Ready, Set, Eat!
What a weekend it was!  I flew my friends Stu and Kurtis over from New Jersey to Chicago to show them what Chicago food is all about.  It was their first time visiting the city and aside from what they knew from watching the Chicago episode of No Reservations…they had no prior knowledge about the city.  Most travelers who visit an unfamiliar town indulge in sight seeing, exploring, and eating, in this case with my friends, they didn’t give a rat’s ass about sightseeing and exploring, they wanted food, and they wanted it as soon as the plane touched down.

Although I’m still a newbie in town, I knew enough to show them the good eats.  I had to prove to them that the Windy City is more than just deep dish pizza and hot dogs.  Their time in the city was short, and the food time line was downright ambitious and aggressive.  Would we be able to hit up all the places that was on the agenda…or were our eyes bigger than our stomachs?

The Agenda
Friday started out a tad slow.  Kurtis and Stu starved themselves before arriving Friday afternoon and I think it worked against them.  The first meal was deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati’s and it might have been too much.  By the end of the meal I think I saw Kurtis have trouble breathing and Stu’s eating pace slowed down to a crawl.  So far, this food fest wasn’t looking too promising.  Despite the slow start, Saturday was going to be redemption day, and I think any foodie would approve of our Saturday eating schedule.  Soon after we finished a meal, we were on our way to the next.  We had to hit up 6 destinations on Saturday and had to logistically spread out our meals so that we would have room for steak at Gibsons by 10pm.  Rest and relaxation wasn’t on the agenda, but we did manage to sneak in a power nap around 6:30pm.

Tragedy Strikes!
There was an unforeseen event that took place.  Kurtis developed a full blown case of plantar fasciitis on Saturday afternoon and ended up limping around for the rest of the trip.  I think he wanted to request a wheelchair when he arrived at the airport.  Rather than help a friend in need, we kicked him while he was down and gave him the nickname of “The Broken One,” which by the end of the day, he had earned the new title of “The Gimp.”  Still, he was a trooper and continued on the food expedition despite the pain.  Ah, Advil does wonders.

The Timeline

Friday 5:22PM – Deep Dish Pizza at Lou Malnati’s

Stuffed Spinach Bread

The “Lou” with Sausage

Look at all that beautiful cheese!

Friday 11:28PM – Late Night Dinging at  the Silver Palm

Louisville & Nashville Onion Rings

Canadien Pacific´s Smoked Meat Sandwich - Hickory smoked corned beef brisket with grilled onions and gruyere cheese on pumpernickel.

Dan Palm’s Three Little Piggy Sandwich – Double Smoked Ham, Pork Tenderloin, Bacon, Gruyere Cheese, Onion Rings  & a Fried Egg.  As seen on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations!

Three Little Piggy Cross Section Goodness

Saturday 11:41AM – Breakfast at The Original Pancake House

Buttermilk Pancakes

Corn Beef Hash

Eggs Benedict with Potato Pancakes

Vegetarian Baked Egg White Omelet w/ Cheddar Cheese

Saturday 12:41PM – Asian Buns at Wow Bao

BBQ Pork and Thai Curry Chicken Baos

Saturday 3:38PM – Gourmet Hot Dogs at Hot Doug’s (After 1.5 hours of waiting)

The Dog – Chicago-Style Hot Dog with all the trimmings: ’nuff said.

Sweet and Savory Rattlesnake Sausage with Berry-Rum Sauce and Serendipity Cheese

Antelope Sausage with Roasted Garlic Mustard and Goat Cheese

Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris. Also seen on No Reservations!  It was worth the wait.

Duck Fat Fries

Saturday 5:45PM – Ribs, Baked Beans, and Chili at Twin Anchors.

Chili

Rack of Ribs w/ Zesty BBQ Sauce and Baked Beans

Saturday 9:09PM – Japanese Sake Bar and Eats at Murasake

The Sake Bar Display

Wasabi Raw Octopus – We should have ordered more than one.  We were fighting over this!

Fugu (Blowfish) Fin Used For Flavoring the Warm Sake. It’s lit on fire a number of times and dipped in the sake.  Then it soaks in the sake for a minute. Remove the fin and drink the sake.  Your tongue might go numb.

Takoyaki!  Octopus Dumplings!

Cheesy and Crunchy Chicken Yakitori

Spicy and Crunchy Chicken Yakitori

Saturday 10:30PM – Steak at Gibson’s

The Night’s Selections – Look at that Australian Lobster Tail in the back!

Gumbo - Good on it’s own, but even better with bread.

The Chicago Cut – Prime 20 oz Bone-In Ribeye

Sunday 11:00AM -  Breakfast at Fox & Obel Cafe

More Pancakes!

Keeping it Simple w/ Bagel and Chive Cream Cheese

More Eggs Benedict!  How’s the heart doing?

Weight Gain Imminent
I can’t even begin to comprehend how much weight we gained over the course of 2 days.  By Saturday night, every one looked like they were 5 months pregnant, and by Sunday morning, we were so sick of food.  We definitely took a toll on our bodies, but this was probably the best food weekend I have ever had.  I’m still feeling pretty bloated.  Great food and great friends, is there anything better?

~ Kin