Amazing Chicago Food: The Hearty Boys

Last night I had one of the most amazing meals of my life.

All I want to do is talk about it.  And eat it again.  And again.  And again.

The Hearty Boys is a restaurant on N. Broadway in Chicago.  A friend made us reservations there, and I had no expectations whatsoever.

The restaurant itself is small - but super cute.  They also have an outdoor patio which I'm sure is amazing when it's a bit warmer. We were greeted by our amazing waiter, James.  He was knowledgeable about all the menu items and offered some really smart suggestions.

He also could talk for hours about the drink menu alone.  He said they are really into pre-prohibition drinks.  He played the game of tell me what you like to drink and I'll come up with something different that you'll love.  I told him Jack and Ginger - he came back with something amazing...The Barrel Aged Manhattan.

For the appetizer we had Artichoke Fritters with some sort of lemon sauce.  AMAZING.

I couldn't decide between the fried chicken, which sounded like heaven. Or the Sea Scallops.  Or the Market fish of the day - which came with hush puppies.  And I am a sucker for hush puppies.

I asked reliable James - and he said that between those three, you just have to do the scallops.

OK - fine.

I'm not going to lie.  It was literally like butter melting in my mouth.  I wish I had a better knowledge of how these were cooked, because I would like to try it at home.  The scallops just melted.  They were perfection.  I'm not a huge fan of green beans as a whole.  But these were amazing - like candy.  The seasoning was just spot on and the flavor combination was like a firework in my mouth.

The green beans had some sort of crumpled corn bread and toasted almonds on top.  I cannot express in words how perfect this entree was.

For dessert - (you think I was full!?! HA!) I was stuck.  Most of the options on the menu had some sort of fruit component.  If you know anything about me, I have a strong opinion that fruit is NOT a dessert.  So I wasn't super excited.  But James was pretty adamant that we try the Rhubarb Sundae.  I can't say I was excited at the title.  The thought of Rhubarb as a dessert was beyond disturbing and I pretty much said that exact thing to our waiter, who promised it's nothing to be scared of.  But when he mentioned it came with French Toast Ice Cream.....I had no choice.

I'm not even sure where the rhubarb is in this dessert - and I didn't care. The shortbread cookies and the ice cream were wonderful.

I cannot wait to go back!!

 

REVIEW: Sushi Pop Oviedo

Impromptu date night meant finally trying Sushi Pop in Oviedo! 

It's hard to believe this little gem is in Oviedo - right down the street from our house!

First thing first, it's small...and BUSY on a Saturday night.  So make a reservation first.

They could stand to expand the wait area - but it was also a cold night - so no waiting outside!

My only complaint about the place as a whole, it was hard to order a drink.  We couldn't seem to get one while we waited, and it was slow once we finally sat down.

But with that said, everything else was amazing.

We started with the truffle salt and sauteed garlic edamame.  It one word - AMAZING.

Then, it was sushi time.  We ordered four different roles to sample a bit of everything.

I ordered the Anaconda: tempura shrimp, Japanese mayo, topped with eel, avocado, kabayaki sauce, crème fraiche and black sesame seeds  (on the bottom of the picture below) and

the Oviedo Chicken
tempura chicken, Japanese mayo and avocado drizzled with honey mustard (the top of the picture below).

I traditionally only enjoy a shrimp tempura role.  It's just perfect - so why try anything else?  The Anaconda was really good - and really filling. 

The Oviedo Chicken was interesting.  It was such a different sushi texture and eating it just straight up was a little strange.  But once you add some soy sauce, watch out! It's amazing! Something about the sweat and salt of it make it amazing.

Speaking of soy sauce - love the display:

My husband ordered the Lobster and Almonds: tempura lobster, avocado, asparagus, smelt roe, yuzu tartar sauce, encrusted with toasted almonds (bottom left).

His favorite thing though, was the HOT MESS: smoked salmon, avocado and tempura flakes with honey kabayaki, topped with baked tuna, salmon, yellowtail, flounder, spicy mayo, smelt roe, chives and rendered bacon (top right).

The menu is not your typical sushi menu - which is a nice change.  It feels like a Top Chef - inspired restaurant.  We will definately be going back.  I overheard a conversation while I was there that they may be expanding into an empty storefront next door to expand the lounge area.  That would be an excellent idea!!!!

We did not have room for dessert, but the table next to us ordered something that came with a show!

Apparently it was the: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sorbet
sorbet made table side with liquid nitrogen, topped with marshmallow foam and peanut butter powder choice of grape, raspberry and strawberry.

Happy eating!