Jay arrived home from work on January 25th! It has been wonderful having him here and we are really enjoying our time together!!
After a week of getting over jet lag, we headed to Chicago for our friend's wedding reception. We decided to get there a little early so we could enjoy the city and are glad we made it in ok after the "Storm of the Century"! We flew into Midway with no problems & took the train downtown. After walking a few blocks in the freezing temps on the barely cleared sidewalks, we were happy to warm up in our first hotel of the trip. We stayed at the Affinia Chicago - a great hotel that we really enjoyed (and another great deal from TravelZoo). Here is a quick little tour of our room:
After dropping off our bags and layering up, we got back on the train and headed to
Kuma's Corner. I found this gem from the list
here of Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives & was not disappointed!! The funny thing is that we walked about 10 blocks on the not-cleared sidewalks from the metro to the restaurant! It was such a fun adventure climbing on piles of snow & watching people still digging out from the storm. We finally made it & our bellies were ready!!
WHERE IS MY BURGER???? (BTW - he's an operator)
Happy to be inside & warm!!!
Our first course was this delicious bowl of homemade macaroni & cheese with prosciutto & peas.
Then came the burgers which were all named after heavy metal bands. Coordinating music was pumping in the restaurant the whole time as well. Jay had the "High on Fire" which included Siracha Hot Chili Sauce, Prosciutto, Roasted Red Pepper, Grilled Pineapple & Chili Paste:
Please note the ketchup. This was not your everyday ketchup - it was amped up with
Giardiniera. Jay and I just LOVED it.
I had the "Brujeria"which included Cheddar Cheese, Charred Tomato Salsa, and Cream Cheese & Chorizo stuffed Jalapeno Poppers on top. OMG LOOK AT THIS THING.
THEN guess what we did? We took the easy way to the train (bus) and made it back to our hotel for a 4 HOUR NAP. And when we woke up? We were still full. Our plan was for Gino's pizza for dinner, but the place closed at 9pm that night (and we were too full for that anyway), so instead around 10ish we went downstairs to
C-House (with head chef/co-owner being Marcus Samuelsson from Top Chef Masters) for dessert & a drink. I got this absolutely delicious hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows:
And one of my most memorable dishes of the weekend - this homemade coconut donut. It was topped with coconut mint ice cream & a cajeta (caramel) sauce. It was sooooo good.
Jay got the Salted Sage Flan - with brown butter pears, hazelnuts & maple/pear sorbet:
Let's just say all we did on Thursday was travel & eat. My kind of a day!
Friday morning we got up to a beautiful day. Jay being the amazing husband he is got up & braved the cold to get me coffee & breakfast from the bakery down the street. Another delicious treat - this cinnamon crunch muffin. Divine.
Then we showered & hit the Magnificent Mile for some shopping. It was cold outside, but we worked up a sweat! After some time in the shops, we looked forward to heading outside for some fresh air!!
Jay got a shirt & tie to wear for the wedding & I got a top. We were both pretty good!!
And
then it was time for
Gino's East. One of the famous deep dish pizza joints in the city happened to be conveniently located next door to our hotel, so we stopped in for some pizza. I had worked up such an appetite shopping/walking that we got some meatballs & breadsticks to start!
You should see this place. It's COVERED in graffiti. So of course I added our own little touch:
(writing on white-out type substance wasn't easy)
And then the pizza arrived & we scarfed it down. Delicious!
Guess what? After that? It was nap time. Are you surprised? We enjoyed some time in the room & after a recommendation from our Gino's watier & some other research, went to
Old Town Social for dinner (via cab which was nice!). This restaurant features their own homemade pork/meat products from their own butcher shop on site. I restrained myself from taking pictures of all our food (it was dark & never comes out right in that lighting), but here is what we enjoyed:
*Apple & Parmesan Salad (with Arugula & Lemon Vinaigrette)
*Selection of homemade meats: Summer Sausage, Cotto Salami, Pate de Campagne, Toscano Salami, *Selection of delicious cheese: Grafton, VT Cheddar & Wisconsin Grueyere.
*Milk Braised Pork Shoulder with Creamy Polenta & Brussels Sprout Leaves
*Homemade Paparadelle Pasta with Butternut Squash, Roasted Chicken, Escarole & Peccorino
*Brussels Sprouts side dish made with homemade Pancetta
*Homemade Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar and a Marscapone Sabayon Sauce
(had to take a picture of the donuts seeing as it was the 2nd night in a row with one of my favorite treats):
I promise we didn't just eat this day but pictures of us shopping isn't nearly as fun as seeing our yummy treats is it?
One more Chicago post to come - stay tuned!!
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