Will travel for beer and art: CHICAGO FOOD PORN!

I lived in Chicago for the past seven years and have yet to do a blog post. It’s a big city with oodles to share; therefore, I’m going to break it down into several posts. Since I’m a total foodie, let’s start with that.

Chicago is home to so many restaurants that offer food from around the world, which is what I will miss the most. My biggest regret is that I was one of “those” people who stick with their favorites rather than branching out. If only....

I'm vegetarian, so let’s begin with vegetarian spots that are 100% meat-free. The list includes The Chicago Diner, Karyn's Cooked/Karyn's on Green, Green Zebra, Loving Hut, Mana Food Bar, Victory’s Banner and Native Foods. The food is so palatable you may want to turn vegetarian (it’s OK; I won’t tell).

I also highly recommend these vegetarian-friendly venues (no particular ethnicity): Handlebar, Kopi Café, Tweet, The Beat Kitchen, Sayat Nova, Simone’s, Icosium Kafe, The Protein Bar, Found and Little Goat. All these places offer delicious meat-free alternatives.

My best-loved restaurants to nosh Indian and/or Nepalese cuisine include Raj Darbar, Hema's Kitchen on Clark, Viceroy of India, Cumin, India House and Bombay Spice Grill.

My favorite Asian cuisine can be found at Crisp, Sunshine Café, Jin Thai, Mirai Sushi, Miss Asia, TAC Quick, Jai-Yen, Kamehachi, Rickshaw Republic, Ba Le Bakery (for banh mi) and Saigon Sisters.

My preferred venues for Mexican sustenance include El Tapatio Café, Frontera Grill and That Little Mexican Cafe.

I’m not a huge fan of Italian food (unless I’m in Italy); however, I give thumbs up to Quartino, The Italian Village (three restaurants in one building) and Ombra Italian Bar.

My favorite pizza, hands down, is Lou Malnati’s. I don’t eat pizza often, but when I do, it was the only place I went. I’m a thin crust only gal, and my fave pie at Lou’s is the cheese and spinach. The spinach is a mix enhanced with garlic, basil and onion.

Coffee shops that I love to hang out in are Bourgeois Pig, Kopi Café, Metropolis Coffee Company, The Wormhole, Kitchen Sink and Dollop Coffee and Tea. These cafes offer a pleasant and distinct atmosphere to enjoy yummy coffee drinks and small bites.

I didn't want to inundate the post with URL's; therefore, if anyone has questions, please contact me. Believe me when I say that a trip to Chicago for the food alone would be deemed worthy.

P.S. Not only do I expect the food to taste good, but I want to jump out of my seat when it's delivered with a unique and fetching presentation. Drooling is allowed and encouraged while perusing the photos.