Eating Our Way Through the Windy City
xhollydayx, Tulip and I were in Chicago last Thursday through Sunday. We stayed with my fraternity brother Wayne and his wife Jen. They have a condo about 5 blocks away from Wrigley Field. Said condo is equipped with a guest bedroom, two dogs (Conrad & Ellie) for Tulip to play with, plus easy access to the bus and the El. We parked our car in their space (thanks guys!) and proceeded to eat our way through the city.
Thursday Dinner - We absolutely had to get some Chicago style pizza, so we went to Giordanos and split a large cheese & green pepper deep dish pizza. Giordanos is the best known purveyor of deep dish and it did not disappoint. We also had a nice spinach artichoke dip and a pitcher of Blue Moon. The four of us just barely finished the appetizer and the pizza. It's probably fortunate that we walked there to eat.
Friday Lunch - Wayne & Jen had to work, so xhollydayx and I got lunch at Hema's Kitchen, a hole-in-the-wall Indian joint on Clark. We each got a bowl of the chicken mulaghatani soup, which was quite possibly the best non-lamb Indian food I've had in my life. It had a lot of lentils and a lovely tang. It was ridiculously awesome. We then split the Chana Murg, which had chicken and chick pea in a delicious sauce. The service was a bit slow, but with food that good I'm willing to put up with it.
Friday Dinner - Right across the street from Hema's is Emilio's Tapas. We had eaten here a few years ago with dmw7 and my former co-host SM when we were in town for the wedding of PA+DD. the four of us ate dinner there and it was every bit as good as I remembered it. We were slightly limited by Jen's allergies to garlic and shellfish, but we still had no problem ordering eight different plates of tapas, plus an entree, copious amounts of bread and a pitcher of sangria. Every single bit was devoured. Of particular note were two different goat cheese based tapas plates and a cannoli with tuna and asparagus in a white sauce. We also had some delicious raviolis and a wonderful chicken with wild rice. Seriously, I can't recommend this place enough. If you are in Chicago you need to go there.
Saturday Breakfast - Wayne & Jen took us to their favorite brunch place. Ann Sather's is justly famous for their cinnamon rolls. I myself had the Southern Decadence (biscuits & sausage gravy) and was quite full at the conclusion of our meal. Everyone else had delicious breakfast items as well.
Saturday Dinner - My best friend in elementary school now lives in the Chicago suburbs; Josh & his wife Lisa and their kids D&A drove in to meet us for dinner. They selected Grand Luxe Cafe at Michigan and Ontario. This place is a corporate sibling of the Cheesecake Factory, and has a few things in common, namely huge portions and a focus on deserts. If you order your desert with your entree they will bake it to order. The food was pretty good for a chain, but I need to remember that the last 17 pork chops I've gotten when I eat out have been merely good. Apparently the ceiling for a pork chop tops off at good, because I've never had one that was great. Oh well. It was great to see Josh again; it was the first time I'd seen him since 2002 or 2003.
Sunday Lunch - If you like good beer (and xhollydayx does) you've probably had a few drafts from the Goose Island Brewery. We went and had lunch at the Wrigley brewpup, so named because it is right across the street from Wrigley Field. I had a blueberry ale called Cubbie Blue. More importantly, I had one of the very best cheeseburgers I've had in my entire life. It was a delicious half-pound burger, perfectly grilled to medium-rare and coated in black pepper. It was then doused with Stilton and a dozen or so cloves of roasted garlic were tossed on for good measure. It was served up on two thick slices of pumpernickel bread and it was delicious. The burger was enough to put me in a slight food coma for the rest of the afternoon. Ok, the beer didn't hurt either.
We ate a lot of great food, and with all the walking we probably worked most of it off the same day. There are plenty of great places left to try, so I'm sure that we'll be visiting Wayne & Jen again in the future. Heck, we could limit ourselves to restaurants within 10 blocks of their condo and not run out any time soon. They have a great location for matters culinary, that's for sure.
Thursday Dinner - We absolutely had to get some Chicago style pizza, so we went to Giordanos and split a large cheese & green pepper deep dish pizza. Giordanos is the best known purveyor of deep dish and it did not disappoint. We also had a nice spinach artichoke dip and a pitcher of Blue Moon. The four of us just barely finished the appetizer and the pizza. It's probably fortunate that we walked there to eat.
Friday Lunch - Wayne & Jen had to work, so xhollydayx and I got lunch at Hema's Kitchen, a hole-in-the-wall Indian joint on Clark. We each got a bowl of the chicken mulaghatani soup, which was quite possibly the best non-lamb Indian food I've had in my life. It had a lot of lentils and a lovely tang. It was ridiculously awesome. We then split the Chana Murg, which had chicken and chick pea in a delicious sauce. The service was a bit slow, but with food that good I'm willing to put up with it.
Friday Dinner - Right across the street from Hema's is Emilio's Tapas. We had eaten here a few years ago with dmw7 and my former co-host SM when we were in town for the wedding of PA+DD. the four of us ate dinner there and it was every bit as good as I remembered it. We were slightly limited by Jen's allergies to garlic and shellfish, but we still had no problem ordering eight different plates of tapas, plus an entree, copious amounts of bread and a pitcher of sangria. Every single bit was devoured. Of particular note were two different goat cheese based tapas plates and a cannoli with tuna and asparagus in a white sauce. We also had some delicious raviolis and a wonderful chicken with wild rice. Seriously, I can't recommend this place enough. If you are in Chicago you need to go there.
Saturday Breakfast - Wayne & Jen took us to their favorite brunch place. Ann Sather's is justly famous for their cinnamon rolls. I myself had the Southern Decadence (biscuits & sausage gravy) and was quite full at the conclusion of our meal. Everyone else had delicious breakfast items as well.
Saturday Dinner - My best friend in elementary school now lives in the Chicago suburbs; Josh & his wife Lisa and their kids D&A drove in to meet us for dinner. They selected Grand Luxe Cafe at Michigan and Ontario. This place is a corporate sibling of the Cheesecake Factory, and has a few things in common, namely huge portions and a focus on deserts. If you order your desert with your entree they will bake it to order. The food was pretty good for a chain, but I need to remember that the last 17 pork chops I've gotten when I eat out have been merely good. Apparently the ceiling for a pork chop tops off at good, because I've never had one that was great. Oh well. It was great to see Josh again; it was the first time I'd seen him since 2002 or 2003.
Sunday Lunch - If you like good beer (and xhollydayx does) you've probably had a few drafts from the Goose Island Brewery. We went and had lunch at the Wrigley brewpup, so named because it is right across the street from Wrigley Field. I had a blueberry ale called Cubbie Blue. More importantly, I had one of the very best cheeseburgers I've had in my entire life. It was a delicious half-pound burger, perfectly grilled to medium-rare and coated in black pepper. It was then doused with Stilton and a dozen or so cloves of roasted garlic were tossed on for good measure. It was served up on two thick slices of pumpernickel bread and it was delicious. The burger was enough to put me in a slight food coma for the rest of the afternoon. Ok, the beer didn't hurt either.
We ate a lot of great food, and with all the walking we probably worked most of it off the same day. There are plenty of great places left to try, so I'm sure that we'll be visiting Wayne & Jen again in the future. Heck, we could limit ourselves to restaurants within 10 blocks of their condo and not run out any time soon. They have a great location for matters culinary, that's for sure.