Where to Eat While Traveling to Chicago

As I said last week on y latest post of “Things to do When in Chicago,” I promised I’d also share the places we ate while visiting. I’m not an official food blogger, but we’ve eaten out so many times and given you our reviews time and time again, I’m just going to lightly take that title. Alright, from breakfast to dinners, hotdogs and pizza– I give you our take!

Also, don’t forget to check out the video vlogs of all the fun!
1- Being A Tourist in Chicago
2- Chicago Vlog
3- Running the Chicago Marathon

Lou Malnatis

One of the best things of New York is their pizza– so they say. I just love pizza so much I have kind-of a non-bias opinion towards them. A New York pizza is delicious, but rather plain– cheese and tomato sauce with a nice crunchy crust. And just like Chicago they’re known to have one of the best pizzas as well, so it was a must as we landed to try a Chicago pizza. Well, Chicago pizza definitely isn’t plain! We had the Malnati Chicago Classic Pizza, which is made with Lou’s lean sausage, some extra cheese and vine-ripened tomato sauce on Buttercrust. Mouth watering yet? The whole pizza was booming with flavors– the flavors of the tomatoes were robust, the dough that we had was light, not too filling, and the crust had THE perfect crunch. Now, if you’re thinking that the sausage they had on the pizza were just bites on top– you are completely wrong. I never in my life had sausage on pizza, but figured since it was a Chicago classic I’d give it a go. The sausage was the size of the pizza under the cheese, so with every bite you had sausage as well and it was divine! Suggestions from amigos and our airBNB host also nominated Lou Malnatis as the go-to spot. 1-out-of-10 stars: 10. WATCH OUR VLOG FROM OUR VISIT HERE.

M. Henry

The most important meal of the day is breakfast! We went out of our way to eat at M. Henry and I’m so glad we did. I would describe it as New American country style breakfast– muffins, eegs, omelettes, fruits, vegan, crepes, pancakes, quiche, sausages and potatoes. It was a nice mixed selection for someone who could be particular. The seasonings on the potatoes or omelettes were savory, they gave Ziana a small dish of fruit, really paid us attention, but not too much where it was annoying, even the bread was amazing! It was my first time trying cranberries, which I now love. The increased focus on natural, fresh (emphasis on fresh), and local organic products definitely makes this my top pick. I bought the “Two Eggs” which came with any style of eggs you wanted, house potatoes and toast served as birds in a basket. I loved that they gave me the option of putting the eggs in the middle of the bread– details! My boyfriend got “Fannie’s Killer Fried Egg Sandwich”, which came with toasted sour boule layered with two over-medium eggs, applewood bacon, sliced plum tomatoes, gorgonzola, & fresh thyme, served with house potatoes. The portion was huge and well worth the price. The tomatoes which he doesn’t fancy were booming with flavors and he ended up eating it all up. The bacon was sliced therefore giving every bite an applewood flavor. They serve brunch, lunch and have a kids meal! 1-out-of-10 stars= 10. WATCH OUR VLOG FROM OUR VISIT HERE.

Davanti Enoteca

My favorite type of food is Italian! I love my Peruvian food, of course, but when it comes to having to choose a place to go out and eat Italian is always my #1 choice. We always go to YELP to find spots and always look at stars and comments. We trust in other reviews and saw that Davanti had two dollar signs (meaning it’s reasonably priced), 4-5 stars and 1039 reviews. We took the plunge and made reservations. I always look forward to a restaurants bread and butter because what’s better than unnecessary calories? But, no, no, no– Davanti bought out Italian bread grilled with olive oil served with a block of honey and ricotta cheese, huh? YES! Sounds weird especially to me because I’ve lived in a bubble all my life, but this gave me life! The place was gorgeous, dim lighting, beautiful wine wall, light music playing, great service, friendly. I loved how they had crayons and paper for Ziana to color and they bought a bib for Gunner with their logo! The little things matter. Alright, moving on to the food– I got the UOVO IN RAVIOLO ‘SAN DOMENICO’ which was a giant ravioli + spinach and ricotta filling + egg yolk + brown butter + parmigiano. I had no idea what I was getting into and when they bought it out I was not pleased– remember I grew up in a bubble. It was just one giant raviolo how would this satisfy me? One bite and I was hooked! The one giant raviolo did my stomach justice. My spouse had “PACCHERI CON SALSICCIA E POMODORI”— was hearty dish with the essence of robust tomatoes leaving him with a warm-homey feel like a dish his mother could’ve made growing up. Too bad they don’t have Davanti Enoteca in New York- 1-out-of-10 stars= 10 WATCH OUR VLOG FROM OUR VISIT HERE.

QUARTINO

After a tourist day at Millenium Park
and Sky Deck we narrowed in on another Italian restaurant, which we of course Yelped. It was given 4-out-of-5 stars and the reviews were mixed. On the outside the place looked gorgeous, it was big and had a balcony. We didn’t make any reservations, but got seated quickly and on the outside– thankfully it wasn’t too cold. The place is extremely packed, over packed and noisy. When we got to our two tables because it was 4 adults and two children, there were plates and all these condiments on the table given us no room at the table. Their motto is that they bring out lal the food as it’s done so if you order an appetizer you might get it in the middle of your meal and not everyone will eat together. Oooook? I ordered the “Penne alla Vodka” which was good– nothing special about it. My boyfriend had a tomato soup which he liked a lot– it was hearty. Then he had ordered “Spaghetti Pomodoro” which he ordered with a chicken cutlet on top and no cheese– think they got it right? Nope. We scraped the cheese off with no issue until the waiter asked to mak ethey bought out the food with no cheese we said “no” and he insisted literally after we said it was fine over and over again, to take the plate and make a new one for him. Nice, at first, until it took half and hour to come out and after 6PM my boyfriend couldn’t eat because of the marathon the next day. We took it to go and it was the nastiest thing we ever tried– burnt spaghetti, smelled burnt, not cooked and the chicken was burnet too. For two dishes, 1-out-of-10 stars= 2. Going back? Nope. WATCH OUR VLOG FROM THAT VISIT HERE.

TANTA COCINA PERUANA
Saving the best for last and that comes from my Peruvian people! No one cooks Peruvian food better than my mom, right? Wrong! I even said it to my mom who agreed. Now, Tanta was a bit pricey for my liking, but well worth it. The atmosphere was clean, trendy, huge with three floors and had a pretty open concept. We got there at opening which was 6PM and being one of the first ones there lasted only moments as it packed up quickly. It had the traditional Peruvian dishes with a mix of Asian flavors giving the dishes an extra kick. I was surprised that they didn’t bring cancha (large-kerneled corn) out, which is a popular snack in Peru. They instead bought out platanos– surprisingly delicious since I’m not a fan. Whenever I go to a Peruvian resturant I always get the “Lomo Saltado”, which is traditional beef tenderloin stir-fry, red onions, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic-soy sauce, rustic potatoes and rice– mouth watering. I was expecting a great dish, but not spectacular– this definitely fed my taste buds with something they’ve never been fed before. My boyfriend had “Estofado de Corder,” which is a braised lamb hind, aji panca & red wine reduction, quinoa polenta, wild mushrooms, and organic kale. I took a few bites of course and wow! The meat was so deliciously tender it melted off the bone. The flavors were harvesty and had rustic spices. For dessert we had “Picarones,” which is traditional warm pumpkin and sweet potato fritters, and spiced chancaca syrup– another must-have Peruvian dish! There were four huge picarones– not enough for people at all. 1-out-of-10 stars= 9. WATCH OUR VLOG FROM OUR VISIT
HERE.

Worst Place to Eat in Chicago

Big Guys Sausages
New York is also known for their hotdogs– why? I have no idea, but we had to try a Chicago hotdog and we did! Through careful research we found Big Guys and got their original hotdog, which is far from original. It’s served with mustard, onion, relish, tomato, pickle, sport peppers and celery salt. Although I took the tomato and pickle out this hotdog was delish– even down to the fries! You have the option to steam or grill your hotdog, which was nice. I didn’t need any ketchup at all– everything they put was just right. Also loved the service– very friendly and had patience dealing with our order, lol. 1-out-of-10 stars= 10. WATCH OUR VLOG FROM THAT VISIT HERE.