City Sprint: Chicago

Back to the Windy City, a favorite only a train ride away. Forget the hideous train mates I had on the way up, because there was Chicago waiting for me after a long morning. With several days dedicated to an international education conference, I hopped in and out of restaurants with colleagues and made a splash with friends on the weekend. Bites, beds and other fun below.

BITES:

* Quartino’s – 626 N State Street – Italian – small plates. Shockingly affordable, quite large and home to some outrageously quick service. Proscuitto-wrapped dates, veal meatballs, beet salad and a fresh caprese salad were a perfect way to end the day.
* Grand Lux Cafe -  600 N Michigan Avenue – Americana – a chain restaurant and a gigantic venue. Our waiter was speaking so fast that I suspect there may be a drug problem in the kitchen, but my entree of chicken and gnocchi was quite good. So, rock on!
* French Market – 131 North Clinton – perfect for lunch upon Holly’s arrival at nearby Union Station. We settled for crepes – mine was some crazy Brie, fig, walnut, spinach situation. Sweeter than I expected, but divine. Space to sit and rest your bones after shopping for lunch, dinner or just a weekly batch of produce. Three cheers for markets!
* Giordano’s – (multiple locations) Let the great pizza debate begin. Holly and Kelli had never had Chicago deep dish, so I took them to where I had my first pie. There is really no possible way to eat more than one piece of a stuffed pizza. We made an effort but failed among all the vegetables and cheese. Good place to fail, no?
* The Bongo Room – 1470 N. Milwaukee (multiple locations) – Really, how many times can I pay this place homage? BLT Benedict this time, perfection. Wicker Park location remains my favorite. This is also my #1 breakfast + dessert combination place. See: Chocolate French Toast Tower for dessert.
* Rodity’s - 222 S. Halsted (Greektown) – delicious Greek, and a really cranky waiter. He actually removed silverware from our hands. We tried flaming saganaki cheese, lit on fire just inches from our startled faces. The lamb was recommended tenfold on Yelp reviews, so I went for it. It was good, but I wouldn’t yelp about it!
* Yolk – 1120 S. Michigan Avenue (multiple locations) – While the rest of Chicago chugged along on an 8K run along Michigan Avenue, we headed out for our last meal in town, and one of our favorites. My first time at Yolk (one of three locations) led me to a carnita egg sandwich which was a curious combination, but delicious. Useful for the long morning of transportation that followed.

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BEDS:

* Acme Hotel - 15 E. Ohio – What a funky and fun hotel. At the risk of giving away their entire decorating scheme, let’s just note that there are glow-in-the-dark items in the bathroom, closets outside of their confines, funky fixtures and a sweet chalkboard on the door, college dorm style.
* Silversmith Hotel & Suites - 10 S. Wabash – A quietly luxurious and totally affordable gig (courtesy of Hotels.com deals). Our double room was so spacious and well-appointed, and the hotel is really well located for all sorts of running around in and out of the Loop.

OTHER:

* Signature Lounge @ Hancock Tower – 875 N Michigan Avenue – One of my favorite, dramatic, places in the city to have a drink. It’s 96 floors above the city, and although there is sometimes a wait, it’s well worth it. You do have to cope with multiple tables of amateur paparazzi tourists that take 82 photos of the view, but still – worth it. This beats the Observation Deck because you don’t have an entry fee, and just pay for a drink!

* Thrifting .. the girls can debrief on this way more than I can, because I literally napped through the Goodwill expedition (1201 W. Washington). They had a good look through some of the Wicker Park shops, as well, although some of those – save a $3 basement sale – were a bit pricey.

See you soon, beautiful Chicago!

SoCal Foodie Delight

My first trip to California. Yes, really. I’m 29 and the furthest West I’ve been is Arizona. Well, no longer.

Flying to the West Coast in February had even more allure than I thought – namely because it was 30 degrees when I left my home in Illinois and it was almost 80 degrees when I landed in Orange County. What better way to fight the Midwestern winter than with sunshine?

–

What’s the best way to see a new city? To eat.

Sure, Hollywood Boulevard is important, but my stomach is always growling. Luckily, when you roll with a fellow foodie, your priorities are always the same. Here are some of the stops we made over the course of my brief weekend in SoCal. (all addresses are in LA unless otherwise noted)

* In & Out Burger – My first ever! Thanks to local assistance, I knew to ask for both burger + fries “animal style.” Next time will ask for Neopolitan shake.

* Mashti Malone’s ice cream – 1525 N. La Brea – So many wild flavors here .. I chose Rose Saffron

* Olocuilta – 3958 W. 6th – Homemade Salvadorean pupusas here, oddly enough – in Koreatown. The abuela in the back seriously know what she’s doing.

* Cafe Tropical – 2900 W. Sunset Blvd – guava and cheese empanada. Yeah, you heard me.

* @ an undisclosed location – street tacos! $1 a piece and right on the money.

* Lynda Sandwich – 15380 Beach Blvd, Westminster -  banh mi’s for the beach.

* Egg Heaven – 4358 E. 4th Street, Long Beach – outrageous breakfast. Do not miss the super browns loaded breakfast potatoes. I died.

* One of the many Farmer’s Markets for superior produce & snacks – my first brush with an ojo blanco (less acidic grapefruit) and the best oranges I’ve had since Spain.

In-N-Out Burger, animal style

Homemade breakfast

Cafe Tropical, LA

Rose saffron ice cream

Pupusas

How can you argue with a bright orange taco truck?

Street tacos, Los Angeles

Egg Heaven, Long Beach, CA

Other fun stuff
Skylight Books – 1818 N. Vermont Avenue
Griffith Park Observatory -2800 E Observatory Road
(check out their free public star parties!)
Watts Tower – 1761-5 E 107th Street
Dodgers Stadium – 1000 Elysian Park Avenue

Tasty wines
Babble wine (wins best label), Khroma (wins fancy label and cheap local red), Carpe Diem (stole my soul & that of NYTimes winos a few years ago).

Thank goodness for Los Angeles, and Natalie

How to Travel Without Traveling

Good books in small doses. Spectacular foods in small plates.

Places have tastes.

Whether you’ve already been, you’re planning to go, or may never make it: it’s more than possible to travel, or revisit a place, without moving your feet. My former boss (a Spaniard) once confessed she’d been carrying a packet of cinnamon gum for more than a year. If she closed her eyes she could picture herself back in a high school in California where she first discovered it.

Quelle surprise! The education abroad professional is telling you NOT to travel? Ah non. I’m offering an alternative. For frequent travelers, it’s a way to sustain your most favorite experiences. For the homebody, it’s an affordable way to explore. Let’s be honest, it may increase your odds of traveling,  or at the very least, add to your knowledge.

Case in point: A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle. As a book nerd, I typically sprint through a book. Those Harry Potter tomes and Game of Thrones stories are a thousand pages, and (if it’s interesting) all I need is a weekend. I’ve always been a quick reader, and with hundreds of new books to devour, why slow down? Well Monsieur Mayle has succeeded in making me put on the brakes. So, too, has my wicked work schedule, but we’ll give 75% of the credit to M. Mayle.

Through Bookmooch, I received a dogeared and coffee stained copy of the 1989 travel book about France. You’re thinking: Que pasa? She loves Spain, not France. Pas de problem, mes amis – I love travel.

This book hunkered down on my shelves between Hemingway and Chris Stewart, lingering there in it’s vintage cover waiting to capture my attention. Say what you want about the fanciful minds of the literati, but every book has it’s time. So here in harvest season, I’ve landed on a book that is more than ten years old and a mere 200 pages.

I am enamored. In the hands of a good author, anything is possible. You’re happy, you’re sad, you’re invested in the characters. The timing is perfect, as I had just returned to the cornfields from a brief jaunt to my hometown and was mildly crushed by the experience. Flipping through the first few pages of A Year in Provence, I was reminded of my other home in Seville, Spain. As always, memory neglects the unsavory and unhappy  and assaults the traveler with everything beautiful. Remember the guy at the market where you bought your produce? The cafe where you drenched your tostada in oil. The pasteleria with the unmistakable chocolate con churros. And so on, and so forth.

Books do that. I’m rationing this book, and all of its reminders of life in Europe, like a really good bar of chocolate. The author mentions young white wine and I’m in the cellar of a bodega listening to Sr. Andrade explain the life of a grape. Then I buy white wine and have a glass with the next chapter. Mayle and his wife discover a small town restaurant – a well kept secret and a culinary explosion. I am in a back alley in Athens with the taste of feta on my tongue and my eyes closed in delight. The next day I find myself at the market with a basket full of kalamata olives and feta cheese. Anything to recreate the moment.

Currently, I’m hibernating in the book’s November chapter; pages awash in the story of olive oil – shiny, unmarked liters of cold press traveling home in the couple’s car. “Before dinner that night, we tested it, dripping it onto slices of bread that had been rubbed with the flesh of tomatoes. It was like eating sunshine.”

I’m off to buy some olive oil.

Houston & the 2nd deadly sin

For those of you paying attention, I’ve been out of town for a week. Not basking in the sun on a sandy beach or climbing some exotic mountain range – but visiting Houston, Texas. If you’re thinking “what the hell..” don’t worry, I understand. What you need to know is that I had a conference in town, and yes, presumably someone consulted the climate charts before they made that decision. Aside from conferencing, I joined my best friend and fellow foodie Thao for a week of gluttony. So for those of you feeling sinful, pay close attention.

Houston skyline

Most of these restaurants span the Houston area from the suburbs (Montrose, the Heights) to downtown to the further reaches of civilization. Yes, I did have a car at my disposal. For lodging purposes during the week, I camped out at the Magnolia Hotel on Fannin and Texas. This hotel was positively brilliant – spacious, clean, modern. Add that to a rooftop pool, bedtime cookie and complimentary breakfast and I’m a happy camper.

BRC – 519 Shepherd - http://www.brcgastropub.com – If you want to know what BRC stands for, consider the brightly painted rooster on the corner of the property and consult a thesaurus. What jumped out on the menu? Ten dollar pitchers of sangria or mimosas .. and chicken fried spam. How could we say no? *

Fadi’s Mediterannean – various locations – http://www.fadiscuisine.com/ – This place was a bit overwhelming for a first timer. A long and winding line of cold and hot choices flank the side of the restaurant and chefs dish out whatever you point to. The fattoush was perfect for me, and more than six kinds of hummus dotted the line toward chicken, lamb and fish entrees.

Christy’s Donuts – 1103 W Gray (Montrose) – A recent review on Yelp says “If you blink, you could miss this place.” So, don’t. This tiny postage stamp of a shop reminds me of Bryant’s in Memphis – simple, quick, and possibly the best breakfast to go in this ten gallon state. Grab yourself a kolache, and chow down.

Pappasito’s - various locations – http://pappasitos.com/home/ – Nine times out of ten, I make a request to go here. I’ve been lucky to have friends pointing me toward several epic Tex Mex places, but this one never disappoints. Queso is the name of the game. This time I also had shrimp broschette and pulled pork tacos. Believe it.

tilapia tacos @ Irma’s

Irma’s Southwest Grill - 1314 Texas (downtown) – http://www.irmassouthwest.com/ – walkable from the GRB Convention Center and thank goodness, because I was stuffed with tilapia tacos and spicy white queso when the lunch hour came to a close. An interesting note – this place doesn’t have menus, and your waiter will tell you everything you need to know.

Max’s Wine Dive – 4 Texas locations – http://www.maxswinedive.com – Recommended by Thao and reserved for seven, we cabbed it to this wine bar and we were not disappointed. With a glass of cava in hand, Morgan and I split pan borracho (you read that right, drunk bread) and fried chicken. Also gracing the menu were favorites like “max” & cheese and strangers like roasted bone marrow.*

Mai’s Restaurant – 3403 Milam (fourth ward) – http://maishouston.com/- A little known fact about Houston is that it houses the largest Vietnamese population outside Vietnam. What does this mean? Residents can stand the heat, and there is damn good cooking on every corner. Despite the fact the waiter forgot to put in our order and we were stranded for over 90 minutes … the lemongrass beef sandwich and coconut bubble tea made it worth the wait.

Andalucia – 1201 San Jacinto (downtown) - http://www.andaluciatapas.com/ – hay que pasar la casa de Blues y sentarse aqui. If you’ve never had tapas, please start here. The small appetizer plates made famous in Spanish culture will make their way to your table at this cozy corner restaurant. Gazpacho, shrimp aioli, tortilla española, patatas bravas, tres leches cake .. you would swear my señora herself was in the kitchen.

Chocolate Bar - two locations – http://www.theoriginalchocolatebar.com/ - I may never recover from this place. The amount of sugar we consumed here gave me heart palpitations. A sweet talking salesman got us to go for the “Trinity” – cake, ice cream, chocolate covered fruit. I realize this doesn’t sound like a big deal, but get a load of that cake. This is a religion I could subscribe to.*

cake the size of a dinner plate

Sambuca – several locations in the South – http://www.sambucarestaurant.com/ – packed wall to wall during happy hour, we grabbed a seat at the bar to pick at shrimp & crab dip and chicken & beef satay. Perfect for the bar crawlers, as evidenced by the overly friendly lawyer at my elbow. A loud location, with prices up several octaves as well.

Liberty Kitchen – 1050 Studewood (Heights) – http://libertykitchenoysterbar.com/ – A haven for oyster lovers and new roost for hipster Heights dwellers. Our foursome sat down to quality cocktails and a serious quantity of food. Two sandwiches larger than the plates they were served on (open faced tuna melt, reuben with brisket); half a dozen oysters on the half shell; and a generous serving of mac and cheese. Go here, go hungry.*

Dacapo’s Pastry Cafe – 1141 E 11th at Studewood (Heights) - http://www.dacapospastrycafe.com – the perfect light lunch stop. Somehow we resisted the piles of baked goods (!) and settled on a pick two option – gorgeous Adam & Eve salad and half a chicken salad sandwich made me long for a Northeastern deli. Or any deli, if you’re coming from a midwestern index.. ok, and we did have a cookie.

Fung’s Kitchen – 7320 Southwest Freeway (Chinatown) – http://www.eatatfungs.com - My first introduction to dim sum, which Wing tells me stands for “anything your heart desires.” Paying homage to it’s namesake, little carts are pushed around by the waitstaff, bringing you exactly that. My heart doesn’t typically desire chicken’s feet or duck tongue, but those are available as well.

Miscellaneous:
Miller Outdoor Theater at Hermann Park – great shows in the great outdoors – http://milleroutdoortheatre.com/
Agora – 712 Westheimer – a small cafe / coffeehouse with character and a liquor license – http://www.agorahouston.com
Minute Maid park – 501 Crawford (downtown) – Home to the Houston Astros .. and as a result of their poor rankings, some really sweet ticket deals abound – http://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/ballpark/index.jsp

Minute Maid park

* Kudos to local HTX tweeters:
@BRCgastropub, @LibertyKitchen, @winediveMAX, @ChocolateBarHTX

#NOLA: Worth the weight

The only proper way to kick off a year of domestic travel is to go somewhere new. In this case.. the Crescent City: New Orleans. Better known to some (myself now included, as foodie paradise).

* all restaurants mentioned are listed below the post

wings & waffle

Thursday. With a belly full of chicken & waffles (and my first ever grits) from Breakfast Klub in Houston, Thao & I set out on I-10, to a chorus of text messages from friends and family making sure we weren’t in the epic 40 car pile-up further down the freeway. On the outskirts of the city, we stopped for gas and Thao pointed us toward a nearby grocery / food stand for boudin and cracklin’. A few exits prior, I pointed at a billboard with those very words on it and said: “what’s that?” Turns out I do like boudin (deep-fried sausage and rice balls), but cracklin’ (fried pork fat) is a bit too much.

The weather alone was enough for me: sunny, 65 degrees – all thoughts of snow banished from my mind. We strolled Canal Street and wound our way around the city, eventually heading to Deanie’s for dinner where I tried my first bowl of gumbo (delicious). We walked off our dinner and made our way to Frenchman Street, stopping at Maison for some local jazz. Far too relaxed and full, the night ended early and I went to bed dreaming of food.

jambalaya omelet

Friday. Consulting a 4-page list of recommendations from our friend Patricka, we went to Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe at the Whitney. Settled in a beautiful old bank with big ceilings, a comical mural and heavy leather chairs, I watched our jambalaya omelet being made just a few feet away. Paired with the best biscuit I’ve ever had and two huge glasses of orange juice, I was in heaven. Thao and I launched the first of a record number of meals with a rule: entrees are made to share. Easier on our wallets, and our stomachs.

muffuletta

Late morning was spent on the St. Charles streetcar ($3 for a day pass), taking a trip to the Garden District. We wandered Lafayette Cemetery #1 and soaked up the sunshine among the old stones. A glass of crisp sauvignon blanc and some people watching at Commander’s Palace preceded a life-changing sandwich a few blocks over. I had my first muffuletta at Stein’s Deli on Magazine Street (gracias, Natalie). I don’t care who else makes these things, I’m never going to eat them anywhere else (Apologies, Central Grocery). I should also point out that this is a legit Jewish deli, far from the owner’s homeland of Philadelphia. What’s on this sandwich? Several deli meats, cheese and olive salad on delicious bread. I inhaled mine with Zappe’s tabasco chips and Maine Root ginger beer.

beignets & cafe au lait

Keeping with the theme of famous NOLA food we returned uptown to the well known Cafe du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait. Thao kept our place in line while I ran up the promenade to see the mighty Mississippi. Deserted wooden benches were surrounded by piles of powdered sugar, evidence of beignets to-go. CDM has the beignet market on lock – we saw the line ebb and flow around the block every day of our visit.

crab legs

I made room for a praline at Evans (I found I prefer the chewy variety). Walking back on Decatur Street, a promo girl for Sailor Jerry spiced rum stepped out of a silver Airstream trailer (really) and offered to take our photo. We hopped into the trailer and grabbed some props for a hysterical photo and a free drink ticket, which ended up in the trash a few blocks away. The Palace Cafe provided our dinner – crab legs to start, andouille crusted redfish to split and a flaming bananas foster for dessert. The wait staff were eager to please, and split our entree onto two plates prior to serving.

duck waffle

Saturday, New Year’s Eve. Another huge breakfast to start the day, a short drive away. Elizabeth’s Restaurant is compact, hip, and made for hungry people. As a group of three we ordered three entrees, with a side of their famous praline bacon (!) and a starter of boudin. The result was beyond words. Shrimp & grits, crabby eggs and a duck waffle. Duck Waffle? Right. A cornbread waffle with a scoop of duck and sweet potato hash with pepper jelly. Believe it.

cheeseburger po'boy

By some miracle, I was ready to eat again by lunch time after some shopping on Royal Street. We stopped for po’boys at Johnny’s – Thao for the win with a cheeseburger po’boy; my shrimp po’boy paled in comparison. Next time – Mother’s? Street performers were everywhere – our favorite a female duet on Royal, one on guitar and the other on violin. They drew a crowd and played an endless set of Santana and other tunes. A brass band brought me to the door of a shop with their rendition of “Come Together” – brilliant.We gave in to the New Year’s craze and picked up a mask and some beads for the evening. Already the streets were full of drunken revelers, and the noise level on the rise.

balcony view

The real miracle was the fact that we got a second floor table for two on the balcony at Royal Oyster House on New Year’s Eve, without a reservation. We spent our meal joking with the waiter about the parade of humanity on the street below. Down the block a severely packed Bourbon Street bumped along to brass and sirens, while the occasional party-goer stumbled toward Royal Street, weighted down by beads and Jim Beam. The meal itself was perfection: crawfish cakes and the Taste of New Orleans (gumbo, crawfish etouffe and jambalaya). Yet another famous dessert followed: homemade bread pudding. Roll me out to the river.

fleur de lis drop

We rang in the new year along the banks of the Mississippi – not one for a ball drop, NOLA drops a fleur de lis from atop Jax Brewery. Fireworks boomed over the river and the hundreds of people cheering for the new year. The departure down Decatur was an absolute crush of bodies full of glitter and music and, strangely, cries of “Waldo!” heralding the fellow cleverly dressed in red and white stripes, and glasses.

Sunday. A final breakfast waited for us on Rampart Street at the Decadence Shoppe. We went in for coffee and a bagel and ended up with a fierce egg scramble, full of andouille sausage (my new favorite meat) and spices. It breathed life into our sorry souls, and sent us motoring home to Houston where of course … we ate again (duh, Tex Mex).

A huge thanks to NOLA natives and aficionados who provided us with a long list of to-do’s and must-see’s. Once I return to my regularly scheduled gym sessions, I’ll be sure to make a return tour!

–

• 
Breakfast Klub, Houston – 3711 Travis Street
• Deanie’s Seafood, NOLA – 841 Iberville Street
• The Maison, NOLA jazz – 508 Frenchmen Street
• Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe at the Whitney, NOLA – 610 Poydras Street
• 
Commander’s Palace, NOLA – 1403 Washington Avenue
• Stein’s Deli, NOLA – 2207 Magazine Street
• Cafe du Monde, NOLA – 800 Decatur St
• 
Evans Famous Creole Candy, NOLA – 848 Decatur Street
• Palace Cafe, NOLA – 605 Canal Street
• Elizabeth’s Restaurant, NOLA – 601 Gallier Street
• Johnny’s, NOLA – 511 Saint Louis Street
• Royal Oyster House, NOLA – 441 Royal Street
• Decadence Shoppe, NOLA – 806 N Rampart Street