Gelato at Cafe Spiaggia...mmmmm. (photo credit: http://www.rachelleb.com/images/2010/03/cafe_spiaggia_gelato.jpg)This week is Chicago Restaurant Week - prixe fixe menus at some of Chicago's best - and most expensive - restaurants. Today Ash and I went to Cafe Spiaggia, the lunch offshoot of Restaurant Spiaggia, proud owner of a Michelin star. And it certainly deserves it! When I walked in and saw that each table had a pour-bottle of olive oil on it, I knew Spiaggia would be amazing. We also got the best table in the house: a round table for two tucked into an alcove, both chairs looking out through a floor-to-ceiling window with a view of lake. I enjoyed an appetizer trio of imported olives, nuts, and fried Tuscan kale, followed by a salad of mozzarella di bufala with apple mostarda (caramelized dried apples), thyme, and lemon zest. A beautifully arranged plate of bread arrived, and was fantastic paired with the exquisite olive oil on the table. I dove into memories of travelling through Andalucia and eating our weight in olive oil there...and the mozzarella di bufala reminded me of my week in Sicily, the Recuperos, and the scogli. The main plate was cappacelli - fancy ravoli - with butternut squash, sage, and a brown butter sauce. Ash told me, "Amanda, you are radiating happiness." I couldn't stop smiling. I don't think I've eaten such a good meal since being in Italy, actually. And dessert...I got gelato (three small scoops of giuanduja [hazlenut], stracciatella [chocolate chip], and raspberry), Ash had sorbet (blood orange, lemon, and cinnamon), and we shared it all - and I got an espresso as well, in the true Italio-Spanish tradition, which came with a delightful biscotti. The bitter espresso, the tart lemon, the sweet cinnamon, and the smooth giuanduja...perfect. The only thing I can say about Cafe Spiaggia: go. Even without the great deal of restaurant week, it would be more than worth it. Also, I don't think I've ever seen such great service: Ash told me that when I went to the restroom, leaving my cloth napkin on the table, servers came by and refolded it twice.
Here are some photos, since I should now go concentrate my writing skills on a Locke essay due Monday!
the Trader Joe's a train ride away from campus, right in downtown Chicago - my home away from home!
Heart-shaped macarons at a bakery, E-leaven, right next to Trader Joe's. Yes, I bought one; yes, it was delicious.
Hearts lining Michigan Avenue to raise heart health awareness (and for Valentine's Day!)
Trump Tower...Ash and I managed to ride the elevator to the 16th floor where panoramic windows offered a stunning view!
Spiced Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse and Peanut Butter Frosting
I hosted a fancy dinner party soon after getting back to school - the dress code was red and black. Here I am doing a dish or two in my mini kitchen. The menu also tried to keep to the red and black theme: warm beet salad with gorgonzola and candied pecans,red lentil curry, and bowls of chocolate cake drizzled with honey and layered with white chocolate honey mouse, dark chocolate mousse (the Herve This recipe of water and chocolate), and chocolate macarons with white chocolate honey ganache. 
The first floor library in Ida Noyes Hall, where Friday night swing dances and my charleston lessons are held.
Remember the Chicago Snowpocalypse of 2011? UChicago cancelled classes two days in a row, for the first time ever. The reason: the city didn't deal well with getting the streets cleared. This is my street 24 hours afterward - it didn't get plowed until a couple days later.
The ice did leave pretty cool modern-art like patterns on my window, though. Yes...it was cold. I only started biking again this week - we hit 50 degrees - and all the snow is now gone.
