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.
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| Gado Gado at Rickshaw Republic |
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| Heavenly Curry at Loving Hut |
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| My pie at Lou Malnati's is obviously on the left:) |
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| Spring Rolls and Taro at Jin Thai |
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| Mochi Masterpiece at Jai-Yen |
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| Root Vegetable Stew at Found |
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| Avocado and Sprout Salad at Karyn's on Green |
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| Soul Bowl at The Chicago Diner |
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| Sweet Potato Tempura and Avocado Roll at Mirai Sushi |
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| The Chickpea at Little Goat |
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| Tofu and Veggie Noodles at Jai-Yen |
Twister Wrap and Cupcake at Native Foods
