Trip to Chicago

Last weekend we spent a long weekend in Chicago visiting my daughter who moved there in January. The weather was really cold but the city was great!  We loved being with Chelsea and seeing how much she loved living in Chicago. 

Friday night we went for Chicago deep dish pizza at Giordano's.  It was worth the 40 minute wait for it to cook!  We had an appetizer of fried cheese, mushrooms and zucchini to tie us over.  The pizza was sooo good and really cheesy!

Every morning we went to the The Original Pancake House on Bellevue. They serve large portions and everything we tried was really good. If you go to Yelp.com you can see pics of the food. You have to go early or there is a long line out the door.

On Saturday we went to Willis Tower (Sears Tower).  In the past, we always has good intentions on going to the tower's observation deck but we never found the time.  This was first on our to do list for this visit! When we entered the building, the first thing they told us was that there is an hour and half wait AFTER we purchase our tickets.  We took the elevator to the next floor to buy tickets and the line was so long! We stood there for about 15 minutes and really contemplated leaving but we stayed and it was a good choice! From the time we walked in the door until the time we left it was about 3 hours.

After the Willis Tower we headed to Portillos for hot dogs.  Darn it, we did not take a picture of all of them.  We had chili dogs, Polish dogs, and below the dog with everything. They were yummy!!

The buildings were so cool.  We loved walking around and seeing all of the architecture! 

For dinner we went to Quartino's.  This place was delicious and the service was really impressive.  The table we were given was incredible!  It was a round corner table by the window.  There were six of us so it was out of the way and perfect!  It did not take us long to decide on what to order and the food came quick.  This restaurant is a Tapas Bar so we ordered 6-7 dishes.  I can only remember 6.  Pizza, gnocchi with pesto, short ribs, Alfredo with peas and prosciutto, veal meatballs and Penne (Pic below).  This is Chelsea's favorite restaurant so I am glad we got to experience the yummy food.  For dessert we stopped at the Ghirardelli Chocolate shop for ice cream! That was divine!!!

On Sunday we jumped on the train and went to Wrigleyville, Lincoln Park, and Old Town.  In Old Town we went to the Spice House and Old Town Oils. These were the neatest shops.  We tried quite a few Olive Oils before we decided on Tuscan Herb.  This week we have dipped bread in it and also added it to pasta.  It is soo good.  I will get more the next we go to Chicago! At the Spice House we bought spices for a rib rub. The ribs are marinating in the refrigerator as I type this!!

Sunday night we went to the Grand Lux Cafe on Michigan Ave.  We were lucky enough to get a window seat that faced Michigan Ave!!!  I got pasta, it was good but not great.  TJ got a Seafood salad (Pic below), it was huge and tasted really good. Chelsea got the avocado-chipotle cheeseburger that was delish. Baylee got the chicken burger sandwich.