Trenchermen is a strange and wonderful hybrid kind of restaurant. The location is completely misleading as it is tucked into the six corners of Damen/Milwaukee/North Ave. in Bucktown/Wicker Park. But don’t hold that against this place. Once you step down into the cozy, wood-beamed bar and enter the fatigued-oriental-rug-clad dining room, you will forget all about neighbors Flash Taco and Starbucks.

Not to go totally overboard on the scene, but I did melt nicely into one of the big, leather booths with a “Baby Mama” cocktail in hand, and I could have spent hours and hours if not days sampling from the hot, cold, spicy and crunchy menu.

What you will find is a lot of texture and a playful take on old staples, as well as new ones.

Take, for example, an heirloom tomato salad: warm, sweet, cooked tomatoes (skin off) anchored this dish, followed by a layer of sweet and colorful heirlooms, topped with a balsamic vinegar savory ice cream scoop that melted nicely over the few minutes it lasted into a delicious dressing at room temp.

The warm and cold mixed with sweet, salty vinegar umami really was genius.

But it didn’t end there.

The menu is spotted with small plates as well as larger, entree-style dishes, making it an OK choice for a shared plates experience or an every-man-for-himself one.

Expect to find crunch everywhere: Garlic crisps, tater tots flecked with dill pickle pieces, toasted pistachios and encrusted fresh fish were a few applications. And everything came out as art on the plate.

But if you don’t eat a single bite at Trenchermen (yes, it’s good for girls too, although the decor does say more to old boys than a ladies’ night on the town), go for the cocktails. They were good enough to eat, and don’t require a reservation.

Trenchermen

2039 W. North Ave. / Bucktown / Chicago

Brought to you from the brains behind The Bedford, Carriage House is the freshest new country kitchen in Wicker Park. Tucked in to the north side of the busy Division Corridor between Bangers and Lace and Prasino with a side entrance on Paulina, this cozy and inviting spot is a refreshing new non-bar-dining option.

Go here if you:

-Like Grits

-Want a dining option in Wicker Park that is not a bar and is not Mana Food Bar

-Like Grits

-Like making reservations

For “supper” portioned dishes (think: slow cooked pork shoulder, ribeye steak at $28-$34) anchor the menu, along with an ample selection of smaller country fare: shrimp and grits and low country clam boil, to name a few. Tiny a la carte options like housemade pickles and cornbread skillet round it out.

A hefty cocktail menu ($11) as well as a wide selection of beers and wines top off the offerings, completing a rich and tasty menu.

Being able to make a reservation in this part of town, though, may be the icing on this country cake. Not having to bar hop while waiting for a table on a chilly fall night was one of the best things that happened to our evening!

This would be a wonderful choice for a group dinner of 4-6 or a casual date. The menu definitely encourages sharing.

Carriage House

1700 W. Division (at Paulina)

www.carriagehousechicago.com

Finally organizing New York photos and foodie notes. Saturday night, I had the utmost pleasure of eating pizza, pasta and other Italian staples at Franny’s in Brooklyn. It’s a fairly unassuming place; casual, with a bustling bar and dim lighting. But there is nothing dim about the food here: Napoli-style pizza with doughy bubbly crust and some of the most well-prepared pasta I have had in a long time.

The menu here is not elaborate, but everything is perfectly prepared. White and red pizza options offer many vegetarian possibilities as well as a few meat-zas, but whether you prefer your pizza with meatballs, clams or plain old buffalo mozzarella, everything here hit the spot. (Thanks, Sara, for the recommendation!)

We enjoyed one of the three pasta dishes Franny’s offers: spaghetti cacio e pepe. The spaghetti, al dente perfection and the cacio (light Italian cheese) and pepe (ground black pepper) so simple but so tasty. Italian food is not meant to be complicated and this place gets it right.

Go before the crowds set in around 8.

Franny’s
295 Flatbush / Brooklyn / New York

I got first dibs on seeing the new Balena restaurant tonight at the CS grand opening party (thanks, Ari!). First impressions… it is a gorgeous space. Housed in the former Landmark location, Balena, the latest brainchild of restaurant duo Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm of BOKA Restaurant Group, makes use of the two-story space by setting tables on both levels and stationing its kitchen (and pizza production) upstairs where part of Landmark’s second floor used to be.

The whole place is a stylish take on rustic, and the food has a similar taste and feel. Given the passed hors d’oeuvres and charcuterie station, it’s a little bit hard to know what the actual food experience will be like, but the menu, currently published on the restaurant’s new website offers some hints. A strong Italian/Mediterranean influence will feature pizzas and pastas, with starters and oven-fired entrees having a seafood and pork focus (think: tuna crostini, anchovy spread, pancetta and whole roasted fish).

The food is good, but probably I will go back for the atmosphere. (Oh, and dessert—ricotta donut? Yes, please.) This is the kind of casual-yet-upscale place that will be good for a date or a group and the location is ideal for Lincoln Parkers in its central spot on Halsted. I’m interested to go back for the pastas and sharing plates of meats, cheeses, and breads—all very family-style Italiano.

Balena

1633 N. Halsted / Lincoln Park / Chicago

Not that Chicago needs another upscale sports bar, but Old Town Pour House, opened this week at Wells and Schiller, does fit the bill. It’s a little River-North-goes-Old Town with its huge bar, high ceilings and pretty people eating small plates while watching the Bulls on big flat screens, but with 90 beers (yes, 90) on tap, it also offers something a little different.

If you can manage to pony up to the bar (unlikely given the long bar tables that abut it making it quite difficult to navigate) or grab a lean-to spot against one of the standing-room ledges (more likely, and the service was great), the beer list was impressive and the food was a mixed bag.

Our server was able to recommend beer options based on our preferences and we went for a chicken-egg roll-esque appetizer (so-so) and truffle mac and cheese (excellent, and I would actually go back just for this dish).

Braving the “two-hour wait” however (quoted by the bouncer) seems a little much, especially considering that there are other sports bars on Wells. I suspect this place is making a play at the Benchmark crowd, but it also does have a much more upscale feel with lofty ceilings and lots of dark stained wood. Oh, and I’m pretty sure you won’t be caught dead ordering a Miller Lite in this place.

Price was around par at $60 for four beers and two apps. Maybe Old Town is growing up? I’d be interested to see what this place is like not on a Wednesday night but a Sunday afternoon….

Old Town Pour House

Wells and Schiller/Burton

Aside from the fact that the waitress spilled an entire tray of bloody marys onto my two white shirts, all over my coat, pants and bag, Bucktown’s LOKaL has a decent brunch, and as we found out for Brian’s birthday gathering, it is a good spot for a Saturday or Sunday group outing (for a casual 15 or so).

**Update: Thanks, LOKaL for picking up my dry cleaning tab!

Menu items skew pretty Euro with potato pancakes, big slices of polish breakfast sausage, Nutella-stuffed french toast and cheese & pickles (not sure about that last one). The food is good (although not really special), reasonable and eating here entitles all brunch-goers to a $7 bottomless mimosa or $9 bottomless bloody mary while dining—that is this place’s selling point.

It won’t be making my regular brunch circuit, but it was a good spot that isn’t daunted by a big group on the weekend. (The main eating area also doubles as a dance floor full with DJ spinning for late night carousing if brunch isn’t your thing.)

LOKal

1904 W. North Ave. / Bucktown / Chicago

This Sunday’s favorites started with R.J. Grunt’s chicken buffalo nachos (Best. Nachos. Ever. Don’t believe me? Go try for yourself) and ended with a red velvet cupcake at Molly’s. Happily, I have finally settled on a favorite there after several trials—including Molly’s peach cobbler, peanut butter Nutella and plain old yellow cake. I’ve written about Molly’s before, but had yet to find my go-to there. Finally, I’ve made my choice.

Still extremely rich and sweet, I’ve found that the non-filled red velvet with burnt butter frosting does the trick for a sweet fix when venturing around Lincoln Park/Lakeview. Go to Molly’s for a cupcake and stick around to play Scattergories or Connect Four. More than one Sunday favorite to be found at this cupcake spot…

For the first Sunday favorite, R.J. Grunt’s nachos are saucy with just the right balance of tortilla chips and breaded buffalo chicken, along with shredded lettuce and ample melted cheese. Perfect comfort food for any day, but there’s something just right about spending an hour in a small booth at R.J.’s on a Sunday afternoon and m-a-y-b-e even topping it off with a milkshake.

The good news is, you can have your cupcake and eat nachos, too. The trek up Clark from one to the other will take 10 minutes or less.

Molly’s Cupcakes

2536 N. Clark Street / Lincoln Park

R.J. Grunt’s

2056 Lincoln Park West / Lincoln Park

Easy for me to say, but I highly favor the Italian food in Boston’s North End. It is kind of hard to not go to the North End for at least a meal (or a cannoli at Mike’s Pastry on Hanover Street) if you are in town for more than a day.

This trip home, I had the unique pleasure of dining at a new-for-me North End spot: Pagliuca’s. With my cousin and her boyfriend (who is Italian and without a doubt has strong Italian tastebuds and maybe even eats pasta most days including Thanksgiving, I found out this past weekend), we sampled a cold antipasti that included spicy pickled veggies (kind of reminded me of Chicago’s giardinara, which I seldom ever see anywhere outside of Chicago) and I had the daily fresh pasta, fusili, with my go-to, vodka sauce. Since we were going to dinner later on in Newton, I went with a pasta snack, rather than a full entree. However, my dining companions each sampled one of the more substantial offerings and it was a LOT of good food.

What I liked about this spot: it really felt like a family place. Not that most of the North End restaurants don’t, but our waitress told us right upfront that there were things on the menu that weren’t her favorite. (Have to appreciate the honesty.) By 4:30 on a Friday the place was bustling with a post-Bruins game crowd including young, old, family, romance, and anything else you could hope for in a small family-run establishment. You could go here in sneakers or heels or a Bruins jersey and feel at home, all the while noshing on some fresh handmade pasta and taking in the North End scene.

Pagliuca’s

14 Paramenter Street / North End / Boston

Farmhouse is one of several new River North spots and this one happens to be tucked into a two-story spot on a busy section of Chicago Ave. Each floor offers a slightly different vibe: the upstairs is more of a bar atmosphere and dimly lit downstairs feels more restaurant. Both are approachable with impressive ambiance. But if the setting isn’t what captures you, the food, and the fact that this place lives up to its name, probably will.

The bartender can’t promise that the beer you had last night will still be on the list today; the selections change depending entirely on what’s available from local producers. Beers on draught from Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan dominate the list, all reasonably priced and available in tastes—since most are variaties you won’t have seen before.

Bar snacks including local jerky and a Wisconsin cheese ball are good for a quick bite or to accompany a drink upstairs, while more substantial entrees also adorn the menu from chicken soup with dumplings to a tasty burger or local fish.

For an after work beer or date night or a group dinner with girls or guys, it will be interesting to see whether Farmhouse continues to boast a coveted reservation (available on OpenTable) or if it tames to become a neighborhood joint. I can see either happening, but I personally kind of hope it’s the latter.

Farmhouse

228 W. Chicago / River North

It’s here, in all its Johnny Rocketing glory. This location of the American outpost known for fries served on brown paper and thick, luxurious milkshakes has set up shop on Armitage just south of Annette’s.

With all of the hot dog and burger spots popping up, I have to think it’s smart of this chain-style American diner to get a piece of the action. That doesn’t mean I’ll be frequenting…but maybe once in a while for the fries.

Johnny Rockets

924 W. Armitage, Chicago