Cheaper Than a Trip to Poland

My latest restaurant quest brought me to one of my favorite neighborhoods in Chicago, Wicker Park.  Lokal (http://www.lokalchicago.com/) is an adorable restaurant located off of busy North Avenue.  Upon entering we were immediately welcomed by a friendly staff.  I automatically become excited about my dining experience when I'm greeted by a cheerful and helpful server. I'm not a fan of sausage and the first thing that comes to mind when I think of polish food is sausage.  But fortunately, there was plenty for me to try even opting out of the sausage dishes. 

I started by asking the server what she thought I should not leave this restaurant without tasting.  I was looking for something that was uniquely Polish inspired.  Her initial response was the Zapiekanka, a frenchbread sandwich with mushrooms, onions, and melted parmesan. Despite my disdain for onions and uncertain relationship with mushrooms, I was still interested in giving this popular Polish dish a try.  She explained that during festivals people often walk around eating these sandwiches.  But we ended up not ordering, because I was dining with Monica and she was completely put off by the dish, and I did not want to waste food if I was the only one willing to try it. (But if anyone else is interested in trying, I'd definitely go back to taste it) 

I arrived knowing I definitely wanted to have the lobster pierogis. So taking her suggestions into account, I think we arrived at a fair tasting of most of the menu (see our choices below).  This dining experience proved to be an interesting lesson in food for me.

Things I learned @ Lokal:

• I like purple potatoes.  They are not much unlike regular white potatoes, just a cooler color.
• I do not like beets.  Both red and yellow beets were in the salad, I was not a fan of either. 
• Grilled endive tastes like I imagine grilled cabbage would taste, I surprisingly liked it.
• I came in expecting to love the Lobster pierogi.  And while I liked it, I was thankful for Monica B.'s suggestion to also order the Spinach pieorgi, this ended up being my favorite dish of the night. I think the creamy pesto sauce is what won me over. 

Slow Roasted Pork Belly



aerial view of Slow Roasted Porkbelly



Roasted Beets (salad)



Pan Seared Artic Char w/ purple potatoes & grilled endive



back of Pan Seared Artic Char, you can see the grilled endive 

Lobster Pierogi (w/ lemon butter cream)



Spinach Pierogi (w/ a walnut pesto)

While I did not sample the European-inspired drink menu at my initial visit, I was fortunate to go back on a Saturday night when the place was a full fledged lounge.  My drink of choice was a Double Jeopardy, which sounded just risky enough.  It was a mix of prosecco, beer, and raspberry.  I loved it.  Good drinks, good eats AND good music? I'm definitely a fan.