IPO Dinner Recap

Normally I don't mix food into my fashion blog, but I just had to on this one. I was skimming through the invite to A dinner at the W's Hotels IPO restaurant and was instantly drawn in by the description of new chef, Fernando Coppola's cooking style. When I hear things like simple, unadulterated flavors, love of seafood, organic produce and in-season ingredients, that's speaking my language. The fact that is just down the street from where I live and really close to my husbands work makes it a prime spot for a weeknight date!

It was an absolute treat to indulge in the 6 course meal that started off with cocktails so shmancy there was smoking of mint leaves involved! I'm not much of a drinker, but even I had to try these artistic cocktails prepared by our talented mixoligist.

This pre-dinner bites were insanely delicious. I could have had just these shrimp alone for dinner and been a happy camper!

 This farro risotto (above) and Maine lobster ravioli (below) were my favorites! Did you know that some of the fresh herbs used in these dishes are grown on-site in the chef's own urban oasis garden at the W? How cool is that!?

Had such a great time enjoying a nice relaxing dinner and great conversation with fellow bloggers, something we don't usually get the chance to do with our busy and conflicting schedules.

This desert had us all wondering when the menu simply said "Patagonia". When it arrived we were curious to try what a candied mushroom tasted like. Turns out it's pretty amazing, especially with a decadent chocolate crumble below.

Photos by Blair of The Fox and She

Special Thanks to Chef Coppola and everyone at IPO  as well as Windy City Blogger Collective  (read their recap here) for making this event happen. Such a lovely evening and thanks for having me. I can't wait to go back for round two!