Francesca's Forno

Milwaukee/Damen. Dinner. Free table bread: OK, the whipped herbed butter was delicious, but the bread was too crusty. House salad of greens, carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and some kind of creamy (cheesy?) vinaigrette: very good. Skirt steak: flavorless. Sauteed onions in balsamic reduction: very good. Potatoes with fontina fondue: delicious, nicely crispy. Apple tart w/ vanilla gelato: very good.

Lots of empty tables all the way up til 6:30 on a Saturday night. Decent food, but not out of this world.

Orange

Harrison, between Clark and Federal. Brunch. Frushi: good. Apple/mango juice: very good. Mexican breakfast (basically huevos rancheros): just OK, but the white bean puree on the side was pretty good. Cinnamon roll pancakes: pretty good. Chai-infused French toast: nothing special.

Starting at 11:00 am, tables started to empty out, pretty good for a Saturday morning.

Julius Meinl

Addison/Southport. Dessert. Hot chocolate: just OK, needs more sugar (honey?) and stirring to get the chocolate off the bottom. Cream puff: delicious!

Deleece

Southport/Irving Park. Dinner. Free table bread: good. Some kind of salad: pretty good. Acorn squash red bell pepper puree soup: good. Corvina whitefish w/ green beans and a spicy compote: very good.

Kind of loud. Lots of tables available at 9:00 pm.

Bella Notte

Grand, near Noble. Dinner. Free table bread: both white and wheat were good, especially with butter! House salad: fine, wish I had gotten the creamy dressing. Farfalle w/ sausage, onion, green pepper, and vodka cream sauce: an enormous helping of a very heavy dish, maybe too creamy/heavy.

Another good bargain. Server was a little stand-offish.

Toast

Damen, near Dickens. Lunch. Beef tenderloin sandwich w/ roasted shallots: delicious! Nutella/pecan crepe: good, but too many nuts isolated in just one place.

Almost empty, great place to go during the week.

Luna Caprese

Clybourn, near Webster. Dinner. Free table bread: very good, nicely toasted, and the super-garlicy olive oil was very nice. Eggplant/mozzerella/marinara appetizer: very good, very cheesy. Sausage/broccoli/ricotta ravioli: not bad, also very cheesy.

Very very polite servers. Nice place.

West Town Tavern

Chicago Ave., east of Noble. Dinner. Some kind of greens/apple/nut salad: very good. Apple potato soup: very good. Wagyu burger: delicious!

Another very nice meal, hostess was weird again. Place was pretty empty, but they wouldn't let us have an earlier reservation -- what's up with that?

Cold Comfort Cafe

North Ave., west of Leavitt. Lunch, dine in. "I Left My Kids In San Francisco" (chicken breast, mozzerella, tomato): very very delicious. Zapp's regular chips: good, and not at all salty.

Redid the seating since last time, the crowded banquet is gone, and now reasonably spaced tables are in its place. Nice. Not at all crowded on a weekday.

Settimana Cafe

Division/Hoyne. Dinner. Caesar salad, no capers: very good. Linguine w/ chicken breast and light tomato/basil sauce: very good.

Very empty on a weeknight.

Milk and Honey Cafe

Division, near Wolcott. Lunch, dine in. BLT, extra mayo: delicious. Chips: very good, not salty enough. Pumpkin bar w/ cream cheese frosting: delicious.

Crazy crowded, and it's a weekday! Gotta get there early.