Quartino

626 N. State Street
312.698.5000
Italian

I was pretty impressed with the food here. I was a little skeptical since it was right downtown and in the midst of touristy restaurants. The have smaller plates here so it is like Italian tapas. (That is a great concept!) We tried a bunch of different plates and my favorite was definitely the gnocchi. I think it was served in a basil/olive oil sauce and it was just amazing! Their slogan here "Where wine is cheaper than water..." and their wine is pretty good. We just got the regular table red wine and I thought it was decent AND I bought a bottle to bring home for only $5!
There were, however, two things that I did not like about this place: 1. It was SO loud. This place is big and it was CROWDED and you could barely talk to the person sitting next to you, let alone the person sitting across from you. I would not recommend going on a first date there. 2. They have a bathroom attendant. I just don't like places that have those. It makes me feel awkward b/c I don't need someone in the bathroom to give me soap and hand me a towel. I can do that myself.

Crust

2056 W. Division Street
773.235.5511
Wicker Park

SO TASTY! And it is organic, which makes you feel as if it is so much better for you! My favorite pizza that I tried was the one with bacon and carmelized onions. The nice thing is you can go back and try different pizzas every time. It is in the old Cafe Settimana space so they took over the nice back patio. I would recommend sitting there and enjoying the weather and the good food.

Over Easy Cafe

4943 N. Damen Ave.
773.506.2605
Ravenswood
Brunch/Breakfast Joint

This is my new favorite brunch place. It is cute, it is good food and it is in my neighborhood. The only drawback is that it is tiny so you have to wait awhile for a table. I tried the smoked salmon scramble (on the brunch menu for sundays) and it was SO GOOD! However, it was HUGE! It came with a side of red potatoes and 2 pieces of toast. I didn't even touch my toast. Nor did I finish my main dish. I also had the freckled OJ, which was OJ with strawberry juice mixed in. YUM!
I definitely want to go back since there were a couple other things on the menu that I was eyeing. The only thing I am not looking forward to is the wait for a table... but at least they have coffee outside while you are waiting. (That is a nice bonus although I don't drink coffee.)

Ignotz Ristorante

2421 S. Oakley Ave.
Chicago, IL 60608
773.579.0300

This place is a great find in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood. We went for lunch and the prices were great and the food was exceptional! It was a couple of little touches that make me like this restaurant better than a couple of the other ones I have tried on the same block. 1. They brought out hot bread with roasted garlic on the side. and 2. They bring a chocolate covered marischino cherry with the bill. Those two extra touches really stand out in my eyes! Plus the pasta was fresh and tasty! We also tried the fried zucchini which was piping hot and was a really large portion! I can't wait to go back!

The Breakfast Club

1381 W. Hubbard St.
Chicago
312.666.2372
breakfast/lunch place

this "all-pink" restaurant is a cute old-fashioned neighborhood joint. It has been around for about 20 years and you can just see the old school charm. I opted to try the potato pancakes there, which were decent. (But you can only have so much potato pancakes.) My dining companions did order the lunches, which were rather small for the prices. Overall, the place was good but not exceptional. I would go back and try something different--maybe more standard breakfast fare.