Local Flavor: Monti's Restaurant

Monti's Restaurant

4757 N Talman Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

www.ilovemontis.com

I freaking LOVE Montis. We found out about this gem last year when we bought a groupon for it for Valentine's day. Because we're romantic. And we've been hooked ever since.

Not only does this place boast the most amazing Philly Cheesesteaks outside...you know...Philly, but it also has a kickass bar that boasts 50 craft beers, a rotating tap, and drink specials.

We pretty much bring everyone to this place - or at a minimum we recommend that they check it out. And I have yet to meet a person who doesn't absolutely love it.  My mom, who's a picky eater, ended up wanting to take a huge batch to go - it was that good!

Last weekend, John and I headed out to write up this review (and pig out) and decided to up the ante by getting an appetizer before our meat monsters. Not our best idea. Did we like the pretzel bites? Yes. Did we get way too full? Absolutely. So, if you're going to check this place out with less than 4 people, remember that you will need a lot of room for amazing sandwichwes and fries later.

Speaking of which. It's about time I got down to the nitty gritty and discuss these sandwiches. The cheesesteaks at Monti's are legit.  I mean, the owners are from Philly and know what they're doing on that grill. It's like they've tapped into what heaven must taste like and placed it on a toasty bun. And then added cheese - aka the devil's play thing.

I tend to play it safe and delicious with my food choices - so I stick with the classic Philly and fries (in a mini size - because moderation). There's also a 3 mini sampler that would be a good idea for a group of friends to split. Or for a daring person to tackle.

Speaking of which, John's more daring than I am. He got this monster (a regular sized sandwich) called the Southside Johnny. I like to pretend he got it because my niece call's him Johnny. But it was probably more for the mushrooms than anything else.  But he was pretty full after this. And ended up in a meat coma.

The point is - you should go to Monti's. You should soak in the juices and bathe in the beer. You should buy gift cards and send them to me.

I'm so glad I bought another Groupon for this place yesterday. *drool*

xoxo
Amanda

Local Flavor: Black Rock Bar & Kitchen

Bon Jour!  I wanted to start a fun new feature here on the blog where I share my genius opinions on various places that I visit and dine at.

Nobody likes a Debbie Downer, so I wanted to start somewhere great.  And this specific 'somewhere great' is Black Rock Pub & Kitchen.

This past weekend, John's sister was in town and we wanted to be accommodating so I looked for places to eat near where she and her beau were staying.  That's what led me to the Yelp reviews for Black Rock.  This place sounded good and it was right off the Brown line so we figured we'd give it a try.

Guys.  This place is legit.  It's a dark small bar on Damen Ave. that wasn't super packed but was busy enough to give us the idea that people knew it was good.  And then they gave me a menu.

Umm. They serve TOTCHOS.  Which I've recently become obsessed with since they're a combination of Tater Tots and Nachos.  Which sounds like a great idea.  Granted, Black Rock is really missing a good opportunity to use the word 'totchos' by using the phrase 'megataters' but I'll let it slide.  And who wouldn't let things slide when the next item on the menu is Pulled Pork Fries.  YUM!!!!

Other than the great food, they had a nice bartender and good drink specials.  Not to mention they have good specials every night of the week.  And PBR on draught.  Along with a ton of craft beers.  So it was reasonably priced and plenty gluttonous.  So I was sold.

I mean, come on.  Look at these fries.

They were so good that I had to run them through a filter to make them stand out EVEN MORE.

God. I need to go back here ASAP for dinner.  And totchos.

Info:
Black Rock Pub & Kitchen
3614 N Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60618