We have had the most perfect five years of marriage, nothing but happiness and smiles and perfect times. Ha! Okay, fine, we aren't really all roses all the time, but this has still been the best and most fulfilling five years of our lives. We are constantly moving forward and year six is already proving to be no different!
We had plans to get away for our fifth, maybe Napa, maybe Maine, maybe just a beach somewhere… then by some crazy miracle of God we got knocked up right away this time around! Well, needless to say, plans changed. We began to plan something a little closer to home and just happen to be lucky enough to call Chicagoland, HOME! With the extremely generous anniversary gift of a hotel room at Radisson Blue Aqua from Ma and Pa Wendorf we started to plan what we most enjoy, a food tour! It was going to be EPIC….. and epic is most certainly was! Come along and see what we mean….
Stop #1 - Hub 51
Technically, this wasn't planned as the first stop. We took the train into the city and getting settled in at the hotel and walking over to our first stop was roughly 30 minutes faster than we thought. So we switched our two morning breakfast spots, walked around the surrounding blocks for a good 30 minutes and ended up at Hub 51 :) This is where things got bad….
At the recommendation of our uber nice waiter we ordered the Breakfast Nachos and Lemon Skinny Pancake. FAVORITE DISH OF THE DAY award goes to the Lemon Skinny Pancake! It may not look the most appetizing but blew every dish, the entire day, away in flavor. Now, let's talk about the Breakfast Nachos, not for one second did Chris and I think this BUCKET of nachos was coming our way. They double layer and double bake these bad boys, so there is happy goodness throughout, not just a mound of chips. It easily would have fed 10 people, it sadly didn't even look like we put a dent in it. We knew the kind of day we had ahead and still couldn't control ourselves. We ate the entire pancake, a decent chunk of the nachos and the entire carrot cake. WHAT!? Carrot Cake? Yeah, first time-goers of Hub 51 get a free piece of their famous Mama's Carrot Cake. The waiter said he wouldn't be offended if we only took two bites…. we ate the whole thing….
Stop #2 - The Purple Pig
To say we were stuffed still from Hub was an understatement. The walk to the Purple Pig was only 15 minutes or so and we didn't plan to nearly have that much food at our first stop. Lucky for us Purple Pig didn't open for another 15 minutes and what blew Chris away was the line waiting outside the gate to get in! The Purple Pig is nothing new to our blog, I have been there twice with my mom and sister-in-law Jacki. One of my favorites, I had to share it with Chris, finally! The award for BEST EXPERIENCE OF DAY defiantly goes to PP. We had the opportunity to sit at the bar right in front the of kitchen. It was the most phenomenal thing to watch them work. At one point we counted 7 people working flawlessly in a 10 x 8 kitchen. MIND BLOWN, and you think your office space is too small!?
Because neither of us had much of an appetite yet we stuck to my favorites. Roasted beets and Goat Cheese and Turkey Leg Confit.
Stop #3 - Gaylord's Indian
Thank. Be. Gaylord's was at the very least 30 minutes away, conveniently at the north end of Michigan Ave. We were here for eating, not shopping. Although we may have made a quick stop in the Rolex store to find a watch for Chris. No problem the one he liked was $8K then add another $800 in taxes…no biggy Chicago, we'll pass. We strolled around another few blocks before sitting down for indian. This was the first place I had ever tried indian food and I've been hooked ever since. Chris HAD to try the dish that started it all for me. Shrimp Masala, but known as heaven.
Stop #4 - Big and Little's
I would love to tell you we are half way there but we aren't. Big and Littles is our Diners, Drive-ins and Dives pick and boy was it a dive! We went with the recommendation from the show which was a Pork Belly Poboy with Maple Mayo spread. Truffle fries happened because, well, they're truffle fries! We got everything to go and literally unwrapped this, took one bite and packed it back up. There was no way we could put another piece of food in our mouths, not without a nap.
So nap we did… The hotel left this yummy platter out for us with a handwritten card signed by the staff. Super sweet of them, but after the morning we just had, not a single thing on that platter looked good. We took a good 2 hour nap…. or at least I did. Mama was tired!
Chris pondered life...
Stop #5 - Sunda
Sunda was dinner number one for the night ;) Tasty asian fusion and Chris and I could not have been more thankful for hot tea to help settle our stomachs. I know this sounds painful but it really wasn't all that bad. We just had to laugh about it more than anything. WHAT WERE WE THINKING!?! The tea was perfect and we had never seen honey displayed in such a way, it was way too cute not to get a picture.
Spicy Edamame, because we've never had it spicy. It was good, but we usually prefer our edamame with no salt, so they seasoning was a bit much.
Bacon Lobster Roll. Closest thing to my loved raw fish that I could eat. It certainly did not need any soy sauce as the flavors were great, but I was dipping like a crazy person just to feel like I was eating sashimi. We also had the Oxtail Potstickers which were very unexpected when it came to the taste. Almost like grandma's pot roast in a wonton wrap.
Lastly, this little pineapple cake was totally unplanned for, but like fools we had put on our reservation from Open Table that it was our anniversary. Therefore… free cake… any other weekend this would have been extremely welcomed! It's the thought that counts.
Stop #6 - ReBar at Trump Tower
Chris was such a trooper all day not having a drink while we were out. He needed just one and we wanted to see the inside of Trump Tower…. enter the unplanned stop at ReBar. It was a perfect break from eating and walking, and had the most perfect view and replaxing vibe! Gin and Tonic for Chris, Ginger Ale for me.
Stop #7 - The Gage… our final stop for the night!
No room for more food. The gage though had a very delicious looking menu. We stuck to the appetizer list (purely for size) and ordered a nice LIGHT Brie and Butterkase Fondue. Ha! Okay, so it's a super heavy dish to end the night on, but it was amazing! We had major problems saying no!
As we did all day, we walked off our food coma with a night time stroll through Millennium Park and Cloud Gate. Neither of us had ever been to Cloud Gate and figured, when is Chicago! A must see at night!
Stop #8 - Siena Tavern
After a good night sleep, we were ready for another stroll along the riverwalk to our last and final food destination, Siena Tavern. The menu had some wonderful and unique items on it, but as you can imagine by this point we were worn out. Truffle egg omelet with awesome potatoes on the side for Chris and Nutella Waffles for me. Just enough of a breakfast coma to carry home with us on the train… in our Packer gear…. against the Bears… because… when in Chicago!
We both agree this could be a fun tradition every five years… but mostly because we are going to need 5 years for our stomachs to recover from this marathon!
