Cabernet & Co.

I'm not sure there are many things that make my ears perk up more then the following two words: Wine Tasting. A couple weekends ago, my Dad mentioned in passing that his favorite wine store was having a wine tasting event and sale. He shared this after we had just spent the past hour at the driving range (testing out my new sticks.) In the back of my mind I was like "What? Why did you wait all afternoon to tell me this? Yes, yes yes!"

Needless to say, we were shortly on our way to Cabernet & Co in Glen Ellyn. We paid 5 bucks (yes only $5) to receive our tasting glass and we were all set to go. When we walked through the doors we were blown away. There must have been 100-150 people crammed into this little shop. Apparently the entire town of Glen Ellyn got the memo. I mean how could you turn this down. They had 20 tables set up with 5-6 wines each...all of which were just absolutely delicious. From France to Chile and $10 to $100 bottles all regions and price ranges were on the table. I truly was like a kid in a candy store. Thank god we had to head back home for RWS or I may have drank myself sick.

Well done Cabernet & Co., I had a blast.

To name a few of my favorites that we picked up:

2003 Chateau Beausejour Montagne Saint-Emilion (Bordeaux, France)
2007 Del Fin Del Mundo Malbec (Argentina)
2009 Del Fin Del Mundo Sauvignon Blanc (Argentina)

Sprout

With the recent news that I had been offered a new job, a better job, my Dad recommended that we step it up for our April Monthly dinner. After only a minute or two on Yelp, I found that a new restaurant I had heard about was getting really good reviews. Sprout, on the corner of Fullerton and Southport, was opened by Dale Levitski (a "Top Chef" runner-up). I'm not a huge competitive cooking fan however I felt with the combo of a noted chef and good Yelp reviews, they must be doing something right.

They offer an a la carte menu, however the real deal at Sprout is the 3 course menu:

For my appetizer, I had one of their more popular dishes. The Scallop with fennel and grape. The Scallop was perfectly cooked and the sweet/savory combination was a nice light way to start the meal.

After the appetizer, we were served a "surprise" course. This little cup of shaved ice fruit juice was tart and refreshing.

Then on to my main course, I had the Rabbit with truffle, peas, asparagus, and manchego. Although I can't say that this was the best rabbit I have ever had (the dish was a little on the salty side) it was a great choice for Spring meal.

Our second "surprise" course was a funny little fruit grilled cheese. My Dad described it as strange but good. I had to take his word for it as I was served some gluten-free fruit and lettuce. Which on a side note, although the Waiter seemed thrown off by my request, the kitchen managed my allergy with grace.

Last but not least dessert. Although all the items on the menu included some form of gluten, the kitchen was happy to served me the Rhubarb dessert (with strawberries, marcona almonds, and basil ice cream) without the pastry.

Overall, I'm not sure I agree with the Yelpers giving Sprout a 4 1/2 rating, I would say that this is one the better meals I have had of late. My only complaint is that I could have done without the filming that was going on while we were there which caused our waiters to be a little slow.

Easter Lamb

The only way that I can describe the Easter holiday this year is by calling it "Phased Celebrating."

Phase 1 was the "Look at the Baby...Look at the Baby" celebration at my brother's. We had a very nice brunch prepared by my sister-in-law Molly as we watched Jack play with his new stuffed hammer toy from the Easter Bunny that made a crashing noise when you hit it against something.

Phase 2 was fun....mixed feeling about the the Church. My Dad was in complete boycott mode (I'm sure you all can think of a few reasons). My Mom was upset with the Bishops. And I'd describe my feelings as "pushed under the rug" so that I could keep the faith on the holiday to fulfill 50% of my Creaster dedication. Needless to say, one and a half of us mentally attended Sunday mass.

Phase 3 Now that the niceties of the Easter Bunny and Jesus were complete, it was time to eat. Although 70% of US families prefer Ham at the dinner table on Easter, my family going against the grain as usual and had Lamb.

The meal was insanely delicious. My Mom tends to just "make things up," however I'll do my best to describe what we had:

Lamb: My mom adapted a Bobby Flay recipe. It was so tender that I must have eaten at least 20 pieces. She served it with gravy made from the pan dripping.






New Potatoes: She baked these for about an hour with olive oil, rosemary and some kosher salt.







Asparagus: These were roasted up with some lemon zest and juice to balance out this light Spring dinner.







Wine: The meal was served with a 2002 Rust en Vrede Stellenbosch that my Dad had been saving for a while. When he had it the first time it was served with Lamb, so Easter was the perfect occasion to bring it out. It was delicious.

Marcello's Pizza

After 6 months of pretending that I could satisfy my pizza cravings with frozen gluten free pizzas...my days of kidding myself are over. I have finally found my replacement!

Funny enough, I found it 2 blocks away from my apartment. Marcello's, a "Father and Son Restaurant", located at North and Larabee offers a Gluten free menu that includes not only pizza but pasta, salads, desserts and Redbridge beer. I was so excited that a restaurant near me makes pizza and delivers...I honestly didn't even care if it tasted good. Turns out, it was amazing*. The crust was thin and crispy, the cheese gooey and the toppings fresh. Honestly this was too good to be true. My only complaint would be that the biggest size you can order is 12".

In my haste, I forgot to take a picture of this work of gluten free art. No doubt I will be ordering again very soon and will update my post accordingly.

*Please note, for those non-gluten free...the pizza cannot replace a slice of real NY pizza