My first blog entry with no photos! This was a complete day of repeat visits and so I took the opportunity to put my camera away.

We started the day at Little Goat which has replaced Publican as my favorite brunch spot in Chicago. Yes there is almost always a wait, but it seems that not too many people realize you can order from the full menu at the bar in Little Goat Bread. Luckily not enough people read this blog for the secret to get out!

For pre-dinner drinks we travelled a bit north to Ceres’ Table. Thank you again Scott for the outstanding hospitality and the quite delicious veal heart crostini. I’m looking forward to getting back here for dinner on my next visit. I could eat the swordfish carpaccio all day!

Next up was my second visit to Next Modern Chinese. This was this first time that I have tried the non-alcoholic drink pairings (and so nobody starts to worry about me, this was in addition to the wine pairings). Many I loved, and even the ones I didn’t love, I have to admit were great pairings. Most of all these were quite complex and probably across all menus have never received the praise that they deserve.

Last but not least, there couldn’t be a better way to end an evening than to be served by the recently crowned world’s best bartender Charles Joly. At one point rather late in the night when I was the only one sitting at the bar, I couldn’t help thinking that even though I had been there dozens of times before, this was a completely surreal experience.