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.

Mac's

Division/Wood. Lunch, carry-out. Chicken burger: very good, very moist, surprisingly so. Fries: cold and soggy.

Completely empty on a weekday, except for the 2 dudes who were smoking. :-(

Pizza Metro

Division/Paulina. Lunch, carry out. Pepperoni and onion: good. Potato rosemary: good.

It's been a while, and it was better than I remember. Very fresh too, cuz they hadn't really started making pizzas yet.

Toast

Damen. Breakfast. Huevos rancheros: pretty good, not bad, but it got old. Sourdough toast w/ butter: not exciting. Plain regular French toast w/ fruit: very good. Fruit bowl w/ yogurt and granola: very good!

Very busy at 9:00 am, gotta get there early!

Filippo's

Clybourn, near Webster. Free table bread: just OK, not warm. Tomato, mozzarella, cucumber, basil, balsamic salad (hold the olives and artichokes): very good, and enormous. Spaghetti w/ light tomato sauce w/ shrimp and scallops (hold the mussels): good or very good.

Great place, and welcoming of dish customizations.

Sultan's Market

North Ave and Hoyne. Lunch. Chicken schwarma sandwich: pretty good -- the chicken looked good, so I got it, often it looks old and nasty.

Wildfire

Erie, between LaSalle and Wells. Dinner. Free table bread: disgusting onion loaf. Petite filet, medium: good, but kind of dry, not meaning overcooked, but meaning not enough ... sweet juicy "marbling" aka fat. Broccoli w/ oil: just OK. Macadamia nut crusted halibut: pretty good. Mashed potatoes: fine, nothing special. Peanut butter chocolate pie: delicious!

Another fine meal at Wildfire, and a nice price.

Bourgeois Pig

Fullerton, near Lincoln. Lunch. Some kind BLT on their specialty sandwich list: very good, avocado was enjoyable!

Service was air-headed, but the food was good.

Leona's

Augusta, near Damen. Dinner, to go. Torpedo bread: gummy. Pasta arrabiata w/ broccoli and sausage: insanely spicy. Fettucine alfredo: OK.

Relatively cheap for the large amounts of food, but the food isn't that good.

Penny's

Damen/Pierce. Lunch, at the counter. Lad nar w/ chicken: delicious.

Super-fast service today.

Milk and Honey

Division, near Wolcott. Lunch, to go. BLT: delicious. Potato chips: not that good once I got home. Chocolate cupcake w/ white icing and colored sprinkles: very good.

Not that crowded today.