Dinner @ Home - Greek Chicken and Potatoes, Asparagus, Potatoes, and Steamed Cauliflower

Overnight marinade for the chicken thighs in lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, and garlic... A quick sprinkle of salt, pepper, and oregano before roasting. Potatoes used the leftover marinade with salt and pepper. Asparagus was spritzed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Purple cauliflower was steamed and seasoned with olive oil and Sunny Spain Seasoning.





I need to find a better source for produce, the cauliflower had lots of black spots upon opening and trimming the leaves and stem. No wonder the purple, orange, and green cauliflower was cheaper than the white... Not a fan of Mariano's produce...

Polish Sausage and Kabanos from Sausage Fest Food Truck

When I fetched weekend donut treats from Stan's Donuts truck, I only saw two trucks for lunch... But come lunchtime, Sausage Fest turned that frown upside down!

Kabanos on the left, a tasty veal sausage, and Polish Sausage on the right, both with sauteed onions, spicy mustard and spicy ketchup, each served in a hollowed-out half baguette... Each sammich would be a good lunch on its own, but, well... I wanted to try them both! And they were both exceptional!


My aunt Barbara introduced our family to Kabanos long ago, so it is a real treat whenever I find it!

Steak and Asparagus Dinner Chez Moi

Originally meant to grill, but sadly the 45F temps did not cooperate... So I used my trusty IKEA grill pan on the stovetop. Very tasty, the steak was rubbed with my fave steak seasoning Hot Rocks, and the asparagus grilled right next to it.

Pastrami Reuben Sammich from Mike's Revenge Food Truck

Wow! A great lunch was needed and Mike's Revenge certainly fulfilled! Very tasty Pastrami Reuben (minus the Creamy Shit) on marble rye and mac'n'cheese..

Carne Asada Lunch from La Humita On Wheels Food Truck

A new (at least to me) food truck appeared on Chicago Food Truck Finder this morning - La Humita On Wheels, serving up Ecuadorian food! It was nearby at NBC Tower, so we ventured over for lunch...

Very very tasty, the steak was served over rice, with a whole-wheat roll, beans, salad, soup, and salsa. Only the salsa was hot-and-spicy, but the food was very flavourful on its own. And OH MY was the salsa spicy!

HIGHLY recommended! And considering the quality, the price is great too!

Carne Asada Lunch Special


Menu from their postcard

Mexican Rotisserie Chicken at El Pollo Vagabundo

We ventured to Northlake when consensus about dinner venue was not forthcoming, so... as I was driving, I made a snap decision and headed for a little restaurant we had passed many times... El Pollo Vagabundo!



The chicken was marinated and spice rubbed and very tasty! Rather than cutting the chicken into eight pieces, they split​ the breasts to make ten more-or-less even pieces of pure chicken joy! We got mashed potatoes as our side, and it came with tortillas and a visit to their salsa bar. All three that I chose were really good, and two were exceptional!

We are looking forward to trying more items off their menu!

Dinner at Mazalae Mongolian Restaurant

Mark and I ventured to Morton Grove to try an authentic ethnic Mongolian restaurant, Mazalae. It is named after the endangered Mongolian mazalae bear, and they contribute a portion of each sale towards its preservation.

Menu:


Mini eggrolls and mongyoza dumplings as our appetizers:


Stir fried noodles and Mongolian Beef entrees, with rice, slaw, and potato salad sides:

Pizza Pizza Thursday - Artichoke, Tomato, and Bacon

... with Williams Sonoma Artichoke and Garlic pizza sauce. It smelled strongly of garlic when preparing the pie, but it is much more mellow after baking. Very enjoyable!