We had been seeing the Coming Soon sign in the window of this restaurant (4229 N. Lincoln) for awhile and now that it is open we had to give it a try. We went on a Sunday afternoon around 12:30 and were able to easily sit down even though there are only about 10 tables in the restaurant. The setting is completely casual and perfect for grilled cheese loving kids. Parking out front is also super easy.
The menu at the Big Cheese has a selection of about 8-10 different grilled cheese sandwiches. I am not a huge grilled cheese person but all of the sandwiches on the menu sounded so good I had a hard time deciding. I had mushrooms and fontina on sourdough and it was really good. The sandwiches come with a choice of tomato soup or parmesan fries. I had the fries and they were also quite good. The kids menu includes a choice of classic grilled cheese or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which comes with a choice of soup, fries, or fruit. The sandwiches range in price from around $6 to $8. Our food came out really fast, which is great for impatient kids. The Big Cheese also does take out and is open for brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. It is a great new place to try for lunch if you are in the area.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Allium
A few weeks ago we went out to a no kids, grown up dinner at Allium in the Four Seasons hotel downtown. The address for the hotel is 120 E. Delaware Place and that is where the entrance is but it is basically located on Michigan Avenue across the street from the Hancock Building. The restaurant is a bit more casual than what used to be in this space but it is still relatively fancy (you should dress up and probably not bring your kids) and expensive. The restaurant is on the same level as the hotel lobby, which is a few stories up. We took the train but I believe there is valet parking if you drive.
Most of the menu is made up of small plate type items, with a few entree sized items also included at the bottom. We ordered a bunch of small items to share and were super full and satisfied at the end, however our waitress acted like it was a little strange that we also didn't order from the entree section. She is maybe used to people who can afford to sample a lot of food without eating it all, which is not really in our budget. We shared a crab special, the cheese lavosh, cheese curd mashed potatoes, and the short rib sliders. This was plenty of food for us. Everything came in a good size portion, actually much bigger than we expected and that you find at other small plate restaurants, and was really delicious. The cheese curd mashed potatoes were especially yummy. Allium has a nice selection of wine, beer, and cocktails. When we went out, I wasn't drinking alcohol so I was very happy to also see several non-alcoholic options on the drink menu. I had a made in house soda that was really good and didn't make me miss a glass of wine too much.
Desserts continue the small plate theme with lots of cookie/candy options. Our waitress talked us into getting a bunch of desserts to share. We ordered the donut holes, peanut butter sandwich cookies, red velvet cupcake, and pretzel caramels. In addition, since it was our anniversary, they brought us a piece of chocolate cake, on the house. After a big meal, we finished maybe half of the desserts and took the rest home to enjoy the next day. As with dinner, everything was really good but if I was going to order just one dessert next time it would be the pretzel caramels.
Overall we had really nice evening. The food was great and we were able to sit next to the window for a nice view of the street below. The dining room seems a little overly formal and the bathrooms are kind of hard to find but we were definitely comfortable. The restaurant is fairly large but the tables aren't jammed close together to try to maximize the number of people they can get in the room. We would definitely go back without our kids for another special occasion.
Most of the menu is made up of small plate type items, with a few entree sized items also included at the bottom. We ordered a bunch of small items to share and were super full and satisfied at the end, however our waitress acted like it was a little strange that we also didn't order from the entree section. She is maybe used to people who can afford to sample a lot of food without eating it all, which is not really in our budget. We shared a crab special, the cheese lavosh, cheese curd mashed potatoes, and the short rib sliders. This was plenty of food for us. Everything came in a good size portion, actually much bigger than we expected and that you find at other small plate restaurants, and was really delicious. The cheese curd mashed potatoes were especially yummy. Allium has a nice selection of wine, beer, and cocktails. When we went out, I wasn't drinking alcohol so I was very happy to also see several non-alcoholic options on the drink menu. I had a made in house soda that was really good and didn't make me miss a glass of wine too much.
Desserts continue the small plate theme with lots of cookie/candy options. Our waitress talked us into getting a bunch of desserts to share. We ordered the donut holes, peanut butter sandwich cookies, red velvet cupcake, and pretzel caramels. In addition, since it was our anniversary, they brought us a piece of chocolate cake, on the house. After a big meal, we finished maybe half of the desserts and took the rest home to enjoy the next day. As with dinner, everything was really good but if I was going to order just one dessert next time it would be the pretzel caramels.
Overall we had really nice evening. The food was great and we were able to sit next to the window for a nice view of the street below. The dining room seems a little overly formal and the bathrooms are kind of hard to find but we were definitely comfortable. The restaurant is fairly large but the tables aren't jammed close together to try to maximize the number of people they can get in the room. We would definitely go back without our kids for another special occasion.
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