Cowbell

I first heard word of Cowbell through my co-worker, Gay. The restaurant is in an old gas station where Oak Street meets River Road, so nice and close to me. It was also mentioned that something called an "adult grilled cheese" was on the menu, which right away sparked my curiosity. Let's not forget that this place is organic and locally sourced, from what I understand. I decided to finally check the place out for a Friday lunch.



Right away I fell in love with the decor. The inside is light and airy, tables made of distressed wood, flowers in glass bottles, and various sculptures including an awesome egret. Look how they post their specials with a little magnet.


Although I really wanted to try their naturally raised beef burger, I opted for a cheaper course since it was lunch and got that much anticipated Adult-style grilled cheese with a mug of the daily soup. Cory copied and got the same thing. We also split an order of fries as an "appetizer".


The grilled cheese consisted of goat cheese, grilled asparagus slices, tomatoes, and something sweet. Fig? The soup of the day was a delicious white bean and vegetable.
I was very happy with my meal. The service was a tad sub-par. Our fries came at the same time as the grilled cheese and it was hard to get a hold of any of the 3 different people that waited on us. Since Cory was on a lunch break for work ('twas my day off!) I think he felt the stress of the wait more than me. I'm not really holding the service against them just yet because I'm anxious to get back there and try more food! The burger and also their brunch.


Cowbell
8801 Oak St
NOLA 70118

Uncommon Ground

If you know me well enough, you know that my favorite restaurant of all time is Uncommon Ground, the Devon location. The one on Clark existed first, but I never knew about it and I still have yet to go there. However, the Devon-Edgewater branch impressed me from my very first visit. I am into everything about this place: from the evolving seasonal, local, and organic menu, to the green building and rooftop garden, to the art on the walls and live music, and above all else, of course, how well everything there tastes. I have not had one dish that disappointed me.


During my latest visit to Chicago I had the pleasure of dining there twice.

My friend Erin and I went there for brunch on a Friday. Brunch is available every day starting at 11am weekdays and 9am on the weekend. As I mentioned earlier, the menu--drinks included--changes with the season and available stock of all the fresh ingredients. I remember one time getting a fabulous iced mocha with fresh coconut, but I haven't had the luck of seeing it on the menu again since. I opted for a cappuccino instead. For a starter we chose the baked spinach, roasted garlic & goat cheese dip with olive oil crostini. The goat cheese makes this dip incredibly savory and I could just eat it up with my bare hands.


For my main course I went with the Summer Scramble. Zucchini, corn, tomato, basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese. The flavors blended so nicely and tasted so fresh and straight from the garden. I loved the little yellow, orange, and red heirloom tomatoes, and I finally had my first sweet corn of the summer (little late, I know). I would have cut the serving of side potatoes in half, but I could have just been full from the goat cheese dip.


On my last night in town I had a lovely dinner on the outside patio.


We ordered an Uncommon Chopped salad for the table, which consists of romaine, grilled gunthorp farm chicken, bacon, black river gorgonzola, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, scallions, and smoked tomato ranch dressing. Oh. My. God. So good that I could have eaten the whole thing for my dinner.

For my entrée I went with the pork confit: peaches, market vegetables, polenta spaetzle, peach & thyme pork jus. I try not to eat pork because I loves pigs, but who am I kidding? Pork is delicious. The meat just melted on my fork and in my mouth. The market vegetable was zucchini, which I enjoy, but I know a lot of people who don't care for it too much. The polenta spaetzle was my second serving of summer corn, and peaches always go well with pork and duck.

By the time dessert came around I was ready to burst, but since I was on vacation I couldn't pass up on another uncommon course. The table split two dishes: a peach and blueberry crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and these beignets with a vanilla sauce. The crumble was my favorite of the two, but I think I would have chosen the lemon ginger cheesecake if I could do it over again. I'm a lover of cheesecakes.

If you're ever in Chicago, go to this restaurant!