What?! We're Eating at The Mall?! @e+o

Wanting something out of the ordinary and close to "Chiburbia" ( Chicago suburbs), I recalled hearing that Chef Rodelio Aglibot, who is responsible for everything delicious at Sunda , has brought his culinary genius to Randhurst Mall in Mt. Prospect called E+O. Knowing what this guy can do to food, I did not even flinch at the thought of eating at the mall...and they have pappardelle!

House made pappardelle, short rib, sour cream:

Of course! What did you expect? Well, I actually expected the typical Italian tomato sauce as the short rib ragu. Oh no no! The ragu had an earthy beef stew nature, with a hint of sweetness. It reminded me of a really good pulled pork sauce. Swirling the sour cream around turned the sauce into one creamy slurp of heaven! Oh yeah...clean plate club.

My noshing partner for this adventure is my friend Dr. Cracker (D.C.) He had the steak, but I don't recall what it was called, but I remember it having a roasted fenel bulb. Prior to this experience, I did not know what a fenel bulb looks like or tastes like. It had a meaty but celery crunch, and it seems that it would take on seasonings very well. D.C. is a big steak snob, often stating that his fillet mignon trumps most steak houses out there...he actually liked this.

The Chiburbia culinary adventure was too good not to do again...so I did! This time, I dragged Karla Fantastic. She was filled with doubt as I nonchalantly said "We're going to eat at the mall." I can't believe she agreed to this idea.

 She had the Kale Salad with bulgur, parsley, lemon, pecorino, currants,pine nuts, sweet onions, and olive oil. Holy medley of flavor and textures! There were different types of crunches that I experienced in one bite, and I swear there was lobster in there, although it wasn't mentioned. I heard that the next day leftovers of this dish was even better!

Another dish was the Double or Nothing Sushi with shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, mango, albacore, salmon, tuna, escolar, sesame sauce, tobiko, and nori. This did not need to swim in the pool of soy sauce and wasabi. I think if I had access to that, I most likely would've ruined the flavor masterpiece.

My insatiable craving for carbs won again, and I ended up with the Smoked Chicken Carbonara with fusilli pasta,duck skin, peas, pecorino, and duck skin! Just put a bird on it!...bird egg, bird, bird skin. Everything is indeed better with an egg on top. The egg made a creamy sauce that enveloped the spiral noodles. The peaceful zen as my teeth digs into the carbs is shaken by the crunchy duck skin. Shake me some more!!!  Oh I have news goose...I had left overs! I popped this in the microwave the next day, waiting to eat pasta in a a pool of oil as most carbonara dishes suffer from. To my delight, there was no sign of an oil pool. It tasted like it did when it was first served! 

                                                     

E+O number 3! In celebration of being born, a little catering stumbled on my office. The smorgasbord included chicken sandwiches with lemon aioli, garden ciabatta sandwich for the vegetarians, turkey sandwiches and crab cake sandwiches with avocado and lemon remoulade. Being that it was my birthday, I felt adventurous, and put my mild seafood allergy to the test. I picked the crab cake sandwich. No benadryl needed. That my noshers is the true test of freshness. I somehow only itch when it's not fresh. The crab cake was real crab cake, and not just filler cake, and the avocado and lemon remoulade joined forces to create a creamy and tangy medley in my mouth! 

For dessert, were donut hole looking things, but it tasted like carrot cake, chocolate chip cookies, and thumbprint cookies. To take these sweet things to the next level, it came with chocolate and creme anglaise type dipping sauces. Oh was it hard to leave the lunch room.

No cocktails were served during lunch, but they do serve strong but amazing craft cocktails. Call me a lightweight, but one was enough. Remember you still have to drive out of Chiburbia! 

This place is definitely worth breaking out of the city bubble for! Multiple experiences of this place has proven it! Oh and their outdoor patio makes you forget you're within mall limits. Breathe in the fresh Chiburban air. Now hop in your rental car, eat at E+O before you head on over to Ikea...yes it's close to Ikea.

The inside looks like this...

                                       

                                                      

Seattle: This Little Piggy Went to the Market

For your listening pleasure: Willy Wonka's Pure Imagination

Like a proper tourist, I heeded the countless recommendations to go to the market...Pike Place Market. My friends, "The Swedish Twins," have previously gone before I did, and took the Savour Seattle Food Tour . They came back madly in love and ready to elope with Seattle and the market.  I have visited the market on a previous trip, with the mission to see fish fly! I did, and uneventfully checked it off the list... and nowhere in love with the place. Not giving up on love, I decided to stop being cheap and give it a second chance. I took the Savour Seattle Food Tour...thank you Groupon!

My alarm clock blared at 8am to make it to the 10:30am tour with Nick, the pink umbrella toting man. He started off handing us napkins while telling us that those would be our utensils, and that we may be eating off the same container. Ha?! WHAAAAT?! I had to self talk the germophobe that possess my soul, down! Ohhhhm....Moving on...

First stop is the Daily Dozen Donuts. It's described as "tiny, hot, sugary, and delicious" Supposedly people line up around the block for these. I saw it as carbs, sugar, deep fried, OK, but I wouldn't line up for them. 

Pike Place Fish: Time to see fish fly again! This time, I contemplated about volunteering to be the catcher so I could show off my spectacular hand-eye coordination...NOT! I left it to a brave soul, who's down to smell like eeew eau de parfish all day. (Nope! I did not take a picture! My camera decided not to! ) Finally, the fish monger called my skills to the plate...eating!!! He gave us samples of 3 different kinds of salmon. I'm so used to getting nasty salmon that I was ready to do my Negative Nelly face...But NO! I wanted more more more! They nicknamed the peppered as the converter. It will make a salmon lover out of anyone.

Left:Smoked. Top Right: Peppered. Bottom Right: Jerky.

 MarketSpice:This picture is not what it looks like. Whiskey shot this is not. It's tea and some gourmet salt (I forgot what it was! Trust me it's not Morton's.) The tea had clover and cinnamon in it. It was like a hug from a crush... refreshing and warm. The salt was well...salty. This would be a great stop for the gourmet cook. I'd go back for the tea and queen worthy teacups.

Beecher's Handmade Cheese: Cheese is actually made on site, which means squeaky cheese curds! What people really come for is the mac and cheese made with their Flagship cheese. It's got a semi hard cheese feel and taste, but it's delicious stink melts in your mouth. You can sample them in store. I got greedy and tried to pile up a few on my skewer, only to have it crumble and fall to the ground. Lesson learned?

Chukar Cherries: This was my favorite! The place where cherries crashed into salsa and chocolate. Yes, salsa! The sweetness from the cherries went surprisingly well with the tangy and spicy flavors of the salsa. If my luggage wasn't full, I would've hoarded a few. Now on to the chocolate topic. There were 2 different  kinds of chocolate and cherry concoctions, a raspberry and cranberry concoction, and Oh there was a random pecan, the one that's dusted with white stuff. Powdered sugar perhaps? It tasted like a slice pecan pie! Does Willy Wonka work here?!

 The bing cherry is the reddish tinted morsel in the cup. They decided to mess with mother nature and made bing cherries in chocolate form. Does this grow on trees? The darker morsel is the Cabernet cherry. It tasted like wine and chocolate in one bite. The vibrant red thing is the Raspberry truffle. The bright red color is from the raspberry dust that was hiding the white chocolate, that was holding the cranberry hostage. I approve of this delicious crime! The wrinkly looking thing is a dried cherry. I expected it to taste like a raisin, but it was way better!

The orange tinge shot is the bisque.

Pike Place Chowder: Chowdah you say? Before this, I only knew the Campbell's kind.We got shots of the New England Clam Chowder and the Lobster Bisque. I was a big fan of the chowder. It was very creamy and not watery or slimy. They were not stingy with the meaty clam either. The bisque was definitely overshadowed by the chowder.

Piroshky-Piroshky: "From Russia with love." That was how it was listed in the tour flyer. Indeed love was involved in the history of this place. Story has it that the owners of this place had a limited amount of money, and bought everything they needed to build this place. When all the money was spent, they realized that they forgot to buy eggs and flour! Penniless the night before opening day, they had set to turn opening day into breaking down day. The next day, they woke up to a mystery envelope containing enough money to buy flour and eggs! Years after, it was discovered that the donor was from a lady who also owned a piroshky shop a few blocks down. Awww. With my heart swollen from this tale, out comes  Nick the tour man with a tray of piroshkies. An apple and a meat version.

It reminded me of a strudel, with a heartier dough. It's as if a croissant and a bread bun had a baby, and the baby had a play date with meat and apples...and they all lived happily ever after.

Etta's Seafood Restaurant: Crabcakes! These sea critters landed on my napkin, freshly made, which then my mouth quickly realized how fresh from the fryer it was! It was oh so hot! Yes, we were substantially warned, but my brain turns into Homer at the sight of food. Although I singed  my mouth, it's crunchy outer layer and juicy inner crab was a delicious distraction to my pain receptors. Burn? What burn?

Oh what a wonderful way to explore the market and try out foods that I would not otherwise have tried. At the end of the tour, we were given a business card that I can flash like someone of importance, and get discounts at countless of places at the market. Do you smell a sequel to this adventure? Stay tuned to find out!