I'm in Love

With the new Whole Foods in Northbrook at Willow and Waukegan.

After my friend Red Thread stopped into the new South Loop Whole Foods (just off the Taylor Street ramp off I-90/94) she politely offered me blogging dibs on the store. I thanked her for the heads up, but then made wry comment like, *yawn* Big Organic is growing again?

I can head to the Whole Foods in Evanston, Deerfield or the newish one in Sauganash. But I stopped in to the just-opened Northbrook location and I get it. I'm smitten. The store is more spacious than any Whole Foods I've been in. Everything looks so fresh.

And their foragers, professionals who seek out local foods, are doing a good job. They have fabulous pastries from Rolf's Patisserie in Lincolnwood (pricey enough that it's easy to keep temptation at bay), Chef Earl's fresh salsa and hummus, some great Wisconsin cheeses. To steal a phrase from another ubiquitous food outlet: I'm lovin' it!

Here are excerpts from Red Thread's post at the Chicago Moms Blog that I now relate to:

The angels sang and my recyclable tote bag was hungry for new items. First, you walk into the produce. Glorious, glorious fruits & veggies stacked like art....

The next thing I really noticed was a huge section of not just cosmetics and vitamins for sale, but IMO, a larger section of clothing than I've seen at Chicago WFs.

But wait...turn a corner to the bakery! A wall of fresh bread greets you and get this. There's a dessert bar! Dear goddess, why do you tempt me so? You can also get fresh pizza, made-to-order sandwiches, gelatto, fancy chocolates, and deli stuff.

The Curious Incident of the Cow (and my 7 year-old) in the Day (at Whole Foods)

My mother-in-law brought the boys to the Northbrook store the day it opened. I was dismayed to learn that Pikachu, who "doesn't like people dressed up in animal costumes" harassed someone in a cow costume. My progeny stepped on the cow's toes, whacked the poor thing's tail and goodness knows what else. After missing out on from a mini-golf adventure my bad seed wrote a letter of apology to the store manager. When we delivered it yesterday, the manager-on-duty, Red Elk, kindly and sympathetically accepted the suddenly shy and demure Pikachu's note. He even got down to my boy's eye level to have a gentle talk with him. He's either a dad or a former preschool teacher.

Apology complete, we picked up the fresh loaf of bread we planned to buy. We also purchased several items we hadn't planned on, but got hooked after a sample or three: Earl's mild salsa, artisan cheese, beer chips (completely addicting honey-sweetened potato chips), and artichoke-lemon pesto. Damn you Big Organic, you've got me under your spell!

The New Spatulatta Cookbook

My little chefs and I were so excited when our review copy of The Spatulatta Cookbook arrived. The boys waited impatiently while I gave the book a once-over before passing it on.

I love the colorful and instructive photos and the fact that it's divided by seasons- a sophisticated move for a children's cookbook. It also has sections on vegetarian food and snacks.
I appreciate the glossary of cooking terms as well as tips on how to set a nice table (though my boys probably skipped right over that part). The boys like the photos as well as the comments the girls serve up with each recipe.

When I handed the book over to the boys I told them to pick a recipe, which is why the first dish we tried was a sweet treat called Berry Dip and Roll. BD &R is a summer snack or dessert made by dipping strawberries in sour cream and then rolling them in cinnamon sugar. Of course this was a hit- and a little bit of a mess because Smartypants assembled the entire thing while I was still in bed.

But that's what this book is all about- empowering kids to cook, right?

Next up: Sweet Potato Pie, another recipe the boys chose. I helped out with this one, but as you can see here, the boys did much of the work. (This can be a lesson in patience for the adult who cooks with them.) The recipe made enough for two pies, so we had one to eat ourselves and another to share with extended family. Each time our relatives raved about the delicious pie, my boys absolutely beamed with pride. The relatives weren't just being nice- the pie was great!

Of course, the book isn't filled with desserts. There are plenty of fine family meals to be made from this book: Be My Valentine Chicken Saute, Caprese Salad, Kalbi Beef, Millet and Chickpea Salad, to name a few. We look forward to trying more now that our power has been restored....

You can buy the book, signed, from the Spatulatta site or click over to see what's cooking this week. Last time I checked, Olivia was foraging for foods that she and her guest chef cooked into a delicious meal. And the week before that it was an adorable little boy making Swedish pancakes. If you want your book signed in person, meet them on September 15 at Anderson's bookshop in Downer's Grove. Click here for details.

And while you're clicking away, see what some of my foodie friends are saying about this cookbook:
Bon Bons for Breakfast
Food for Thought
Mother May I?
Andrea's Recipes


You can also click over to my personal blog, Hormone-colored Days, to win a free Spatulatta Cookbook and other great stuff!

Chicago's Sweetest Farmer's Market

Originally posted at the Chicago Moms Blog.

Many people have posted about their for love the Green City Market, but my favorite city market takes place Thursday mornings at Eli’s Cheesecake World on the northwest side.

A typical trip to Eli’s means blowing the diet in a big way- they make tempting tarts, plump éclairs and at least eight varieties of cheesecake all calling like sirens from their lovely refrigerated display case. But on Thursdays you can purchase produce from local farms and products from area vendors to balance out all those luscious, sugary, buttery, and calorie-laden desserts.

It’s a small market, but a sweet one. The boys and I spent over 20 minutes ogling the produce from the Nichols Farm and Orchard. We laughed at the odd looking heirloom tomatoes, admired the cute, tiny pickle cukes, and questioned many items we’d never seen before. The vendor happily explained orange eggplants that resemble tiny pumpkins, lemon cucumbers that looked like gourds and offered up samples of everything that tempted us. We filled up our bags with a patriotic selection of fingerling potatoes-red, white and blue, half a dozen exotic eggplants*, lots of cukes and some interesting tomatoes.

We also purchased up some handcrafted Vietnamese goods from the fair-trade store 10,000 Villages, which had a booth on site. We picked up some tips on bicycling around Chicago and green cleaning supplies (you won't believe what you can do with a lemon) and learned that this year's Annual Cheesecake Festival will take place Sept. 15-16. This community celebration also serves as a fundraiser (foodraiser?) for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Donate two cans of food or $1 to the cause and your good deed will be rewarded with a slice of cheesecake- what a sweet way to introduce your little one to philanthropy.

Eli's Cheesecake World 6701 W Forest Preserve Drive (Harlem and Montrose), Chicago
Read up on Eli's factory tours (yum!) at Scrambled CAKE.

* We don't always get around to eating the exotic foods we buy. Sometimes we just watch them rot on the countertop.

Scrambled SAKE- Our Visit to Springfield

We enjoyed a recent family getaway to Springfield. Yes, I actually said enjoy and Springfield in the same sentence! Unlike our disastrous earlier attempt to introduce the boys to the Land of Lincoln, this trip was fun! This time we headed downstate with grandma, grandpa, and my brother’s family, which made a big difference. And we got to see cool new sites, like the Lincoln Museum (read a related Chicago Parent mag. travel review here).

We were 11 in all, 6 adults and 5 kids. Dining as such a large group, we were not as concerned with excellent food as we were with simply getting everyone served the food they ordered in a reasonable amount of time (i.e. under 20-30 minutes). Sadly, several of these restaurants were not able to do this. Some did rise to the challenge, though.

Here’s a round-up of restaurants to keep in mind when you head to our state capital.

DAY 1
After visiting Abe Lincoln’s home during our first day we were hot and tired. A park ranger suggested we walk over the The Livery to eat a family-friendly dinner. We walked a few steamy blocks only to find it was closed. We stopped into the place next door, Robbie's, but decided it wasn’t right for us. The hostess very graciously directed us to a nearby restaurant that might better meet our needs. In retrospect Robbie’s would have been fine. I still feel guilty that we didn’t give them a try, so maybe you will and then let me know what you think.

Augie's Front Burner, right across from the Old Capitol, was not the restaurant we were sent to, but it's where we ended up after wandering inthe hot weather. Of course, we were even more tired, hot, hungry and probably a bit “ripe” by the time we walked in the door. Augie’s is a casual restaurant with upscale food, food that earned them Springfield’s fine dining award in 2006. Our waiter took great care of our large party and rushed the kids’ meals. We encountered a slight bump when buttered noodles were served with (gasp) parsley flakes on top, but everyone survived. This was the best meal of our trip. Sorry, I don’t remember what we actually ate-I was on vacation, after all, and didn’t have my notebook handy.

DAY 2
After a great morning at the Lincoln Museum we walked a few blocks to Cafe Brio. Their Mexican/Middle Eastern vibe is a refreshing addition to the Old Capitol area, but not a great place for kids or a large group, based on our experience. They don’t have printed kids menus or any distractions (other than the waitstaff with their piercings and multi-colored hair) to keep the young ‘uns busy while waiting for the meals…and we waited a looooong time.

After tiring afternoon running about town- we visited the new capitol, the old capitol, and Lincoln’s tomb- we relaxed at our hotel and then headed to the nearby O’Charley’s for dinner. O’Charley’s is a 230-strong chain with units from Minnesota down to the Gulf coast. Think Bennigan's with less “flair.” Kids eat free and we learned that many adults do, too when the service is poor. I was practically asleep by the time my food arrived, so I don't have many comments here. I do recall, though, that Pikachu was delighted to order Baked Cheetos as a side dish for his popcorn shrimp.

DAY 3
We finally made it to The Livery for lunch. If you want to know why Americans are so overweight, pop into this restaurant and get a clue. Their specialty is the Horseshoe. Take a hamburger, top it with fries and cover it with melted cheese and you've got a Horseshoe. I’m not sure if they were joking when they told us the Horseshoe is a local tradition, but we felt obligated to try it. If you’re intrigued, go with the Ponyshoe, a smaller version. They also serve real homemade soup. Good stuff, it hit the spot even on a hot day. I suspect their milkshakes are also top-notch, but I couldn't handle that and a Ponyshoe. The fast, friendly service steeped in local culture makes The Livery worth a visit.

Our last family dining stop was Monical's Pizza, another place near our hotel (a Hampton Inn and Suites—loved it!) on the outskirts of town. There are close to 60 Monical’s throughout Central Illinois, with several in Indiana and one in Wisconsin. They did a great job of seating and serving us efficiently. Each child received a multi-page kids menu with activities and crayons to keep 'em busy. Monical’s also provided little tabletop booklets full of brainteasers to keep adults occupied while waiting for a pan pizza. (Giordano’s and Edwardo’s, are you listening?) Even so, we stuck with quicker cooking ultra thin and crisp pizza. It didn't have much sauce, but I guess that's their style. We rounded off our meal with two family-size salads topped with their house dressing. Our waitress brought the dressing on the side in squirt bottles, so even the kids could top off the salads on their own. We likey.


DAY 4
We stopped at the Illinois State Fair before heading home. Like the food, I was hot and fried after a few hours. Fried food is expected at a fair, corndogs, too, but the fair provided an unprecedented number of foods in the “on-a-stick genre.” Shrimp? Pizza? Eggs? Who knew such a thing was possible?

The Paula Kamen Cucumber-Tomato Salad, a recipe for cool

Like many good recipes, this one comes from a friend.

About a decade ago, DH and I were part of an informal chavurah, a group of friends who met for monthly vegetarian potluck shabbat dinners and discussion.

It was a hip group.

Intellectually and artistically hip, I mean. Our group included the creators of the (now) syndicated Edge City comic (which you can read in the Chicago Sun-Times), a woman who clerked for a Supreme Court judge, several writers, including this one, who is now also known for her CancerBitch diaries on Chicago Public Radio (click over for good news), and Feminist Fatale, Paula Kamen.

You may be wondering how the rather square DH and I, the only suburbanites in the group, wound up in such good company. I wondered that, too. I'm convinced it was a fluke, but that's fodder for another post.

On to Paula's amazing salad. This was her standard chavurah dish, and now it's my standard summer dish. It's healthy and refreshing, and the boys eat it! I make almost weekly.

Ingredients
6 plum tomatoes
6 pickle cucumbers
1/4 to 1/2 of a sweet onion
1/2 lb. of feta cheese (Go for the more expensive French or Greek variety; they are smooth and creamy. Consider using goat cheese if your only feta choice is the prepackaged stuff.)
1-2 large serving spoonfuls of kalamata olives, without pits
Seasoning to taste: basil, oregano, pepper, salt, olive oil, balsamic or rice wine vinegar

Chop first four ingredients into chunks. If you like them large, as Paula does, fine. You want to go small, that's okay, too. I usually keep the onions chunks large, so the kids can easily pick them out. If I don't have a lot of olive, I may slice them in half as well.

Adapt the ratio of ingredients to meet your tastes. I often wind up with a huge salad because I think, Oh, just one more tomato and then it looks to tomato-y so I add more cukes, then a bit more cheese, then back to the tomatoes, etc.

If you've got extra feta, cut it into cubes and enjoy as a chaser to watermelon slices. This delightful sweet/salty combo is perfect for a sultry summer night.

Paula has new book on women and mental health due out soon. I'll let you know when it's released.

Lake Michigan picnic

I'd like to tell you how much we enjoyed our lakeside picnic Friday night. After all, we were meeting a group of our friends and I'd prepared a lovely trio of salads: southwest black bean and corn, pasta with goat cheese, garden-fresh tomatoes and a few choice veggies, and, finally, our summer favorite- a pleasing cucumber-tomato combo.


The thing is, we never made it to he picnic. Both boys were sick Friday afternoon. Pikachu (the 7 year-old formerly known as Splinter) was burning up and lethargic when I picked him up from camp. (Counselor: yeah, he seems a little out of sorts...) He had a fever of 102!

Not only did we miss the picnic, we barely made it to sleep Friday night. It was the worst night we've had in years. One child or the other up was up just about every hour of the night. Poor boys. Poor Mommy (and to a lesser extent, Daddy).

Thankfully, both boys were doing better by Saturday afternoon when the mail arrived. As I was taking Pikachu's temperature, Smartypants burst into the room with a large box, "Look what just came!"

I put the thermometer down and asked him to bring me some hand sanitizer, so my germy hands would not contaminate whatever wonders awaited in the box. I did a quick wipedown and opened a box of...hand sanitizer! The folks at Germ-X sent me some samples; with two sick kids in the house, the timing could have been better.

Sometimes life imitates art and sometimes it imitates commercials.

BlogMe

I worked at at ice cream shop throughout high school. When I left for college my boss gave me a Chicago Bear stuffed animal that was issued in honor of the Bears' 1986 Super Bowl victory. I still have the bear- one of my sons sleeps with him.

When I was in college in Texas, I worked at a Mangia, Chicago-style pizza place.

In the late 1990s, I won, and ate, a year's supply of Lean Cuisines.

Eric Schlosser's book, Fast Food Nation, changed my life. I stopped eating Lean Cuisines, ground beef, and, for a short while, almost everything but chocolate.

I love rich, creamy chocolate.

When I was pregnant with my second child, I had many strong food aversions, but I craved Italian subs from Hero's on Addison.

I do not crave, nor do I eat, meaty Italian subs when I'm not pregnant.

I can't stand cilantro. Ditto with blueberries, due to an unfortunate childhood experience.

I have started two fires in my kitchen, plus I once almost smoked us out of the house.

Why yes, I happily accept paid writing assignments.

blogme2007

Soon you’ll swoon over El Sueño: A Scrambled CAKE restaurant review

El Sueño

9850 Milwaukee Avenue, Glenview
(847) 298-9090

Don’t be fooled by the drab exterior. Here are ten reasons El Sueño will leave you swooning. If you have any remaining doubts after reading this, click over to the Scrambled CAKE photo album at Chicago Parent.

1. They just opened this spring and their reputation is growing quickly. Hurry in soon while you can still get seated without a wait. This place is going to draw crowds.

2. Freshly made salsa. ¡Bueno!

3. Easy on the wallet. Every item on the menu is under $15.00 and the portions are huge. Our family of four could have enjoyed a filling meal with about half of the amount of food we ordered. Fortunately, the veggie burrito makes an excellent breakfast (even cold, but shhhh…I could lose my food writer credentials for admitting to enjoying cold leftover burritos).

4. Did someone say veggie burrito? They offer a special vegetarian menu.

5. Your meal includes a cup of bean soup (made with bacon). “Great soup,” says nine year-old, Smartypants.

6. See number 3. The affordable food means you’ll have a few pesos to spend on a margarita or three.

7. Their innovative menu features traditional Mexican foods with a modern twist, such as pumpkin tamales and duck tacos. Traditionalists can enjoy El Sueño's authentic Mexican breakfast buffet on weekend mornings.

8. Kids meals are $3.95. Options are a chicken or cheese flauta, quesadilla (Mexican grilled cheese, made with tortilla instead of bread), or for the child with absolutely no sense of adventure, chicken nuggets.

9. The kids have gulped down their food, but you are just starting to savor the fiesta of flavors in yours. No need to let them ruin your meal, simply send them to the mini-kids theater in the back of the restaurant where they can watch cartoons until bedtime. You can keep an eye on them from your table thanks to windows conveniently built into the theatre room wall.

10. Great service; our waitress was very attentive and patient.

A few cautionary notes:
* There are no baby-changing facilities.
* Bring your Lactaid and Beano. Seriously, your family will thank you.

If there is a wait because by the time you actually make it out to Glenview the place is wildly popular and you’ve got a hungry child with you who doesn’t have a deadly sesame allergy, head next door to Pita Inn for some good and also inexpensive Mediterranean food.

Pancakes with a side of Bluegrass (and a few Cicadas)

We had a great time at the Wagner Farm Dairy Breakfast.

For parents who tolerate a bit of germ exposure there were animals to pet and even a real, live cow to milk (see left photo).

Germaphobes could send their kids to the clean, air-conditioned museum to try their hand at simulated farm chores such as gathering eggs and milking a plastic cow (right). 

If You give a Mouse a Farm-fresh Veggie

We received our first Fresh Picks order a few weeks ago. Irv and Shelly’s Fresh Picks is like CSA for Dummies. With a true CSA, community sponsored agriculture program, a customer, or shareholder, purchases a season-long share from a local farm or co-op and receives a weekly supply of whatever’s being harvested. Recipients have a general sense of what’s coming in each week’s delivery, but for many, part of the excitement of the CSA experience is the thrill of the unknown.

My life has enough thrills. I am sure that as nice as it might feel to know we are developing a relationship with a local farmer, we’d wind up feeding a portion of our weekly bounty to our compost heap, that is, after watching it slowly rot in the fridge.

So that’s where Fresh Picks comes in. Fresh Picks is like Peapod meets Whole Foods. They deliver farm-fresh (often organic and local) food to your doorstep, but you choose what and how often to order. You can order a la carte (a dozen fresh cucumbers, two containers of goat cheese and some organic bison chili) or pick a produce box similar to what you’d get from a CSA. We tried it last month and loved it. (For the record, I paid full price-out of my own pocket.)

Here’s the run-down:

If you’re gonna order Irv and Shelly’s Fresh Picks, you’d better clean the house, otherwise, when Irv personally delivers your produce you will be forced to stand and chat awkwardly in the doorway as you attempt to block his view of your messy living room.

When you get your box of fresh produce, you are going to want to identify all the items. If you can’t figure out what some of them are, check your invoice. If you still can’t tell your leeks from the green onions from the garlic tops, you will want to consult a book like the Visual Food Encyclopedia.

Once everything is identified, you will want to put all this fresh goodness right in your fridge, but if you’ve got a small side-by-side, you will have to finish the leftovers in order to make room.

While you’re putting it away, you will notice that they’ve sent you the freshest asparagus you’ve seen since you parents grew it in their garden 30 years ago. You will taste it, raw, with no added seasoning, and you will be stunned.

Now that you’ve tasted it, you realize that you must make something fabulous for dinner, right now. Even though dinnertime is in less than 70 minutes and you’ve got to run a carpool soon and you don't even know what to make.

You’re not sure how to combine portabellas, asparagus, leeks (or are they garlic greens?) and the delicious, fresh goat cheese (from a farm in Champaign), so you crack open Farmer John’s Cookbook, ever grateful that even though you didn’t join his Angelic Organics CSA he sent you the book for review, because it's not only fascinating, it's also a wonderful guide for cooking fresh seasonal (Midwest) produce.

Farmer John will inspire you to create a pasta salad that is richer and more complex than your typical steamed carrots/celery/chickpeas/Wishbone Italian deal.

While you are simultaneously grilling, chopping veggies and cooking pasta your phone will ring approximately nine times. The lady whose car you recently scratched will call you to discuss the $500 estimate she received to repair the two scratches the size of a quarter, and then your mom will call you only to say she forgot why she called, then your dad will call you and go on about some new business deal, and then AmVets will call to see if you have anything to donate, next a pollster will call, and finally someone will call asking about tomorrow’s order because a popular caterer has phone number very similar to yours.

As you run, crazed, from the stove to the grill, setting the table with the phone cradled awkwardly between shoulder and ear, you will realize you have to leave for carpool in 10 minutes. But your husband is home and he will volunteer to drive lest he be put in charge of Your Project.

You will finish your project, adding some chopped walnuts and balsamic vinegar to your oh-so-fresh grilled veggies and goat cheese and you will enjoy the most fabulous pasta salad you’ve ever made, or possibly even eaten.

While you’re enjoy your amazing pasta salad, you will be thinking ahead to tomorrow night’s dinner, imagining what you will create with the next part of your order. And you will recall the jar of jelly that came with your order and realize farm-fresh jelly, you have to make fresh bread to go with it.
___

Phew! No wonder it’s taken me a month to gather up the courage to place another order. Still, the experience drove home the fact they we are just not a CSA family…not yet, anyway. (Did I mention the parsnips that never got cooked?)

If you belong to a CSA, I’d love to hear how you make the most of your weekly share!

Birthday cereal: a family tradition since 1993

Peek into our pantry and you'll get a taste of breakfast at Chez Moldofsky. When it comes to cereal we're all about the healthy stuff- Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Life, and when we let ourselves go, a box of Frosted Mini-Wheats.

As a child Cap'n Crunch and Count Chocula were my regular dining companions. Our cereal cabinet was filled with Sugar Pops, Cocoa Puffs, Frosted Flakes, and Lucky Charms (even though we only ate the marshmallows).

I sometimes feel guilty about my kids' wholesome morning diet. So on his birthday, each boy gets to pick out the cereal of his choice- fiber content be damned! Artificial colors? The more, the merrier! Excess sugar- who cares, they're headed to school for the day!

Even at 7 and 9 years old the traditional birthday cereal is still a pretty big deal. As they get older, it's almost sad to see them excited over something that I took for granted...until I remember how many dental fillings I have and how much a certain little person in our house really needs his fiber.

Batter up! Pimp your pancakes at Flat Top Grill: a restaurant review

Flat Top Grill
Reviewed: Lakeview Location
3200 N. Southport Ave.
Phone: 773.665.8100

Maybe you’ve enjoyed Flat Top Grill’s design-your-own stir-fry for lunch or dinner, but now they serve breakfast, too. We were invited to give it a try, so with empty bellies and unkempt hair we headed to their Lakeview location. Adults can eat to their heart’s content for a mere $8.99. It’s only $4.99 including milk or juice for kids ages 4-11, and kids under 4 eat free. Such a deal!

The buffet at the Lakeview location was loaded with mini muffins and fresh fruit with a steaming pot of oatmeal at the ready. But the real excitement here is the choose-your-own-fixins section. In the mood for a healthy veggie and tofu-skin egg white omelette? They’ve got you covered. The kid wants a gummy worm and strawberry pancake? No problem. (Until he actually tastes it, that is).

Our waitress offered helpful, but seemingly complicated instructions given that it was 9:00 Saturday morning and we hadn’t yet started our coffee. Smartypants simplified the concept for me. “It’s like Cold Stone Creamery, but for pancakes instead of ice cream.” I was relieved to find that the process was pretty simple once we stepped up to the self-serve area.

Serve Yourself
First, we loaded up a plate with fresh fruit and returned it to the table so we’d have something to nibble while waiting for our first of several courses. Then we headed back with a mission to help the boys create breakfast combos as unique as their personalities. It’s a given that this involved gummy worms. Splinter balanced his intake of worms with chocolate chips, while Smartypants chose a berry complement (pictured here).

Like my husband, the Flat Top Grill cooks are not very good at reading minds, so after filling our bowls, we chose the appropriate swizzle stick to mark our meal: yellow stick for an omelette, pink for pancake, green for a side of potatoes, etc.

But Let Them Cook

Perhaps because the coffee hadn’t quite kicked in we didn’t realize that the final size of our items, be they pancakes, scrambled eggs or omelettes, would be relative to the amount of fixings we chose. Therefore, we all wound up with HUGE first servings.

Pace yourself, or ask the cook to downsize despite your add-ins, because you definitely want to leave room for an order of French Toast. They use thick Texas toast finished off with cinnamon and powdered sugar and a week’s ration of butter plus your selected toppings. Mmmmm.

The pancakes were also quite tasty--except for the portions with melted gummy worm. Who knew? The omelettes, while hot and satisfying, were not the most delicate examples of that dish.

Entertainment

There’s no official entertainment, but a toddler will delight in watching the cooks do their thing. And then there are the unlimited trips to the buffet….

Bottom line

Flat Top Grill is worth a try whether you’re a regular breakfast out family or just looking to avoid cooking or cleaning up after your first meal of the day. And for only $8.99 it’s easy to feel like you got your money’s worth without going overboard. Even so, it is an all-you-can-eat meal, so play it safe and wear your ‘fat pants’.

Know before you go:
All locations have high chairs and booster seats, but not all have diaper-changing; call before you go, or should I say before your little one goes?

We managed no-hassle street parking in Lakeview due to our early arrival, but we'd love for their Evanston location to fire up the grill for breakfast.

Serving up a taste of Chicago to a famous English Author

Tonight I'm hosting a Mother-Talk literary salon featuring British author and journalist Rachel Johnson. Rachel will be reading from her book Notting Hell, which has just been released in the US.

I'm expecting a combination of friends, fellow bloggers, and even one of my blog readers (don't tell my kids I invited people I've only "met" online!) to be a part of Chicago's first Mother-Talk.
But what to feed the famous British author and my small crowd? The easiest choice is to run to Costco and pick up everything I need in one fell swoop. From wine to one-bite brownies to a bright, beautiful bouquet of flowers, Costco has it all at low, low prices.

Convenience has its own price, though. I recently read about a study in Austin, TX that showed if each household redirected just $100 of planned holiday spending from chain stores to locally owned merchants, the local economic impact would reach approximately $10 million. I don't know how sound the research is or how the numbers truly pan out, but, Costco be damned, I decided to shop local for my Mother-Talk spread. Especially since Isabel Kallman of Alpha-Mom is co-sponsoring the event and providing a generous food and drink budget.

I'm going to serve El Milagro tortilla chips along with fresh salsa and guacamole from Evanston's new mom-and-pop taco joint, Tacos del Lago. I ordered a veggie and dip tray from Marketplace on Oakton, Skokie's go-to store for high-quality, inexpensive produce (now with some organic products, too). I'll also put out some pita and Mediterranean spreads from Pita Inn (along with a few Kosher pita from the North Shore Bakery as my own little statement of Middle East peace).

To satisfy everyone's sweet tooth, I've got chocolate-covered pretzels from Mrs. Prindable's as well as chocolate-covered Rice-Krispie treats and white-chocolate-covered Oreos (see a theme here?) from the Long Grove Confectionery. Both of these companies have outlet shops (in Niles and Wheeling, respectively), which helped stretch my budget.

I caved a bit on the drinks- wine from Trader Joe's and pop from my corner store. But I've also got a case of Goose Island beer and root beer for a little local flavor.

How do you resist the siren song of Costco? What are your local favorites?

Popover for a Sleepover

The boys with the clean house recently popped over to spend the night at our messy place.

Keenly aware of my growing library fines, I was determined to make one last recipe from Bonny Wolf's food memoir, Talking with My Mouth Full, before sending it back. So I recruited some young helpers and we mixed up popover batter, thinking we'd have fresh rolls with our otherwise unremarkable dinner. Then I realized the batter is supposed to set a while before baking...and that they take nearly an hour to bake.

Guess what, guys? We're going to have fresh, warm popovers for breakfast tomorrow!

"When the batter hits the oven heat," Wolf explains, "the liquid sends off steam and the popovers balloon into hollow shells."

Smothered with butter and jam, these magical rolls were a hit with 3 out of the 4 boys. (The 4th is the resident picky eater noted in our Sage Grille review--I'm honored that he even tried a popover.)

Cereality Cereal Bar and Cafe

Cereality Cereal Bar and Café
1622 Sherman Avenue, Evanston
847-864-4400
(Also in Chicago at Wacker and Monroe)

Cereal combos $3.00-$5.00

Imagine heading to 31 Flavors for ice cream only to find they’ve replaced the frozen treats with cereal. That’s Cereality. You get a choice of over 30 cereals (sorry, Smartypants, no Alphabits) as well as a variety of mix-ins and toppings to choose from. They offer dried and fresh fruit, and nuts in addition to melt-your-teeth options that will leave your kids drooling-- candy-coated chocolates, caramel syrup, mini-marshmallows, coconut flakes, pop rocks, and more.

“It feels like you’re at a friend’s house on a playdate,” observed eight-year-old Smartypants. The breezy, casual atmosphere features pajama-clad employees, cool lighting, homey tables, and a cozy lounging area with couches and comfy chairs. Cereality offers wi-fi and two large TVs showing a steady stream of cartoons.

“You don’t have to get all dressed up to go here, but you should still use manners and stuff,” added Smartypants.

Our seven-year-old dining companion, The Virtuoso, agreed. “Yeah, you don’t have to do things like you would at a fancy restaurant, like use a coat hanger, and you don’t have to wear nice clothes, but you still should have good etiquette. And you get to eat while you’re watching TV which you can’t do at a formal restaurant.”

While watching typical Saturday morning fare, you’ll eat a basic serving of two scoops of cereal, one topping, and milk for $3.99. (They also have a small serving consisting of one scoop at one topping for $2.99.) They offer some suggested combos, but you can mix and match as you please.

The cereal is served in stylized Chinese take-out boxes that you fill with your choice of milk- whole, 2%, or skim, with lactose-free and soy milk available upon request. The milk is self-serve which is a bit tricky for the kids. Ask for a cup for the milk, otherwise, you risk adding too much, something that can easily ruin this treat the entire experience.

They also serve smoothies, called Slurrealities. I’m not sure which marketing genius named the drinks after “a watery mixture of insoluble matter (as mud, lime, or plaster of Paris),” but the actual ingredients sound a bit more pleasing to the palate. Take the Bran New Day featuring strawberries, bananas, and orange juice with low-fat yogurt and Quaker Bran. Cereal bars, yogurt-cereal parfaits, and hot beverages including coffee and flavored steamed milk are also on the menu.

When we stopped in for a late morning snack, I had the Bowlful of Cavities the Devil Made Me Do It - Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms plus chocolate drizzles and malted milk balls. (pictured) DH had the more sensible oatmeal with apples and almonds. Snuggable six-year-old Splinter, had Rice Krispies with malted milk balls, Smartypants had Lucky Charms with mini-marshmallows, The Virtuoso, had Cheerios with both topping and milk on the side.

Virtuoso said his cereal tasted like the Cheerios he eats at home, but maybe a bit stronger. “It’s hard to explain, but it has more of a full taste, which is a good thing.” Especially since one bowl costs as much as an entire box from the supermarket.

Cereality also sells Sloops™ for about $1.00 a piece. Once your kids get a glimpse of these reusable plastic spoons with built-in straws, they must have one, so plan accordingly.

Cereality’s target demographic is college students who are either feeling nostalgic or have some serious munchies. DH and I felt like it was fun to visit, but we wouldn’t go out of our way to return. They have a diaper changing facility in one of their large unisex bathrooms, so Cereality might be a nice coffee shop alternative—a place to meet some mom-friends while the wee ones color at the tot table, play, or cause a ruckus. Be discreet so you don’t get busted for bringing your own little baggy of Cheerios.

Our young review team gave Cereality a rating of 3 out of a possible 4 Sloops™. The kids welcome the chance to dine at Cereality again. “It’s a good place to come when you have people who like different kinds of cereal.” Ah yes, that old problem.

If someone in your family has a serious cereal jones, plan a weekend getaway to nearby Battle Creek Michigan home to Kellogg’s Cereal City edutainment complex. And while you’re there, stop in at Binder Park Zoo, where you can hand feed giraffes in the morning and then visit the old planes at the nearby Kalamazoo Air Zoo in the afternoon.

Starving children at the Ethiopian restaurant

Addis Abeba
1322 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-5411
Entrees run $10-$15 per person; many vegetarian options

It pains me to make such an obvious and cheap joke, but it's true. We arrived at Addis Abeba after a busy three-hour beach clean-up and the boys were tired and hungry. While waiting for our food the boys were moaning loudly, "We're starving! When is the food coming?"


I'd say it was worth the wait.

We started off with a shorba, a satisfying cold soup made of yogurt, honey, cucumber, and mint. Given that the boys like all of the ingredients I was sure the soup would be a hit, but the "starving children" stopped after only a taste. Oh well, that meant more of the yummy soup for me and DH.

After soup, we moved on to the main meal. We selected the "combos" which allowed us to try small portions of several items. The meal is served on a single platter mesob (traditionally a hand-woven basket, but the large metal substitute is likely more sanitary) and accompanied by a basket of injera, large flat Ethiopian bread. To eat, one tears off a piece of the spongy bread and scoops up the food in small mounds. Once the novelty of eating with his hands wore off and he'd filled his rumbling tummy Smartypants decided he didn't like the food after all. The rest of us enjoyed the whole meal.

Our choices included:

Asa: fish cut into cubes and sauteed in Ethiopian herb butter seasoned with garlic and pepper. I found it a bit salty, but Splinter could not get enough of it.

Yebeg Alitcha: this lamb stew is always a hit.

Yeater Kik Wot: DH really liked this dish of yellow split peas cooked in spicy wot with garlic cloves and cinnamon.

By the end of our meal, the platter was wiped clean and we'd exchanged several gursha by rolling samples of the food in injera and feeding them to each other. According to the menu it's a traditional way of showing somebody that you care.

If you've got adventurous eaters definitely give Addis Abeba a try!

Eli's Cheesecake World: life is uncertain; eat dessert first

Eli's Cheesecake World
6701 W Forest Preserve Drive (Harlem and Montrose), Chicago
(just down the block from the pyramid-shaped building at Wright College)
Specialty sandwiches ($6) in cafe from 11:00 - 2:00

What can we say about this little slice of heaven on Chicago's northwest side? It's not only the world headquarters and bakery for Eli's Cheesecake, they've also got a cafe and store. The boys and I showed up wearing our proverbial critic hats but later traded them in for hairnets to go on the factory tour. We arrived too late for the made-to-order artisan sandwiches like chicken salad with grapes and pecans, but grabbed a decent ready-made Caesar salad to tide us over until dessert. Dessert. Dessert.

I mean, you could come here for a cup of coffee and free wi-fi or to grab a gourmet grilled cheese, but you'd have to be a fool, or possibly a diabetic, to show up at Eli's and not eat dessert. Their cases are overflowing with delicious-looking desserts- and not just cheesecake. They've got eclairs, tarts...I asked my boys to write down the names of one or two of the most delicious-looking items, but they told me that was impossible to choose.

Here's what the world's most ticklish restaurant critics and their friends had to say about Eli's Cheesecake World. (Please note that all exclamation points appear at the request of the boys.)

Eli's is fun! Their cafe is good. They have desserts, sandwiches, and salads. They sell cheesecakes, little cakes, lemon meringue tarts and everything looks yummy.

Six-year-old Splinter says: Out of three thumbs down, I give it seven forks! (I've previously mentioned that we don't yet have a uniform rating system. What he means is that Eli's is more than twice the opposite of bad... in other words- great!)

The tours are cool and fun! And everything smells delicious. Really delicious. A tour guide shows you almost the whole place, but only staying on the path. Sometimes you go into a big freezer (we did this on a previous tour, but not today). The freezer room is for freezing the cheesecakes before they decorate them. The decorating room is cold, but not as cold as the freezer.

The room where they bake the cheesecakes is really hot--over 100 degrees F in the summer. The cheesecakes go on a cool conveyor belt. It is so cool to see them pour the batter and watch the cheesecakes go on the belt. It takes the cheesecake through the 70-foot-long tunnel oven and then up a big corkscrew cooling tower with about 19 curves. Then people take them off pans and put them on racks. Then they go to the freezer room and then the decorating room.

In the decorating room, we saw them making Chocolate-Covered Lava Cake for Wal Mart.

This is a cool tour! But if your brothers or sisters are under five years old, they have to stay home with a sitter.

They make over 100 kinds of cheesecake if you can believe it!

This tour is definitely recommended for kids!

Read Up and Dine Out: The Magic Pan (crepes)

Many moons ago one of my boys picked up a book titled Crepes by Suzette. This fun, colorful book is full of mixed media collages based on photos that author Monica Wellington took on her trips to Paris. Readers follow Suzette as she takes her crepe cart around the city. In addition to a crepe recipe that has become a favorite of my boys, the book has a glossary of French words as well as descriptions of the famous artwork that Wellington alludes to in her collages.

But perhaps you're not up for making crepes. Then by all means, run, don't walk, to The Magic Pan. Remember The Magic Pan from your youth in Chicago? I only recalled the name of this revived Lettuce Entertain You joint. I must not have eaten their food as a child, because their chocolate crepes are unforgettable. Yum! If you are on Weight Watchers you may consider skipping a day or two worth of meals to save your points for one of these. They also offer savory crepes including a pizza crepe that the boys still talk about, but didn't seem to enjoy so much when eating it. The savory crepes seemed very rich; I recommend saving all those calories for dessert.

Since our visit to Magic Pan crepes have become a morning staple in our house. They're a good substitute for pancakes. I even find them easier, less messy, and more versatile than pancakes as you can pair them with a variety of fillings.

For a good dessert crepe, take a single-size Dove Bar ice cream treat (bonbons? I can't think of their name and they are long since devoured) and let it melt in a hot, fresh crepe. Not quite the *magic* of The Magic Pan's chocolate crepes, but a close second.

Indian Garden

Indian Garden
2548 W. Devon Ave., Chicago
Tel: (773) 338-2929 2548

Summary: We recommend the lunch buffet. Full of vegetarian and meat options, it's an ideal way to introduce children to northern Indian cuisine. Plus, kids eat free; You don't have to spend an extra $10 or so just to learn your kids don't like it.

Rambling version: On the children's CD NO put out by They Might Be Giants there's a song about John Lee, super taster, a real-life superhero. A man who can't drink coffee or beer for their bitter tastes, but loves sweet treats like ice cream and pie. "John Lee, supertaster, tastes more than you do. Everything has a flavor, some flavors are too much." I instantly recognized myself in the song. I am a supertaster. As such, I'm very sensitive to strong, bitter tastes and even the slightest hit of hot spices can set me off.

Granted, I come from a home in which the most exotic spice to grace our food was sea salt. When I was in college and overheard someone in the dorm cafe ask for pepper I was stunned. I always thought pepper was on the table just to keep salt company. In my 18 years, I'd never actually seen anyone use it. So ultimately, my sensitivity to spices is an unfortunate combination of nature and nurture. Unfortunate because DH loves spicy food. On our second date, he took me for some exotic, cuisine. It was hot and spicy and I couldn't handle it after about two bites. DH was incredibly disappointed in my lack of fortitude; I didn't sleep with him that night either. Frankly, I'm not sure why he even asked me out again.

The other day our family had a lovely trip to Devon Avenue and stopped to eat at Indian Garden. The lunch buffet was about $9 per adult and kids ate free-what a deal! And while the smells were enticing and the food was tasty, I just couldn't hack it. I mostly stuck with the nan (bread) and water.

"Are you okay?" My friend asked midway through the meal, "Your face is all red."

"You should feel her nose. It gets really cold when she eats spicy food," volunteered DH as he closed in to touch it. "And when our mom eats spicy food her nose sweats," the boys giddily announced to the entire restaurant.

No one said being a superhero was easy.