My intention for this blog is to document the experience of being a new parent in Chicago.

At the moment, it’s a little more like… all about new mom life, and if you happened to look out my window you might see Lake Michigan.

But that’s all about to change… mama’s back! We had our first date night over the weekend. I missed our little man, but I knew he was in for a fun night of grandparent time. (And hey, I could Nest cam stalk him if I really needed to.)

It felt so, so good to get dressed up and spend some solo time with my hubby. And have a few cocktails, of course. I love being Hudson’s mom and snuggling up with him at home, but being away for just a few hours of grownup conversation was a good reminder that’s there’s life out there beyond tummy time and diaper changes. And it’s awesome.

J picked quite a place for our triumphant return to the Chicago dining scene: the newly opened El Che Bar in the West Loop. I snapped a few iPhone pictures and wanted to share the highlights of our meal, which was pretty much the whole thing.

The entrance is understated; just a neon sign above the door on a tiled building set back from the street. The restaurant is in the Checker Cab building, and they cleverly light up only the “CHE” in “Checker” at night. (Or it’s the world’s happiest coincidence.)

I loved the decor inside – lots of plants and dark wood, and crazy floor tiles and wallpaper in the bathrooms. Nothing like a well-decorated ladies room!

To start, we shared grilled oysters, and the pickled shrimp and melon salad. Both were so good, but we agreed that the grilled oysters were our favorite because they were different than any other preparation of oysters we’ve ever tried. They had a ton of crazy flavors all in one bite: corn butter, brown butter breadcrumbs and cilantro, but somehow you could still taste the flavor of the fresh oysters. Delish.

We debated about ordering an item from the “segundo” section because we were both pretty set on ordering steak for dinner and didn’t want to overstuff ourselves before the main course. However, I’d read a review that mentioned the short ribs, and I couldn’t get them out of my head — especially when I saw they were served with chimichurri sauce. I am SO glad we went for it because this ended up being my favorite dish of the night. The short ribs were tender and so flavorful, and the chimichurri sauce took it over the top.

I went with the filet for my entree and Jason picked the strip steak. The restaurant has a giant open fire grill in the back, so even though we usually try to vary our orders (and perhaps not order beef for a starter, too!) we decided just to go with it… when in Rome, right? We both loved our steaks, but I have to say the chimichurri sauce that came with J’s strip steak definitely stole the show. I ended up skipping the mustard sauce that came with my mine and eating basically the whole dish of red chimichurri over my filet. I hadn’t ever tried red chimichurri sauce before but I loved it. I found this recipe and I’ll be attempting my own version at home as soon as possible.

We also ordered mashed potatoes at the last minute which truthfully, was just to appear respectable and have something on the side of our giant plates of meat. However, they were incredible and we ate every bite. So rich, thanks of course to the beef jus and marrow salt.

I temporarily lost my mind when ordering dessert and went with corn ice cream. What? I think I was wooed by the dairy-free designation (dairy seems to bother Hudson so I’m avoiding it at the moment) but my choice is even further confusing when I add that there was ROSÉ SORBET on the menu. Thankfully, my husband, who doesn’t even eat dessert, ordered the sorbet (probably knowing I’d be complaining about order regret) and then I ate pretty much all of it. The corn ice cream I’d skip — interesting, but only for a bite. The rosé sorbet, however… what dreams are made of.

We also ordered espressos before heading out for a post dinner drink (past our new parental bedtime) and they were amazing. Super strong, just how I like it, and rich and smoky tasting. They were served with a small glass of soda water to cleanse the palate, which I’d never seen before but thought was interesting. A good espresso is always the best end to a meal.

My mouth is watering just remembering all of the good food. We honestly could have gone to Chili’s and I’d probably have been a happy camper just to be out with my husband for the first time post-baby. (Maybe that’s a stretch!) But I couldn’t be happier with our dinner and would highly recommend the restaurant.

Here’s to many more date nights!