Cafe Ba Ba Reeba
I went to this restaurant a while back when my family and I first visited my brother, but I recently came here with just my brother and Grace for his 25th birthday! It's a tapas-style restaurant and it gets super busy here on the weekends. Hours-long waits for a table. They're very well-known for their sangrias and I remember them having a huge Bloody Mary bar too. This time my brother and I shared a pitcher of their mango sangria. We each got about two and a half glasses and it sure was tasty. You know I'm not much of a drinker, but I really enjoy a sangria. I took horrible pictures, but I always forget because I'm too excited to eat! They have really great empanadas though and this is actually the first place I've ever had an empanada! Their desserts are also really amazing. We each got two different desserts!!
Interurban
This place has been hiding from us and I'm kinda sad we just discovered it! It's located on Armitage Ave, literally 5 minutes away from Corey and Grace's old apartment. It was featured on a TV show Corey and Grace were watching and is known for its pop-tarts. I love pop tarts and these are delicious and homemade. I wish I could bake because I would immediately open up a pop-up pop-tart shop. I got the apple and cinnamon one but I seriously wish I'd tried more. I'll just have to go back I guess.. It was so yummy. The crust was crispy and the filling was a way better version of McDonald's apple pies.
I definitely talked about this place in my last "Chicago Eats" post, but it deserves a second mention. I tried the Messy Katie sandwich this past weekend and oh. my. It's the most perfect combination invented. It has turkey, cream cheese, honey mustard, avocado, tomato and sprouts all on a bialy which is a type of onion bagel. I'm a plain Jane normally, but this was just too delicious and I absolutely loved everything on it.
Del Seoul
Again, my brother introduced me to this place. We were walking to Bobtail Ice Cream from his old apartment - it's quite a hike - and we got hungry. We stopped here on our way and split a spicy shrimp sandwich. I hate spicy foods a lot. I always feel like it ruins food because I can't enjoy it when my mouth is on fire. However, this is just the right amount of spicy. It's the kind of spicy where it adds a little something extra to the flavor and doesn't ruin it at all. I've been back two more times and will definitely go again. I even went by myself one day and took it to the park nearby that's how much I like it. It's located right next to Molly's Cupcakes, Toro Sushi and Lito's Empanadas. All great places. Anyways, this place is Korean Street BBQ and the actual name of the sandwich I get is called the Sesame-Chili Shrimp Bahn Mi Sandwich.
Bakin & Eggs
I came here with Anna while she was visiting and used a Groupon I had bought for us. That's how I heard about the place. It was super cute inside - there was a little coffee bar and bakery so you could make yourself coffee while you wait on your table. We had to wait for about 20-30 minutes on a Saturday morning. The menus come on clipboards and your check comes in a clothespin. I love those little touches. I got the "lovely french toast" which is a bread pudding from chocolate almond croissants. It was heavenly. Anna and I shared some honey flavored bacon and that was even more delicious. Probably some of the best bacon I've ever had. They had other flavors, but we both agreed on this one. I will definitely will try to go back to this place one day!
Ann Sather
Anna and I came here twice while she was visiting. We walked to the one on Belmont the first time and then realized there was one right on Broadway/Cornelia.. which is only two blocks from my apartment! We got their giant cinnamon rolls and homemade orange strawberry banana juice as well as their Swedish pancakes with lignonberries. I loved everything.. it is such a homey place and it's super cheap and delicious. I heard about this place from always seeing people come into Starbucks with an Ann Sather bag (probably full of cinnamon rolls!) and knew I had to try them. Unfortunately I never got a picture of the cinnamon rolls because we demolished them immediately. Whoops.
Jeni's
My last weekend in Chicago - and also my birthday weekend - was spent with Corey and Grace. We were walking around the Southport area, which is halfway between mine and their apartments, and stumbled across this ice cream shop while trying to decide on where to go for lunch. I immediately noticed the garland from outside of the shop and was excited to go inside! They had tons of unique flavors I had never seen before, but I decided to go with the classic banana and strawberry ice cream. They have different names than that, but I can't remember what it was called. It was really thick and creamy ice cream and you could tell it contained quality ingredients. Everything is organic and natural and the dairy comes from grass-fed cows. Jeni has a New York Times Best Seller book on her ice cream recipes if you're interested. I just heard that a Jeni's will be coming to Atlanta this fall in Westside Provisions at 1198 Howell Mill Rd and I can't wait to take my parents here!
Union
We came here for my birthday dinner and I thought it was such a cool place! It's an Asian Fusion place.. known for their sushi and barbecue bar. They barbecue the meats and vegetables over this large flamed bar at 600 degrees. We ordered a bunch of different things but my pictures turned out really bad because it was so dark inside. We tried a slider sampler plate and also got the Truffled Tuna for our appetizers and both were really good. I've never had truffle oil before, so it was cool to try that! For the main course, Corey and I shared some sushi - which was some of the best sushi we've ever had - and we all three shared the barbecue bar sampler and Grace also got the short rib ramen. I actually really enjoyed all of the food and would love to go back for some sushi!
90 Miles Cuban Cafe
I saved the best for last. My dad, Corey, Grace and I all came here for lunch on my last day in Chicago after we moved everything out of my apartment. It's just a short walk from Corey and Grace's new apartment in Roscoe Village. It's a small place with some outdoor seating and it was busy for lunch on a weekday! Corey and my dad got cuban sandwiches and Grace and I got 3 empanadas each. We also got two Guanabana shakes and a side of fries. Everything was beyond delicious. The fries reminded me of Checker's fries but way, way better. The empanadas were my favorite out of all of the empanadas I've ever tried. I got a chicken, beef and a snickers one and I can't even tell you which one was my favorite because I liked them all so much. Also, the shakes we ordered were so soo good. I'm not sure what kind of fruit guanabana is but it tasted like a mixture of apples and something else, but whatever it is it's amazing. I can not wait to go back there and take my mom as well! Highly, highly recommend this place. Also, Guy Fieri visited 90 Miles on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives!
Until next time, Chicago!