The Chicago Traveler

I have found a place that you absolutely have to try.  It’s called Sweet Escapes Eats and Treats.  It’s located on 10402 South Kedzie Avenue across 103rd Street.   We are talking Gourmet Cupcakes, Gourmet!!!!  I think I would probably live there if they would let me.  If you have a taste for sweets, you cannot beat it.  They specialize in cherry cheesecake flavored cupcakes.  In addition, they have children’s parties where the kids can decorate their own cupcakes – how fun is that!!! Mom alert ….great place for a birthday party or a party just because.
If you are not into …read more

Comments Off

Christmas Eve is typically a time where you spend the evening with family and friends.  But what if they are not available or you spending the week in the Windy City on Business?  Cafe des Architectes will be open from 5pm-9pm.  They are located at 20 East Chestnut Street 60611. 
Instead of their regular menu (which is outstanding) they will have a menu of Peking Duck confit with glazed quince and watercress salad; diver sea scallops with broccolini, roasted hazelnut and lemon sauce; white chocolate rum ice cream with cherry parfait and bittersweet chocolate cake – WOW!  Diver Sea Scallops are to …read more

Comments Off

If you have ever had a Chicago Hot Dog, you foam at the mouth at the very mention of this beautiful experience.  There is nothing quite like it.  It can be hot or cold outside and a Chicago Hot Dog will still taste just as good.
Ingredients added are yellow mustard, green relish, chopped onions, tomato wedges, pickle slice, peppers and a dash of salt served in a steamed poppy seed bun.  The order is very very important.  Ketchup is a very controversial add.  As a true Chicagoan, I will not ever add Ketchup to my Chicago Hot Dog and you …read more

Comments Off

If you have a gluten free diet, this week is especially for you. A gluten free diet is something that is not easy to do. You can control the items that you bring in your home, but it is very difficult to control what you pick up on the go outside of the home.
Most often, you must prepare your food before you go keeping in mind that they have to be kept separate to keep from cross contaminating the item. Some restaurants and bakeries have gluten free items on their menu.
Enter Wildfire Steaks, Chops and Seafood 159 W Erie, Chicago, …read more

Comments Off

Restaurant Perla
Are you looking for a new restaurant to try?  Maybe you have a taste for Chicken Snitzel or Meatball Soup, YUM!  Come to Restaurant Perla on Belmont Avenue.   The have good prices and even better ambiance.  Try a traditional Romanian drink.  Call for a reservation at (773)282-5522 or click to go straight to their website.
Tell them The Chicago Traveler sent you.

Comments Off

The Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company brings together two things Chicago is famous for: pizza and Capone.
The Company is located across the street from where the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929 occurred, and rumor has it that the three-story brownstone served as a lookout point for Capone’s gangsters.
The restaurant has a cozy atmosphere, created by the pine paneling and wooden booths packed with tourists and locals alike. Despite the eatery’s name, you won’t find “Chicago pizza” here. Instead, the kitchen doles out a “pizza pot pie.” The creative dish includes a blend of cheeses, huge fresh mushrooms, homemade …read more

Comments Off

There was a bit of dispute over my last Best Pizzas list, as I expected there would be. It is a Chicagoan debate that has gone on for generations and will continue probably forever. So, just to add more fuel to the fire, here is another list of Chicago’s ten best ‘pies’ (courtesy of Citysearch and Yelp).
Honorable Mention: Gino’s East. If you enjoy reading, the walls here provide plenty of material.

10. Pizzeria Uno. The one, the only, the original. Loosen your belts now.
9. Piece. These very non-Chicago-style slices are simply delicious.
8. Home Run Inn. This old neighborhood tavern offers the …read more

1 Comment

Lots of little kids (and some full-grown adults) love to eat pizza but leave their crusts untouched. If you think a pizza’s crust is just as good as its toppings, check out the individual ‘pies’ at Coalfire.
The pizzas at Coalfire are made exactly as you would think: in a real coal-burning oven reaching temperatures of over 800 degrees Fahrenheit (427° C). The high heat chars the crust and traps the moisture inside, making it moist and bendable (a la New York). Quality toppings—goat cheese, gorgonzola, fresh basil, prosciutto, calabrese salami, and tons more—are available, though the restaurant suggests a “less …read more

2 Comments

In college, I earned my degree in English, and now I appreciate anything with an interesting literature twist. I was intrigued by the opening of Purgatory Pizza, and I thoroughly enjoy the performances by the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. But one of my favorite places to visit by far is the Bourgeois Pig.
You might be a bit disoriented upon first entering ‘the Pig.’ The coffeehouse is cluttered with an array of trinkets and charms: crystal chandeliers, hanging washboards, gas lamps, an old sewing machine, etc. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the various accoutrements, yet they all fit …read more

Comments Off

Chicago has plenty of upscale restaurants, but let’s face it, the Windy City is best known for its greasy comfort foods: Italian beefs, hot dogs, burgers, gyros, etc. Grease Freak is a website full of photographs of Chicago-style food—“edible and not”—rated on their taste, presentation, and restaurant ambience.
Start stocking up on napkins now.
Photo credit: GreaseFreak.com
http://www.greasefreak.com/

Comments Off