People always ask me what I love about being a food blogger. A few reasons I can think from the top of my head is that this has been an amazing outlet to pursue my love for photography and writing. I love all of the different types of people I’ve encountered paths with and find this blogging community incredibly inspiring.

But one of the things I really love about being a food blogger?

Being able to try new restaurants.

I’ve been lucky enough to have been invited to try many new restaurants:

And earlier this week, I was invited to another really neat event: Salero invited me to experience Chef Ashlee Aubin’s spring menu.

Salero, (which translates to “wit/charm” according to Google) features “Modern Spanish” cuisine from the Basque region. Rather than tapas, the menu is divided into appetizers and  entrees.  This hot spot is located in the West Loop and was most recently recognize as one of the best new restaurants by Chicago magazine. The inside of Salero is simply mind-blowing with it’s simple yet rustic look. Everything has clean lines, warm tones and soft lighting. They paid very close attention to every detail, including the candles lining the east wall.

Here were a few of my favorites from their new spring menu:

 
(Credit: IMR)
This grilled lobster with bomba rice, chorizo and manilla clams is the only dish that exists from their original menu. The lemon alioli paired well with the rice and seafood.

This new menu item, the Grilled Hanger Steak with morel mushrooms, green garlic, bearnaise sauce topped with caramelized onion puree was easily my favorite dish from the night! The sear on the meat was absolute perfection.

 
Order their Chorizo stuffed quail…. I promise, you won’t regret this. The piquillo sauce, veggies, and overall flavor of the dish was fantastic.

This flan honestly just melted in my mouth – this soft custard was infused with fresh cheese then topped with blood orange gelee and saba caramel.

The perfect dessert to end our meal – I’m a huge fan of anything chocolate flavored, so naturally I fell in love with this churro. So light, fresh and the chocolate salted mousse was an excellent addition.

 All in all, this was a wonderful event. I had a great time, and I was super happy to have been invited.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary meal to facilitate this post. Review and all opinions are my own.