Sprinkles' 24 hour Cupcake ATM

My friend S. sent me an email this morning with this link. Coming this Summer to Chicago's Sprinkles, a 24 hour cupcake ATM. The current Chicago location is on Walton at Rush streets in the Gold Coast near many late night cocktail lounges. If the ATM is at this location, I'm sure it will be hopping around 2 a.m.!

Not pictured: Was in the West Loop neighborhood yesterday morning and bought a delicious latte from this not-so-new coffee spot, La Colombe Torrefaction on Randolph Street. Line to the door when I was leaving...

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It's a Boy!

Check out the adorable and yummy cupcakes from a good friend's baby shower this weekend. I tried the red velvet cupcake with fondant monkey face at the baby shower...delicious...right down to the fondant. Cupcakes in attendance: chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, vanilla cake with butter cream frosting, red velvet with cream cheese frosting and cookies and cream cake with frosting to match. South Indian cuisine was served for the appetizers and lunch...delicious as well! At the end of the shower we were all asked to fill a blue polka dot bag of candy from a blue themed candy buffet. Various glass vases were filled with blue rock candy suckers, blue M&Ms, blue vanilla flavored Tootsie rolls, white chocolate covered pretzels with blue drizzle, It's a Boy! suckers and blue saltwater taffy. There were even leftover cupcakes for us to take as well...a vanilla with butter cream frosting made the trip back to my apartment. Tasted even better the next day!

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The Dirty Swede

No, I'm not talking about myself and the 1/4 of my family heritage. I'm talking about ONE of the many awesome "steamed sandwiches" at Chicago Bagel Authority. It's in the Lincoln Park neighborhood right near the Armitage Brown Line stop on of course the wonderful shopping street of Armitage. CBA is one of my many favorite places to eat in Chicago and if you've been to Chicago to visit me and I haven't taken you there...I'm a bad hostess. Back to the eats...The Dirty Swede is filled with turkey, cream cheese, bacon, colby, smoked cheddar, lettuce, tomato, sprouts & mayo on an onion bagel. I got this little gem after one of my "Fit for a 5K" classes I took back in January/February/March that my friend/personal trainer M. taught at DePaul. So, I basically cancelled out that 1/2 hour of running and 1/2 of strength training for this yummy sandwich. It was worth it...it always is. Check out their HUGE menu here. Oh and my favorite thing for dessert there is this yummy treat made up of Coco-Puffs cereal and Golden Grahams cereal held together by melted marshmallows...like a deconstructed s'mores...holy crap it's good.

Speaking of M....she's really the reason I was inspired to put this post up this week. I was going through her wedding photos online from back in June...and it appears that after the wedding ceremony at our church in the Lincoln Park neighborhood...she and Andrew stopped at the CBA for post-wedding ceremony steamed sandwiches...I love it. Of course if it was me I would have made my new hubby walk a few more blocks to Sweet Mandy B's for dessert!

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Midnight in Paris in Chicago

Two Fridays ago I met S. for a movie and then dinner in what I thought was always the Lincoln Park neighborhood, but I now see by the banners in S.'s photo above that we were actually in Lakeview East (Really Chicago? Above Diversey Ave. is Lake View East?). Anyway, we met after work at Landmark Century Centre Cinema to catch "Midnight in Paris." It's a great movie and will make you want to book the next flight out of wherever you are to Paris. The movie did a great job of making you fall in love with Paris, the food, the people...all of it, all over again...and supplied a good story too. After seeing a movie with Paris as the main character, we were craving French food. Thank goodness right across the street is La Creperie. It was too cold to sit outside so we sat in the dining room between the main dining room and the patio. We started with the assiette de fromages (a monthly selection of 3 cheeses) and then we each had savory crepes. I had the poulet au champignons (chicken in an herb cream sauce with sauteed button mushrooms) and he had the poulet & fromage de chevre (chicken breast with roasted tomatoes and goat cheese). Unfortunately, there was no room for dessert that night...but It's such a cute little spot to go to after a movie, in Lake View East(?).

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Another Summer in Chicago...this Time with a List

And so it begins...another summer in Chicago. Though it's still chilly today, at least it's sunny. Somehow with the sun, the food and drinks in this town taste so much better. I've been hanging out with friends the last few days and we've been talking about new places to try now that summer is here. We seem to get into a food rut and get complacent about where we all go. We tend to always spend at least one of the weekend nights at D4 or Default as I've grown to call it. I love D4...it's got great food AND great cocktails and it's a big space for the city. But it's always good to try something new and explore. So, I've decided to make a list of spots to either visit for the first time or visit again and try another menu...say, brunch vs. dinner.

1. Maude's Liquor Bar (West Loop...always, always packed...)

2. Doughnut Vault (River North...though, really should I stand in line for 2 hours for a donut?)

3. GT Fish & Oyster (River North...I need to make friends in Chicago that love seafood as much as I do for this dinner.)

4. C-View (Streeterville...Marcus Samuelsson's C-House Restaurant lives on the bottom floor of the Affinia Hotel, but the rooftop bar C-View is the last on my list of rooftop bars to try in the city.)

5. Urban Belly (Avondale...New in 2009...but still have not made it west to try it out.)

6. Hot Chocolate (Bucktown...This is one of those spots I've had dinner and dessert many times, but have always wanted to try the brunch.)

7. Sunda (River North...This spot has been open for awhile...but have never gone.)

8. Bistro Campagne (Lincoln Square...Opened in 2002...French bistro...yum.)

9. Hot Doug's (Avondale...I would be in big trouble from my blogmates if I left this off the list.)

10. The Bristol (Bucktown...I've had dinner there a few times, but never the brunch.)

*Photo from last summer on the patio of The Purple Pig...probably my #11 to go back and enjoy.

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Uh-Oh...

Holy crap, I'm in trouble. Sprinkles Cupcakes opened on Monday in my neighborhood. It's a lovely and very welcome addition to the Gold Coast. Last night on my walk home from work I tried to stop in and buy a cupcake, but the line was down the block...even at 6:30 pm. They close at 7 pm Monday through Saturday. So tonight again on my way home, I stopped in. The line was much shorter and v. fast. The building is such a great and colorful design inside and out. The staff there is v. friendly and happy. Must be all the sugar... After examining every flavor available today...I bought a red velvet cupcake (left) and a vanilla (right), of course. I devoured the red velvet and saved the vanilla for tomorrow night. The red velvet was heaven and the cake was so moist!

Not to worry, I am still hopelessly devoted (I craved Sweet Mandy B's cupcakes ALL THE WAY from Toronto) to Sweet Mandy B's...still the best cupcake, hands down. But Sprinkles is conveniently on the way home from work, close to my favorite brunch/lunch/snack/dinner place, Feast and around the corner from Sarah's Pastries & Candies. I'm in trouble. I L-O-V-E my neighborhood.

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Eat Drink Chicago

Chicago is a great city. Spending a long weekend with Cupcake, eating and drinking our way across town, was as much fun as the last time we did it.

Above: We got major props from the bartender at Frontera Grill when we ordered guacamole and a round of margaritas for dessert. That's how we roll. Holla!

When we arrived, Cupcake took us to a great spot across the street from our hotel called The Purple Pig. Double bonus—we sat next to five local chefs who were on a food tour... we quickly made some new friends. They insisted we share their wine and snacks. By the end we'd sampled the entire menu and only had to order a few dishes of our own. This one was awesome—fava beans, egg and crispy pancetta.


Grilled bread and chicken liver pate with crispy sage leaves.


This one was awesome! Chopped pig's ear with crispy kale, pickled cherry peppers and fried egg. Spicy!


Fresh strawberry soft serve with balsamic drizzle. You know you want it!


A spicy breakfast at Xoco, another Rick Bayless spot. A bit too much bread for my taste, so I just grabbed a fork and enjoyed the filling of this chorizo-egg torta.


Grilled fish at Frontera Grill.


The favorite stop of the weekend—Big Star Taco! We were too tired to walk around in the heat shopping so we camped at the bar for the afternoon sampling tacos, guacamole, beer and tasty Mexican Coke (cane sugar instead of nasty corn syrup). It goes really well with $3 whisky shots. Big Star, I love you... let's make it work... even if it's a long-distance thing.


Partied out and relaxing before heading to the airport. We headed back to The Purple Pig to relax on their outdoor patio. Grilled bread with whipped feta and cucumber. So good!


Purple Pig's house made sausage with kale and grapes.

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Ketchup & Coke

Not really... but when I saw the bartender make this from a distance I thought he was pouring ketchup over ice, adding some lime juice and planning to crack a can of coke over the whole thing. Turns out he was making a Michelada, which is beer and hot sauce. Fusilli was brave enough to order one and she claims it was quite refreshing. I haven't include the reaction shot I took when she had her first sip. It wasn't the face you make when sipping a refreshing cocktail... more like a glass of hangover medicine.

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Guess What's Coming to my Neighborhood!

YAY! Sprinkles Cupcakes!! I love the exterior design of their stores and cannot wait to taste their many flavors of cupcakes. I hope they bring this with them too.

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A night at the Publican

A wish I've had for the past year has finally come true. I finally had the chance to eat dinner at the fantastic pig-centric Publican last weekend. Join me in re-living this happily over-stuffed evening, won't you?

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Orange Crush

This past Sunday I met up with Nidhi and Martina at Orange at Grand & Milwaukee for a noon-ish brunch. Orange has a few locations around the city, but this one was a good halfway point for all of us and our respective neighborhoods of: West Loop, West Town and the Gold Coast.

We ordered a round of Frushi to share. Frushi is fresh fruit, in-season, made into sushi rolls or pieces. YUM. I chose for my entree, the not pictured, Omelet #4. For me it was a nod to Kauai; with roasted ham, pineapple and swiss cheese and toasted coconut flakes sprinkled on top. Martina had the Chai Tea French Toast and Nidhi had the pancake flight.

The theme to the pancake flights changes weekly. This week's theme was honey and included these four (descriptions taken from their table menu): Lemon Thyme (blueberry buttermilk pancakes with lemon-thyme honey and whipped cream, garnished with ground pecans), Granola (almond buttermilk pancakes topped with mango-honey mousse and home made granola, Bacon (honey butter on buttermilk bacon pancakes drizzled with pecan syrup and garnished with powdered sugar) and Strawberry Banana (strawberries inside buttermilk cakes, topped with slices of banana honey-cottage cheese whipped cream and oven toasted walnuts).

My next visit to Orange I will try either the pancake flight of the week or the French Toast Kabob! What will you have?!

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Sunday Scones

My whole apartment smells like a buttery bakery right now. I just made Apricot and Sour Cream scones from the King Arthur Flour scone mix (A Christmas gift!). Y-U-M. I've been running all over Chicago since returning from Omaha last week, on the hunt for a mini-scone pan. My Mom got this same pan couple of years ago for only $10.95 at the Crate and Barrel outlet. She's the smart one...I bought mine FULL PRICE yesterday...but damn...it makes the best looking scones! And the size is small enough you don't feel guilty eating 2 or 10? Right? The box says, "serve warm"...which is why half of a scone is missing above. A warm scone or two and good coffee on a v. cold Chicago Sunday. Happy New Year!

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Sweetwater

Back in October, some friends and I went to the After Dark event in the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago. After exploring the new and very beautiful inside-and-out Modern Wing, we walked north on Michigan Avenue past Millennium Park to a not-so-new-now spot called Sweetwater. It's a large, open space with huge windows and roomy booths with a fantastic and tasty (and from a graphic design point of view, well-designed) menu. It was a rainy and cold night in Chicago so I opted for comfort food: the "Homestyle Meatloaf" with garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, asparagus, coleslaw and honey butter corn bread. Makes me hungry just writing about it. Hmmm....what to have next time?!

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The Publican

Two days of awesome food, capped off with a visit to The Publican. You have to love a restaurant with paintings of pigs on the walls.


Cheap and delicious


The Sunday price fix menu, and three pedicures.


Heirloom tomato salad


Squid and sausage pizza!!! The best pizza I've ever had, hands down!


Yes, that's two fried eggs on french fries... I think it's called "Awesome Fries" on the menu


I was on the verge of exploding, and then the next course arrived.


Dessert

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Chicago Gourmet

Last weekend we went to Chicago to visit Cupcake, and sample food & wine at the excellent Chicago Gourmet. I knew we were in for a good time when they handed me a wine glass on the way in. From that point, until we left at five hours later, it was non stop tasting and "tasting".


Great location—Millenium Park


I looks like a burger, but it's an itty bitty bite sized steak


Scallop and corn salsa


Braised short ribs (like butta)


Waiting for the delicious... the lines were short and fast


More meaty goodness. Note to the organizers, more veggies next year please


At this point we couldn't stop eating, I had to eat it... they gave it to me!


This was the only thing I didn't like... it was a panna cotta of weirdness. If it were on a menu it would be called "Mouth Surprise"


Not sure what this was. I see some meat and other things.


This was dessert part 1


This was what happened when the green dessert jumped off my plate, landed face first and slid down my shirt. Alcohol had nothing to do with this incident.


Nice view. I could hang out here every weekend eating and drinking


The best thing the day after a gourmet bender—Mimosa's and mexican breakfast


Side of bacon, side of heaven


Dessert cupcakes

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