Ravishing Ravenswood

Belated Update of dates in Ravenswood!

Mee Dee Cafe
4805 N. Damen Ave.

Run to Mee Dee!

Mee Dee Cafe is so adorable, but definitely not a place for large groups of friends! I would say bring one person along, there's only so much room! This bright and friendly interior was totally welcoming and quiet enough, and small enough to make this place intimate, but not cramped. Their website... is adorable!

Thai Heaven

We ordered the Lava Calamari, the Almond (what?) Pad Thai, and the Mee Dee Signature Curry. The Calamari was decent, nothing spectacular and not super impressive. The Pad Thai left me longing. Ever since I moved away from the walking distance of Noodles in the Pot in Lincoln Park, I've been looking for a new neighborhood Pad Thai to call me own. Unfortunately, the search continues.

The Mee Dee signature, on the other hand, is a dish not to miss! Both sweet and tart, savory and light, this dish was the best one we ordered.

Mee Dee Signature: Pan Fried Fresh Salmon with spicy and nutty flavor condense curry sauce, pepper, kaffir lime leaves.
Oh man. We ate every single last drop of the curry... so good! Did I mention? MeeDee is BYOB! I'm not sure I'll be hurrying back, but I'd venture here if I were in the area.

trees!

doves!

Apparently, a new community art place will soon be showcased in the Ravenswood walkway near Berwyn. I don't go through here often, but will make a mental note to come back and photograph the final product. I love local art!

I also love:

MACAROONs!

MAX! The puppy that loves me.... and I him.

Hunt and Gather, Gaztro-Wagon

Last night, I took Neighbor J on an adventure: Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we went. Or at least it seemed that way.

Neighbor J texted me and asked if I wanted to grab dinner. I had been RAVING about this awesome falafel joint humbly called, "Taste of Lebanon". Well before meeting up with him, I checked my tweetdeck, like the addict I am. A sign appeared from the trending gods, and on top of my recent tweets list, "@wherezthewagon Touchdown ravenswood metra stop."

Conversation ensues:
"Neighbor J, LOOK! The food truck is so close by!"
"Close by? It's like two miles away! And um.. a food truck?"

ㅎㅎㅎ the PR skills of my former life kicked in, and I was able to convince Neighbor J of the awesomeness of the food truck revolution and our impending NEED to be part of the trend.

SO off we went, dodging through foot traffic (aka maneuvering and jumping out of the way as the senior citizens of Edgewater sped toward us on their fast motorized wheelchairs), resisting alluring temptations (gelato, coffee/tea and, desserts galore of Andersonville's Clark street!), and going over and under the bridges of Ravenswood (aka the metra line).  Who knew the northside landscape could be so adventurous?


It felt slightly like what I imagine Geocaching to be like, using tweetdeck to navigate our way to foodventure finds. Wow, they should make a version of urban geocaching for food. Wouldn't that be awesome?


After being on the wrong side of the tracks for a while, we finally found....

Gaztro-Wagon We Found You!!!

Moments of silence took place, as Neighbor J and I devoured out sandwiches...

zee infamous Wild Boar Belly Sandwich

I ordered two sandwiches (one for me, one as a request for a friend I was meeting later) but... temptation took over, and I ended up eating half of each. I know.. I'm a bad friend. So in total I ate:

• 1/2 of the Wild Boar Belly: Blue Cheese, Date Jam, Romesco Sauce, and onions
• 1/2 of the Braised Lamb: Queso Panela, Apricots, Candied Walnuts, Padron Pepper

Man... was it good. The Wild Boar was delicious, containing all my favorite things, gooey oozey cheese, sweet jams (particularly date and fig for me!), and onions galore. YUM.


The Braised Lamb was equally noteworthy. As a love of all meats smoked, braised, and grilled, it was hard not to love the sweet sauce of the lamb, and the juicy tender meat. Sadly, I think the apricots were left out of my sandwich? I didn't get to taste any, and neither did Neighbor J. hmmm....


I can't wait to track down this truck again. I want to try their Fidel Castro (uhh.. hellO Manchego cheese.. one of my favorite hard cheeses) and their Duck Confit. MMMM.... 


Dreaming of my next sandwich,
Your resident, shameless GLUT

Not MY picture, but look how happy Chef Maroni looks!