Posts Tagged ‘parking’

Green Zebra, West Town

Friday, January 15th, 2010

he said:


Feeling a little full of toxins after our Christmas and New Years celebrating, my beautiful girlfriend and I wanted to go out to a healthy dinner. Also, we wanted it to be just the two of us. Holiday parties are fun and waist-expanding, but a little one-on-one time was needed as well.

So we chose Green Zebra based on the fact that it was vegetarian. Should be fairly healthy, right?

Not so green when you’re driving in circles

First things first, this place is really hard to find. My lovely and talented girlfriend had just gotten me an iPhone for Christmas, and we were using the map function to get us there, but that still didn’t help. We drove in circles looking for an unmarked door. If she hadn’t been there already and remembered what it looked like, we may never have found it.

Maybe a little valet would help, too. Not a lot of parking in the neighborhood.

So we finally find the spot, and I’m unimpressed as we walk in. The place looks like it’s an old set from Miami Vice. Too be fair, it doesn’t have as much neon.

Great vegetarian food

But once the food started coming out, I was happy. Being new to eating whole meals that do not include a slaughtered animal, I’m always a little concerned when I go to a place that has just vegetarian options. I need not worry, I always enjoy these restaurants.

And Green Zebra was very good. We started with a burrata cheese course that had tangerines, pumpernickel crumbs, and a salted cucumber that was the highlight of the meal. I don’t know the difference between salted cucumber and pickle, but it tasted different and it was delicious.

That first course was the highlight of the whole meal for me. I had a parsnip and leek soup that was great on a cold night and wonderfully creamy. The faro risotto was a little dry and too straightforward to be memorable.

And the last course I had was warm braised artichoke and beet salad. I thought I might be getting a salad, for some reason. But it was a pasta dish. Well, I get why the call it a salad, based on the ingredients, but it looked and tasted like pasta. I really liked it, though, and would definitely recommend it.

I don’t know if we accomplished our goal of eating smarter—we had a big meal. But I’m sure we ate healthier than we have been. And I know we ate very well at Green Zebra.


she said:

First, a confession. I ducked out on the parking fiasco. I was trying to look all cute for our date so I wore high heels, which is just plain stupid during the winter in Chicago. He dropped me off at the front door because he’s nice.

Green Zebra is, indeed, a mostly vegetarian restaurant, but by no means is it a restaurant designed to impress only vegetarians. The food is exquisite, artfully prepared and presented. It’s gourmet without pretense (and that goes for the service too). You’re encouraged to order 3-4 plates; the menu is visually separated into categories so you pick one dish per category. The plates are small (because small is big these days), but satisfying, and the food is mostly organic and locally grown. There are usually 1-2 meat options (chicken or fish), which, to me, feels like an unnecessary fail-safe against warding off skeptical vegephobics.

For my first dish, I ordered a shaved papaya and salted mango salad, which was good but not amazing, in part because the description created an expectation that the dish didn’t meet. The salad was mostly greens and if I hadn’t been told, I’d have had no idea papayas or mangos were present. I also had the sunchoke ravioli with a poached quail egg – yum – and the celery root crepe – double yum. Two thumbs up for creative approaches to winter vegetables.

I second Guy’s praise of the burrata cheese dish. The cheese was buttery and smooth with unique accompaniments. As for the decor, it’s not particularly appealing to me either. They’re going for super modern, but ended up with posh Floridian hotel lobby. You’ll get over it (if that’s necessary) with your first bite. Or your first sip. Though the cocktail selection didn’t jump off the page to either of us, the wine list is top notch.


Cooper’s, Lake View

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

she said:

Last night we joined our good friends for their weekly jaunt to Cooper’s for dinner. They love the place and are, like us, are a couple composed of one meatophile and one veggie so we knew we were in good hands.

Now, there’s nothing about Cooper’s that makes me want to scream from rooftops, but it’s an all-around great restaurant/pub and I plan to go back often.

Its numerous virtues include the following:
1. They have a great big parking lot behind the restaurant (on Belmont!)
2. And a beautiful covered patio (which is closed for winter, of course, but looks awesome and is pet friendly).
3. On Thursdays, their delicious pizzas are half off. I had the truffle mushroom pizza; it was, without hyperbole, one of the best pub pizzas I’ve ever had.
4. The drink menu is extensive. The multi-page list of imported beers ends with a tiny section (labeled “We’re Not Snobs”) of Budweiseresque variety brews. Martini options abound.
5. There’s plenty of seating and the atmosphere is hip laid-back casual.

I was less impressed by my vegetarian French Onion Soup. French Onion is normally one of my all time favorites, probably because of the thick melted cheese topping. The standard beef broth recipe is off limits for me, but – little known fact – the rich taste comes from the caramelized onions, not the broth. Thus, tasty vegetarian recipes are out there, although I don’t think I’ve ever had one at a restaurant (if you know of any, please let me know). Anyway, Cooper’s was skimpy on the cheese, but certainly not on the black pepper, which dominated the taste and, ultimately, made the soup a culinary failure, in my opinion.

Still, Cooper’s had just about everything this girl could ask for in a low key/good food night out with friends. Oh, and there’s a pile of smooth decorative rocks in the sink of the women’s restroom. I think that’s nice.

he said:

This is a great neighborhood spot. Makes me kind of wish I lived in Lake View. It has the kind of pub grub that makes you feel bad about calling it pub grub* because it doesn’t get across the thought and care that goes into each dish.

*I’ve seen so many great pubs here in Chicago that have interesting menus and delicious dishes, I think we need to come up with a word for it. Something like bar-met (get it, bar and gourmet?) or maybe pubtacular…I’ll keep working.

The service was extremely friendly, helped by the presence our friends, who are regulars. And the beer list was impressive, something that I also keep seeing in Chicago.

Fried Calamari

Coming off my experience with the grilled calamari at Antica Pizzeria, I was ready to be unimpressed when our friends recommended Cooper’s fried calamari. And when it came out, it came out as sticks, instead of the rings I’m used to. It looked like fried mozzarella, and I was thinking this was some Van de Kamps style processed squid.

But one bite showed me that I was wrong. It wasn’t processed–I’m not sure what part of the squid it was from, but it was one cut of meat. And they paired it with true cocktail sauce, not marinara. It was surprising, though I suppose it shouldn’t be. I’m just used to seeing marinara next to calamari.

This wasn’t as good as the grilled calamari, but it was a great fried calamari that rises above the typical pub grub fare.

Rockstar Burger, because I was feeling like a rockstar

Despite the fact that it was half-off pizza night, I just couldn’t turn down the Rockstar Burger. It wasn’t that I fell in love with it on the menu, I just felt like a burger. And I’m really glad I did.

It came topped with a slaw, instead of the regular toppings of a lettuce leaf and a slice of tomato. The slaw was made of chopped lettuce, chopped tomatoes and blue cheese. It was tightly packed on top of the burger. I was worried it would spill everywhere, but it stayed in place really well.

And it was a nice addition to the burger. The blue cheese (or is it bleu?) didn’t overpower, it was a nice addition. However, it did make the provolone cheese I ordered on the burger superfluous.

This is the kind of neighborhood spot that makes you love your neighborhood. We have a few here in Andersonville, but Coopers is a good place to have in Lake View.