Restaurant of the Week

ChiSone has chosen another great restaurant, the amazing Latin restaurant Nacional 27

Location:

325 West Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60610

We thought that this selection of restaurant would be great as it offers something unique for Chicagoans, and a flavor of home to all the Latinos living in Chicago.
The ambiance of the restaurant is electrifying. The moment you walk in, you will be greeted by the hostess, and towards your right you will find the bar. On a week day, you might find it to be somewhat lonely, but be prepared to make reservations during the weekends as it tends to be a hot spot. People will sit at the bar, order drinks and food, and you would also find people dancing around the bar, letting go by the rhythm of the “salsa and merengue” sounds playing in the back. Nacional 27 offers a wide variety of food on its menu, (don’t worry it has more to offer than just tacos). You could either order ceviche, paellas, salads, seafood, or a good piece of steak.

We ordered:
Smoke Chicken Empanadas
Steak Arepas
Guacho Marinated bbq Skirt Steak
Seafood Paella

A delicious meal, with its unique Latin flavor at a great atmosphere.

Accessibility: 4
Price: 4
Food quality & taste: 5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Ratings are between 1 and 5. 1 = poor and 5 = excellent *
link: http://www.nacional27.net

Recipe of the Week

Guacamole Dip

It's the HOLIDAY SEASON!! That means its time to party. We thought the perfect recipe to give you all was the popular Mexican guacamole dip. Its super easy, fast, tasty, and always a winner at parties or a get-together.

Ingredients

2 medium Ripe Avocados, halved, pitted, and removed from peel
1- 2 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 cup Chunky Medium or Hot Salsa
1/8 teaspoon Sea Salt



1. Sprinkle avocado with lemon juice.

2. Mash avocado with fork.

3. Fold in chunky salsa and sea salt.

4. Refrigerate until serving.

There are tons of different ways to make guacamole dip. You can spice it up or add some veggies if you like.

Enjoy

Gift Trend

At ChiSone we love Christmas! We love the lights all over Michigan Avenue, the Christmas music playing in the radio, the snow, but what about shopping for Christmas gifts? I know, we hear you… it’s not the greatest of all things. But ChiSone has you covered.

Some of the latest trends for Christmas gift are:

Wireless Charging Mat
The Powermat facilitates the drag of plugging every different electronic device to a different wire. We all have cell phones, even multiple ones, we all have iPods, and so on. So instead of plugging each one in a different location, you can set up your Powermat, and charge your device by placing it on top of the Powermat as seen below. The different devices will then charge without any plugs or wire. The Powermat is able to charge three different devices at once.



The new IPod Nano
IPods have been around for some time… but the new Ipod nano comes in the cutest colors: pink, yellow, apple green, orange and much more. Besides this, the new Ipod finally has a video camera, and FM radio with Live Pause. WOWWWW I know…!

Christmas CD’s: Josh Groban’s Noel CD
Besides getting your family and friends electronics why don’t we share some holiday spirit? Any Christmas CD will inspire the entire family with some holiday music.

Hot Chocolate on a Stick
This is a perfect gift for your mother, or even grandmother. The way it works is simply warm up the milk, and then make you stir the chocolate which as seen on the picture is on a stick. Without much more you will have a warm chocolate drink for the cold days ahead.



Rosetta Stone
I know what you’re thinking! Rosetta Stone for Christmas? But what better than gifts that will help you learn something new, a language! Rosetta Stone is offered in 31different languages! Trust us, anyone would appreciate such a gift, and enjoy the holiday sale.


We hope our ideas can make your Holiday shopping a little easier. Remember, this are only our favorite picks, below we offer other options.
Good luck… (wink)
• Electronic Reading Digital book
• Uggs Boots, (always useful for winter time)
• Wine Tote (so many models to choose makes it a great gift all year round)
• Voice Interactive Coffee Machine

Any better ideas? Add them below…

What’s up with ridiculous Christmas gifts?

We have all received them, random, unnecessary, unflattering Christmas gifts. Yet we smile say thank you then put them in the back of our closets to never be seen again.

Christams is one of the most wonderful times of the year, so why do people give the most un-wonderful presents at times? Do they just buy presents in bulk before considering who it might be for? Personally, I have a very small Christmas shopping list. My mother, father, and my sister. Call me old fashioned but I still feel like Christmas is about family and Christ.
The most unnecessary presents I have ever gotten were: a pair of socks, a soap gift basket, a CD I already had, a fugly Christmas sweater and of course. . . A snow globe.

Please people, keep it simple when shopping for presents. Put a little bit of thought into your ideas and don’t buy something for the sake of buying it. Look at a few of ChiSoNe gift suggestions if you are having trouble finding the perfect gift for him or her.

Have a great Holiday!

Restaurant of the week

Meli Cafe & Juice Bar



Location: 301 S Halsted



This week ChiSoNe went to Meli Cafe and Juice bar. Situated right in the heart of Greek Town, this intimate cafe is a great spot for breakfast, lunch and even brunch. We are not food experts, but we love to eat and this small cafe definitely met our expectations and then some.



We walked into the cafe to find that it was packed with people, mostly adults in their 20's and 30's. We were seated promptly and our sever was thorough, helpful and kind. She knew everything about the menu and did not hesitate when we asked questions.



Chef Frank Georgacopoulos is a creative genius, unafraid to push the envelope with dishes like the Alligator gumbo omelet and his white cabbage & wheat grass juice blends.

Meli is only open for breakfast and lunch, however their menu is more extensive than some restaurants we have been to that are open all day. Meli cafe uses organic cage free eggs which make their already delicious egg dishes taste that much better. Chef Georgacopoulos omelets seem to have some French influences, simple designs but difficult to execute.

This cafe has their own juice bar with over fifteen freshly squeezed juices everyday.



We ordered:



Fruit Parfait

Chipotle Chicken Wrap

Andouille Omelet



Meli has rather large portion sizes, so it took us longer to finish these dishes than we thought. We suggest you come here on a very empty stomach and believe us you will leave completely satisfied.





Whether you like your breakfast sweet or savoury, we are pretty sure Meli Cafe & Juice bar has you covered.





Accessibility: 5

Price: 4

Food quality & taste: 5

Service: 4

Ambiance: 3

*Ratings are between 1 and 5. 1 = poor and 5 = excellent *

link: http://www.melicafe.com/

Whats Up With That?

Just add bacon!!!

Just when we think the world could not get any more fascinating...

These days it seems as if you can't get away from the smell, touch and taste of bacon. In the past six months I have learnt that it comes in all different shapes sizes flavours and forms. Bacon is taking over the world, literally. Everything from turkey to vodka comes in bacon flavour. We did a little research and found that there are two very bacon-mbitious men from Seattle cashing in on the bacon craze.

After an appearance on The Oprah Show and several interviews with major television networks, self-proclaimed "bacontrepreneurs", Justin Esch and Dave Lefkow are slowly but surely building a Bacon empire. It all began with them creating bacon salt which sold out in the first week of sales. One year later, they had a business which was worth over $1.5 million. Bacon salt is not thier first and last product, they are in the works designing bacon scented soap, perfume, and pretty much everything else.
If you would like to try or are a bacon lover ChiSoNe found that the following bacon products actually exist: bacon strips, bacon cocktails, bacon vodka, bacon salt, bacon flavoured chocolate, baconnaise (bacon flavoured mayonnaise), chocolate with bacon bits, cupcakes with bacon toppings, a real "I heart Bacon" website, bacon flavoured beer and wait for it. . bacon business cards!

Question of the day: Should everything taste like Bacon?

Incredible at every price

Girls and boys lets admit it. We have all seen those really tight dresses on the red carpet, on models, and all over magazines, but what else do we know besides they look amazing, shape your body, and are worn by every celebrity out there? Designer Herve Leger has made a name for himself dressing the most famous celebrities with his sexy, tight elastic bandage striped dresses.


The pictures shown above are examples of Herve Leger trademark. He makes a woman feel sexy, and show stopping. According to his website, his dresses are made from "bands of stretch fabrics, wool, or silk woven with Lycra or Elastic, wound around the body for a tight fit".
Now wait! What does a girl do, when a dress like this cost $1000 or more… don’t worry, ChiSoNe always has you covered. We can still look like a million dollars with a similar design by other stores. You can find a similar dress, with stripes and a tight fabric whatever your price range is. If you don’t want to spend a whole lot of $$$, forever21 offers you different types of dresses, as seen below. Or if you are looking for something more colorful, French Connection offers you this incredible dress for only $200.

Restaurant of the Week

Hot Chocolate

Location:  1747 N. Damen Ave

The second restaurant on our list is Hot Chocolate. Its simple design and extended menu makes it perfect for lunch, dinner or brunch. Whatever you are looking for, Hot Chocolate will top your expectations. This urban café is great for a date or catching up with friends. You are able to have a good conversation as the music is at a perfect volume. The crowd is mostly young people in there 20's and late 30's.

When walking in the restaurant we felt like we were walking into a lounge. You have the option of sitting at the bar and ordering as you wish, you could also sit in small booths, or choose window seating. We were seated and served promptly. The menu changes significantly between lunch and dinner, so we would recommend that you check the menu online first before deciding when to go there.

We ordered:
Charred baby octopus
House ground Heartland beef
Organic bacon Hamburger
Roasted Gunthorp Farms chicken
Roasted rack of lamb

Desserts: A tasting of all our petite cookies

The truth of the matter is, the cuisine is what makes Hot Chocolate one of our favourite restaurants. We recommend that you save room for desserts, as they are the speciality of the restaurant. Hope you enjoy our pick.

Accessibility: 3
Price: 3
Quality &Taste: 5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
*Ratings are between 1 and 5. 5 being excellent and 1 being poor*    

Recipe of the week

* a sideshow of the process can be found at the bottom of the page*
White wine shrimp and Pasta
10 ounces of angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
20 - 25 Jumbo shrimp
1 1/2 cup of white wine
1/2 cup of green or red bell pepper
parsley
Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 6 to 8 minutes or until al dente; drain

2. heat oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan. Saute garlic and add mushrooms and pepper in oil until tender.
Remove mushrooms, peppers and shrimp from pan, and set aside.

3. Add wine in the pan and simmer until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Add shrimp, peppers and mushrooms to sauce, and heat through. Adjust seasoning to taste.

4. Toss hot, cooked pasta with shrimp and other ingredients. Add Parmesan cheese and pepper to garnish.

Enjoy!

Fall Trends

Fall trends: Layers & Hats



Sadly, the best of our bright and sunny days are behind us, we need to put down the SPF 50 lotion and pick up our umbrella's and coats. Time to stock up on your rain boots, scarf's, hats, tights, belts and just about everything you possibly can for this fall season.



Fall is our favourite time of year and this year its all about keeping warm while still looking fabulous. How do we achieve this? Layers, layers layers! If you think layers can make you look out of shape and make you feel uncomfortable . . .think again. ChiSoNe put together a look that everyone could use day or night time.



Day







Night

for night time just add hoop earrings and a belt







Bad hair day? No worries. We have got just the thing you need to make your hairs blues disappear . Hats are worn during every season in Chicago and we have picked out a few of our favourite styles for you all.

Whats up with that?

What's up with the space hotel?!



Okay millionaires listen up!

Have you always wanted to go into space but wondered where you might stay if you did? Fear not because Galatic Suite is here :)



We (mainly Russia and the USA) have been launching objects in to space on and off for about 50 years. At first we sent specialized machinery such as artificial satellites and space ships then the U.S.S.R (now known as Russia) launched a dog into space in 1957. Soon after that astronauts and now, whoever can afford it.



"Galactic Suite" will be the first ever hotel in space due to open in 2012.



We at ChiSoNe are not fans of this project because even if we did have the money ($4,000,000 for a three night stay) it seems like quite a lot of money to spend just to see the sun rise 15 times a day, wear Velcro suits and go to the bathroom in a zero gravity atmosphere, not to mention eight weeks of intense training. Sounds like less of a vacation and more of a pricey astronaut job.

It is estimated that only 40, 000 people in the world will be able to afford this uncomfortable pricey vacation.



What happened to the good ol' days when all people wanted was to go visit an exotic beach or see the seven wonders of the world? Could space travel be the next big thing for the generations to follow?

On the other hand, It would probably a most exhilarating experience. Can we wrap our minds around the immensity of space? Imagine looking around and seeing stars brighter than you have ever seen them but an infinite space darker than the darkest night on earth.



So Spain wins the race for the first space hotel and the USA is making plans to colonize Mars. Yes that's right Mars!



Is the earth not big enough? Do we not have enough of our own natural wonders to keep people satisfied? Let us not forget that there is an anonymous investor spending $3billion on this project. One of the projects biggest criticisms is the cost of the project, just in case you forgot... its 3 BILLION DOLLARS! No wonder the investor wants to remain anonymous.



Question(s) of the day: Do you think that this money could be put to better use? Would you stay in this Galatic Suite if you had the opportunity?

Restaurant of the week

Quartino

Location 669 N State street

The first restaurant we felt our readers should know about is Quartino.
This perfectly located pizzeria and wine bar is definitely a "must do" in our opinion.
If you are one of those people who think that Italian food is mostly the same and the only thing that changes is whether you dress it up or down, Quartino might just convert you to an Italian food lover.

This restaurant is almost always packed with people. Mostly adults and young adults, but if you go in the afternoon you could possibly spot a few families. So if you want a peaceful night out, this is not the place for you. Quartino is bursting with energy.

We arrived and were seated promptly. It was another cold and chilly Chicago fall afternoon; the restaurants air conditioner was on blast and made it seem like it was colder indoors than it was outside.
We were attended to by two different servers before we got out "official" one. Our server was attentive and friendly.

The menu had a great variety of dishes for pizza and pasta lovers, vegetarians and meat lovers. Prices range from as little as $5 for a side dish or appetizer to all the main dishes, which are meant to be shared go up to $23.


There was not enough space on the table considering all the dishes were "made to share". The food came out as soon as it was ready and we did not wait too long.


We ordered:
Beef Carpaccio
Speciality Shrimp
Grilled Organic Veal Skirt Steak
Mushroom Risotto

For dessert: Coppa al Banana

All the dishes were tasty but the Coppa al Banana made us wish we could stay in that moment for ever.

Quartino is perfect for groups, one on one (friendly) and even family meals. It definitely deserves to go on "our fav's" list (you can find on the side bar of this page).



Accessibility: 5
Price: 4
Food Quality & Taste: 4
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3

* restaurants are rated between 1 and 5. 5 being excellent and 1 being poor*

Don't take our word for it? Decide for yourself http://www.quartinochicago.com/

Recipe of the week

Seeing that this weekend is Halloween weekend, we at ChiSoNe felt it would only be appropriate to have a Halloween themed recipe.

*A full slide show of pictures showing us making the recipe can be found at the bottom of the page*

Pumpkin Chocolate chip Mini Eyeball Cakes

1 1/2 Cups of sugar
5oz of butter (room temp) 
3/4 cup of pumpkin purée
6 Egg whites
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of cocolate chips


Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar till it's light and fluffy. Mix the flour and baking powder, make sure you mix it well otherwise you will have uneven mini cakes. Slowly add the pumpkin purée and butter mixture into the flour.  Add the (mini) chocolate chips! 
It would be better to use a cupcake baking dish with 12 cups. Fill the cups roughly to the top and pop them in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes. 


While waiting for the mini cakes to get ready you can either make your own butter cream (make sure you buy food colouring for different eye colours) or you can just buy small amounts of butter cream and make sure you buy different colours. 
Take the mini cakes out of the oven and let them cool for 20 minutes. 
Decorate the cakes using four different colour icing. 
1)  the pupil of the eye
2 ) the eye colour
3 ) the eyeball vains
4 ) the Sclera (white part of eyeball)

Tip of the day: It's always better to pipe out the butter cream especially for such detailed work. If you do not have piping bags you can simply use a ziploc/ plastic bag, squeeze the butter cream to one side of the bag and make a small cut in the corner.

Makes approx. 15 minicakes.

time: 1hour

approx. price:$45

taste and quality: 4 out of 5 stars

Fall Trends

Hot pink blush:

Fall is introduced to us and as usual, new trends are breezing in.

One of those trends is switching your popular summer bronzer, to the new hot pink blush. The new blush color is bright pink making it appear as if you have great youthful rosy cheeks.  Bronzer is out and blush is in!

One of our favourite is Bobbi Brown’s pale pink blush, or nectar blush.

Hope to see you out there with your pink, pink cheeks.

 

Knee high boots:

Summer has ended and fall is here. But its not all bad, knee high boots are so in, it makes us ask where were they last fall?

Knee high boots make you look fashionable, chic, and keep your legs warmer than usual all day. Btw, don’t worry there are plenty of different  styles and and plenty of variety out there. We suggest you  either visit Nine West, Macy’s, or Aldo.

Have fun choosing your favourite.

 

Military Jackets:

Yes, oh yes we have seen them all over magazines, in the runway, on celebrities; such as Kanye West, Rihanna and Brittany spears. Those amazing, new military jackets.

Help us figure it out, do the look more like  circus-type jackets, military, or even Michael Jackson jackets inspired look. But that’s besides the point.

They look amazing, and make you look ohhh so chic.

Whats Up With That?

What's up with balloon boy and his crazy attention seeking parents?

Like alot of people in the US, I remember watching this story play out with live coverage on  CNN a cable news channel reporting of this experimental helium balloon experiment gone wrong.

I must admit at the time, I felt so sorry for these parents, thinking how terrified they must be and hoping that their son, who supposedly climbed in to this balloon was going to be alright.

If only someone had told me to save my empathy for a real cause like animal rights or global warming.

After rescuers chased the balloon for over 90 miles, it finally landed and to everyone's surprise, there was no boy inside. Hmmm seriously? 

I am no Wolf Blitzer, but I think most of us knew as soon as we heard there was no body found in that balloon I knew there was something sketchy about this story. And now we all know that this was just a huge "hoax" for publicity.

His parents are being charged with felonies and only time will tell what happens in to this family.

Personally, I don't want or need to know. I think too much time and energy has been spent on reporting this case.

Lesson of the day: Do not lie to the police or other authority.

Question of the day: How far would you go to land a reality show deal?