With our kids at camp, my husband and I took a quick trip to Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia. There is a lot to see and do (and eat) in this part of Western Canada! Living in Chicago, among the things I miss most are the mountains and the ocean. So, when planning a trip, if I can include some mountains and ocean views, all the ...
San Francisco with Kids: Where to Eat
San Francisco may be home to twenty-something tech millionaires and celebrities who are known for being off-beat (think the Robin Williams and Sean Penn), but it is also a surprisingly family-friendly destination — especially if your family likes to eat. My family recently spent a few days in the Bay Area as part of a California spring break ...
Chicago Restaurant Week 2015: Nightwood
My third and final 2015 Restaurant Week meal was lunch at Nightwood, the Pilsen restaurant owned and operated by the Lula Cafe team. Located on an out-of-the-way corner -- hey, at least there's street parking -- Nightwood is a pleasant spot with exposed brick walls, a windowed front wall and deeply 70's leather chairs. I gather the outdoor patio ...
Chicago Restaurant Week 2015: GT Fish & Oyster
Another day, another Restaurant Week meal. This time, my $22, pre-fixe lunch came courtesy of GT Fish & Oyster. This was my third visit to this nationally recognized, East Coast style seafood restaurant and once again, I was reminded why I love it. GT Fish & Oyster is one of the restaurants that does not condescend to its Restaurant ...
Chicago Restaurant Week 2015: Blackbird
Did you know that Chicago Restaurant Week is happening right now? From January 30-February 12, over two hundred and fifty restaurants in the city and suburbs — including some three and four-star restaurants — are offering special pre-fixe menus of three and four courses for $22 a person at lunch and $33 or $44 a person at dinner. (Tax, tip and ...
Cooking Demo with Rick Bayless 10/20
I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere has provided me with compensation for this post. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Chicago is a city rich in celebrity chefs, but perhaps none is as well known as Rick Bayless. Restauranteur, author, television star, Rick Bayless has been educating American audiences ...
Wine Tasting in Paradise
My family is on vacation in Costa Rica this week with my mother and my brother and his family. I have traveled to some of the great cities of Europe, Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean and I can safely say that Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been. And the Costa Rican people that we have met have been, to a person, ...
A Weekend in Ann Arbor
It had been just over twenty-four hours since we arrived in Ann Arbor and I simply could not eat or drink another thing. Clearly, I had failed as a professional eater. Bon Appétit has a feature called The Big Fat Weekend where one of the editors spends a weekend eating and drinking his or her way through a city and then writes an article filled ...
Restaurant Review: Sepia
Today, May 26, is my twelfth wedding anniversary. My husband and I got married on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in a beautiful outdoor ceremony. I wrote more about my wedding, and how we served corn pudding at dinner, in this post. For today, I only bring up the fact that it is my anniversary because I am reviewing the restaurant we went to ...
Chicago Restaurant Week: Naha and Blackbird
Chicago Restaurant Week ended yesterday, although I hear that many of the restaurants extend their special menus for an extra few days. I took advantage of the special $22, three-course Restaurant Week lunch menus to return to two of my favorite restaurants in the city: Naha and Blackbird. Naha is one of the most reliably excellent restaurants ...
Warm Up with Argo Tea
Today’s post is sponsored by Argo Tea. Argo Tea has a special offer for West of the Loop readers to warm up this month: receive a free oatmeal with purchase of a signature drink at any Argo Tea cafe location. Argo Tea is also giving away a special gift to two West of the Loop readers: a tea gift set and a $50 gift certificate to its website. See ...
Restaurant Review: GT Fish & Oyster
A restaurant with the words "fish" and "oyster" in its name is not the kind of place that I would normally drag my non-seafood-eating husband. But when I am not the one choosing the restaurant, anything can happen. Last week, various members of my extended family came to Chicago to celebrate my first-cousin-once-removed graduation from ...
Make Eataly Your New York Destination
One of the highlights of my recent trip to New York was the chance to eat and shop at Eataly, Chef Mario Batali's 13,000 square foot shrine to Italian food. Located right off of Madison Square Park and easily accessible by several subways lines -- I took the 6 train downtown from my hotel at Lexington and 51rst and felt like quite the New Yorker ...