Chicago
Quick trip on United to Chicago to start my quest for 1K status. Flew out on a red eye flight and landed on the coldest hour of the day at 0 degrees Celsius. The airport felt as cold inside as outside and the pilot sent his condolences over the pa system.
Took the CTA blue line and red line to the Hampton Inn Downtown Chicago hotel. The system underwent a change and you can no longer buy paper media and add values. You either have one time use or permanent cards to add cash value. Not very convenient but it does encourage people to buy the expensive one day pass rather than one trip at a time.
It was so cold that I barely managed the walk one block over to transfer between the blue and red lines at Monroe and from Grand to the hotel. Although it was way too early to check in, the front desk let me in early. I took a nap and met up with friends for lunch at Big and Littles featured on Diners Dives and Drive Ins. I tried the soft shell crab taco, spicy Thai taco, al pastor taco, and Cajun fries. Except for the Thai taco, I liked the food. Walked over to 25 Degrees to watch football and I enjoyed the Irish Car Bomb shake. Met up with more friends at Ditka's for dinner. I enjoyed the paddle steak with my flight of sides consisting of corn tamale cake, red skinned smashed potatoes, and creamed corn. For dessert, wandered over to Howell and Hoods meeting up with more friends and had the butterscotch bread pudding, banana nutella doughnuts. Everything was tasty and the only comment was the bread pudding didn't have enough butterscotch flavor.
After a long day of drinking and lounging, capped the night with a slice of pizza from Dough Bros. In a city like Chicago, NY style pizza isn't common and my friend suggested to try. Since it was around the corner of the hotel and opened until 4 am, I didn't see why I shouldn't.
The next day, met up with another friend at Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe near Millennium Park. After my last trip to Chicago, I felt obligated to see the Bean since everyone else in my family went. I had the Mexicana Skillet with a side of Berry Bliss Pancakes. The skillet was pretty awesome but the pancakes were a little too sweet for me. I think the pancake itself was a typical pancake and the frosting and dressing is what draws the folks to the restaurant. I would try the French toast next time to see if my opinion would change.
After saying bye to my friend, walked across the street to check out the Bean. It was super cold and the snow on the Bean made me think it was even colder outside. The sculpture was fun to look at and I also checked out the folks in the skating rink below before wandering back to O'Hare.
It was so cold that I barely managed the walk one block over to transfer between the blue and red lines at Monroe and from Grand to the hotel. Although it was way too early to check in, the front desk let me in early. I took a nap and met up with friends for lunch at Big and Littles featured on Diners Dives and Drive Ins. I tried the soft shell crab taco, spicy Thai taco, al pastor taco, and Cajun fries. Except for the Thai taco, I liked the food. Walked over to 25 Degrees to watch football and I enjoyed the Irish Car Bomb shake. Met up with more friends at Ditka's for dinner. I enjoyed the paddle steak with my flight of sides consisting of corn tamale cake, red skinned smashed potatoes, and creamed corn. For dessert, wandered over to Howell and Hoods meeting up with more friends and had the butterscotch bread pudding, banana nutella doughnuts. Everything was tasty and the only comment was the bread pudding didn't have enough butterscotch flavor.
After a long day of drinking and lounging, capped the night with a slice of pizza from Dough Bros. In a city like Chicago, NY style pizza isn't common and my friend suggested to try. Since it was around the corner of the hotel and opened until 4 am, I didn't see why I shouldn't.
 |
| Mexicana Skillet with a side of Berry Bliss pancakes at Wildberry |
The next day, met up with another friend at Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe near Millennium Park. After my last trip to Chicago, I felt obligated to see the Bean since everyone else in my family went. I had the Mexicana Skillet with a side of Berry Bliss Pancakes. The skillet was pretty awesome but the pancakes were a little too sweet for me. I think the pancake itself was a typical pancake and the frosting and dressing is what draws the folks to the restaurant. I would try the French toast next time to see if my opinion would change.
 |
| The Bean at Millennium Park |
After saying bye to my friend, walked across the street to check out the Bean. It was super cold and the snow on the Bean made me think it was even colder outside. The sculpture was fun to look at and I also checked out the folks in the skating rink below before wandering back to O'Hare.
Comments