Is it me, or is this summer flying by like crazy? I've been insanely busy eating my weight in donuts and fried chicken (not kidding) and it's time to share some of the best places I've been as of late.
Firecakes Donuts
First up, Firecakes Donuts in River North. My first visit to this tiny donut shop was way overdue but it was worth the wait (and weight!)!
Emily and I stopped by on a Saturday and tried a few including the butterscotch praline, peanut butter chocolate, and rhubarb bourbon. All three were divine!
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| Firecakes |
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| Butterscotch Praline Donut at Firecakes |
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| Peanut Butter Chocolate Donut at Firecakes |
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| Rhubarb Bourbon Fritter at Firecakes |
Just Salad & Be Leaf
Working in the Loop has become even more exciting lately with the addition of several new fast casual salad concepts: New York import Just Salad, and local joint, Be Leaf. Both offer made-to-order and pre-designed salad options, but Just Salad definitely has more options. I made my own salad at Just Salad, but it was a very overwhelming experience. There are SO many options to choose from: type of greens, crunch, veggies, protein, dressings, etc. My advice? Study the menu in advance because the line moves very quickly during lunch. Also, you can easily spend $12 on a salad here if you're not careful.
My experience at Be Leaf was a bit less overwhelming but that's because I was there during non-peak hours and I gave up and chose one of their signature salad combos which was tasty. I like how they make all of their dressings, but there are no low-fat or low-cal options, and they charge extra for things like edamame! Want salmon on your salad? Fork over a fiver. The proximity of Be Leaf to my office would make me come back, but this is definitely not your everyday lunch spot, unless you can afford it.
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| Just Salad |
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| Be Leaf |
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Be Leaf
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Cemitas Puebla
Another lunch spot I finally visited was Cemitas Puebla in Fulton Market. Cemitas Puebla is known for their sandwiches baked on homemade sesame seed rolls. The bread is fantastic! I tried the al pastor sandwich with caramelized onions, avocado, house chipotle sauce, and Oaxacan cheese! The chips and guac is fantastic too! I'm glad I finally crossed this place of my must-try list!
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| Guacamole at Cemitas Puebla |
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| Al Pastor |
Snap Kitchen
Another new Loop lunch spot is Snap Kitchen, a Texas import offering fast, fresh takeaway. All meals are made fresh daily and color coded by size. This place has an insane variety of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks, and will soon offer juices. All entrees come refrigerated with easy heating instructions and full nutritional information. I liked how all items were clearly marked with allergens including gluten and dairy, and there were options for sodium conscious consumers and those following a Paleo diet.
Snap Kitchen hooked me up with practically a week's supply of food so I got to try a lot. The verdict? Every single thing I had was delicious. Not just kind of tasty. Delicious. My only gripe? I don't think some of the options are exactly healthy. Calorie counts are a major focus but some items had high daily values of cholesterol, saturated fat, or sodium, so make sure to read those nutrition labels!
Snap Kitchen is taking over Chicagoland with locations already in Lakeview, Lincoln Park, the Loop, Naperville and soon, Old Town.
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| Snap Kitchen |
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| Greek Salad With Shrimp |
Sprig
Have you heard of Sprig yet? It's a San Francisco-born startup that recently launched in Chicago! Via an app on iPhone and Android devices, you can order a fresh, organic meal made with high quality ingredients, all delivered in under 15 minutes. The company's mission is to make eating well simple and accessible. The menu changes everyday, and they often feature partnerships with high caliber chefs, including former White House Chef Sam Kass. Each dish ranges from $9-$13 plus a small delivery fee.
I checked it out for myself and was especially curious about the under 15 minute delivery guarantee. Let's just say my food arrived at my doorstep before I got home, so yea, it's fast! My friend Lauren and I tried the chicken pot pie and a roasted chicken thigh dish with cauliflower and quinoa. The chicken pot pie had way more flavor than the chicken which was pretty bland. I will say, the portions were very generous and the food wasn't soaking in heavy sauces or butter. I think I'd give it another shot in hopes that I just tried a boring dish.
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| Sprig |
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| Chicken Pot Pie & Chicken Thigh with Roasted Cauliflower |
Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique
A few weeks ago, Sapna Dalal of
The Vegetarian Tourist, hosted a sugar happy hour at her friend, Teresa Ging's bakery, Sugar Bliss, in the Loop. We had a blast sampling a variety of cupcakes, cake pops, and French macarons. The crowd favorite were the ice pops available for summer. Each ice pop is made with real fruit juices and come in flavors including mojito (my favorite), watermelon, and key lime pie. There's a coffee-flavored ice pop made with
Intelligentsia Coffee!
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| Sugar Bliss Cupcakes |
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| Sugar Bliss Macarons |
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| Sugar Bliss Cake Pops |
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| Sugar Bliss Cupcakes |
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| Sugar Bliss Ice Pops |
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| Mojito Ice Pop |
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| Sugar Bliss Cake Pops |
When we weren't getting a sugar high, we also had a chance to try making Sugar Bliss's signature flower frosting they place on their cupcakes. I struggled. Hard. I'm going to stick to eating cupcakes instead of frosting them. Yes, that is my sad interpretation of a frosting flower below. It's abstract...
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| Learning to Ice Sugar Bliss Cupcakes |
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| Learning to Ice Sugar Bliss Cupcakes |
Because Sugar Bliss and I love you, they are offering you
10% any order of cupcakes, cake pops, french macarons and ice pops with code POPSRUS!
4th of July Weekend in Nashville
There's something I just love about Nashville. I find myself there once a year in the Summer to take in the great food, culture and music. The BF and I randomly ended up there for July 4th weekend and it was an indulgent weekend filled with some of the best food and drink Nashville has to offer. I trolled Instagram for some of Nashville's hot spots and ended up at
Rolf and Daughters, where we had dinner on our first night. This ended up being my favorite meal of the weekend. It's hard to grab a reservation so we just showed up and sat at the bar. It felt like walking into
Au Cheval on a Saturday night at 8pm and getting seated immediately. R.A.D. has a beef tartare with a cult following that we of course had to try. We also loved their homemade pastas. Make sure you hit this place up if you're in Nashville!
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| Beef Tartare |
Other food highlights included food-truck-turned-restaurant
Biscuit Love and their ridiculously delicious biscuit sandwiches and biscuit donut holes, or "bonuts". Crack on a plate. All of it. Especially "The Princess," a Nashville hot chicken biscuit sandwich with house pickles, mustard and honey. Another must-visit restaurant in Nash.
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| Biscuit Love |
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| Bonuts with Lemon Mascarpone and Blueberry Compote |
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| "The Princess" |
I always make a stop at touristy
Loveless Cafe when in town. I don't care how gimmicky it is. I love their biscuits and homemade jam. I was less-than-impressed with their fried chicken this time around, but their BBQ never disappoints. Nothing says Happy Birthday America than a plate of fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, and hash brown casserole. Or something like that...
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| Fried Chicken at Loveless Cafe |
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| Biscuits and Homemade Jam |
When we weren't eating, we were checking out the local craft beer scene. We made it to four breweries:
Our favorites were Tennessee Brew Works which also served beer bread (!) and had a great outdoor patio, and The Black Abbey which had a killer porter!
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| Tennessee Brew Works |
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| Beer Bread at Tennessee Brew Works |
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| The Black Abbey Brewing Company |
The BF and I played the most epic game of Jenga at Jackalope Brewing Company. Seriously. We had an audience. Cheap thrills!
We also checked out a totally Instagram-worthy coffee shop, Barista Parlor. It was a hipster's paradise and I had the best $7 latte of my life there :) Hey--they make their own almond milk, and this lactose-fearing gal likes her almond milk.
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| Barista Parlor |
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| Latte at Barista Parlor |
Battle of the Burger
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| Photo Credit: Battle of the Burger |
Last, but definitely not least, I want to tell you about a delicious event coming up this week!
This Thursday, July 23rd, you can find me at the 3rd annual
Battle of the Burger held by
RedEye and presented by
Amstel Light. The event takes place at the Chicago History Museum and will crown Chicago's best burger. The competition began with 100 bars/restaurants and RedEye readers narrowed the number down to 20, all of which will be at the event Thursday where final voting will take place. Food Network Star of “The Kitchen” and “Sandwich King”
Jeff Mauro will guest host the event!
Participating bars/restaurants include:
- Bad Apple
- Chef’s Burger Bistro
- Claddagh Irish Pub
- Davanti Enoteca
- Good Stuff Eatery
- Leadbelly
- Lotties Pub
- Rockit Burger Bar
- Rt 12 Bar & Grill
- Shelby Campbell’s Tavern & Grill
- Standard Bar & Grill
- Temple Bar (Beef & Barley)
- The Assembly American Bar & Café
- The Range Grill & Tap
- Whisk
Hope to see you there!
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