I have been weirdly busy with all my many jobs the last couple weeks and have therefore not been able to chronicle my food adventures from my recent trip to Chicago. So, finally, I will attempt to remember all the fabulous things I ate while adventuring around the city.
Andrew, my dear, long time friend, took it upon himself to make sure that my visit to Chicago was as fun filled and likely to convince me to move there as possible. And what better way to show off the joys of a city, to me, than to take me on a whirlwind food tour of all that Chicago had to offer. By the end of this adventure, I was so full that I didn't want to eat for about a day and a half (unheard of for hobbit-y me).
The first day of my visit Andrew made wonderfully spicy breakfast Chilaquiles. A dish I had never had before but that involved tortilla chips, egg, hot sauce, onions, a couple types of salsa, and was a fabulous kick to start the day. His chef roommate also generously shared some flat break that she had made topped with honey from her brother's farm.
Then we began to wander; Andrew showing me the landmarks of the city and beginning the best food tour that I have ever taken. Entirely of his own devising and showing off the delightfully diverse food cultures within Chicago, his food tour was an inspiration. I have already talked about the various beverages that we sampled in the last post (feel free to read that one as well, especially if you are looking for new and delicious beer varieties to try).
We began the food adventure with the Chicago favorite, Deep Dish Pizza. Oh the joys of dough, cheese, and sausage in a soup of delicious red pizza sauce. A lovely snack (I kid you not. That was our snack). Do not ask me to choose between Chicago Deep Dish and New York Thin Crust Pizza. As far as I am concerned, they are two completely separate foods, both delicious, I do not need to compare them; just eat them.
Following this joyful stop, Andrew coined the term roaming tapas (little bites), and we made our way to our next stop for delightful eats at Bangers and Lace! Another bar with an amazing kitchen. This place has more of a speak easy feel and serves up some wicked good sausages. We had the rabbit sausage with baby carrots, oyster mushrooms, black current, and cream, as well as 8 beer tasters to really explore the huge variety of brews that they have there (I wrote about them in my Chicago Beer and other Intoxications post). I could have cried this place made such deliciousness. So much good food and getting to spend quality time with one of my best friends, how much better could it possibly get?
Rosy from the lovely libations and with the warmth of food still in our mouths we walked the block over to The Bedford. A classy restaurant that used to be a bank, where we ate at in the vault. This section of the restaurant was literally the vault for the former bank, it still has the safety deposit boxes lining the walls (some of the boxes even have things in them so check it out!). There we met up with Andrew's very sweet chef roommate and her boyfriend to eat oysters and drink champagne. This was my very first raw oyster experience EVER. How did this happen with me being such a foodie and having had oysters be one of my favorite foods since childhood? I have no idea but I'm glad it happened. I, not so surprisingly, loved them. Andrew knew I would, and I was glad to have one more food experience under my belt.
Andrew, my dear, long time friend, took it upon himself to make sure that my visit to Chicago was as fun filled and likely to convince me to move there as possible. And what better way to show off the joys of a city, to me, than to take me on a whirlwind food tour of all that Chicago had to offer. By the end of this adventure, I was so full that I didn't want to eat for about a day and a half (unheard of for hobbit-y me).
The first day of my visit Andrew made wonderfully spicy breakfast Chilaquiles. A dish I had never had before but that involved tortilla chips, egg, hot sauce, onions, a couple types of salsa, and was a fabulous kick to start the day. His chef roommate also generously shared some flat break that she had made topped with honey from her brother's farm.
Then we began to wander; Andrew showing me the landmarks of the city and beginning the best food tour that I have ever taken. Entirely of his own devising and showing off the delightfully diverse food cultures within Chicago, his food tour was an inspiration. I have already talked about the various beverages that we sampled in the last post (feel free to read that one as well, especially if you are looking for new and delicious beer varieties to try).
We began the food adventure with the Chicago favorite, Deep Dish Pizza. Oh the joys of dough, cheese, and sausage in a soup of delicious red pizza sauce. A lovely snack (I kid you not. That was our snack). Do not ask me to choose between Chicago Deep Dish and New York Thin Crust Pizza. As far as I am concerned, they are two completely separate foods, both delicious, I do not need to compare them; just eat them.
Andrew with Deep Dish Pizza
Next, Andrew and I spent a lovely time walking around the city, enjoying The Art Institute of Chicago, and public art by Picasso. All of our wandering began to make us a little hungry so Andrew led the way to Big Star, a quirky bar and restaurant specializing in little bites. Oh the tacos! We got the Taco de Panza and the Taco de Pollo. The first being a lovely bite of crunchy braised pork belly, with queso fresco, cilantro, onion, and guajillo sauce. The second an easy addition to our mini menu with roasted chicken thigh, black bean crema, salsa negra, cotija cheese, crispy fried unions and cilantro. Oh goodness, my mouth is watering as I reminisce and my spell check is lighting up like crazy because it doesn't know what the heck I am talking about. But I digress. Because we are foodies, and because we had a charming waitress who reminded us of Rosie the Riveter, we also got one of the specials that was going on then.
It was glorious. A chorizo scotch quail egg- Whaaaat? Ok, let me explain. A scotch egg is a hard boiled (ish) egg that has been wrapped in sausage. Chorizo is a Spanish sausage that is spicy and wonderful. Therefore, scotch quail egg equals brilliance. With a spicy mole (chilies and chocolate sauce, but savory not sweet) and red cabbage with Greek yogurt slaw. If licking plates was considered somewhat more normal, I would have done so. So beautiful. Just the right amount of spicy, beautiful tiny egg, and oh that lovely lovely sauce. Chicago being so far away could be a sad thing just for the sauce.
The loveliness in question.
For more info on Big Star's menu (because it is awesome) go to their website! http://bigstarchicago.com/#
Following this joyful stop, Andrew coined the term roaming tapas (little bites), and we made our way to our next stop for delightful eats at Bangers and Lace! Another bar with an amazing kitchen. This place has more of a speak easy feel and serves up some wicked good sausages. We had the rabbit sausage with baby carrots, oyster mushrooms, black current, and cream, as well as 8 beer tasters to really explore the huge variety of brews that they have there (I wrote about them in my Chicago Beer and other Intoxications post). I could have cried this place made such deliciousness. So much good food and getting to spend quality time with one of my best friends, how much better could it possibly get?
Me with a couple of beer tasters and the delightful sausage plate, or bowl I suppose. Check out the Bangers and Lace menu at http://bangersandlacechicago.com/edibles
Rosy from the lovely libations and with the warmth of food still in our mouths we walked the block over to The Bedford. A classy restaurant that used to be a bank, where we ate at in the vault. This section of the restaurant was literally the vault for the former bank, it still has the safety deposit boxes lining the walls (some of the boxes even have things in them so check it out!). There we met up with Andrew's very sweet chef roommate and her boyfriend to eat oysters and drink champagne. This was my very first raw oyster experience EVER. How did this happen with me being such a foodie and having had oysters be one of my favorite foods since childhood? I have no idea but I'm glad it happened. I, not so surprisingly, loved them. Andrew knew I would, and I was glad to have one more food experience under my belt.
That's me, about to try my first raw oyster ever. Note the number of oysters in front of me. When we were done there were not so many left...
And this, my dear ladies and gentlemen was only the very first day of my trip to Chicago. Next day in next blog installment, because writing this is making me too hungry so I need to go have a snack. Stay tuned for the next one!
