My fiancee and I took a short trip to Chicago and had a wonderful time. It was my first visit and I cannot wait to go back. Not only is it a beautiful city with a fantastic skyline and lots of things to do, but it also has some awesome food. Keeping in line with my blog ideals, I’ll stop talking abou the trip and start relaying my memories of the food J
Our first night, our hosts took us to Tuscany, an Italian restaurant on Taylor Street. We had to eat in the back room because we did not have reservations, and it was kind of loud, but the food was very good. The front of the restaurant had a nice atmosphere with the typical Italian style painting and decorations on the walls. Our meal started out with a nice presentation of crushed garlic with olive oil. Our waiter crushed the garlic at our table and added any spices to our liking. This kind of attention indicated to me that this was going to be a good meal!
I started off with the Barbe Rosse salad - roasted red beets, hazelnuts, citrus segments, goat cheese, frisee, butter lettuce, sherry vinaigrette. The serving was enough for two people, so they brought it in a bowl and gave us extra plates. It was tasty, not overly dressed with the vinaigrette. I love goat cheese on a salad because it adds a great creamy texture. I also enjoyed having the hazelnuts in the mix to add some crunch. After my salad, I enjoyed the Ravioli Alla Pera – I had a really tough time deciding what to order because there are a few tasty-looking vegetarian options (or items that can easily be made vegetarian). However, since I was running a half marathon the next morning, I chose something that wasn’t spicy or different than my normal eating. The ravioli was filled with roasted pears and was covered in a sauce consisting of more pears, parmigiano, toasted nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, and mascarpone cream. So yummy! It reheated well the next day for lunch, too (since they gave such large portions). We finished with a nice chocolate cake for dessert – not too big and not too rich – perfect way to end!
After recovering from the half marathon, my fiancée and I headed to The Art Institute of Chicago. It was a rainy and windy day, so we wanted to limit our time outside. While there, my appetite kicked in and we stopped at Caffè Moderno. I was surprised to find multiple veggie items there and had some of the vegan Tomato Basil soup with a wheat roll on the side. The soup was very good and topped with some sesame seeds – it also had nice little kick to it. The bread held up really well when dipped into the soup. It was a very nice snack (unfortunately, not able to carry it around while looking at the art, but that’s okay.) http://www.artic.edu/aic/visitor_info/restaurants.html
Connie's Pizza
One of my requests to our hosts was to indulge in some Chicago-style pizza. My fiancée told me that true Chicago-style would mean I’d only be able to eat half a slice, so we opted for deep dish. We ordered in from Connie’s. I got the House Salad with a Garlic Ranch dressing, the Veggie Pizza, and the Cookie Monster to share. The salad was your typical takeout salad – lettuce, tomatoes, onions – and the dressing was very garlicy (not a bad thing!). The Veggie Pizza was topped with broccoli, onions, mushrooms & sliced tomatoes. I am a huge fan of bread, cheese, and veggies, so this was a great combo! I really liked the taste of it and it was quite filling. We finished our dinner with the Cookie Monster – a much more massive dessert than we expected. It consisted of four large chocolate chip cookies topped with four scoops of vanilla ice cream, a few dollops of whipped cream, and smothered in chocolate sauce. Fantastic way to end this delicious meal! http://www.conniespizza.com/
P.S. – the pizza tasted great cold two mornings later when we flew out – I saved two slices for lunch J
Our final culinary hurrah in Chicago was a trip to Harry Caray’s Tavern at Navy Pier. When faced with the decision of whether or not to get a veggie burger at a restaurant, I usually opt not to because they are normally cooked on the same grill. I made an exception this time because it had goat cheese! The original burger comes with a Kalamata Olive Spread, but I asked for it without because I am no fan of olives. It did come topped with goat cheese, arugula, tomato, and onion – all laid out on a whole wheat bun. I had a side salad instead of fries, to try to keep it a little healthy. The patty wasn’t that great, but the goat cheese made the meal. I actually ate the whole thing. One word of caution though, I got an upset stomach afterwards – possibly because of it being cooked on the same grill as meat. I don’t have any proof, just sharing my concerns. (FYI – there are other veggie options such as pasta and pizza)
I love Chicago and the food is delicious – I cannot wait to go back to savor more of their delectable treats!
I used six large squash instead of 8 – I wouldn’t have had enough filling if I did that! I used my electronic steamer instead of steaming the squash over boiling water – it worked very well. I used Low Fat Ricotta instead of full fat and didn’t lose any taste. We had some fresh basil, so we threw that in with the parsley. I served Classico Four Cheese sauce on the side for dipping – instead of the Tomato and Basil. Finally, I sprayed the top with fake butter spray instead of brushing the tops with melted butter. 
I used six large squash instead of 8 – I wouldn’t have had enough filling if I did that! I used my electronic steamer instead of steaming the squash over boiling water – it worked very well. I used Low Fat Ricotta instead of full fat and didn’t lose any taste. We had some fresh basil, so we threw that in with the parsley. I served Classico Four Cheese sauce on the side for dipping – instead of the Tomato and Basil. Finally, I sprayed the top with fake butter spray instead of brushing the tops with melted butter. 
