I arrived slightly before 10:30am, and besides one other small table, the whole place was pretty empty. Having booked ahead, they mentioned there would be a two hour turn around although I’m assuming this was a standard warning since it wasn’t particularly busy when we left, nor did we feel rushed.

Their interior is loosely split into three areas, the front reception area made up of small cafe-style tables, a middle section filled with leather bound booth style seating (which we sat in) and a sky-light lit dining area made up of more cafe-style tables. As much as an American diner as it felt, it certainly oozed a lot more charm than one you’d expect to enter if you were in the States. It was particularly fitting considering the area it sat in.

Their brunch menu did all the classic American diner breakfasts (waffles, pancakes, french toast) and merged in with more of their interesting American style lunch foods including Mac and Cheese, Smoked Brisket Rolls and “Po Boy” Sandwiches. I decided to go with the Canadian stack, or rather a made up version by ordering the Buttermilk Pancakes with maple syrup and blueberries (£10) with a side of bacon (£4)

Their pancake stack contained three fluffy and very filling pancakes and their bacon was cooked perfectly crisp but still had plenty of flavour. Plenty of maple syrup decorated the plate without making it excessively sickly sweet. The coffee (latte) was reasonable though nothing to call home about (too milky) although bonus points for the freshly squeezed orange juice (you get what you pay for (I think it was £4).

Service was polite although not particularly attentive when we finally wanted the bill at the end. I’d return for a breakfast although with their menu, I’d be more interested in sampling something different on their lunch or dinner menu.

Name: Automat
Found at: 33 Dover Street, London W1S 4NF
Website: http://www.automat-london.com/

This visit was on Sunday 11 April

Sean and Reshma definitely had the style going by placing a butter soaked cheesecloth over the bird to hold the juices on top of the bird, apparently a very good Martha Stewart trick. We then sat back and chilled while occasionally basting the bird.

Over the hours we had a few people trickle in, each of them either bringing something or preparing something at our house. I’m glad that I’d prepared some Anzac biscuits that just needed warming through to keep slightly crunchy.

We definitely had one big feast on the evening with plenty of leftovers. The final set of dishes looked something like this:

Roast turkey basted with butter, rosemary and thyme.

Roasted potatoes in goose fat

Tuna pasta

Jalepeno cheese bread rolls

Yorkshire pudding

Box stuffing

Fried zuchinni

Decadent chocolate brownies

We also had some mashed sweet potatoes, gravy and anzac biscuits (which I don’t have any photos of)

Everyone did a round of thanks and considering it was pouring most of the night we had plenty of things to be thankful for in good company, great good and some great wine.

The Breakfast Club is easily identifiable with an exterior painted brightly in yellow. According to their website they are located in two other parts of London including Shoreditch and Angel. Their interior is exactly how you’d imagine a casual cafe to look, with antiquated tables, slightly rickety chairs and wooden benches. The barista counter confronts you as you walk in but take a seat in order to place your order instead.

I remember it being surprisingly busy for a Thursday morning. Their customers included a wide variety of people, some business people obviously meeting over a coffee, a number of people simply reading their morning paper or reading their email over breakfast. Others, simply off for the morning to have a leisurely breakfast.

The menu offerings are simply and to the point. No larger surprises here including everything from pancakes, the classic english breakfast, cereals, and all other varieties of tea and coffee. I ordered the american style breakfast (basically english but with a small pancake on the side). I thought great value for only about £7 or £8. As it arrived, it definitely was great value as I walked out of there with maple syrup and hot breakfast happiness overwhelming me.

I’m tempted to go on weekends although I know how busy the whole area gets. I’ll definitely go back if I ever get a day in the office.

Name: The Breakfast Club
Location: 33 D’Arblay St, London, W1F 8EU
Website: http://www.thebreakfastclubsoho.com/

Regardless, I remember having a really great steak. Seared perfectly on the outside, soft and delicious with a wide variety of sauces to choose from and an impressive wine selection to match. Like many other steak restaurants, sides are additional and so we ordered some spinach, chilli fries and some onion rings (the chilli fries being fries dusted with some sort of spicy mix versus the bean chilli mixture you sometimes see)

Run by the same folk as Umami, you’ll definitely pay for the experience but at least you’ll be guaranteed great service (rare in Copenhagen) and fantastic food. Here are a few links to some reviews:

• http://thecopenhagenguide.com/2032/mash
• http://verygoodfood.dk/2009/05/06/mash-carnivores-choice/

Name: MASH (Modern American Steak House)
Website: http://www.mashsteak.dk/ (not easily Googlable)
Found at: Bredgade 20, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Moto is much smaller than I thought it was going to be with room for probably no more than 50 or 60 covers. The greeting area is just as small and there is only one set of toilets available for each gender. Décor is understated with only a curtain hanging from one side of the room and a mirror with wooden panels on the other.

This restaurant is yet another one of those that specialise in using modern cooking techniques, ala Fat Duck and Il Bulli with this chef’s speciality known as creating edible paper creations jam packed with printed flavours. They offer a 20 course tasting menu and a 10 course tasting menu and we were pretty happy with the latter one.

Our first dish was an assortment of small flavours, served complete with the menu printed onto edible paper and then propped up against a thin slice of garlic toast.

I can’t really remember all the little flavours but you can see the toast sitting atop some whipped butter, a poached garlic bulb with some toasted sesame seeds. And I think the black dots were balsamic but can’t really remember what the green sauce was.

The next dish was a trio of dishes made to look like a breakfast, yet cleverly made with savoury flavours. On the left was a shrimp cake, a breakfast “gazpacho” made with, what looked like, tiny scrambled eggs and then the item to the right what looks like an egg is actually a puffed garlic, deliciously light and delicate dotted with a yolk that was made out of corn reduction. The shrimp cake was firm and crisp, the gazpacho packed full of summery tomato flavours.

Our next dish, the “instant risotto” was made out of puffed rice, topped with a roasted piece of flaky piece of fish and made with some English peas and micro grains. They had already poured a soup into it, and we were asked to mix it together until it really became the consistency of risotto.

Here’s the result:

Whilst not working perfectly (I think there was too much soup) we all agreed it was a tasty dish. The puffed grains of rice gave that crisp contrast to the dish, almost giving it the firmness you’d expect from properly cooked arborio rice.

The next dish was a baguette and gruyere cheese whipped together, pasted to the side and then brûléed to give it some additional caramel notes. The spoon sitting on the centre had brown onions that had been cooked on the spoon itself, with an onion broth being poured at the table. On top of all this sat a home made, dehydrated and then puffed onion ring towering magnificently above the entire dish.

Our next dish was the pequin capon (a variant of some sort of chicken). I can’t really remembering the details of what this dish was served with but I do remembering thinking how tasty it all was. One of my fellow diners commented on the excellent plating (which I thought looked like a fish) but him noticing the tiny sliver of celery leaf on the sauce used to offset the entire look.

It also came served with an edible paper in a small plastic bag, brushed the flavour of buffalo chicken wings. It had some great kick to it.

The next dish definitely wowed us all, presented as the cuban pork sandwich and presented as if it were a cuban cigar sitting inside an ashtray. Cleverly made with vine leaves wrapping a cuban pork mixture inside, with a ring of edible paper acting as the cigar paper) and then sitting in a pile of, what looked like, ashes. These ashes, of course, weren’t like any other, made with a combination of black and white sesame seeds and then a cuban spice mixture. Absolutely delicious and something that was definitely memorable.

Our “reuben lasagna” was made with a crisp flake soaked in dill sauce, topped with home made thousand island sauce, and then layered with different items. It was also dished up with some dill pollen which had a surprisingly strong flavour. I can’t remember exactly what was in the middle of this as well.

Our next dish, made to look like an Italian cannoli was yet another sweet looking dish made out of savoury items. The wrapper, a fried tortilla holding a deliciously divine duck mixture, came served served with jalapeno powder and a deep, complex mole sauce.

I’d never had mole sauce before, and if this was anything to go by, I’d definitely order some more again. The jalepeno powder had that delicate, melting in the mouth flavour leaving just enough kick to tell you of its origins.

The happy face was a combination of passionfruit and raspberry sorbets, sitting atop a mint pesto and served with fresh raspberries, a raspberry sauce and coconut ice. Although I thought it would have been too many flavours yet it turned out to work perfectly, making it an excellent palette cleanser and a lovely tropical theme.

This corn cake was steamed and served with some candied corn and a rich brown butter sauce. It was surprisingly light and airy.

Our final trio of desserts was amazing starting with a “bomb”, filled with liquid graham cracker, covered in chocolate, with a sugar “wick” that they actually set on fire.

The next was a mini hamburger, this time sweet acting like savoury with the bread made out of sweet brioche, topped with sesame seeds, the burger patty being a peanut butter mixture, and the cheese (a banana purée), the tomato ketchup (maraschino purée) and the only real thing in there being a real piece of iceberg lettuce. The trio was finished off with a chocolate mousse log (picture not shown), light and delicate but definitely out-wowed by the other two dishes.

It was so impressive that we asked to see if we could have another of the diabetes-inducing yet spectacular bomb. Surprisingly, our waitress said she’d see the kitchen would try and so we ended up with five more sparkling bombs at our table. Yay!

I had a wonderful time dining with my four other guests (Ron, Ajit, Alistair and Tom) experiencing the delicious and complex flavours all presented in an inspiring environment. Whilst not cheap (USD200 including a starting cocktail, a bottle of wine and a large bottle of beer) it was definitely a great experience.

Name: Moto Restuarant
Found at: 945 W Fulton, Chicago, IL, USA
Website: http://www.motorestaurant.com/

We booked in advance and even though we had a super early booking of 5:30pm, they never tried to upseat us from our table despite the growing queue at the bar and at the entrance. Service was polite, prompt and very helpful throughout the meal.

I started with the Chicago Firehouse Signature Lobster Bisque ($7.95) served in a delicate soup bowl and topped with a puff pastry cap. The pastry provided a nice contrast to the creaminess of the soup, full of flavour and a hearty serve.

I had difficulty choosing between several of the main dishes, especially since the slow roasted pot roast sounded very good. Given that I was in the mid west, and wasn’t liking my chances of having steak before leaving, I decided on the Three Flights of Filet Mignon, a trio of smaller steaks prepared with different toppings. Apparently it’s one of the most popular dishes at the moment and I can understand why with perfectly cooked steaks prepared in several different ways. I particularly liked the steak that was topped with a horseradish crust.

We all agreed to have a dessert and we ended up ordering almost one of every dessert. Molly ordered the special of the evening, a Red Velvet cake, that whilst being about an eighth of cake, could have easily served two or three people. I was particularly happy with the Key Lime Pie cheesecake, a zingy lime filling bottomed out by a slightly orange flavoured graham cracker crust ($8.99). Even though it looked like a more reasonable portion, I couldn’t finish mine because I was so full.

A delicious meal and a great choice of location. The dinner wasn’t cheap (USD90) by the end of it since we had a cocktail to start with, and a number of sides with the steaks (each was additional). The sides were “family-style” as well with two of them barely finished by the three of us having steaks. I enjoyed the service and would definitely add it back to my list for something special.

Name: The Chicago Firehouse Restaurant
Found at: 1401 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, USA
Website: http://www.chicagofirehouse.com/

Everything on their menu looks pretty tempting and I ended up ordering the classic eggs benedict, despite them offering several different variations on the dish. As you can see from the photo below, it’s a huge portion with two eggs benedict, lots of toasted red potatoes and fresh fruit on the side.

The eggs benedict was amazing with the perfectly made hollandaise sauce. I can see why they’ve won awards for this dish and I’d definitely be intrigued to see what their other variations were like. I’d had better potatoes elsewhere but it’s nice to finish the dish with fresh fruit, even if some of them happened to have a bit of hollandaise sauce left on them.

Name: Yolk
Location: 1120 S Michigan Avenue, Chicago, 60605
Website: http://www.yolk-online.com/
Cost: US$18.03 for eggs benedict, orange juice, tax and tip

It’s small outfit means that it’s not really built for dining in, with a small counter with four stools and three picnic tables outside providing any “eating in” option. Most of the locals seemed to know this with most people ordering carry out or takeaway. I was forced to eat at the counter as it was pouring down heavily outside and hadn’t planned anything else. The rest of the interior is covered with photos and old clippings of praise with lots of celebrities and magazines obviously vouching for the deliciousness of their ribs.

I ordered “The Boss”, a set of ribs, fries and coleslaw as it seemed like the most complete meal. The main event of course were the ribs, the coleslaw more of a token indicator with two “sauce pots” filled with the stuff and the fries definitely unmemorable. Fortunately the ribs made up for it with thoroughly tender pink meat and a smokiness that only comes with that much attention and love.

The sauce was tangy, and complimented the meat as it fell off the bone, something I was thankful for given that all I had to eat the stuff was a plastic fork and my hands.

It’s odd location far from central Chicago means I wouldn’t make a trip out for it but I’d definitely return if I happened to be back in the area.

Name: Ribs ‘N’ Bibs
Found at: 5300 S. Dorchester Ave, Chicago, USA
Website: None that I could find
Cost: The boss (rack of ribs, chips, coleslaw) + drink + tax was US$24

Sunday at their Rush Street location (they have three stores in Illinois) has plenty of atmosphere including a live pianist playing a selection of music. Decorations also abound everywhere and some of it particularly eye catching. For example, we sat down at a table in their main room, located right next to the wall almost lined from floor to ceiling with different types of hot sauces. Apparently they have challenge that if you bring in a bottle of hot sauce they don’t have, you get your meal for free (though don’t quote me on that). I do like the bravado and challenge of that. Having said that, they seem to have hot sauce coming out to no ends with at least fifteen bottles at our table. Here’s a picture of our favourite selection of them:

They have a decent selection of brunch “hair of the dog” drinks that I figured was more of a North American thing. I’m not normally one to have anything but Tiffany did suggest the Bloody Mary was one of the spiciest around. On this very same menu they also had a variant of a Long Island Ice Tea underscored with a note stating “Limit of One”. Apparently most of these were very strong. I can definitely attest the Bloody Mary did it’s job on both the alcoholic and the chilli front with me literally sweating through the rest of my breakfast.

Their menu puts a creole, southern spin on everything. In the end I ordered the creole eggs benedict, a spin on the classic dish using Andouille Sausage, smoked paprika and an american style “biscuit” (more like an English scone) as its base.

Whatever it was, it was really good. The serving was plentiful and I was surprised at how well all of those flavours didn’t overpower the hollandaise. They even had the right proportion of ingredients other than it was really two portions and I probably shouldn’t taken the other to go.

I can definitely recommend this place as somewhere to go for a lazy Sunday brunch. Its Rush Street location has plenty of character that just works.

Name: Heaven on Seven
Found at: (Multiple locations) I ate at the one at 600 N. Michigan Ave (2nd Floor) Chicago, IL 60611
Website: http://www.heavenonseven.com/
Damage: US$44 for two people including two entrees, a Bloody Mary, tax and tip

It’s easy to walk down South Wabash Avenue and almost miss their 1152 location. It’s on the corner and the door is fairly non de script, leading into, what looks like, a converted concrete room fitted out with ikea-like furniture. What the decorations fail to add in terms of character, the large windows with streaming sunlight and tables full of people help make up.

I perused the menu, ordering a freshly squeezed orange juice and see on the menu that they do espresso based drinks (one of the few!) All excited, I order the latte only to discover quickly it’s something never to order again. It’s manufactured exactly like one of those st@rbuck’s-fashioned milk monstrosities terrorising those who crave a simple, good coffee. I was stunned as the waitress dropped off the glass, literally larger than the one that my “large” orange juice was served in. I gave it a good attempt but I couldn’t bring myself to finish it, despite it costing almost US$5.

One of the things that I read about The Bongo Room is the way they let you order parts of a meal, like the pancakes that normally arrive as a three stack, but just as orderable as an individual one. Glancing at the menu, I forgo the thought of trying several different pancakes as all of them looked like they’d better sit on a dessert menu such as the Bavarian Stack (chocolate, cherry and vanilla creme). I ended up ordering a single lemon ricotta pancake, assured it was the least sweet of those listed. With the waitresses’ help (more on that later) I also ordered the breakfast croissant, filled with a poached egg, some cheese, bacon and served with toasted red potatoes.

The waitress must have been joking with me when she had indicated how large the pancakes were before I placed my order. She’d assured me with a circular gesture that looked no bigger than the size of a fist, the pancakes were small. What arrived was an enormous pancake that easily would have made a meal of its own. Looking at the two places sit side-by-side, I certainly felt pretty greedy for ordering the breakfast croissant as well. I managed to finish about half the croissant, and half the pancake trying and leaving most of the red potatoes behind.

The pancake was light and fluffy, full of coconut and lemon and definitely being sweet enough without the need for more sugar in the form of maple syrup they also brought to the table. What red potatoes I did have were crisp, salty and definitely went well with the rest of the dish although I wouldn’t say the breakfast croissant was anything to jump up and down for.

I’d definitely come back here although it’s a shame they don’t do a dinner service as many of their pancakes would make awesome desserts.

Name:The Bongo Room
Found at:1152 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, USA (another location in Wicker Park)
Website: None that I could find
Cost: US$29 for the pancake, juice, coffee, breakfast croissant, tax and tip