CUTTING CHAI

I love chai! I wish that for every second Starbucks there was a chaiwalla instead and not the fake chai tea kind of chai.
If any one is interested here is my sure shot recipe for great elaichi chai.

1. Ground the cardamon pods with a mortar and pestle

2. Boil 1 cup of water. Add the ground cardamon and let the water boil for a minute.

3. Add 2-3 tbls whole milk or 1/2 cup 2% milk

4. Add a spoon of tea leaves

5. Let the tea leaves boil a couple of times, strain and pour into your favorite glass or cup.

I love these quintessential bombay chai glasses that the chaiwallas use.
Bought this set from http://www.tappukidukaan.com/

Mason Jars at Moonshine (CHICAGO)

Saw these really cute mason jars used as glasses for drinks on a Happy Endings episode. Kind of got obsessed with them, so husband took me hunting in the city to find them!

Cut to Moonshine in wicker park (love the neighborhood my second time there last week) a great place I hear to sit outdoors and enjoy a drink.

I ordered a Hurricane

1st Impression: My drink looked so pretty!!

2nd Impression: Was Yumm! 

The Icing: Loved that even the water was served in this quaint jar/glasses

So?: Will go back in the summer when they have outdoor seating

HAPPY HOLI!!

Tea Bag Cookies

http://frostmeblog.blogspot.com/search/label/TeaParty

Saw these on line What a cute idea!! I have to try

Mana Food Bar (CHICAGO)

http://www.manafoodbar.com/

Went to this great little all vegetarian joint in wicker park with a friend last night. Its a lot more fun to have a co conspirator in your hunt for good veggie food.
Since this place doesn't do reservations we waited for about 10-15 mins for  a table. Its a small place but very warm and cosy. They have small plates for sharing which is perfect so you can try a lot more stuff.

 In cold plates we ordered the Quinoa with almonds, tangerine, mint and currants and the Beet and Apple salad with a raspberry vinaigrette. For hot plates we ordered Mana mini sliders made with mushroom and brown rice and the Saag Paneer.

1st Impression: What a great place!! Its cute and I loved the bar stools. Everything on the menu looked so good, it took us a while to decide what to get.

2nd Impression: The Quinoa was great, lightly flavored with a lot of texture. The beet and apple salad was yum. The sliders were good but a little bland for my taste.  The Saag Paneer the one I was most skeptical about turned out to be the highlight of the meal. The spinach was not blended in like regular palak paneer but just thrown in a mixture of rice, paneer in a yummy yogurt based paste.

Icing: Everything was great

So? We have to go back to try the yummy sake and fruit cocktails and the 20 other things on the menu.

Disclaimer: It was quite dark inside so I didn't get any pictures, these are from yelp.

QUARTINO (CHICAGO)

http://www.quartinochicago.com/

Spring is here and its beautiful outside!! Was a warm 19 deg C yesterday and Quartino the Italian place right opposite our building had opened up its al fresco dining. What a treat! I brought a book along for company and ordered a coffee and a pizza

1st Impression: Yay!! we can sit outdoors again, I love the cafe style dining watching people go by

2 nd Impression: The coffee was OK, The Margarita with onions and peppers was a little soggy and lacked salt. Very so so!.

Icing: There was none, except the great weather.

So: Don't think I will order either again. I have eaten here before and love their penne vodka and their minestrone soup.

O donut!!!!

My husband and I did something today we swore we'd never do, Stand in LINE for food. But when we heard this new doughnut place had 4.5 stars out of a 500 reviews in 2 months we had to see what the hype was. So with snow falling on our backs and freezing toes we waited an hour to enter this tiny hole in the wall place called The Doughnut Vault.( http://thedoughnutvault.tumblr.com/)

First Impression: The doughnuts were huge atleast 3 times the size of your Krispy Kreme and the place smelled like heaven.

We had the chestnut glaze, chocolate glaze, pineapple and pistachio chocolate glaze and a coffee.

Second Impression: Oh WOW!!
Loved all the flavors but my favorite was chocolate. They were soft and crispy on the outside, absolutely delish.

The Icing: The coffee. It is the BEST I've had in Chicago so far!!!!

So?: This is a definite will go again!! Just as soon as I figure out how to get around the lines!