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        <title>Chicago Suburb Real Estate &amp; Area Guide</title>
        <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/dining1/</link>
        <description>New real estate listings, entertainment, recreation, news and things to do in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.</description>
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            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/osteria-ottimo-favorite-restaurant-in-orland-park.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/osteria-ottimo-favorite-restaurant-in-orland-park.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>Osteria Ottimo, Favorite Restaurant in Orland Park</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
I don't consider myself a food critic - as long as I don't have to cook it and clean up after, I'm pretty happy.  I will admit as I've aged my palette has become a bit choosier and I've actually stopped going to some restaurants if I don't like what I ordered or if the service was bad.


I've never been attracted to Italian restaurants as I usually don't order pasta and if I do, I prefer a sweeter sauce than many Italian restaurants make.  My favorite pasta/meat sauce is bolognese, which some restaurants do not make the way it should be (with carrots, which gives it a deep flavor).  I love it when I find a place that makes it correctly.


One weekend evening my husband and I were driving around looking for a place without a long wait.  We ran into Osteria Ottimo but there was a wait.  We left but wanted to come back and give it a try.  And I'm so glad we did.


Osteria Ottimo is my Favorite Restaurant


I have been back many times, as I want to try everything that looks interesting to me on their menu.  Just as I have a dish in mind, one of their daily specials catches my eye.  Everything I've ordered has been wonderful, and I always take home a doggie bag for a much anticiapted lunch.





In the photo, you will see the sign says "Ottimo Ristorante."  Their website (and I believe the menu) has a longer title, "Osteria Ottimo Ristorante Italiano".  I looked up the definition of osteria and Wikipedia states:  "An osteria (Italian pronunciation: [oste'ria]) is an Italian-style eating establishment where the emphasis is generally placed on maintaining a steady clientele rather than on haute cuisine. Osteria in Italian literally means a place where the owner "hosts" people."


It's a Small Place


The tables are close and the restaurant does get busy.  They take reservations and you can wait in the nice lounge, although that can also be SRO.  Check out this Orland Park Italian restaurant's website for all the details.  You'll read about Wine Time Tuesday, Tuesday Night Spaghetti &amp; Meatball Family Style Dinner and Lasagna Night on Thursday.  Maybe you'll see me there!


Ottimo Ristorante is open for lunch and dinner (check the website for times) and is located at 16111 S. La Grange Rd., in Orland Park.  It is nestled in back of a shopping/dining center on the east side of the street.  The phone number is 708-403-3366
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            <pubDate>Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:09:42 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/valentines-day-at-the-batory-buffet.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/valentines-day-at-the-batory-buffet.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>Valentine's Day at The Batory Buffet</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
I wouldn't have remembered, but last Valentine's Day was also snowy and cold.  I looked up my last Valentine's Day in Chicago Suburbs post to see what I wrote about.  Can't remember what I did, though.


My husband asked me to think about where I wanted to go on Valentine's Day.  Not one regular restaurant popped up in my mind (only visions of waiting an hour to get seated no matter where we went).  I hate waiting in restaurants.


Then I thought about the places I really love.  Places my friends would not accompany me to (well, they did once for my birthday and complained loud and clear).  I love Polish buffets.  My first choice was Bobaks in Chicago but I gave a second choice of The Batory Buffet, a Chicago Ridge restaurant located at 10135 S. Harlem Ave.  I didn't think there'd be any waiting since it's got plenty of tables and has never been crowded, even when a wedding party was starting to set up one time we were there.


Not being crowded was an understatement.  There were only two tables occupied when we arrived (and this was around 6:00).  Soon we were the only two diners in the place.  My husband had his Polish beer and I had iced tea, which tasted like real brewed iced tea.


The food was good, as usual.  I love Polish food but even though I'm a dessert lover, their desserts are probably my least favorite.  They always seem dry and bland tasting.  They did have some kind of an apple struedel-like square which was tasty and moist.  I had no idea what it was until I bit into it.


They also didn't have labels over everything although you could figure most of it out.  They seem to be missing the entire glass "awning" over one side of one of their buffets.  They have a salad buffet area and then two different main meal buffets filled with dumplings, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes and vegetables (my favorite of the night), pierogies (I forgot to take one!), rice, buckwheat, and meats such as shank, beef, chicken, fish, meatballs, beef stew and ribs.  And let's not forget the different versons of sauerkraut.  The stuffed cabbage was my second favorite item of the night.


I don't know how they stay in business.  There is never a crowd which is a shame.  But it made for a fun and relaxing Valentine's Day for my husband and me and it almost felt like he reserved the whole restaurant for me!  All we needed was an accordian player.


We also stopped at the Polish deli next to the buffet but didn't buy much.  In fact, I laughed at some of the packaging as I wouldn't know how to prepare half the stuff as it was all in Polish.  Both establishments close at 8:00 and there was a rush right at closing time.  In fact, one gentleman tried going into the buffet and didn't seem too happy when he was obviously told it was closing (and it was only 7:50 - I guess she didn't feel like staying open for one person). 
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            <pubDate>Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:50:23 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/pegasus-restaurant-in-chicago.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/pegasus-restaurant-in-chicago.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>Pegasus Restaurant in Chicago</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Last night my husband and I met with 4 other friends for dinner at Pegasus Restaurant in Chicago's Greektown area.  For the week we had the plans made I thought we were meeting at the Parthenon and kept questioning my husband when we were the first to arrive.  I wasn't sure until I got inside that I had eaten lunch here about 7 years ago.


It is not the largest restaurant in the Greektown area but it is very comfortable and cute.  There is a large menu and it was difficult to make one choice.  I ordered the baked Grecian chicken and chose it over the roasted because it was getting late and I didn't want to wait an extra 15 minutes for the cooking time.  I was very happy with my choice.


I only tried one of the appetizers that was ordered which was the saganaki.  We also ordered a squid dish (unbreaded) and a sliced zuccini dish with a garlic potato dip.  Two different styles of bread were served and they were both very tasty.  I try to stay away from the restaurant breads but these were special so I had to try both!  In fact, our table of six had to get more.


Our table ordered a selection of dishes including a couple of pasta dishes, fried skate and broiled lamb chops.  Everyone raved about how good their dinner was.  I even finished my vegetables which were string green beans in some type of very light sauce.


We ordered two shared desserts and that was another difficult selection since they offer many choices.  I ordered a lemon custard in filo dough covered with honey sauce (called galactoboureko - the longest Greek word) and the other order was a chocolate mousse layer cake (socolatino).  They were both wonderful although I preferred the lemon custard.  It wasn't like custard, more like a cake that was light and fluffy.   


I was surprised at the reasonable prices.  We have local southwest suburban restaurants that don't offer half the ambiance and the food isn't as good that charge more for similar items (although they don't offer most of these dishes).


This is one of those places that after you eat there, you wonder why you haven't dined there more often (oh yeah, I remember, I'm always trying to watch my weight)!  If you've tried other Greektown restaurants you'll need to make your next stop to Pegasus located at 130 S. Halsted Ave., Chicago, IL  60606.  The telephone number is 1-888-558-2637.  We were able to make reservations and there is also veranda seating for nice weather.   
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            <pubDate>Thu, 07 Sep 2006 14:55:52 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/white-castle-reservations-for-valentines-day.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/white-castle-reservations-for-valentines-day.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>White Castle Reservations for Valentine's Day</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
 White Castle in Chicago feast Originally uploaded by photobebe. 


Living in Chicago and having access to many White Castle restaurants has numbed me to how special White Castle sliders are to many people. Especially those that have moved to a non-White Castle area.I'm a day late here but I couldn't believe reading an article about people that actually made "reservations" at many local White Castles for Valentine's Day dinners! Some of the restuarants were fully booked.



There was a special section for the romantic dinners (nothing more romantic than the smell wafting around of those steamed onions &amp; questionable patties). They set up with tablecloths, candles and music. And waiters &amp; waitresses actually served diners at the table. Unbelievable, and I just wish I would have known about it ahead of time. I would have most certainly been there. 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 11:52:51 -0600</pubDate>
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