Paleo Restaurant Review: Adobo Grill

Adobo Grill, I never knew...

We discovered another paleo friendly restaurant in our neighborhood!  The funny thing is, we had been here several times before but just recently learned they have a gluten-free menu option.  It makes me sad to think of all the guacamole I missed out on thinking the only vehicle option was tortilla chips.  But on the GF menu they offer jicama chips with their guac - so good!

As with any gluten-free menu, you still need to be aware that there are many dishes paired with beans and corn.  A side of beans are an easy one to request be omitted from a dish, but sometimes corn is too much of the dish - no duck tamales for me.

We did enjoy the guacamole with jicama chips, a trio of ceviches (served with plantain chips), flank steak and the achiote roast pork - all delicious.  I caved and also enjoyed an Adobo Margarita, the most un-paleo part of the meal - but also the least sugar infused of any of their margaritas!

Overall this was really an excellent and nearly guilt-free paleo meal out.  Definitely recommended!

Chicago Paleo Restaurant Review - Vinci

One thing our 45-day challenge taught me is cooking good food is not difficult, it just takes some time and planning.  On those occasions when time and plans do not come together, having some go to restaurants where we can get a relatively 'clean' meal is critical to my long term happiness.

Friday night was one of those nights.  Earlier in the week we returned from vacation and, aside from picking up a handful of staples, no real meal planning had taken place.  I had a Groupon to Vinci, which has a decent gluten-free menu, so dinner out was on!

Appetizers

• Italian sausage in a tomato sauce with goat cheese (normally we don't do dairy so for us this was a little cheat) - for me, the sausage was a little bland, could have kicked up the spice level a bit.
• Beef carpaccio with mustard and tomato sauces and arugula salad - very tasty.

Entrees

• Grilled pork chop, sauteed spinach and smashed yukon gold potatoes with cheese (I tried the potatoes and they were delish, but could only take a couple bites) - this was a great dish, the pork chop was HUGE and seasoned well, maybe a little too much salt in the spinach.
• Grilled duck breast with broccolini, fonduta stuffed tomato and grilled polenta cake (this was Ryan's entree) - the duck was delicious, and the broccolini got good reviews too.  Ryan enjoyed the cheese stuffed tomato, a pretty decent cheat given the amount of cheese - which resulted in some congestion later on...

Overall Thoughts

The service was truly wonderful and accommodating.  Had we been more particular, I'm sure they would have subbed out items for more paleo friendly alternatives.  Was also pleased that the gluten-free menu was actually more extensive than the one posted online. We went at this meal with a little bit of a cheat mentality, so cannot consider it a solid paleo meal.  But, it was at the minimum gluten-free and that's about as low as I want to go.  If you do dairy, you could easily consider this a good option to get a primal friendly meal in Chicago.  Also, the location is perfect if you are on your way to a show at the Steppenwolf Theater, it is right next door!

Returning to Restaurants

After 45-days of preparing all of our meals at home we were excited to take a couple nights off and go out to eat.  We fully intend to continue to eat paleo, but will do our best when eating out.  With that said, returning to restaurants was sadly a disappointing experience.  Thursday we went to Old Town Social, and last night we went to El Barco Mariscos, two of our Chicago favorites.  Thoughts about each experience.

Old Town Social

• What used to say "grass-fed burger" now says "Wisconsin beef burger."  So instead of sticking with just a burger, we opted for salads with steak instead.
• They ran out of Duck Wings (like buffalo wings, but with duck = more fat, more flavor, more paleo!)  so we took a chance on the Caldo Verde.  The soup of the day, which included a mixture of greens, potatoes, and garnished with sardines.  Sardines were a first for both of us.
• Stacey realized she does NOT like sardines.  I can tolerate them, but am also not a fan.
• The steak salad was delicious, but left us still feeling a little hungry.  We're used to eating huge meat-filled plates a home.
• Our check was about a quarter of what we spend on a week's worth of food.  Yikes!  We forgot how expensive it was to eat out.  

El Barco Mariscos

• Before we even left for El Barco, we had a lengthy discussion about whether it was okay for me to bring a bag of plantain chips with us to the restaurant.  I have a weakness for chips and salsa, which come complimentary.  I conceded and didn't bring the plantain chips.
• We did it!  We left the tortilla chips on the table untouched!  I'm so proud.  Although, I did have a couple spoonfuls of salsa while waiting for our food to quell my urges.
• Food is served family style at El Barco.  Normally we order the plate for two which is a huge platter of meat, seafood, and veggies.
• We decided to order three big, family style appetizers instead to avoid the breaded fish/meat on the traditional plate.
• We ordered and enjoyed a plate called Mariscos Al Chingadazo (shrimp, squid, chicken, mussels, and octopus, and whatever is in chingadazo seasoning/sauce), a plate of grilled squid (included potatoes), and a big bowl of ceviche (avocado, fish, shrimp, octopus, salsa, and lime).
• Despite mostly paleo ingredients we began to feel a bit congested after eating.  We're assuming the food was not "clean," and that they used some sort of oil we haven't used during our challenge.
• Overall a decent dining experience, but again our bill was about a quarter of what we spend at the grocery store for a week's worth of food.

Thoughts and Revelations:

• We have become better cooks that we thought enjoying our home-cooked meals as much if not more than the restaurants'.
• Holy crap, eating out is expensive!
• Holy crap, eating out is ridiculously expensive when you keep ordering your new favorite adult-paleo-beverage Tequila on the Rocks!
• If we eat out we're going to have to assume that even though the main ingredients are paleo, the food might not be clean.