February 10, 2011

Gluttony

Socrates once said, "worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live." I couldn't agree more. So, with this in mind, we went to Chicago... and we ate.. and we drank... and you know what? It was one of the most amazing weekends of my life.

I wish I could have taken pictures of everything that we consumed within a period of four days, but unfortunately my stomach thinks faster than my blogger brain most days.. nevertheless I managed to snap a few photos of some of the deliciousness that we devoured during our weekend getaway. 

Alright, so here we go. First up is a little gem called Burts. Now, if you're a loyal follower of Anthony Bourdain, like me, you know that he doesn't mess around with his restaurant choices! Once again, AB didn't disappoint. The place is still ran by the original owners (Burt was wearing his signature overalls and I almost peed myself of excitement), who make one hellaofa deep dish pizza. We called-in our order a few hours in advance and were happily stuffing our faces within minutes of walking in.


Ok, so the decor may be a little tacky, but it also gives the place a little character, don't you think?

Moving on... Here's a fun fact: did you know that Chicago is home to the biggest Mexican community in the U.S. after East L.A.?!?! Crazy right? I meeaaaaaan I felt right at home! Of course when my husband heard of this, we just had to test out how the east coast Mexican food compares to the west coast.. and the verdict? It was muy delicioso! 



Of course nothing compares to my mother-in-law's home cooking, but still! I was pretty impressed!

Ok, so this is where it gets good. Reaaaaally good. We happened to be in Chicago during the week of both my husband's and our dear friend's birthday, so we decided to go somewhere ultra special to celebrate. We picked a tiny little place called Bonsoiree, and it. was. amazing!


Located on the west end of Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, the restaurant offers inventive seasonal cuisine in a sophisticated fine dining atmosphere. We salivated as our waiter brought out plate after plate of deliciousness.. oil poached tako seaweed salad, porcini bisque topped with truffle oil, pork belly and so much more. Seven courses and three hours later we were basking in our post meal satisfaction. This restaurant has the potential to make anyone feel like a food connoisseur. Enough said.

The next night we chose a slightly different route, heading over to good ol' China Town. Mmm how I love Chinese food. We chose MingHin's because we were enthralled by Tasting Table's Macau pork belly recommendation, but were far more impressed by the restaurant's hot pot selection. The sizzling crab with ginger and green onion was by far our favorite... in fact I wish I could go back for more right about.. now.



And now, for the grand finale, I bring you... Hot Doug's!! Like I mentioned earlier, I'm pretty much obsessed with AB, so when his 13 Places to Eat Before You Die list was published, I made it one of my life goals to visit each and every place mentioned. To my satisfaction, our Chicago visit gave me a chance to cross off number twelve! Now I know that paying $9 for a hot dog sounds a little extreme, but when a hot dog is made of Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur De Sel, it's no longer just a hot dog. This joint had a line so long that we were beginning to wonder if we could make it in before it closed, but to our pleasure (and the few freezing fellas behind us), Hot Doug's stayed open way longer than it was supposed to just so everyone could get their wiener fix that day.






And that my friends is all I got for the day. Go ahead, call me a glutton! I'll take it as a compliment.

natasha

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