FISH BAR (CHICAGO)

Fish Bar

2956 N. Sheffield, Chicago

IL 60657

A must try  when in Chicago.

I enjoyed the food and will definitely visit this place on my next visit to Chicago.



 

 

 

 

 

We ordered two kinds of oysters, goose point, i can't remember the other one. I love them both honestly i couldn't tell w/c one was better.

 



Scallop Ceviche...i wanted more.



 





Fried Eastern Belly Clams..so good!!!!

 



Oyster Po'boy, i can eat more of these ;)

 

A la plancha - Octopus, lemon aioli, capers, parsley, garlic and asparagus.

Perfectly grilled and so tender. The Aioli "broke" but it was still good.

CHEF MICHAEL SYMON'S ROAST (DETROIT)

Celebrated my birthday at the Roast (Chef Symon) . Over all experience was good. Situated near historic places in downtown Detroit. Nice ambiance, good food as i expected but our waitstaff (Greg) ruined the night. He was not enthused as he explained the dishes, not attentive...we had to wait and wait for him to come by and check on us. There was a long wait between our apps, main entree and dessert.

Beef Tartare, poached cold egg, avocado and lime, crostini. This was good, i like the avocado lime, tartare combination.

Crispy Veal Sweetbreads, Cauliflower, roasted grapes, hazelnuts

Not really a fan ;( but my daughter loved it.

Roasted Marrow, sea salt, oregano, capers and chilies. My favorite ;)

Beast of the day- roasted pork, salsa verde, crispy tortillas,chili broth

Love the flavor of the beast ;)

Sides : Spinach, feta cheese Au gratin

Sides: Brussels sprouts and walnuts

This is the only way i cook my Brussels sprouts and i got the recipe from, of course.. Chef Symon.

Sides: Rosemary Fries...so addicting!!!

Peach Blueberry Crisp served warm with corn crumble, cinnamon, and sweet corn ice cream

I have tasted a better version of this.

Porter Beer Ice cream, chocolate covered pretzels, caramel foam

Nice flavor combination

Me and my daughter....Thanks, Pam...I love you!!!

Across the restaurant.

Beside the restaurant. St. Aloysius Church

 

CRISPY SPICY SHRIMPS

My version of one our favorite dimsum dish. Well, this and the crispy spicy squid. Basically both are cooked the same process. So feel free to try this w/ squid as well.

 

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

 

2 lbs. shrimps, whole (26-30 count or bigger)
1 small bunch Napa cabbage - sliced thinly
1/2 C cornstarch

1 C Rice flour ( substitute w/ all purpose flour if you can't find rice flour)
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder

1/2 T salt
1 t freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 t Oriental five spice powder (optional)

10 cloves garlic - minced

1 T pepper flakes

1/2 stick of butter

Oil for frying

 

In a bowl, combine cornstarch, rice flour, garlic powder, onion powder, Oriental five spice, salt and pepper.

Clean  (take out the whiskers), rinse and pat dry shrimps.

Put shrimps in the flour mixture.

Shake shrimp until well coated with flour mixture.

Heat oil in a frying pan/heavy bottomed skillet.

Fry shrimps in batches to achieve crispy shrimp, (over crowding will give you soggy shrimps)

Shrimps are cooked when color turns pink.
Drain on paper towel and set aside.

On a small pan, melt butter then fry garlic, cook until garlic turns brown but not burned.

Remove fried garlic. Using the same pan quickly saute' the sliced napa cabbage until it starts to wilt but not over cooked. Cabbage must still have the crisp.

Arrange cabbage on a large plate.

Set shrimps on a bed of cabbage.

Garnish with fried garlic and pepper flakes.

 

 

 

 

CHEF IZARD'S MAGIC BEANS (GREEN BEANS WITH AIOLI)

This is my take on Chef' Izard's Magic Beans. Green bean is not my favorite vegetable but i will eat if i have to. When my daughter and I had dinner at Girl and The Goat , this dish was highly recommended so of course we gave it a try and fell in love with it. I have been making this ever since. A great and a new way to prepare your green beans especially this holiday celebration, a perfect substitute to the "same old same old" green bean casserole. The combination of the dressing and the aioli drizzled on top of the crisp beans and the nutty flavor is just genius. Thanks, Chef Izard, i now have a new appreciation for green beans :)

Green Beans with a special Aioli

 I opted for almonds because i love the flavor.

Wash the beans. Snap or cut the ends.

This is how my mom clean the beans. Snap both ends making sure to take the "string"

Or cut the ends using a sharp knife

Recipe by Chef Stephanie Izard

 The Ingredients:
 

green beans
4 fl oz. oil
shallots
green bean dressing*
cashews (or another nut if you prefer a different one)
aioli*

green bean dressing/vinaigrette*
yields 2 cups

4 oz. lemon juice
5 oz. fish sauce
2 ½ oz. soy
1 tablespoon dijon
3/4 teaspoon sriracha
1/3 oz cloves garlic
combine lemon juice, fish sauce, soy, dijon and sriracha. transfer to blender, add garlic and emulsify with oil.

aioli*
yield: 1 cup

1/3 cup green bean dressing (from above)
1 cup mayonnaise
whisk together

preparation
1. heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan.
2. add green beans and some sliced shallots for flavor.
3. add enough vinaigrette to coat the green beans. let steam.
4. add a handful or two of cashews for flavor. season with salt.
5. transfer to serving dish & drizzle with aioli.
6. serve hot.

I highly suggest that you visit Chef Stephanie Izard 's Girl and the Goat when in Chicago.

CRISPY GREEN MANGO, APPLE AND JICAMA SALAD

My version of a Thai green mango salad. This salad goes perfect with anything fried like fried chicken, fried fish and even fried pork chop. Best and famous with Thai crispy fish. Thai crispy fish with green mango salad is one of the best dish i had during my visit to Thailand. That dish will be for another blog. In the meantime let's continue with the salad ;)

This salad is easy to make and you can substitute other ingredients to make it your own. The addition of the jicama is my version. So, you can probably add pears to the salad or any crispy/crunchy fruit...hhmmm now i need to try that. ;)

The secret to a fresh and crispy salad, is to make sure you buy fresh fruits and no blemish as much as possible

Ingredients: 

For 4 serving

1 green mango (choose a big size and make sure it's not ripe)

1 jicama (medium size)
1 apple (green and tart- granny smith is perfect)

1 lime or more if you want it sour

cilantro (washed, this will all depend on how much cilantro you want. Omit, if you don't like cilantro)

2 pieces of Thai bird chili 

1 small shallot or small sweet onion

2 T pounded roasted peanuts

1 T chopped roasted dried shrimps ( available at any Asian stores)

Dressing: ****

5 T fish sauce

4 T fresh lime juice

2 T sugar

 **** Taste and adjust the dressing to suit your taste.

Peel and grate or julienne the mango and jicama. Slice the apple and onion the same way.
Roast and chop peanuts.

Roast and chop dried shrimps (optional)

Mix all the dressing ingredients (Remember, taste it first and adjust if needed)

Toss the salad and garnish more cilantro or dried shrimp if you want.

Oh...so...delicious!!! Crunchy, crispy, sweet, sour and tangy!!!!!

Some of the ingredients.... green apple, jicama, green mango and lime

An important ingredient. Fish sauce. I love this brand but you can use any brand of course.

I  know this might not be available in your area, or you are allergic to shrimp,you can omit this ingredient. But if you ask me...really, i think this does add flavor to the salad.

I served this salad with my version of the Thai Crispy Fish. Recipe to follow;)
Now, i want to make this salad again!!!! lol!

TACOS DE POLLO EN SALSA VERDE

 My daughter shared this recipe years ago but never got the chance to blog it. This is one of my family's favorite Latin dish. My BIL had rice with this, not surprised about that, we Filipinos love our rice ;) I like mine with fried corn tortilla chips, no not the store bought. I fry my own corn tortillas.

Tortilla is recommended but when i made this as shown below, i used fried pita bread which is as good as the tortilla.

 Ingredients:

Salsa:
8 oz Tomatillos, husked and rinsed
2 Serrano chiles, stemmed ( You can also use jalapeno)
1 1/2 T olive oil or canola oil
1 medium Spanish onion, coarsely chopped (any sweet onions will do)
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 C Chicken stock or broth****
1/4 C cilantro, coarsely chopped
Salt to taste

2 C firmly packed spinach, shredded or 1 bag of spinach
2 C cooked chicken breast ****
1/2 - 3/4 C Queso Fresco, crumbled (I've tried feta and it was equally as good or omit the cheese)

Corn Tortillas - cut in bite sizes and fried.

***I boiled the chicken with water, carrots, onions, celery to get my chicken stock.

Roast tomatillos, chiles , garlic and onions under a broiler until blackened and soft on both sides.

Transfer, along with any rendered juices to a blender.

Puree to medium coarse consistency.

Heat saute pan, add oil and puree. Saute, stirring, until puree gets slightly darker and thicker.

Stir in stock and simmer about 10 minutes. Add cilantro and season with salt.

Just before serving, bring salsa to a boil , add spinach and allow to wilt.

Adjust seasoning as needed.

Add chicken to the salsa or served separately.

Serve with tortillas topped with queso fresco,

I used pita bread. Cut the bread into bite sizes and fry them.

Pita bread is as good as the tortillas.

Cut them into bite sizes and fry.. You could use flour tortilla but i prefer corn tortilla

Yum!!