che audrey: Chicago

Chicago is definitely in my top favorite cities. It would be perfect if it weren't the "Windy City" and was more dog friendly. (I'll get into the whole dog friendly thing in another post) But the food culture here is amazing. So many little neighborhoods with great restaurants + bars + lounges, too many that I will need multiple visits to get to every "must try" restaurant. Luckily my brother lives here, so more trips to come. This trip was my fourth trip to Chicago, but only my second trip that I was able to explore the Good Eats there.

One thing I have learned with Chicago food culture is MAKE RESERVATIONS, if possible. This trip we had no reservations, except our last night for dinner, but that was at 10:30 pm!!! If the restaurant doesn't take reservations or was booked expect to wait at least 2.5 hours. But eating late dinners is definitely not uncommon in Chicago.

I am only posting about a few restaurants because, either they were worth it or I didn't have my camera for some of my food stops.

The Bongo Room. (Wicker Park)

My brother suggested to go here for brunch. As some of you know, I am not a breakfast person, but I decided to try the Red Velvet + Chocolate Hotcakes topped with vanilla bean cream. I actually really enjoyed this dish, I only really eat pancakes when I crave them, but the doughy texture of this hotcake was addicting. And the vanilla bean cream instead of standard syrup made this dish more of a dessert than a breakfast dish. I love dessert, so this pleased me.

My sister got the Pumpkin Spice + Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake Flapjacks topped with vanilla bean cream. This tasted like Autumn Fall and the best part of it, was it had graham crackers crumbled in it! I don't exactly remember what Krista got, but it was some kind of seasonal french toast. I didn't try it since it had walnuts, but from what they were saying, it was good.

This place had delicious mimosas. I got the raspberry + pear mimosa and my sister and Krista tried the other two, orange + mango mimosa & black raspberry + grapefruit mimosa. I highly recommend the raspberry + pear mimosa, I could barely taste the alcohol, but I definitely felt it! haha.

Raspberry + Pear Mimosa / Red Velvet + Chocolate Hotcakes / Pumpkin Spice + Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake Flapjacks / Seasonal French Toast

Frontera Grill. (Near North Side, Downtown)

My brother claims this is one of the best Mexican places, but I can argue that. I think Javier's in Irvine/Newport can compete this place. We waited 2.5 hours for our seats which probably turned me off at first, but we found some seats at the bar while we waited. It wasn't easy getting these seats, we had to "fight" for them. We ordered some drinks + appetizers to ease our hungry stomachs. After 2 orders of Ociones (Oysters) + 1 order of Trio, Trio, Trio ceviche + 1 order of Taquitos de Mariscos + 1 order of Guacamole&Chips we were finally seated!

The oysters were amazing, I forgot where each oyster was from, but I know that the smallest ones were the best. The three different ceviches were good as well, but the best one was the middle one, which I believe is the Cevich Fronterizo that consisted of Lime marinated Hawaiian Albacore + tomatoes + olives + green chile. I like my ceviche on the sour side, the more lime the better!

I usually order a cheese enchilada + taco combo at Mexican restaurants, but lately I have been trying different dishes or out of the norm dishes. I went with the Special of the night which was a braised beef dish. I am so glad I ordered it! Braised meat is becoming a favorite of mine, especially when done right. This was SO good, my sister and Krista were wishing they ordered it. The beef was cooked to perfection, very tender + juicy. I am not sure the spices or ingredients in the dish but the flavors were so yummy and it wasn't overly salty! Some braised meats I've had tend to be overly salted, but this was perfect. The dish tasted just as good the next day too! And whatever greens was paired with it was amazing too. Everything about this dish was satisfying.

Ociones / Braised Beef / Falda Asada "Brava" / Trio Trio Trio

The Purple Pig. (Near North Side, Downtown)
Despite the "20 minute" wait that was more of an hour wait due to the mistakes of the hostess', this place is probably my favorite of the weekend, partly because it was small "tapas" dishes. I love getting to try a lot of the Menu.

We ordered Braised Baby Artichokes + Fingerling Potatoes + Asiago&Salami Toscana, Prosciutto bread balls, Roasted Bone Marrow + Herbs, Cured Meats: Coppa & Lingua Agrodulce, Cheese: Gouda & ??, Milk Braised Pork shoulder + mashed potatoes, Razor Clams + Oregano + Lemon&Olive oil, Chicken Thigh kebabs + fried smashed potatoes + Tzatziki, Meatball slider.

My favorites were the Braised Pork Shoulder, Braised Baby Artichokes, and Chicken Thigh Kebabs. The Braised Pork shoulder was tender and the mashed potatoes on top were creamy&delicious, good textures together. Others thought the pork was too salty, but I didn't mind it at all. I never really order any artichoke dishes, but this one was worth trying, if you like Medditerranean flavors. Love the "citrus-ness" in this dish, it was quite refreshing. I didn't get a photo of the Chicken kebabs. This was our last dish and I was so full I wasn't going to try it, but I am glad I did. The chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside and went well with the Tzatziki sauce. However, I couldn't stop picking at the fried smashed potato even though I was full. This was crispy on the outside and creamy in the inside. How they achieved those two textures together I have no idea, but I would love to know how. Amazing.

I could have gone without the Razor Clams and the Prosciutto Bread Balls. The clams tasted more like squid with a tough and rubbery texture and the flavors were a little bland for my taste. The Prosciutto Bread balls sound better than they tasted. Didn't really do anything for me, except add carbs to my body!