Pane Caldo and Aria

Well, We are in Chicago walking down the MM, it is raining, with our quickly purchased umbrella we are hurrying toward a warm inviting beacon sign..Pane Caldo. The warm wood bar with sandy yellow walls made us feel extremely welcome. It was early in the day, we were two of four people in the place. We wanted a light lunch. I ordered a pizza margarita and the one who is my one ordered the potato omelet(this was the star) with watercress and tomato. We both indulged in a lunch time glass of wine and I must say the whole lunch was amazing. Rain spattering the windows outside, warm, inviting enviornment, effective service and good food made this an exceptional experience. 3 triangles for service and 2 1/2 triangles for food.

Aria- 200 N. Columbus. We walked from our hotel, in the rain to enjoy some very interesting food. Aria lists itself as a new world Asian cuisine restaurant. We sat in the bar area. It was cozy and fun. I had wine and my companion had something called a Mandaran Sting....hmmm after a few of these it certainly can sting. I had a selection from The Wok. It had chicken, assorted oriental veggies and a light sauce. It was good. It was not WOW, but it hit the spot. My companion had sushi selections that were fresh and tasty. The service was very good.
Snaps to our server for knowing what a Sazerac was!! 3 1/2 triangles for ambiance/serivce and drinks. 3 triangles for food.