CHICAGO

Chicago- Eating at 11 Restaurants in 3 Days!

I recently took a super spur of the moment 3 day trip to Chicago, Illinois. With only 3 days to explore the big city, my best friend Josh, who recently moved to the city- made us a list of his newly found favorites. We had everything from Mexican to Burgers and two fine dining- Michlin Star restaurants. In this post I'm going to cover all of the dining experiences I had, except the two Michelin Star Restaurants- I'll put links to them later in the post. There was just too much to say about those meals to cover them in this post. I'll also include some pictures and information about the attractions I went to.

So, the only way we could possibly manage to eat at so many restaurants was to do what can be referred to as a "Snack N' Dash". This means, going into a restaurant and ordering one or two small things, and then dashing to the next restaurant. This way you don't get too full and you can get in and out quickly. The best technique for picking out a menu item was simply to ask the server for the dish that best describes the restaurant and/ or the best selling dish.

Day 1:

Monday, August 26th, 2019

After arriving at the airport first thing in the morning, we immediately got to adventuring, Josh and I hopped on the "L" train, to downtown where the feasting began!

Bar Siena: $$ Italian Resturant and Bar
832 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607
This two-story restaurant is located in the heart of Restaurant Row in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood. This quaint and charming restaurant is open from morning to the late evening, closing at 2AM. They also have a full bar with specialty cocktails and wine list.

Roasted Meatballs- Pomodoro, hand-dipped ricotta, crostini

This dish had many layers of flavor, the Pomodoro sauce was perfectly balanced and the meatballs had a contrasting savory flavor, topped with creamy ricotta to create a contrasting texture and slight sweetness. The basil on top added just the right touch of freshness. The dish was finished with a perfectly golden crostini to pile all of your flavors from the dish onto!

Grilled Octopus & Shishito Peppers-Charred escarole, Calabrian chili vinaigrette

I'm really not a fan of octopus due to the texture, but I wanted to try everything for the FULL Chicago experience. With this being said, the dish was definitely better than just "edible." While I didn't scarf down the dish- like I did with the meatballs- the flavors were really good together and the spice from the chili vinaigrette worked well in dishes favor. The octopus was perfectly tender and wasn't slimy at all. I would definitely suggest this dish to someone who enjoys octopus though!

La Josie: $$ Mexican Resturant

740 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60661

This small Mexican Resturant is also located in West Loop, on the same street as Bar Siena, this allows you to have a quick travel time- perfect for your Snack N' Dash! This charming corner restaurant offers a variety of dishes from classic Mexican to creative salads. Open late until 2AM, with three bars, and one on the rooftop!

The server suggested we try the Mariscada which is their top-selling dish. It's a hot skillet with mixed seafood including lion shrimp and octopus. Since we had just had octopus we decided to go with something more traditional- the Barbacoa Tacos.

Barbacoa Tacos- Short Rib barbacoa with House-made abodo, penca de maguey salsa, onion, and cilantro.

The short rib was cooked perfectly- tender, juicy and perfectly seasoned, topped with fresh salsa- the onion and cilantro made the taco perfectly balanced! The tacos held together well on their corn tortilla shell to make them easy to eat! If you're looking for somewhere quick, with little to no wait- but bold flavor, this is a great place to stop at!

The next place we had on the list had a 30-minute wait so we put our names in and went for a quick scenic walk around the west loop, where we stopped at a French market. It was similar to a food court with tons of different options for everyone! We stopped at a small cafe in the market just to grab a quick bite.

Filicori Zecchini- $ Coffee Shop
131 N Clinton St, Chicago, IL 60661
To get to this shop, you will have to enter the unique indoor French Market, which includes grab-&-go meals, fresh produce & specialty kiosks. One of these kiosks was this super good coffee stop! They had a variety of small pastries and a full coffee bar with espresso, lattes, cappuccinos, you name it they've got it!

I decided to order something that seemed specialized to them.

Cubano Latte- A combination of smooth, full-bodied espresso, sweetened with brown sugar, steamed milk and topped with fresh ground cinnamon.

This coffee was perfectly balanced! Sadly, I had to literally chug it as we walked to the next restaurant! I wanted to go back for another one later in the trip, but sadly we never made it.

We also grabbed a cannoli, another classic for the coffee stand. Josh and I decided to step a little out of the box with the pistachio cannoli and no regrets!

I thought it was delicious with a perfectly crunchy outside and smooth, sweet and balanced cream filling. The pistachio crust on the outside added for a touch of saltiness and a new texture for the pastry. We scarfed down the coffee and the cannoli as we raced to our next destination!

Au Cheval- $$ American Resturant
800 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607
This Chicago classic restaurant is our last for West Loop and has been reviewed by several food critics including the Michlin Guide. Au Cheval is famous for their burgers but has a menu full of flavor to offer. This spot as I mentioned before does tend to have a wait. We tried to dine midafternoon and were given a 30 minute wait time. If you give them your name and phone number, they'll send you a text with a five-minute warning to claim your table, so you can be free to roam around the city for a little bit. As usual, we went with the classic that this restaurant offers, a burger.

The classic Single Burger with added Bacon- This burger was amazing in such a simple way. It was beefy, you could really taste that there was no added fillers, just real meat. There special sauce that comes on the burger was well balanced and flavorful but didn't overtake the burger. The thick-cut bacon added just a hint of saltiness to top off the perfect burger.

Now, that we needed to work off some calories, we headed down to Millenium Park to view the cities world-famous "Cloud Gate" also known as The Bean. On our walk over we unintentionally ran into a cafe that had an assortment of macarons and other french pastries.

Toni Patisserie and Cafe- $$ Cafe

65 E Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602

As you may know, this summer I dedicated tons of my time to perfecting the science of a macaron. This being said, I will admit I have a pretty high expectation for the french pastry. They had four flavors available; pistachio, raspberry lemonade, apricot, and chocolate. I was super excited for the chocolate and raspberry lemonade, neither I or Josh really knew what to expect from the other two.

All in all, I was kinda let down by these sweet treats. The flavors weren't terrible but definitely not as good as they could've been. It felt like you were searching for the flavor, if you didn't already know what it was, you couldn't have figured it out. Also, the macarons that they gave us were cracked and misshapen. I'm no pastry chef but I never would have sold macarons that looked like that. The texture also wasn't as sticky as it should be for the traditional macaron. I often struggle to get this texture due to the high humidity in Florida, but up north in a place like Chicago, I would think it's obtainable.

We ate the macarons while looking at the beautiful bean and enjoying the scenery. In the park behind the Bean, you'll find a phenomenal garden of flowers. There's a peaceful pathway that will lead you up close and personal with rows and rows of flowers against the cities full skyline. Perfect for a quick photoshoot with a scenic backdrop!

Also in Millenium Park, you have to check out the oddly satisfying Crown Fountain. It's not at all what you would think, this tall wall has free-flowing water on both sides however, an interesting twist? One side of both fountains has a face on it, and every ten minutes the faces mouth will blow the water out! If you're there on a specially hot day you can even stand underneath the fountain to cool off!

We still had some extra time to kill before our late dinner reservation, so why stop eating! We headed down to Chinatown and got some MORE sweets! We stopped into a few stores and took some pictures of the beautiful town before heading into a bakery.

Tous Les Jours- $$ Bakery

2144 S Archer Ave Unit A, Chicago, IL 60616

This is a "French- Korean" Bakery that offers a variety of your traditional French baked goods, with fun Korean flavors! Since we were on our way to dinner we went with two small pastries, but of course, you couldn't stop us from both getting another coffee. I went with a hot drink- the caramel macchiato, something I love. While Josh got an iced vanilla latte. Both coffees were super good with REAL vanilla bean! This added so much flavor without the fake syrup taste you get from the usual coffee shops!

Melon Bread- This was a super soft and fluffy pastry, with a similar texture to a croissant. It was just slightly sweet with a refreshing honeydew flavor. I pictured this for breakfast or a lighter dessert.

Pea Puree Pastry- This pastry was much more out of the box! Yes, you read that right, this pastry was filling with a thick and creamy, sweet and savory pea puree. The flavors on this were so intriguing, bold and just really well layered.

Roister-$$$ American Restaurant
951 West Fulton Market

From here we went on to our first Michelin Star restaurant of the trip. Owned by one of my favorite chefs Grant Achatz. This one Michelin Star Restaurant is called "Roister". They offer regular dining room seating, but if you're looking for an even more exhilarating experience, make your reservation for "The Hearth" similar to sitting at the bar of a restaurant, however, you're basically sitting in the kitchen instead of at a bar. This makes for an indulging experience as the chefs are cooking and preparing right in front of you. As this was such an incredible experience, I've decided to make it an entirely separate post. Be sure you're subscribed to be updated when it comes out! You can also follow me on social media under "MallaryMade" for post updates.

Day 2:
Tuesday, August 27th, 2019
This ended up being my recovery day for how much food I had eaten the day before. On Day 2, I only ate at 2 restaurants, however, I really hit the city and got to see a lot.

On the way into the city, Josh and I hit Mama K's Coffee shop to grab a cup of local coffee to start the day. I didn't snap any pictures of my coffee however I went with a classic iced mocha and I for sure wasn't let down. Just the right amount of bitterness to the coffee, and not too sweet! The perfect start to my second day!

Lincoln Park Zoo:

2001 N Clark St Chicago

From there, we took a quick drive down to Lincoln Park zoo! The admission is free to everyone which I think is just amazing! They had an incredibly large array of animals like monkies, rhinoceros, and polar bears and some smaller creatures like fish, insects, and birds. They have a grand total of 200 species of animals and about 1,100 animals on the property. I would suggest one to two hours to check out the entire zoo.

Boat Tour:
Northeast corner of Michigan Ave. and Wacker Dr.
After the zoo, I left Josh to go to work and hopped on the train downtown to catch the 2 o'clock boat tour. There are what seems like hundreds of different boat charters that all claim to have the best tour of Chicago. I decided to go with the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC).

This tour was very much about the history of the city. Answering questions like, "How is that building there?" "Why is shaped like that?" "What was in that building ten years ago?" So for me, a history fanatic, this tour was perfect! I found it super interesting and it definitely had a beautiful view of the city skyline as you drifted down Lake Michigan.
Click here for more information!

After my boat tour, in all honesty, I did some aimless walking just to really immerse myself in the city and the culture. So below will be some pictures that I took of the city!

Next on my list was supposed to be lunch at:
Cindy's - $$$ Bar & Eatery
12 S. Michigan Ave
I actually ended up not eating, due to a long wait and quite frankly I just wasn't into there style of food. I'm sure it would've been phenomenal, I was just really looking for something light and it was all kind of heavier full meals. I knew I had another big Michelin Star dinner that night and I didn't want to fill up.
While I was looking at the menu I did get to step outside onto their GORGEOUS balcony and got to see this view of Millenium Park:

So all and all worth it if you're actually hungry. They also have a full bar if you just wanted to grab a cocktail and enjoy the view!

From here, still on my mission to chase the Chicago skyline- I headed over to Willis Tower to get the best view yet.

Willis Tower:
233 S Wacker Dr, Chicago
This 103-floor building will lead you to glass boxes that quite literally hold you above the city for incredible photo opportunities! This would be the Chicago equivalent to the Empire State Building in NYC. It is currently the second-tallest building in the United States and the entire Western hemisphere. It's the 16th-tallest in the world. Each year, more than one million people visit the exquisite observation deck, making it one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations. I would suggest leaving about an hour for this stop, however, if you go on a weekend, you might need to allow more time for long lines. I went at about 4 o'clock on a Tuesday and didn't have any kind of line, but I would imagine on a Friday the story might be different.

From Willis Tower, I grabbed an Uber and got to drive down lake Michigan for a magnificent view of the water! I quickly changed clothes and just barely made it to my dinner reservation at "North Pond".

North Pond- $$$$ American Resturant
2610 N Cannon Dr, Chicago, IL 60614
This one Michelin Star Resturant as the most incredible view! I can't even begin to pick a word to describe just how beautiful it was, so look for yourself:

Again, because these Michelin Star Resturants are such an experience I am keeping them as their own separate posts. North Pond was such an amazing dinner, it was deemed the best meal of my whole trip. Make sure you're following the blog, to get notified when I post my eight-course tasting menu review!

The last meal for my second day was a Chicago classic! The Chicago Dog. There are tons of places to get one these staple Chicago items, but I got mine at Devil Dawgz-$ Hot Dogs
These are not like every other hot dog you've had while you're out camping. These have tomato, sport peppers, chopped onions, mustard, a pickle spear, neon green relish all on a poppy seed bun. This sounded absolutely disgusting to me honestly, but the flavors work incredibly well together! Something about all those vinegary flavors with the fresh crisp onion, it's just unexplainably good, and something you can't miss in Chicago!

Day 3:
Wednesday, August 28th, 2019
Sadly, this was my last day in the great big city of Chicago. This day actually began with food, at a cute farm to table style breakfast spot.
Lula's Cafe-$$ New American Resturant
2537 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago
This Chicago favorite has an exceptionally popular brunch, and there is typically quite a wait to eat here. Josh and I arrived early, right when they opened actually! So we were one of the first people sat with no problem! The menu changes seasonally with the product that is available to them. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, however, it was a bit rainy and cold that morning, so we sat inside.
We both started with a coffee because how else do you start a morning?
Cold Brew- Fruity and sweet enough on its own to drink black. It was perfectly smooth with a great rich coffee taste.
House blend hot coffee- This coffee was smooth with just the right amount of balance to sweet and bitter!

3 Daily Pastries-

All three pastry which included; beet and hazelnut tea cake, blueberry galette and a strawberry and ricotta kolache. All three had thought out flavors that created a unique pastry. They were crafted with fresh flavors and advanced techniques.

For my breakfast entree, I ordered the Brioche French Toast-
This entree was absolutely delicious it had mixed berries, lemon verbena caramel, and candied macadamia nuts. It was well balanced with the sweetness of the berries with a touch of lemon from the caramel. The french toast was cooked perfectly with fluffy brioche bread.

From breakfast, I headed down to Navy Pier which is a can't miss spot in Chicago! The pier is 3,300-feet and is located on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. There all sorts of things to do including a brewery, restaurants, a ferris wheel, and an incredible view of an offshore lighthouse. Great for an afternoon with beautiful weather. Many people told me that it's a must-see attraction at night because when you ride the ferris wheel you can see all of Chicago light up. However, I think it was a better experience during the day- as I got to see the lighthouse, which you wouldn't be able to see in the dark, or the ocean view.

The next stop was of course to eat more food! I wanted to connect with my dads' side of the family by trying authentic perogies! I went to a place called

Pierogi Heaven - $ Polish Restaurant

169 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60606

Pierogies are made of a thinly rolled dough packed with various fillings. A large number of filling types make this Polish food a snack, first course or a dessert. Originally, in Poland, the most traditional filling is; meat, sauerkraut & mushrooms and potato & cheese. I grabbed 3 cheese and potato and 3 mushroom perogies to go and ate them on the boardwalk to see a great view of Lake Michigan.

The pierogis were cooked perfectly with a flavor-packed filling! Nothing compared to the frozen ones you get from the supermarket! I got mine topped with sour cream, caramelized onions, and bacon just to get the whole pierogi experience. There are tons of places to grab perogies in little Poland, but this one is definitely worth a stop!

From there, I made my final stop before I left the city, Buckingham Fountain. This beautiful fountain sits in the center of Grant Park. The water can reach up to 150 feet in the air! It's such a gorgeous sight to see and can't be missed when taking a trip to Chicago.

Buckingham Fountain - Free Park
301 S Columbus Dr, Chicago, IL 60605

Chicago was a phenomenal foodie trip! In just three days I got to see so much art and history. Eating at a grand total of eleven restaurants, and got to see eight different parks or attractions! I'll definitely be back again as there is so much to see in this incredible city!