My wife and I went to Chicago over the weekend and packed in as much eating (and walking!) as we possibly could. We loved the city and how many beaches there were. However, it was clearly different from NYC. Chicago was slower and the vibe was more mellow. Not that mellow is a bad thing! Here are some of the food highlights. -- Drew
Day 1 - Dinner at Frontera Grill
This has always been on my list. We were going to go to Lou Malnati's for pizza but walked by Frontera Grill and saw a line at 4:30. It wasn't too long so we joined everyone and were sat by 5:20. Nice!
The Topolo Margarita was awesome and we wished we could have had a pitcher of them! We destroyed the guac and chips and the 2 salsas were delicious.
Sopes Rancheros: Crispy corn masa boats, savory shredded beef, roasted tomato, avocado, homemade fresh cheese. These were INCREDIBLE! Sorry for the fuzzy photo. It was really dark in there.
Not pictured are the TWO versions of Queso Fundido. I ordered the chorizo version but they brought the Duck carnitas one instead...then the chorizo version. Holy crap they were good. I've never had chorizo that good before. Soooooo rich.
Day 2 - Breakfast at Yolk.
We were starving so we got a great recommendation from our concierge at the Westin (love that place).
I love "skillets". This one had bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes topped with cheese and 2 eggs. Yum.
Carbs anyone? Tanette's dish was pancakes, potatoes and crepes stuffed with egg, spinach and avocado.
Day 2 - Dinner
We debated with each other, the concierge and Facebook friends about who had the best pizza. We ended up at Pizano's, a cousin/sister(?) restaurant of Lou Malnati's. We got a deep dish and a "thin crust" although that was much thicker than a NY thin crust. The deep dish won, hands down. Great crust, awesome sauce and lots of garlic, baby!
"Thin" crust pizza, Chicago style
Day 3 - Lunch (x 2.5)
Started with a Jamba Juice in the late morning, then we got serious. First, a stop at Portillo's for an Italian Beef and fries. You know it's good when you need a napkin just from unwrapping the sandwich.
Classy.
Food and Tanette make me happy!!
Right after Portillo's, we were going to XOCO for some tortas but they were closed on Sunday so we walked a couple more blocks to Lou Malnati's for lunch #2! Great pizza and probably the smallest house salad ever. We give the nod to Pizano's for the pizza, but just barely.
Individual sized pizza. Perfect after my Italian Beef!
Smallest house salad ever. What's the point?
Not pictured is probably the best chocolate shake I've ever had, at M Burger. It was a bit too rich for Tanette, but the more chocolate the better for me!
We loved our trip. Now we need a week of water, salad and exercise to recover!
