Turkish Delight is RIght

Again I bought myself a groupon, but this time for Sofra Turkish restaurant. Its located in the Lakeview neighborhood of chicago. It was my first time trying Turkish, but once there I realized its pretty similar to Middle Eastern food which I LOVE! So it was definite win! The place is really cozy! In the front windows they had a floor seating something I imaging being in a Turkish home, perhaps? They had a sheet on the ceiling to make it seem like you were sitting in a tent which i found super cool and unique! I've never seen anything like it before. I didn't want to use a flash so the pics aren't that great. Sorry.

The window floor seating 

 The tent effect ceiling

 The appetizer, Artichoke hearts, zucchini, bell pepers in a tomato sauce w/cheese! Heaven!!!! 

 My aunts entree chicken kabob, salad, rice, and yogurt 

 My entree beef kabob in lavash bread w/tomato sauce, rice, salad, yogurt

 Dessert: Turkish Flan, i liked it better then Mexican style

Bisous Bisous, The Rockin GerRoccan: Arkia

Eggplant Parm

The other day I picked the last of the eggplants from our garden. I decided to use one of them for eggplant parm! I enjoy it, but rarely eat it. So i figured hey I've got the supplies why not have a little comfort food.  I served it with sauteed mushrooms. I used white wine, butter, salt, and pepper for those bad boys! I also served creamettes aka little macaroni noodles.

Whisked egg with salt and pepper

 bread crumbs 

 Eggplant and oil frying

 Pieces waiting to be fried

 Mushroom/garlic sauce in the bottom so they don't burn 

 One piece of eggplant, layer of cheese, and another piece of eggplant

 showing the cheese 

 The finished yumminess! 

 The plate :) 

Bisous Bisous, The Rockin GerRoccan: Arkia

Fondue Fun

I'm love trying new places to eat and I love Groupon! So why not combine the two?!? Sound like a great idea to me! I get to try yummy new food for a budget..holla! 2 Thursdays ago my friend and I decided to give one of my groupon spots a shot. It was for Fondue Stube located in the West Rogers Park neighborhood. I'm used to the chain fondue place called Melting Pot their style of fondue is what i'm personally used to. I like that a full meal at Melting Pot consists of a cheese fondue, a salad, an entree fondue, and ends with a dessert fondue. Also the entree fondue is served in a yummy broth which gives the food a great flavor. Fondue Stube on the other hand offers for $35/per person a salad that I had sanitation issues with because the dressing they serve comes in 3 large cups that go from table to table, the entree fondue and a dessert fondue...where oh where is the cheese fondue?!?! ohhh that's an additional $15. I say BOOOOOOOOOO to that Fondue Stube!  Another issue I had with the Stube is the fact that I had to cook my food in OIL do you hear me OIL!! I was the oil was popping and sizzling the entire time I tried to cook my meal therefore I was burnt many times :(. Also I had a plate full of oil by the end of the night which = bad in my eyes. After dinner we headed to the movies to see What's your number? even though we smelled like oil and had grease spots on our clothes. I must say I really did enjoy the movie and you might too so check it out! 

The salad and the 3 giant cups of dressing

 Meg lookin cheesy 

 And moi 

 Cooking the food 

 Each of us had our own plate of meat and four sauces and a shared plate of veggies

 Cooking again

 Broccoli and tiliapia

 a scallop and and a potato slice 

 Oil from my small dish poured onto my raw food dish with a scallop I don't eat 'em and Meg didn't want it

 cool art work of corks from different countries and years

 roasting marshmellows!

 mmmm...s'mores time! 

 the treats to dip into the chocolate

 The outside..very retro 

Bisous Bisous, The Rockin GerRoccan: Arkia