Stan’s Donuts–home of the pocket donut, stuffed with banana or peanut butter or…
Hi friends–
If you’ve talked to me at lately, you’ve probably had to listen to me go on (and on) about my week with Laurel and Jenon in Chicago. Well, here I am again. Just wanted to tell you about eating in Chicago, which everyone knows is a very important part of traveling. Right? Here’s some fun meals we ran into:
The first evening Laurel whisked us off to Charlatan. It’s a very current kind of place, labeled “Italian-American Farmhouse Fare.” Loved all the bites we passed around the table and it was all so beautiful on the plate. And it has the added bonus of three mascots on the back wall to welcome you in. photos: place setting; salad with farrow, lardons, pomegranate & smoked walnuts; chicken & waffles; a buck buffalo and wild boar on the back wall over our shoulders.
My favorite breakfast was at Winchester Cafe. Unfortunately I was so excited to eat my breakfast, I forgot to take a photo before it was all gone! You’ll just have to trust me that the avocado & grapefruit seasoned with peppers –with seedy toast was pretty and delish! photos: Oatmeal with dried fruits, breakfast menu, a well eaten breakfast…
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Laurel had told me ahead about Coal Fire Pizza, so I had been really anticipating this delicious stop. As you would guess, the pizza’s are blasted in a coal fired oven. I sidled over to peek in the kitchen to get a look at the oven. The friendly server told me some spots in the oven reach 1200 degrees! And they only leave the pizzas in to cook for 90 seconds! Amazing. photos: John & Laurel with our pizzas– they drop little puffs of fresh ricotta on the pizza after it’s cooked, and pizza hot from the oven.
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We preceded our visit to the Swedish American Museum with a bountiful Swedish breakfast at Ann Sathers– where they’ve been serving up their legendary cinnamon rolls and Swedish pancakes for over 60 years. Good morning!!!
On our last night in town Laurel & John ferried us over to Margie’s Candies. Opened in 1921, it counts Al Capone and the Beatles as former customers! It’s a candy shop, and also serves up monumental ice cream sundaes. It’s a tiny place and we waited a while squished into a corner until we slipped into our cozy booth that looked as it I may have been there since the beginning. I don’t need to tell you it was a mouth watering stop. photos; the shop and the ice cream!
Hanging out with a 30 year old takes you places you might not have wandered into by yourself. Take Furious Spoon! Loud and a little crazy– but oh that broth, best ramen around… (sorry Laurel for all the wacky Laurel eating shots– but you are a pretty irresistible food model!)
And last, but far from least, we settled in for dinner at Little Goat Diner. A wish come true. The interior was clean and retro-ish modern, and the food was updated old fashioned. Loved it. photos: Quesadilla with asparagus and blueberries (who dreamt up that one?) and below, my tuna melt on sour dough with a cheese sauce and topped with a bright nicoise salad. It was incredibly edible.
So Thanks Laurel (and John and Jenon) for all the good eating and your amiable companionship at meal time. Can’t wait to do it again!
The Thankful Heart 
Lovely!
What great pictures! It’s like a Scrapbook tour, and everything looks so delicious and so much fun! It sounds like you had a wonderful time. When we lived in Chicago, we were young and broke (my husband was getting his Master’s degree), so we didn’t go out much, but I do remember we absolutely loved the places we were able to go with friends from church. They had all lived there for decades and knew all the little “hole in the wall” places that we wouldn’t have noticed. Lots of great memories.
Hi Daisy– sounds like fond memories– I loved our years when Larry was in seminary down in Dallas, no money but such good friends there. And I agree going with someone who knows all the out of the way places is the best– Happy Sunday…