There is a lot of really good eating to be done in Chicago.
And that's just one of the reasons why I love having guests in town,
because we always make sure to take full advantage of it.
As I mentioned before, Chris's parents and grandparents came to the city this past weekend
to celebrate the birthdays of his mom, grandma, and sister,
as well as to watch his older sister, Ashley, compete in her Special Olympics swim meet.
So we had a lot of celebrating to do, obviously.
And about that hair cut/color on Friday...
I don't hate it, but I'm not over the moon about it either.
I always come out of the salon thinking I was charged too much,
and they took off more hair than I asked for.
What's that all about?
I suppose if this is the worst of my problems I'm doing okay in life.
But enough about my long hair/don't care, let's talk about the food.
Because we ate a lot of good stuff this weekend.
I often get emails from you lovely readers telling me you are coming to Chicago,
and then asking where you should eat.
So here's a just few options I'd recommend based on where we ate over the past few days...
Take some notes.
Friday night we went to Carmines.
Where: Downtown, more specifically Viagra Triangle.
What: Italian.
My thoughts: Sure, it's a bit of a tourist trap, but I don't care I still like it.
I like the ambiance, and I love the calamari.
It's a great spot if you're in town just for the weekend.
However.... if you're visiting Chicago and are more into restaurants off the beaten path,
head to Rose Angelis in Lincoln Park.
You will not be disappointed.
Saturday night was spent at Zed 451.
Where: Downtown.
What: everything... mostly meat.
My thoughts: Whoa. I'm still trying to figure out what to say about this place to be quite honest.
Before your "main course" you grab a plate and walk through their "sampling stations."
In Nebraska, we call this a buffet.
But at Zed 451, they call it "sampling" to make it sound less white trash I assume.
But this place was anything but white trash.
So call it whatever you'd like, it was delicious.
Here's my first plate-
As you can see it's a lot of cured meats, cheese, and tapenade.
I was in heaven. Except for the whole having to wait in the buffet line to get it.
I hate buffets because I get super competitive.
I don't care how much you convince me there's enough food to go around,
I still get nervous it's going to run out.
After we were finished "sampling," the chefs then started coming around to our table with various
meat and fish entrees.
We'd basically tell them what we wanted, and then they'd cut us a fresh piece right onto our plate.
It was a great way to try a lot of different meats, I think Chris tried at least ten.
I had less than five, but only because I continued to head back to the buffet line for more square cut cheeses.
I hate buffets, but I also love them so much...
For Sunday morning brunch we kept it classic at Dunlays on Clark.
Where: Lincoln Park.
What: Everything.
My thoughts: This has been our go to from the minute we moved to Chicago.
For starters, they have really great bloodys that are served with a little Miller High Life.
Anything miniature sized is always a hit with me.
I was feeling more lunch today rather than brunch so I went with the Club.
I'm a huge Club kinda gal.
I think club sandwiches are a lot like bloody marys in that it's so easy to get them right,
and yet so easy to screw them up, as well.
Luckily, Dunlays never lets me down.
Sick of food pics yet?
Hold tight, we've just got one more restaurant to visit.
I'm talking about Hugo's Frog Bar.
Where: Downtown/Viagra Triangle.
What: Seafood and steak.
My thoughts: I like the dark wood, the big booths,
and the fact they served my Matilda in a wine glass.
We ordered a plethora of stuff tonight,
everything from oysters, to clam chowder, french fries, and crab cakes.
It was a thoroughly great weekend.
And now I'm exhausted because I'm on food overload. I don't plan on eating for a long time.
At least until tomorrow morning....
And on that note, I'm out.
Have a great Monday.
And that's just one of the reasons why I love having guests in town,
because we always make sure to take full advantage of it.
As I mentioned before, Chris's parents and grandparents came to the city this past weekend
to celebrate the birthdays of his mom, grandma, and sister,
as well as to watch his older sister, Ashley, compete in her Special Olympics swim meet.
So we had a lot of celebrating to do, obviously.
And about that hair cut/color on Friday...
I don't hate it, but I'm not over the moon about it either.
I always come out of the salon thinking I was charged too much,
and they took off more hair than I asked for.
What's that all about?
I suppose if this is the worst of my problems I'm doing okay in life.
But enough about my long hair/don't care, let's talk about the food.
Because we ate a lot of good stuff this weekend.
I often get emails from you lovely readers telling me you are coming to Chicago,
and then asking where you should eat.
So here's a just few options I'd recommend based on where we ate over the past few days...
Take some notes.
Friday night we went to Carmines.
Where: Downtown, more specifically Viagra Triangle.
What: Italian.
My thoughts: Sure, it's a bit of a tourist trap, but I don't care I still like it.
I like the ambiance, and I love the calamari.
It's a great spot if you're in town just for the weekend.
However.... if you're visiting Chicago and are more into restaurants off the beaten path,
head to Rose Angelis in Lincoln Park.
You will not be disappointed.
Saturday night was spent at Zed 451.
Where: Downtown.
What: everything... mostly meat.
My thoughts: Whoa. I'm still trying to figure out what to say about this place to be quite honest.
Before your "main course" you grab a plate and walk through their "sampling stations."
In Nebraska, we call this a buffet.
But at Zed 451, they call it "sampling" to make it sound less white trash I assume.
But this place was anything but white trash.
So call it whatever you'd like, it was delicious.
Here's my first plate-
As you can see it's a lot of cured meats, cheese, and tapenade.
I was in heaven. Except for the whole having to wait in the buffet line to get it.
I hate buffets because I get super competitive.
I don't care how much you convince me there's enough food to go around,
I still get nervous it's going to run out.
After we were finished "sampling," the chefs then started coming around to our table with various
meat and fish entrees.
We'd basically tell them what we wanted, and then they'd cut us a fresh piece right onto our plate.
It was a great way to try a lot of different meats, I think Chris tried at least ten.
I had less than five, but only because I continued to head back to the buffet line for more square cut cheeses.
I hate buffets, but I also love them so much...
For Sunday morning brunch we kept it classic at Dunlays on Clark.
Where: Lincoln Park.
What: Everything.
My thoughts: This has been our go to from the minute we moved to Chicago.
For starters, they have really great bloodys that are served with a little Miller High Life.
Anything miniature sized is always a hit with me.
I was feeling more lunch today rather than brunch so I went with the Club.
I'm a huge Club kinda gal.
I think club sandwiches are a lot like bloody marys in that it's so easy to get them right,
and yet so easy to screw them up, as well.
Luckily, Dunlays never lets me down.
Sick of food pics yet?
Hold tight, we've just got one more restaurant to visit.
I'm talking about Hugo's Frog Bar.
Where: Downtown/Viagra Triangle.
What: Seafood and steak.
My thoughts: I like the dark wood, the big booths,
and the fact they served my Matilda in a wine glass.
We ordered a plethora of stuff tonight,
everything from oysters, to clam chowder, french fries, and crab cakes.
It was a thoroughly great weekend.
And now I'm exhausted because I'm on food overload. I don't plan on eating for a long time.
At least until tomorrow morning....
And on that note, I'm out.
Have a great Monday.
.gif "REALLY!?!")
