Croissant ala Cafe Selmarie.

Cafe Selmarie is a lovely restaurant and bakery in Lincoln Square and the tenth stop on Croissant Quest 2010. I tried a couple of times, but was never early enough to snag a chocolate or almond croissant. The fact that they’re always out of them should be a big hint for me to get there earlier. Oh, well. The run out of their plain croissants too, but I managed one morning to get one.

I have to say this is the most reasonably priced croissant for the quality on the Quest. $1.85? Yeah, I wish I’d picked up a couple of more. Cafe Selmarie’s croissants are light and buttery and are definitely in the top-half of spots. A side-effect of having such tasty treats is that the bakery is always crowded and it’s difficult to get a seat at the counter. Fortunately, you can take your baked goods to the square next door and eat them on a park bench.

Cafe Selmarie in Lincoln Square.

Cafe Selmarie
4729 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625-2009
(773) 989-5595

Plain croissants are $1.85.

Croissant Quest 2010 Establishments (in order of preference):

1. Beans & Bagels
2. Hendrickx Belgian Bread Crafter
3. Bonjour Cafe Bakery
4. Floriole
5. Cafe Selmarie
6. Bakin’ & Eggs
7. Lovely Bake Shop
8. Sweet Cakes Bakery
9. Fritz Pastry
10. Bulldog Bakery

See the photo gallery of Croissant Quest 2010 bakeries.

This gelato makes the world a better place.

Cafe Spiaggia recently got a face lift, and we mixed and mingled in the new space Tuesday night, sampling from the menu and sipping truly spectacular sparkling wines. Chef Tony Mantuano served up focaccia, kale chips, rainbow trout, sardines and a variety wood-fired thin crust pizzas. As we nibbled, we got to watch pasta making in progress.

Chef Tony Mantuano hangs out by the bar.

All of the food we tried was tasty, but the sardines were our hands down favorite until we discovered the gelato cart.  From that point on, we feasted on chocolate and vanilla gelato along with passion fruit and berry sorbet all of which was delectable.

The sardine was our favorite birdie bite.

Toward the end of the evening a pipe burst in the ceiling near the door of the cafe. Yikes! Here’s hoping that the appearance of this unexpected water feature didn’t do any permanent damage to the kitchen and decor because cafe Spiaggia is well worth seeking out when you’re on the mag mile. You’ll get a taste of Spiaggia goodness for a fraction of the price, and that alone is worth the stop. Not to mention that the cafe space has a nice feel to it… an oasis tucked away from the shopping madness.

Pasta in progress.

If you’re in the mood to go high end, check out our review of Spiaggia.

Cafe Spiaggia
980 North Michigan Avenue
Second Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60611
(312) 280-2750

Serving up the goods.

This was a media event and we dined free-of-charge.

Fried green tomatos are served with a smile.

The comfort food at The Southern might not be an obvious choice to escape the July heat, but the shady courtyard and drink specials go a long way. We made a “farmer’s meal” out of the bar and side menu including fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, cheese grits, green bean salad and corn on the cob. The watermelon garnish on the fried green tomatoes was sweet and cold, and our waiter was happy to serve up a side dish when we asked.

The corn on the cob was cut to share.

Everything at The Southern is fresh — the green beans and corn tasted like they’d been picked at the farm that morning, in fact. The grits and hush puppies had a wonderful kick, and the fried green tomatoes were tangy. Service is a little slow at times and we both tragically ran out of drinks, but everyone was friendly and accommodating. If you need an escape in Wicker Park, it’s a great place to stop.

Even though it tasted great, the cheese grits were a little too warm for the summer heat.

We previously visited The Southern during the Fried Chicken Tweet-up.

The Southern
1840 West North Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622-1310
(773) 342-1840

Lemon cupcake from Sprinkles.

Sprinkles opened yesterday in the Gold Coast to much fanfare and raving sugar fiends. Celebrities Bill and Giuliana Rancic were even on hand to support founder Candace Nelson by handing out cupcakes. If you were unable to attend, you can see more photos and get the details on our sister site, Chicago Cupcake Crawl.

Dozens of delicious cupcakes waiting for a home.

Sprinkles Cupcakes
50 E. Walton St.
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 573-1600

The braised Kobe short rib was tasty and well prepared.

One. Six One, located on Taylor just down the street from the University of Illinois at Chicago, “officially” opened its doors Saturday night. Although food has been served there since June, the restaurant now has its liquor license, which inspired an opening night celebration where we sampled a variety of items on the menu.

All and all, this place struck me as odd. The staff and the owner were gracious and obviously excited about the restaurant, but their contagious enthusiasm is not enough to keep them on the map.

The dining room is spacious, but feels like a converted storefront.

The dining room itself feels like a converted storefront — almost like a suburban-style restaurant transplanted to the city. The movie “Chocolat” was projected on a large screen on the wall, and Johnny Depp certainly makes any meal more appealing. But it was distracting to have a movie playing — all while a musician jammed away on an electric keyboard in the lounge area that sported yet another video screen, which displayed pictures of the food.

The wild duck gumbo is spicy and packs a punch.

The food itself was solid, but it didn’t shine. Our first course was the wild duck gumbo — a spicy starter not for the faint of heart — followed an heirloom beet and apple salad.  The most interesting part of the salad was the beet puree that garnished the plate, which was flavored with burnt orange.  For our entrees we tried basted sapphire uha and the braised kobe short rib.  The short rib was the stronger dish — the meat tender and juicy.  We topped off our meal with white chocolate bread pudding, and although it managed to satisfy as something sweet, it was nothing to write home about.

Service was friendly, but far from attentive. Our water glasses went empty more often than not, and the dishes weren’t delivered to the table at a consistent pace.  Dessert arrived while we were still eating our main dishes, and we had to ask our waitress to take dessert away and save it for later. I made the mistake of leaving my fork on one of my plates, and I had to snag one from the empty table next to us when I wasn’t brought another.

White chocolate bread pudding topped of our meal.

Still, with the most expensive entree on the menu topping out at $16, I could easily see One. Six One becoming a popular date spot for the college students in the area. The portions aren’t huge by any stretch, so its not a place to go and pig out. Rather, it’s a place that could lend a sense of occasion. Ultimately, One. Six One gives students a convenient place to eat that’s more swank than the dining hall or Al’s Italian Beef.

One. Six One
1259 W Taylor
Chicago IL 60607
312-226-1611

This was a media event and we dined free-of-charge.

The scallops are topped with veal, giving them a unique mouth feel and distinct flavor.

Stephanie Izard’s Girl and the Goat opened last week to much fanfare and hub-bub, so we followed the throng to be among the first to taste the Top Chef’s concoctions for ourselves in her new dining space on West Randolph.

I was tickled to land a reservation that last week’s  Red Eye dubbed the “hottest seat in town,” but I couldn’t help but wonder if Izard’s food could possibly live up to all of the hype. The verdict?

Grilled baby octopus is a good seafood option.

My initial impression is a good one. The food is tasty, creative, and beautifully plated.  Izard excels preparing meat, and it lurks in almost every dish she turns out, including the seafood ones.  In fact, the scent of roast beast greets you the moment you walk in the door. The veal topped scallops are standout as is the smoked goat pizza.  I also liked the pig face — although I think Tammy was hoping for something like an actual pig head to photograph — and was pleased with the taste of the dish, which literally combined the best parts of the face, including tongue and cheek. I enjoyed the onion soup and the baby octopus as well — they were the strongest showings among the meat-free options we tried.

The best of a pig face, ready to eat.

The restaurant features small plates — and recommends ordering roughly three dishes per person — so our party of four tried a lot of food. There were no complete misses among them, but we agree that probably one in four is truly noteworthy. The dishes have a lot going on, and we were surprised how many were prepared with undertones of citrus flavor.

Still, Izard is off to a good start. Her restaurant has a loud, fun, and good vibe, much like the chef herself, and I look forward to going back in a few months to see how it fares.

Stephanie Izard working the pass.

Girl and the Goat
809 W Randolph
Chicago IL, 60607
312-492-6262 | Make Reservations
Get directions

The grape arbor is attached to Rick's garage and anchored with wisteria.

If you’re excited about Rick Bayless and his restaurant empire, then you would probably get a kick out of tromping through his backyard kitchen, sniffing around his edible garden and sitting under his arbor. I like Rick just fine and in the interest of culinary discovery, I took the $20 tour of his back yard.

The Bayless family lives in Bucktown and has two and half lots filled with production, hanging and perennial gardens behind his house. Bill Shores, who’s been Rick’s gardener for the last five years, manages the gardens here and on the roof above Xoco. He was also our guide for the hour-long tour.

Most of our time centered on the 1000 sq. foot production garden where Shores grows lettuces, herbs and micro-greens for use in Rick’s restaurants. As it’s so small, I wasn’t surprised to learn the garden doesn’t produce enough to supply them 100%. And though Shores follows organic methods, the gardens aren’t certified organic due to paperwork and using non-organic seeds.

Shores keeps the arable land under constant cultivation, bulking up the soil with organic fertilizer and compost. Between a greenhouse and cold houses, the gardens do produce something year-round. Shores also pays particular attention to the beneficial insects in the garden, and plants herbs and flowers that would appeal to them. Keeping good bugs happy is an easy form of pest control.

Other than a few tidbits I picked up on gardening, the biggest value of the tour was being in the space that Rick uses for entertaining, gardening and creating his television shows. I also got to peek in his kitchen and see what he had posted on his refrigerator. What more could a fan want?

More pictures from the tour (click to enlarge):

Thanks to Joelen at What’s Cookin’, Chicago? for arranging the tour. If you want more information about how to get on a tour, go to the Urban Edible site.

The caprese pasta is loaded with fresh mozarella, tomatos and basil.

Want a nice sit-down meal in the Loop for a lunch date or business meeting? Try Pazzo’s. Even though it’s located on the lower level of the 311 South Wacker building, the open atrium is bright, airy and not as loud as these spaces tend to be. There’s a nice pasta and sandwich selection at Pazzo’s as well as daily specials. Service is fast, the food is good, and the price is reasonable. Expect to pay about $15 a person.

Pazzo's atrium provides a respite from the bustle of the Loop.

Pazzo’s @ 311
311 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 913-1600

To understand food, you have to understand food politics. And in the end it all comes down to money. That’s what Ernie Park and Michael Graziano learned while making their Chicago-centric documentary Lunch Line — a film that delves into the history and complexity of the federal school lunch program.

The filmmakers were intially drawn to the topic when they heard about the Organic Schools Program, which teaches kids to garden and then the food they produce supplies the school cafeteria. But to tell that story well, they first had to take a hard look at what’s already in place to feed kids at school. What they found is a severly under-funded program, housed in the Department of Agriculture instead of the Department of Education, and governed by nutritional standards that, over time, have actually contributed to the rise in childhood obesity.

This film couldn’t be more timely. Congress is considering the  reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which funds the National School Lunch Program in 2010, and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans – the blueprint for all federal food programs – will be announced by early 2011. Michelle Obama is leading a charge to encourage and teach children and their parents to eat healthy foods, and even celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver are joining the fray and consulting in school kitchens.

But does all this hype make a difference? Do lessons learned from special nutrition programs at one school translate across the board?

Bob Bloomer, the regional vice president of Chartwells Thompson Hospitality, sums up the issue perfectly in the film. His company is the food service vendor for Chicago Public Schools (CPS), and they work hard to build relationships with farmers and vendors to bring good, fresh food into schools.  But everyday Bloomer faces a huge challenge. He gets a little more than two dollars per student for lunch. Part of that money goes toward the cost of overhead, leaving roughly a dollar per student for the meal itself. And that’s just not enough.

Chatting with Bloomer after the film, he said that there is a lot to be learned from good food projects held at individual schools, but he is aiming for a general program that is sustainable — one that can be replicated in every CPS school and won’t disappear when outside funding goes away.

“Every child deserves good food,” he says.

If you are interested in seeing Lunch Line a second Chicago screening is already in the works.  Check out the film’s Facebook page for details when they’re available. You can also register to host your own screening of the film.

The croissants at Bonjour are elongated.

Tucked behind a Treasure Island in a Hyde Park shopping mall courtyard is Bonjour Cafe Bakery — the latest stop on Croissant Quest 2010. The recommendation came from one of our wonderful Facebook followers, and we’re glad we took the suggestion to trek South.

Slightly sweet, flaky, buttery but not oily, these croissants are definitely contenders for tops in the city. They come in the widest range of flavors I’ve seen thus far: strawberry cream, chocolate, spinach feta, multi-grain, ham and cheese, turkey and cheese, and plain. I also tried the spinach-feta, and thought the filling was perfectly balanced with the pastry.

The seating in the bakery is a little tight, but there’s a shady courtyard and seating for customer. A jazz quartet was playing in the courtyard when we were there, and that provided the perfect backdrop to enjoy these delicious pastries. If you head down there to try the croissant, bring your bills. Bonjour is cash only.

Patrons enjoying the fine weather and excellent pastries at Bonjour.

Bonjour Cafe Bakery
1550 East 55th Street
Chicago, IL 60615-5550
(773) 241-5300

Croissants are $2.20 for plain and range from $2.50 to $3.00 for the specialty and meat-filled croissants.

Croissant Quest 2010 Establishments (in order of preference):

1. Beans & Bagels
2. Hendrickx Belgian Bread Crafter
3. Bonjour Cafe Bakery
4. Floriole
5. Bakin’ & Eggs
6. Lovely Bake Shop
7. Sweet Cakes Bakery
8. Fritz Pastry
9. Bulldog Bakery

See the photo gallery of Croissant Quest 2010 bakeries.