5 (or 6) Bites to Eat in Chicago

There’s about a million restaurants in Chicago and if you ask for a recommendation, you’d get as many opinions on which is the best. So to add to that list, here’s my 2 cents on a few delicious bites that I tasted during my days in Chicago.

Pizza - deep-dish Chicago style pizza – is a given.  I imagine asking a Chicagoan where’s the best pizza is like asking a Marylander who has the best crabcakes.  I had a spinach personal size pizza from Giordano’s at Navy Pier (there’s a restaurant and a stand). And while in O’Hare, I enjoyed a cheese pizza from Reggio’s (Concourse C – not sure if they are near other gates, too.)  Be ready for the carb and cheese overload and enjoy.

You can't pass up a deep-dish Chicago pizza

Okay, now on to other food.

Popcorn. Specifically – Garrett’s Chicago Mix. A bag of the caramel corn and cheese mix is a Chicago must-taste. It’s a unique blend of sweet, sticky caramel and lick your fingers cheesy. (The first time I had it, I thought someone messed up the bag.) Once you are within a block of a shop, you’ll smell the hot burnt sugar sweetness. I also got a bag of the caramel with pecans (other nuts are also available) – it’s like a grown-up bag of Cracker Jacks.  For travel, I would recommend the caramel – it keeps better than the cheese or butter.

Get it while it's hot... caramel and cheese popcorn

Mini churros & sweet cream cheese sauce. Fried dough – enough said, right? Churros require a special crispiness, hot (as in warm) but not burn your tongue hot, and sweetness. Add a sweet dip – this one was a cream cheesy; I usually go with chocolate, but this was a yummy different option.  And a cup of coffee – it was the beginning of a great brunch at GT Fish & Oyster.

Churro's in Chicago. Yep.

Kimchi as condiment. I have eaten this fermented cabbage (or other vegetable) native food of Korea all my life. However, I generally eat it with rice, noodles, and Korean or other Asian food. I have never thought to eat it as a condiment on a sandwich or any “American” food.  I had an Oyster Po-Boy with Kimchi (all those yummy words together, how could it go wrong?) at GT Fish & Oyster.  At BellyQ, there was a Warm Potato Kimchi Salad – which I didn’t try, because I didn’t like all those words together, but was intrigued by the idea.  I did however, ask and receive a side of kimchi, which was pretty good.  (I’ll have to do a post on kimchi one of these days.  More later.)

I don't know whose idea it was to put Kimchi on a sandwich.

Grits. I really didn’t plan on feeding my grits-hunger while in Chicago, but I guess there is a touch of southern heritage here (read TheWarmth of Other Suns).  At BellyQ I had Coconut Grits. You like Coconut Rice? Ahh, they coulda slid some slices of mangos on it and had a whole new addictive food. (No pics, sorry, but it was good.)  I also had Shrimp & Grits, because as I mentioned in my Charlotte food post, it’s one of my favorite dishes. I had this bowl, with a more tomato soup taste with a kick, at GT Fish & Oyster for brunch.

Shrimp & Grits. This one up north in Chicago.

Fried deviled eggs. Because. It was deviled eggs. And it was fried. What could go wrong. Nothing.  Except you only get one.  At ThePurple Pig. Yes, as a vegetarian, you can find a good meal at a place with “pig” in it’s name.  Try the calamari with Fregola.  As a carnivore, particularly a pork-ivore, you will find a lot of interesting plates, including the Pig Platter.

Fried deviled egg. Crispy, hot, creamy.

Can I add one more? Because how can I do a food list without some chocolate?  From a foodtruck!  I had a chocolate cheesecake cupcake with chocolate frosting (feel that in your sweet tooth?) from Chicago Cupcakes.  The truck was at Jackson Park, near the Museum of Science and Industry, when I got my fix, but the guy said they are usually downtown and you can check Twitter to find them on any given day. Check them out.

Chocolate Cupcakes. What else do you need to know?

Note that I traveled to all of these restaurants (except the food truck and O’Hare) from my stay at the Hyatt on Wacker Dr. by foot or by bike. So when you go to Chicago, take your walking shoes.

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Save Money While Dining Out with Kids

If I had to count, I could probably count the number of times in a year that we went out to dinner when I was a kid. For good report cards, there was Pizza Hut. For Mother's Day, dad picked somewhere so mom wouldn't have to cook. And then maybe a few other random Sundays for dinner after church.

 

Flip the calendar to now, with me and my husband and our own children, and I would lose count how many times we eat out.  Although I enjoy cooking, given our schedule, sometimes it's more convenient to grab dinner out while we're in between activities or order in when the day's been too busy to cook a good meal.  But eating out with kids can get a redundant, a little lacking on the vegetables, and, yes, a bit expensive.

 

Here's a few ways we've found to make dining out with the family a balanced, more affordable, experience. 

  

Have the kids split an adult meal. This does requires two children to actually agree on something, which in itself can be a small miracle and may involve some bribery. However, the adult menu generally offers a greater meal selection and vegetables are more likely to be included.  Take a moment and do the quick math; I've found this is often cheaper than two kid's meal, or at least the same price for a better meal.

 

Split your meal with the kids. Some meals are too big even for an adult and these are perfect to share with a smaller person. Often when we go out for breakfast, I get an omelet that might come with a stack of pancakes.  And what are my kids going to order? A stack of pancakes.  They can have mine. 

 

Order a drink and an extra cup.  In some restaurants, even the "kid-size" is a 20-oz lemonade. Ask the waiter how big the drink is. If it's really huge, order one and have the kids share. Or better, let them drink water.

 

Know where the kids-night specials are.  Many restaurants designate Tuesdays or Wednesdays for their family nights with special prices and free kids meals or desserts.  A local diner makes it a big affair with clowns and face-painting.  And don't forget the carryout specials, too, which are great for a family on the go. One of local grocery stores (the kind with the deli and hot food) has pizza specials on Mondays . Located across the street from my son's swim practice, this is a perfect fit into our back-to-back schedule.

 

Order the adult portion.  Let them enjoy half their meal at the restaurant, then take half home for tomorrow's lunch or dinner.  Not cheaper at the moment, but a little costs savings and work savings over the two days. That counts, too.

 

Eat a little bit earlier, around happy hour. I know we don't generally think "happy hour" and "kids" but in addition to bar drinks, food items are often cheaper, too.  Consider the appetizer menu - for little kids you can sometimes make a whole meal right there. Chicken fingers/wings, flatbreads, and salads are often on there and generally what the kids are going to eat anyway.  Dinner at 5 is early for us, but we've found when we eat dinner earlier, we're not as nervous about the kids having an ice cream for dessert and being wired up for bedtime.

 

Ask for a kids portion. There are some restaurants that actually do have a kids menu, if you read the fine print on the back of the menu. If not, some will make a kids size (and charge you accordingly less), especially if the kids are real small. 

 

My last point, has nothing to do with cost, but instead the experience. Don't use the wait time to check your email or play Angry Birds or "like" your friend's posts on Facebook. Enjoy not having to cook or wash dishes, sit back, and check in with your family, look in their eyes, and have a conversation.

 

Cheers! 

Mom-Me Celebration - Day 21: Go on Vacation!

How often do we daydream, arms elbow deep in a sink full of dishwater or carrying a load of laundry, of being on a tropic isle sipping mai tais?  Wouldn't that be great if we could just pack our bikini and jump on a plane?  Or perhaps you're more the type to pull on your khaki's and go on a safari.  Any vacation spot would be better than home cleaning the bathroom and taking out the recycling, right?  So,  go!  Maybe it's not realistic to call your travel agent (do people use a travel agent anymore?) and book your family on a 10-day cruise around the Mediterranean leaving tomorrow.  But what's stopping you from heading to the nearby Greek restaurant for dinner?

Venture out and take the family to an international restaurant for dinner.

If you want to keep it simple or you know the kids aren't that adventurous, go somewhere with food they are used to but take it up a notch.  Take a mini-trip to Italy and get good pizza from a good Italian spot.  Nothing against the chain delivery options, but stretch a little bit; at least find somewhere that you can get a glass of wine with your dinner.  Pass by Taco Bell and find a Mexican restaurant where margaritas, housemade chips and salsa are an option.  My kids and I have "discovered" a delicious little Chinese restaurant that we've passed by for years.  Rice and some kind of chicken are a staple, but then we also peruse the menu for something new. Steamed bread is one of our new favorites; whatever seafood dish of the day is my go-to choice.

Korean hot pot soup - kimchees, seafood - all boiling & hot!

If you can push your kids a bit, or heck, if its just what you want to eat - try somewhere new and different than what you're used to.  A few weeks ago, we joined family friends for dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. Although my kids have friends who are from Ethiopia and have tasted the culture's food, I wasn't sure how they would like a full dinner in the cuisine. And I don't know why I was worried that perhaps they wouldn't like eating with their hands!  We actually had to order additional food!  It doesn't have to be fancy; even going to a casual spot can be different.  I like hummus and falafel, so taking the kids out for that is an adventure. A Girl Scout mom told me about the cuisine of West Africa.... hmm, I need to find a restaurant.

Our Ethiopian platter "before" the kids decided they do like Ethiopian... pass the injera please!

And if you aren't crazy about going out to eat - I get it, eating out with kids is not always the wonderful experience you imagine in your head as you pile in the car - make another plan. Either leave them home or bring the food to your home.  Order in, try out a new international recipe.  Whatever you do, don't feel like you're confined to steak and potatoes and your kitchen.

Go on vacation!  Where you going?

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Follow along here on my blog or on Facebook - JustPiddlin with Frances for our 30-Day Mom-Me Celebration all the way until Mother's Day.