Frog Princesse in Chicago

[FrogPrincesse]

Back downtown, I spotted a cupcake place and my daughter immediately recognized the cupcake wars sticker, so we had to go in. 

 

Molly's Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

I let everyone enjoy their cupcakes instead of trying to explain relativism!

Enough ism for one day already.

 

 

 

We picked the chocolate decadence and it didn't disappoint! The chocolate cream-filled center was a nice touch.

 

 

 

 

[ElsieD]

42 minutes ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Back downtown, I spotted a cupcake place and my daughter immediately recognized the cupcake wars sticker, so we had to go in. 

 

Molly's Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

I let everyone enjoy their cupcakes instead of trying to explain relativism!

Enough ism for one day already.

 

 

 

We picked the chocolate decadence and it didn't disappoint! The chocolate cream-filled center was a nice touch.

 

 

 

 

 

I would have been all over the Boston Cream one.  Great food you are having.  I get hungry looking at it.

[Okanagancook]

I am really enjoying this.  Thank you for taking the time and effort to share.

The cheese selections is out of my world here in the middle of almost nowhere. 

[FrogPrincesse]

30 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

I am really enjoying this.  Thank you for taking the time and effort to share.

The cheese selections is out of my world here in the middle of almost nowhere. 

Even in San Diego where we have a few cheese shops I don't have access to the same quality of cheeses. 

[FrogPrincesse]

42 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

I would have been all over the Boston Cream one.  Great food you are having.  I get hungry looking at it.

Thank you! 

[Smithy]

This is a fine trip, and thank you for bringing us along!

 

Never mind relativism at Molly's Cupcakes, I'm trying to make sense of the Periodic Table. :-)

[FrogPrincesse]

Last night in Chicago; dinner at Dusek's which is another beer & seafood & elavated bistro concept which happens to have a Michelin one star. It is located in a renovated building in a historically Czech neighborhood.

 

 

 

The beer menu with 24 beers on tap

 

Dinner menu

 

3 Floyds beer flight. My favorite was the Savoy session IPA in the back 

 

Allagash James Bean with coffee bean and vanilla notes

 

 

Not much light in the restaurant so all the pictures are dark, but this ramp fettucine appetizer with morels made us lick the plate (almost). Wonderful. Lots and lots of green and wild garlic.

 

Wellfleet oysters. The mignonette had a low vinegar content, lots of dill and was a great compliment to the briney oysters.

 

Lamb roulade with merguez with cucumber and yoghurt. What looks like a sliced sausage was actually lamb loin pounded thin and filled with merguez (like a sausage but with a thin layer of lamb loin to keep it together instead of casing) and it was delicious. The other flavors reminded me of a gyros, elevated many levels.

 

Boudin blanc sausage sandwich. The boudin was great, super juicy.

 

Dessert menu

 

Rhubarb, rose and lemon dessert. I could have done without the white chocolate "mousse" (what looks like a white crumble) because it essentially coated my mouth with fat. The rose & rhubarb was a good combination.

 

Cocktail menu

 

Urban Prairie with Ransom Old Tom gin, Swedish punch, gomme, lime, absinthe. This had a bunch of interesting flavors under a deceptively simple exterior.

 

And the favorite drink of the evening, a small pour of Redemption rye L&E, a special bottling which had a kick (from the barrel proof) and minty notes upfront, combined with a super long butterscotch finish that envelopped the table. Delightful.

 

 

[MetsFan5]

What did you think about the beer from Revolution Brewery? They recently released some of their beers in the northern Nj area and after sampling a few, I was impressed enough to buy a six pack. 

 

Awesome trip report. 

[FrogPrincesse]

3 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:

What did you think about the beer from Revolution Brewery? They recently released some of their beers in the northern Nj area and after sampling a few, I was impressed enough to buy a six pack. 

 

Awesome trip report. 

It was a great example of IPA! Very flavorful. And the can was fun too. 

 

Thank you!

 

Edited June 25, 2017 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Shelby]

How did I miss this until this morning??????

 

 What a WONDERFUL treat to read as I sip on an iced coffee.  I had so much fun perusing each menu and then carefully deciding what I would have ordered.  It was like I was having a mini vacation in my kitchen  

 

I would be in Eataly for eons and eons. I would have to probably be dragged out, kicking and screaming with my arms full of cheeses, meats and assorted kitchen wares.

 

 I would have had to order the burrata  (I've never had it, only seen it online and it looks so good), the frito misto de pesce and the ragu arancini.  But, then I scrolled down and saw your meat platter and I might have had to order that, too.

 

Ohhhh that farmer's market looks so fun. Those jars of pickled mushrooms really caught my eye.

 

I am pea green with envy over your visit to the art institute.  Art museums .....well, lets just say I wanted to be a painter or some sort of artist when I was a kid.  Then I realized that what they say is true...you don't make much money doing that until you're dead lol.  So, I nixed that dream.  I LOVE the Manet painting.  I haven't been to a museum in years and years and years.  

 

Girl and the Goat looks fun.  My order:  Soft shell crab and the pig heart (unless someone would eat the pig face with me and then that would have been my pick)

 

LOVE the lights at The Publican.  Razor clam ceviche and the pork rinds for me there.  And definitely, to drink, the house made Lambic Doux.  

 

Also love the ceiling in Dusek's .  Choucroute for me along with the Nasketucket Bay oysters and that ramp pasta dish (yeah, no way could I eat all of that but a girl can dream).

 

Wow.  I really wrote a book here--sorry.  I just had so much fun   Thank you so much for taking time to do this!

 

I am hungry now but I know that when I open my fridge, nothing will look near as good as what I just saw from your trip.  Sigh.

 

 

Edited June 25, 2017 by Shelby (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Thank you @Shelby! And thanks everyone for the nice comments. I had fun doing this.

 

PS @Kerry Beal Unfortunately I didn't get to try the besk, which is similar to a malört from what I read, because it is sold out everywhere except maybe in that one restaurant that happened to still have a bottle! Lesson learned - always scan the menu for unusual items!)

[suzilightning]

15 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

I would have been all over the Boston Cream one.  Great food you are having.  I get hungry looking at it.

Me. too....or ANYTHING with lemon!!

 

Really loving this mini-vacation...thanks.

[Beebs]

Just caught up to this now. Wow - what a lot of good eatin'!  Thanks for taking us along!

 

 

[Alex]

Yes, thank you, FP. We get to Chicago regularly, but (gasp!) haven't been to any of the places you wrote about, except for Eataly and the Art Institute. The Publican is now on the agenda for our next trip.

[chromedome]

On 2017-6-24 at 7:40 PM, FrogPrincesse said:

Quick stop at Café Descartes in Oak Park for a punch-lunch espresso. I couldn't resist a coffee house with a philosopher theme.

 

Excuse the blurry picture. That's me pointing at JP Sartre and attempting to summarize existentialism to my 11-year old daughter. 

 

Shades of Monty Python's "Summarize Proust" sketch...