also nominated for Best New Restaurant in the Chicago Foodie’s Bible- Time Out Chicago. I always trust the food writer’s opinions in that magazine and that was the big reason I was so tempted by this restaurant’s tantalizing menu.

Balena means “whale” in Italian, and after feasting on these delicious menu items, I think we all felt pretty whale-like…(but well worth it).

We started with two pizzas. The first, and all around favorite of the two, was the Spicy sausage pizza with red onion, tomato and mozzarella. The crust was so fresh and all of the ingredients melded perfectly together for a cheesy, spicy, warm slice.

The second pizza was the brussel sprout pizza with pancetta, pecorino and red onion. It had a salty/lemony flavor with the crisp leafy texture from the sprouts. Still a really good pizza, but nothing compared to the spicy sausage which was scarfed down by the table within 10 minutes. The brussel sprout pizza had two slicing remaining. The winner was clear.

Everyone got their own pasta dish for the main course. I like how the pasta dishes weren’t humungous like most Italian eateries. I was happily able to eat every last bite of mine. The most popular dish at the table was the Tagliolini Nero which was an ink pasta with crab, sea urchin and chili. Three people at the table ordered it! This dish reminded me exactly of the pasta I ordered at RPM Italian and I have to say, RPM take the cake on that one. Everyone at the table really enjoyed Balena’s Tagliolini Nero, for me, it was my least favorite.

I ordered the Orecchiette based off of the waiter’s heartfelt recommendation for it. I was very impressed! This dish came with kale, lemon, chili and toasted breadcrumbs that added some great texture on top of the creamy sauce. I only let one person at the table take a taste and I ate all the rest!

The last thing I tried was the Rigatoni with pork ragu and porcini mushrooms. Mushrooms are probably the only food I do not enjoy so I poked at the pasta and pork sauce which was really delicious.

Everyone really enjoyed their dinner at Balena, I hope to go back soon and try some more of their amazing-looking pizzas!

An Italian Wedding Shower

This past weekend, My mom and my aunts put on a beautiful wedding shower for my cousin. Their hard work paid off in everything from the food, to the decorations to the music- it felt like we were in Tuscany! Check out some of the highlights:

The amazing stuffed shells were made by Aunt Jo! She made them based off of the colors of the Italian flag- Pesto Chicken for the green, Lemon Basil Ricotta for the white and Turkey Sausage and Artichoke with Marinara for the red. She put her own little spins off of the below recipes, like using her own homemade marinara sauce and adding ricotta instead of cream cheese to the pesto shells. Try them out! I have a hard time choosing my favorite because they were all so yummy, but I think I lean towards the awesome pesto shells!

Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

Lemon Basil Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Turkey Sausage and Artichoke Stuffed Shells

Bar Ombra

Last weekend my friend R from laceandlacquer.com and I went out to dinner in Andersonville in Chicago. We wanted to step out of the bounds of our usual spots and try something fresh and new. We decided on Bar Ombra which was featured in Chicago Magazine’s Best New Restaurants of 2012. Because R is a vegetarian this place looked like it had a lot of menu items that would be fitting. And it was a tapas place so we could try a much of their delicious looking dishes!

The place had a great ambiance with walls dressed with old newspapers, chalkboards displaying the menu, wooden booths and leather seats made out of old leather jackets!

We started out with a bottle of red Pratello Rebo that was smooth and tasty!

Next we moved onto the Cicchetti part of the menu for little tastes of different vegetarian dishes. They served this to us all on a clean white plate and we dug in…

Clockwise from the spoon we ordered:

Charred corn with tomatoes and watercress pesto (our fav!)

Tomato, watermelon and rind salad with feta

Cabbage with golden raisins

Grilled summer squash and peppers with red wine vinaigrette (waiter’s suggestion…don’t know why he’d suggest such an average dish)

Roasted apples with pecorino cheese, walnuts and balsamic

….We thought of this as an appetizer because the dishes were not very big but gave us a great taste of what their menu had to offer. Like i said the corn was our favorite! We probably got the last of the summer’s fresh corn and the pesto that went along with it was a great complement to the dish. I also really enjoyed the roasted apples but it only came with one apple that we had to split. The tomato and watermelon salad was a winner but we both tossed aside the rinds that were in the salad because they were a little too watery and firm. The cabbage was cole slaw-like and the golden raisins were a nice touch (I’m going to steal that for the next time I make cole slaw!)

Next we ordered from the insalate, panani, fritti, pizette, bruschette and fromaggi parts of the menu. First we got the Pecornino cheese platter that came with sliced baguettes, jam and mustard. The cheese was phenomenal and we mostly ate it without the pairings.

Then was the beet salad with watercress, gorgonzola and walnuts. Beets are always a favorite to me and this salad in particular was awesome. Needless to say I gobbled this one down.

The bruschetta with peaches, almonds, goat cheese and chives was next. This was something on the menu I was anticipating to be my favorite. However it was a bit of a disappointment. The goat cheese was put on so heavily that it overwhelmed the whole dish. I couldn’t even taste the peaches which were not as juicy as I had hoped.

Next up was the arancini neri, the black rice balls. These were really yummy and it was a nice touch that they used black rice for the inside. Just wish the marinara they served it with was smoother so I could dip it more easily!

Last of the main course(s) was the margherita pizza. Can never complain about pizza made from scratch…delicious!

We ended our entire meal with coffee and tiramisu then went out on the town with extremely full bellies! Needless to say I would recommend this place when you want an upscale meal with lots of choices! Even if you do leave a little too full to move!