Restaurant exploration is one of my favorite activities, but with a student budget it remains a luxury! That’s why it’s great when an event comes along that provides an extra reason to eat out.
In the past month, I have attended two dining events benefiting causes that are important to me. On April 29, J and I “Dined Out for Life” at Jin Ju in Andersonville, happy in the knowledge that a percentage of our check would be donated to AIDS service organizations. Jin Ju is a favorite restaurant of ours – we love the Korean fare and classy atmosphere enough to ignore the thumping club beats (yes, I admit it, I can be a little curmudgeonly about restaurant music…but that’s another post).
We started with our usual steamed veggie mandoo dumplings, and as usual, the dipping sauce was so good that even the cabbage leaf garnish somehow disappeared. For his entree, J got his favorite bulgogi – beef marinated in soy sauce and sauteed with veggies. I decided to branch out and ordered a couple of appetizers – seaweed and scallion soup in a mussel broth, and tempura vegetables. Sadly, neither was very impressive (the tempura batter was too greasy, and the soup tasted like your basic miso), so next time I’ll go back to bi bim bap or one of the more complex soup entrees.
On to event #2! Last week I went to Wilde in Lakeview with a group of friends in support of marriage equality. Orders ranged from seafood chowder to bison burgers, but I went for the famous mac and cheese – and I was not disappointed. A giant crock of noodles swimming in a creamy cheddar sauce, accented with tomato, caramelized onion, bacon and a garlic crumb crust, all washed down with a cold beer? I’ll be back for more sometime soon, in support of a good cause like…my appetite 🙂
The mac at Wilde sounds amazing. Made me hungry reading about it, even though I just had lunch! Haha, surprise, surprise. And what a disappointment with Jin Ju. I love that restaurant- it’s usually a failsafe.
Great post!!
You would LOVE that mac, we should get it some time!
I think maybe Jin Ju was just having an off night, I’ve seen that happen when restaurants are hosting special events. Guess we’ll have to eat there again soon just to make sure. Sigh 😉