We got to spend about a week in downtown Chicago with the main goal to find good food and drinks. We were not disappointed thanks to our son and daughter-in-law for making some prime choices. Yes we are talking about Michelin Star restaurants here. Below is our story as told through a series of photographs. I have to step up my game on photographing the food dishes so I encourage you to also visit the respective restaurant's web pages by using the embedded links in this blog to see the full majestry of their food. Cheers!
Visiting downtown Chicago really didn't happen unless it includes a visit to the Bean at Millennium Park so we did, again.
The posse, Mike, Melody, Nick, & Nova. We were lucky as it was not as cold and windy as it can get next to Lake Michigan during Chicago's winters.
We stayed at the Grand Plaza penthouse #5 that we found on VRBO. Nice place at a good price in the dead of winter with a fantastic view out of the 52nd floor apartment window.
A trip to Chicago for us would not complete without stocking up on provisions like bulk rice and ramen noodles from Mitsuwa and booze from Binny's.
We enjoyed a round of wonderful drinks and appetizers at Lone Wolf. The place kinda had this warm Old World feel.
Au Cheval was packed and the food was delicious. We picked a mix of plates from the menu. The burger was quite tasty. They are also famous for their house made bologna sandwich, but I would order the burger again. Not pictured here was this thick cut peppered bacon that melted in your mouth. Gotta get that again too.
The next morning we meandered over to Eataly not far from the apartment. Its a large two story grocery store with all kinds of goods and Italian food eateries in the store. Lots to look at and enjoyed the bouquet of the market style store.
We ordered a few plates to share from Osteria di Eataly including the dish below with house made squid ink pasta and calamari. Yum.
That evening we hit Smyth and the Loyalist. Smyth is a Two Star Michelin restaurant and the Loyalist is their downstairs lounge type place with a tavern and eats. What a treat. Great ambience, great service once we got going, great and creative food. Love these old buildings that are repurposed.
We started out in the downstairs Loyalist for drinks. My drink shown below in the tall narrow glass was a good pick. It came with this tall crystal clear ice cube that was almost as tall as the glass. The gin drink had a layering of flavors that changed as I drank it down. It did not come with a straw that I believe is part of the design so that you get your nose up into the drinks aroma and so you do not mix up the layers.
Again, to make sure that we checked off all traditions for dining and drinking in downtown Chicago we shared a shot of Malort. Our Uber driver turned us on to this local distilled product with a scary interpretation of its flavor. We'll leave to you to try and explain its taste.
Smyth's kitchen. We enjoyed the Classic menu for our dining experience that included the dishes outlined below.
- Capital oyster seasoned with dulse & preserved berries
- Lightly steamed fluke with fermented green tea & sorrel
- Butternut squash barbecued with apple & blue cheese
- Beef tongue with reduced cream & black truffle
- Brioche doughnut with au jus
- Milk chocolate, raspberry preserves, shitake & kelp
- Egg yolk soaked in salted licorice with frozen yogurt meringue
Picking out a good wine at Smyths...
The opening dish was this delicous oyster.
My closing beverage was a delicous cup of coffee and the licorice soaked egg yolk. Everything felt just right. Thanks Nick and Nova for such a fine dinner.
We made our way north the next day to have lunch at Fat Rice. I am glad that we did too.
Exterior of Fat Rice.
Interior at Fat Rice.
Chili pawn dish. Apparently Macanese food can have a Portuguese influence given the history of the region in China. I read this in the book that I purchased at Fat Rice.
For our last day we had a round Tiki drinks at Three Dots and Dash before Ubering off to the West Loop for the evening meal. I had been to this Tiki bar before and love the place. Also see my basement Tiki bar in this blog. I tried the Mai Tai this time and it was mighty quenching.
Wall going downstairs to Three Dots and Dash. Scary.
Bar at Three Dots and a Dash. Looks professional.
Our round of drinks...
Our last supper in downtown Chicago was at Elske Restaurant. It is a One Star Michelin restaurant and well worth the stop. I thoroughly enjoyed this place. The ambiance, service, and food were great.
Entery way into Elske. The walls were also garage door type windows. I want to come back in the spring when everything is opened up. We picked several dishes from the menu to include the follow. Nice choices Nick and Nova and thanks again for the enjoyable dinner of good food and good company.
- Smoked fjord trout with beets, golden honey, & oxalis
- Seared bay scallops with brussel sprouts, pear, & brown butter
- Yeasted spoccatelli with soured squash, urfa pepeer, & pecorino
- Celeriac risoto with candied hazelnuts, apple, & parmesan
- Pork and snail sauage with roasted onion, red grape, & thyme
- Roasted pork shoulder with smoked carrots, dandelions, & candied spices
- Smoked leg of lamb with black trumpets, giardiniera, & tat soi
- Meringue with parsnip-coconut whipped 'cream & roasted apples
- Sunflower seed parfait with sour honey, licorice, & bee pollen
Meringue video - "ya, now that's what I am talking about..."
I can't forget a shout out to Intelligentsia for keeping us coffenated. Always good coffee, tea, and coffee drinks.
...Happy Trails
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