Luba and I got up early on Saturday morning and headed out the door by 6! Jody would be arriving in Chicago later in the afternoon so I wanted to hit Portillo's before we checked in and picked her up. She's a vegetarian so I spared her this restaurant stop. I knew Luba would love it, and it was my first time too.
We used Roadside America along the way but there were no interesting stops. Bummer, there wasn't much of anything on this stretch from STL - CHI.
Hello Chicago!
We arrived around noon for Portillo's. We were a little overwhelmed walking in because there were a couple lines and a whole lot of people waiting. I was ready to order, as I had texted a friend prior to coming to see what she and her husband order (foodies, Chicago native). We had the Italian beef dipped with sweet and hot peppers and a Chicago dog + 2 ice cold beers! I could have been fine without the hot dog but we both loved the Italian beef sandwich.
After eating, we headed to our Airbnb (apartment) to check in. Oops, we arrived early as check in was 3:00 so we walked around the neighborhood (West Town) until it was time to leave to pick up Jody. We found this gem, The Big State, and had a potato taco on homemade tortillas. I'm definitely going back there on our next trip to Chicago!
the outside of our airbnb
potato taco at The Big State
Look how awesome our 2-bedroom apartment was!
and this mug? suggestive for an early morning coffee?
Here begins my Uber obsession but I'm afraid it's Chicago Uber only. I've held out with using this due to a few stories of scary rides that overshadowed all the good ones. When we called Uber, one would be downstairs almost by the time we walked down the stairs. They were everywhere and we never waited more than 5 minutes. We had a few sketchy drivers/cars but all the rest were great!
We started the night off at Lou Malnati's. I thought Luba would love the pizza here (and he did). We then headed to RM Champagne Salon. It was closed for a private event so we opted to sit on the patio at Expat. We people watched for a while over bubbly. They had fun champagne drinks. When RM opened, we headed in and took a seat at the bar. We had some bubbly there and the bartender was nice enough to top us off with a little extra at the end of the night. Walking to the corner to call an Uber led us straight to a donut food truck!
boozy sno cone for Luba, bubbly for me, popsicle for Jody
We woke up early Sunday and Luba and I headed over to Stan's Donuts. I love the quiet of morning when only a few are out and about. It was a cool quiet morning. We got 6 donuts so that we could split them all at home. I dropped in next door to La Colombe to grab a latte. We got home and cut all of the donuts into 3s and had our own donut tasting room. The favorite was the nutella stuffed. I still think of this donut. We got ready and headed out the door for our 11:00 food tour.
La Colombe
our stinky shortcut back to the car
We met the tour at Walgreens. Of course, I had to run in to find the restroom. I was amazed when I walked in to this converted bank building. This Walgreens was like a department store. There were 3 levels and it was "fancy as all get out." There was even a fro-yo machine. Downstairs, I saw this vault after coming out of the restroom so I walked over and found their "vitamin vault." They use the original vault to hold the vitamins. So cool!
We went on the food tour in Wicker Park. I love food tours because you get to sample the local fare and find out more about the history and architecture of the city. I always end up meeting really nice people on the tour as well. Everyone loves food! We made stops at Pork & Mindy (pork slider), Chop Shop (meatballs), Harold's Chicken (chicken wings), Al's Beef (Italian beef), and Alliance Bakery (macaron). We also stopped by a few houses to hear the history along the way.
fun menu!
Jones & Cane right there on the soda machine!
I love the pairing menu on top - pairing soda with menu items
supposedly Obama's favorite fried chicken
the whole food tour group
We wasted some time at a bar to watch the soccer match. We also had the chance to meet up with Sammy and his fiancé Megan. Luba was close to Sammy and his family in South Africa, when they were living there doing missions. Sammy now lives in the Chicago area.
After spending some time walking around and getting Stan's Donuts AGAIN, we headed back to quickly change to head to dinner. I was unable to make a reservation at Girl and the Goat (GATG), but I have always wanted to eat there. So, we decided to give it a shot. We had a back-up reservation at 7:30 so we got to GATG at 6. It was already packed! We gave our names and waited the 1.5 hours for a table. Since it would work out to be the same time we had planned to eat, we canceled the other reservation and waited nearby and had a glass of wine. It was so worth the wait. I am still thinking of every single thing I ate there. Yes, you can actually get goat there, but we didn't. I've tried it before and it's not my favorite. We ordered a little of everything. Our favorite was the pan roasted halibut.
Uber-ing
shishito peppers
scallops
pan roasted halibut
salmon
"all the leches" cake complimentary from our server
We were so full and happy. We went home and went straight to bed.
Luba and I woke up early on Monday and decided to hit another recommended place for breakfast, Wild Berry. We had been told there's always a wait so we figured the earlier the better. We arrived by 7:30am and there was a line. We waited around 20 minutes. Indeed, it was good! We had the berries & cream pancakes and a Mexican skillet. Next time, red velvet waffles are on my list! I was a bit annoyed at the table next to us because one of the middle age White guys kept staring at us. I didn't say anything but then Luba asked me about it because he noticed too. I was annoyed by their ignorance first and then secondly annoyed that they ordered scrambled eggs, bacon and white bread toast at a place like Wild Berry. Tsk Tsk Tsk.....Save that spot in line and go to Denny's!
I didn't realize that Wild Berry is right by Millenium Park so that gave me a chance to walk Luba over to see the "Bean." No first trip is the same without it.
We headed back to pack up and check out. I donned my 4th of July clothes and we headed out. We had some time to kill before dropping Jody off at the airport. We went to the Gold Coast area and walked and shopped. We passed a homeless guy sleeping on a window sill by our car so Luba left him some fruit and bottled water from our grocery store stash. We hit the Judy Maxwell home store where I found ALL the cutest things in the world and only bought one - the scrabble tile with M. We also stopped by Old Olive Oil and got a few bottles. I had visited this place on a previous food tour of this neighborhood and fell in love with it. Staff are always helpful in helping you find the right combo of oil & vinegar. There are tasting cups so you can taste whatever you want! We had lunch at Happy Camper, a cute restaurant with an airstream trailer inside, camping décor and tire swings at the bar. The food was good too!
We headed home with only 1 Roadside America stop at the Pink Elephant Antique Mall. It was just randomness. The mall was closed but the diner was open. I would recommend just looking around and being on your way.
Until next time,
Danielle
