The Best Cupcakes In Town...Period!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Sometimes you just know when you know. I’m talking about an instance where you experience something and it just feels right. For example, meeting a spouse or significant other for the first time, selecting a college, interviewing for a job or…umm… tasting a cupcake? I didn’t know that eating a cupcake could be a life changing experience until recently. That’s because the newly launched Naperville based Foiled Inc. has the most moist, most fresh and best tasting cupcakes that I’ve tasted. Hands down!

There has been a trend of specialty cupcake shops that have recently opened, but none of them can compare to Foiled Cupcakes. Owner Mari Luangrath started her company Foiled Inc. to help people enjoy memorable experiences through her cupcakes. She called a childhood friend that is an Executive Pastry Chef about her idea and voila they were in business. Unlike other bakeries, Foiled doesn’t use a storefront, but differentiates itself as being Chicagoland’s first and only exclusive on-line designer cupcake delivery service. The cupcakes are handmade using only the finest all-natural ingredients, such as traditional foil cupcake wrappers, real butter cream frosting, handmade fillings, and European Garnishes. They offer twenty standard flavors every day, as well as additional monthly flavor offerings that are available for a limited time. A few of the unique standard cupcakes offered are:

Ooey Gooey – Chocolate cake, caramel filling, caramel buttercream, ganache topping, and a pinch of sea salt.

Pinkalicious So Delicious - Chocolate cake, raspeberry jam filling, raspberry buttercream, and a dainty raspberry garnish.

The Cinnful Apple – Vanilla cake, baked apple filling, cinnamon buttercream, and sweet cinnamon sugar sprinkles.

Foiled also sets themselves apart from the competition by adding a little humor with each cupcake. Their signature “Quippies” are little tag lines of humor inserted into the cupcakes themselves for an extra special surprise.. They also offer customized “Quippies” for special occasions. Cupcakes retail for $38 per dozen and delivery is included. They can whip up designer cupcakes by the dozen with as little as 12 hours notice. Foiled delivers in Chicago and the West Suburbs and pride themselves on customer service. Orders can be made on-line, by phone or fax. For more information log onto www.foiledcupcakes.com.

Labels: anniversary, bakery, birthday cakes, chicago caterers, chicago delivery, dc crenshaw, designer cupcakes, fete select tv, foiled cupcakes, mari luangrath, naperville, nbc chicago, quippies

The Real Deal on the New River North Sports Bar Bull & Bear

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Upscale tends to be the trend in sports bars these days. Or at least the hope is to attract a more sophisticated and trendy crowd that would typically choose a hipper environment to spend their Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights. The new River North sports bar, Bull and Bear, not only lures the hipsters, but attracts businessmen and women during the lunch hour.

The name Bull and Bear obviously recognizes two of Chicago's major sports teams, but also refers to the financial world and appeals to the CBOT crowd. The restaurant has a nice layout and designs, but can get a little too close for comfort when crowded. After talking with a few friends about the menu, I wanted to see if their food matched the upscale vibe. Well, let's just say that it didn't measure up.

The Bull and Bear menu has a ton of starters, salads, main courses, sides and short order options. There are a plethera of burgers and sandwiches to choose from as well as a few non bar food entrees. The "Onion Tower" and "Sweet Potato Fries" were typical. Nothing great, but nothing bad about either dish. The “Lobster Bisque” was deemed to be a signature item and would have been if it wasn't served luke warm. The "Double Cut Grilled Pork Chop" was a little dry and didn't live up to the waitresses billing, but my dining guest really enjoyed his "Pulled Hammy" pork sliders. We were graciously served with a sampling of all of their desserts, which consisted of a chocolate chip cookie draped in vanilla ice cream, cinnamon doughnut holes with three different dipping sauces, peanut butter bread pudding, and a "Thrilla in Vanilla" shake with Filandia Vodka and Godiva Dark Vanilla Royale. They were all savory, but I wouldn't necessarily have paired peanut butter and bread pudding together. The service started off sketchy, due to a mishap with my reservation, but the owner and waitress attempted to make up for it. Don't expect upscale service during crowded nights though, because it is still, however, a sports bar.

A unique feature to Bull and Bear are their 5 premiere booths with Personal Table Taps. Each booth has two taps (1 domestic, 1 import) that dispenses beer, which is recorded on a meter at the table. The goal is to allow guests to pay-as-they-pour and enjoy a no-wait standard of service. This feature should be a big hit for beer lovers.

Bull and Bear has only been open for about 3 weeks, so they may still be working out the kinks. Although they didn't meet my dining experience expectations for what they deem as an "exclusive luxury sports bar", I may give them another shot once the madd rush dies down.

Bull and Bear is located 431 N. Wells St. For more information log onto www.bullbearbar.com

Labels: beer table taps, bull and bear chicago, chicago bars, chicago dining, chicago restaurants, dc crenshaw, fete select tv, luxury, nbc chicago, river north chicago, sports bars