Meet and Eat

There was a great gathering at C-House (Affinia Hotel) today for a photo shoot with Kristina Vanni promoting the Hot Chef Challenge 2010 and the NRA Show 2010 (the world's largest restaurant and food-service industry event). Check it out May 22-25 at McCormick Place. In addition to Kristina, local online talents MJ Tam and Jennifer Luby were in attendance; check out their sites for "home entertaining advice, ideas and inspiration from a Chicago hostess," and "A site for Chicagoland's active families."


Since I like to focus on food and restaurants, I'll give my two cents on the amazing tasting menu we consumed with pictures. Chef Nicole Pederson gave us a sampling of why she is nominated for Best New Chef in TOC's Eat Out Awards 2010. She earned my vote even though I didn't taste all the other nominees. C-House has been on my list of places to check out for a while and this teaser tasting made me want to book something sooner rather than later.

I don't have a menu in front of me, and even if I did I probably couldn't tell you everything I tasted. The flat-breads were fantastic and I really liked the mini bite-sized fish tacos. They were quick bites of fresh fish, crunchy shell and avocado spread. The Tuna Trio was also tasty, though I only took a small piece of one of the options. And then there were the fries with homemade ketchup. I could have had 100 more, and I loved the ketchup - fresh with a hint of spice to make it unique and flavorful.

My plate full of goodness

Dessert was equally delicious and overwhelming. We started with homemade doughnuts that we split 9 ways, and that was followed by an enormous tasting plate of candy-store treats. 

9 plates for 9 people, right?

The food was great, a high class addition to the Michigan Ave. neighborhood. It was also a pleasure to meet Kristina and the NRA 2010 crew. I look forward to the show and quickly returning to C-House for a full meal prepared by (hopefully) award winning Chef Nicole. Thanks again to everyone that made today possible.