Barba Yianni - Greek Food in a German Neighborhood

On an unseasonably mild February night, we set out with a Bosnian restaurant in mind.  It must be good, because when we got there, they were full for the evening already!  I'm sure we'll be back, but luckily for us, on the bus out there, we saw a number of interesting looking restaurants, some of which I'm sure we'll make it back to (that Philipino place looked good!).  As we looked the various ethic offerings, we decided to pick a Greek place in Lincoln Square in keeping with the region we originally had in mind.  It looked pretty empty for a busy Saturday night, but we didn't let that deter us.  In we went to begin our Greek experience at Barba Yianni, which translates to Uncle John.  I hope he's back there cooking!

Marrakech Cuisine: a taste of Morocco

When it gets really cold and snowy and gray in Chicago, it's nice to let your mind wander to somewhere warm and exotic.  With a destination off the beaten path planned for later in the evening, we set about to find a new and different restaurant in a new and different (to us) part of town.  After some digging around on Google, a winner quickly presented itself.  What would take the chill off and warm your taste buds better than some Moroccan food?  The reviews online warned to not let the street view scare you off, so we set out in the freezing winter to check out Marrakech Cuisine.  When you walk up to the restaurant, the outside appearance lived up to the billing.  This is the kind of place you could walk (or likely drive) by a hundred times and not look at twice.  When we walked in, it appeared to be empty of people, but as you walked towards the back, you quickly realize that the real action is the back half of the room, where a small bar/service area is set with eight or so small tables around it.  We came in, got a table, and began our Moroccan adventure!