Ahh our Chicago trip seems so long away now. But the memories are good 🙂
Staying in three different AirBnb’s helped extend our reach of where was easily accessible to go sightseeing (and eating). I did a bit of research before we went (one of my favourite things to do pre-holiday it must be said) and found a few top contenders for the best deep pan pizzas in Chicago.
Deep pan is a BIG deal in Chicago. One of the top rated was called Pequod’s. It was lucky we stayed in Wicker Park for the first night because in all honesty we probably wouldn’t have gone there otherwise because it was quite far out from our other Airbnb locations. I mentioned this meal a few posts ago, so go check that out.
Another pizza place we tried out was Lou Malnati’s and was actually one of our final meals. This was another high contender on all the lists of “best pizza”. As a chain there were many all over Chicago. It was very similar to Pequod’s in terms of how long the pizza took to prepare and cook (over 30 minutes) but I have to say, I far more enjoyed this pizza. And I don’t want to really as I always prefer more independent food places over franchises, but it is what it is.
I think the reason I preferred it more is because there wasn’t quite as much dough. It still had a thick base but it was a bit firmer and crispier. When we took a slice from the pan it held its shape better.
It was a lot more cheesy as well – in fact, one slice alone had 730 calories. That is crazy. As I always say tho, you’re on holiday and for me it’s part and parcel of enjoying myself out there.
I had two slices and a whole plate of chicken wings (a mix of buffalo and BBQ flavoured). And we had a sharer of mozzarella sticks.
I’m sure I don’t need to point out the obvious, but that’s a lot of food. It was very good though and we both enjoyed it immensely. But we were equally glad we had a 30 minutes’ walk back to the Airbnb to allow a bit of digestion and fresh air afterwards. Oof!
Of course it goes without saying I ate a lot of chicken wings.
Embarrassing really but I just fricking love them and the States do them so well. And not just your standard buffalo or BBQ fodder, but a range of flavours. While my previous favourite was the standard buffalo with a blue cheese dip (it has to have the dip), my new favourite is Garlic Parmesan butter. Hold. The. Boat. It was so good. No sauce needed, dripping in buttery cheesy goodness. Heavenly.
And I have no shame in admitting that I found this out when we ordered Uber Eats to the Airbnb and had an easy lazy dinner in. Out of a polystyrene box, it rocked my world. I’m not a posh person, I have no food snobbery, and I will happily enjoy it.
I did eat more colourful food during my time abroad of course. I had a very tasty “bowl” from Chipotle as an easy quick lunch. Tho the length of time it took to order and get it really questions how much of a fast food this really was…and it wasn’t cheap. I did double up on meat and add guacamole but seriously it came to over $10!
And on the same Mexican note, we had a lovely Mexican street food style lunch in a lovely little spot in Little Italy called Chilango. I had a steak rice bowl with lots of salad and salsa.
The post marathon lunch was of course epic as well. We walked the not-very-far way back to our apartment, I showered (best shower of my life, it always is after a marathon) and then stumbled into the very close Bar Louie and proceeded to order far too much food, of which we of course ate most of.
Pulled chicken nachos to share, chicken wings and pork “wings” (kind of ribs on a stick) for me, Pretzels and a burger for Kyle. The waitress was impressed.
The nachos were incredible. I think Kyle humoured me by agreeing to order them because he only had a few while I hoovered them up like nobody’s business. The wings were good and the pork was delicious.
I mean, it all tasted like I’d just run 26.2 miles and there is no better seasoning than that! (Edit: you don’t have to run a marathon to eat all this. I have eaten like this many times and not run a marathon, but the fact you are so hungry and your muscles are so tired and in need of a refuel makes it taste that much more satisfying).
We tried many treats throughout our holiday too like cinnamon sugar pretzel bites at the Navy Pier.
We had Insomnia cookies after we visited the Lincoln Zoo. We loved how they also sell milk along side them and that the cookies were WARM.
And of course fro-yo as a mid-afternoon snack… with all the toppings.
Chicago was a fantastic place to mosey around, shop and enjoy the sights.
I think I enjoyed it a bit more than New York because it felt less hectic, less busy, less noisy and dirty. The weather was cold and sunny, and of course windy. We were lucky to have one rain day at the start but the rest was beautiful.
And to take home (and one evening’s snack of choice) I bought far too many M&M’s.
The different flavours were amazing! White Chocolate Peanut?! Almonds! Pretzels! Ahh it was such a good haul. Now just to pace myself with them…
What do you love eating in America?
Are there any foods you just have to try when on holiday?
Are you a sweet or savoury person? I used to think I was definitely sweet but I think I’m steering closer to savoury (though of course cake is always a winner for me).
Ah, I should NOT have read this so soon after my long run. I mean, I literally just ate but the Sunday runger is real!
Totally agree on the best seasoning being 26.2 miles. There’s just something so special about that post-marathon meal when you can eat all the food and then eat again about 10 minutes later.
And that’s a decent M&M haul. Always on my list when we’re in the US, along with as many bags of Spicy Sweet Chilli Doritos as we can fit in our luggage (pro tip: pack them in shoeboxes in case the bags burst). I also make sure to have pancakes with bacon and maple syrup while I’m there. Generally I’m a savoury person, but cake will always win me over too.
Allison recently posted…Friday Finds – 1st November
Ah the food on holiday is always the best! A lot of our Disney trip was checking that we could fit in the food, and usually we look around on Trip Advisor to see what sort of options we have. I am definitely a sweet person, but I will always look for some good guacamole with proper tortilla chips, and this holiday we had a giant pretzel to share and it was so good with little crystals of salt all over it too.
Arrrraaggghhhhhh, I need to visit Chicago now. The food in America is nearly always amazing with huge portion sizes. When I visited La Crosse for a conference the food was out of this world. I quickly discovered that people in La Crosse love their steaks and ribs and well anything meaty. I was in food heaven for a week. The only disappointing meal I had was McD’s breakfast in Chicago Airport. The chips just tasted different to ours and I was jetlagged and grumpy after the flight.
Please let me get a place in the Chicago Marathon ballot 😉