Monday, August 6, 2012

Restaurant review - Spunky Dunkers, Buffalo Grove, IL

I don't like doughnuts (I know.....how could I not, you don't know what you're missing...blah, blah blah).  But my family does and when summer school was over, our middle kid asked to go there to get a doughnut to celebrate.  This is my family's new favorite doughnut place - WAY over Dunkin Doughnuts they say.
This one is "like an oreo" and she was smiling the whole time she was eating it. Sounds like a positive review on this doughnut!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Restaurant review - Odd Duck Milwaukee, WI

What a great place.  I searched for top patios combined with food in Milwaukee and this was one that came up.  It is in a somewhat run down area, but inside it is a cute restaurant with this wonderful outdoor area.  Inside it was somewhat loud and hot, but outside it was quiet and cooler.  We waited extra time for an outside table and it was worth it.  We picked out our dishes from their small plate menu.  It is a nice way to order when you just want to hang outside and have a leisurely meal. We ordered one plate at a time. We also ordered a cheese platter and picked 4 different kinds of cheeses.  It was nice to have that at the table for the night to keep nibbling on.  Service was great and it was a  great night!
This is their bloody mary and it was amazing. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I had the last one for the night because they ran out of their mix.  See the egg here.....it is a sweet and sour egg.  I had seen in on the bar menu and wanted to order it.  Now I didn't need to.  It was odd and good (at the Odd Duck, I guess that makes sense!?!?). The texture was different from a regular hard boiled egg - more dense, with a sweet, spicy flavor.  Odd, but so good!!  And the drink came with a beer chaser.
This dish is not on their on line menu because they change their menu often, but was on the restaurant menu.  The waitress recommended this dish as a must have and she was right.  It is fried green tomatoes with a corn relish and (I think) a goat cheese/chipolte dressing.  It was absolutely delicious.....crispy, spicy, creamy, and hits of sweet with the corn.
OMG....this sauce on these ribs was finger lickin' good!!  Sweet, tangy and the ribs were perfectly cooked.  Came cleanly off the bone, but with a slight tug, just like I like them.
This is a goat cheese tarine with asparagus and mushrooms with a balsamic drizzle.  It was served with arugala and pieces of french bread.  This was fine.....but wish we tried something else because this is something we could make at home.