Chic Chicago - Summer 2010

Following on from my weekend in LA, I got to spend a week working from the Chicago office. The last time I was here was in February this year when it was butt clenchingly cold. This time it was the opposite. Anyone who has been to Chicago in late August can testify that they have lived through the searing heat and humidity. I arrived at 7pm in the evening and all throughout that night I could not leave the hotel without breaking into a sweat.

Wholefoods – This enviable institution has a branch not too far from the Mag Mile. It is like Macro in Sydney on steroids. It would rival the giant Woolworths in Northbridge. The difference is that all the food is organic and wholesome. The best part of it is the wonderful and gourmet hot and cold food bars where you can help yourself and then pay for what you have taken by weight. I really had to restrain myself from buying too much here but the freshly-cut mango and blueberry cups with yogurt were delicious.

John Hancock tower – I read in the increasingly redundant Lonely Planet that instead of paying an entry fee of $15 to go up to the viewing platform, you get an equally wonderful view from the Signature Lounge, one floor beneath for the price of a cocktail. I took the lift up 96 floors and was greeted with a feast for the eyes. The night lights of the city were stunning and lined up in rows that look like beams if you squint your eyes. I ordered the Signature cocktail (a blend of cranberry and peach juice with vodka) and a surf and turf (skewers of beef and prawns). Both were disappointing but then again, you don’t come here for the food or drink. Stick to the cheapest drink I say and then go downstairs and gorge at the Cheesecake Factory at the bottom of the same building instead.

Rivers – this café is just off the West Madison Street bridge to the Loop. It sits on the river as you may have guessed and actually serves delicious food, unlike the Signature Lounge that just traded on its view. They have a whole range of café food on the menu including 5 different salads, sandwiches to more substantial main meals. I suggest booking in advance since there were no spare tables around. I had the delicious seared salmon salad and it was perfectly juicy and tender.

Mortons – Locals here talk about steakhouses like they’re a unique dining experience. I think of the Black Stump, which is enough to turn me off going to one. Why would I want a chunk of dead animal on a plate with little done to it other than it being carved and pay for the privilege of it? Why? Well, because there are steakhouses and there are steakhouses. I went to the first real steakhouse in Chicago and probably my last. They cared about the animal, the cut and the meat so much that you get a full story about it in the menu on the website and when the menu is ‘presented’ to you literally by a man with a platter of cold cuts of fillet, rump, strip, etc. I ordered from the smaller sizes menu and had the Cajun rump. It was mind-blowingly good. The Cajun spices had been on for 24 hours and produced a flavoursome meat which was slightly charred and smokey tasting on the outside with the most luscious and juicy meat in the middle. It was served with a massive damper roll fitting for Shrek. The sautéed green beans with garlic were also great.

I placed my Blackberry in the picture so you can get a sense of the size of the damper that had crispy fried onion flakes on top. The bread was crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside.

My last steak, well at least until I visit Morton's again.

De Cero: This modern Mexican joint was on a restaurant strip. It served up strong flavoured margheritas and the usual suspects such as tacos, enchiladas and burritos but the specialty sseemed to be the taco platters that came with 8 of your choice of 4. We had a whole range including the duck confit with corn salsa, the flaked salmon, the black bean with radish and green salad and the pulled pork. The salmon and the pork were the best but all were a little dry and lacking sauce and strong flavours, although that may be my personal preference since everyone else seemed to enjoy it.

Café Baci: This was a quick lunch time destination. It looked like a posh bar from the Wacker Street entrance but once I made my way towards the back, I realised it was more like a canteen. I grabbed a tray and opted for the 3 salad special which I selected. I had the tuna salad, Tuscan bean and antipasto salad. Surprisingly, the canned tuna and mayo one was the best. The others were very heavy on oil. They also offered fresh made to order pizzas, soups and sandwiches, all for reasonable prices. Recommended if you order t he right salad.

Wormhole - This little grungy cafe in Wicker Park was recommended to me by Geoff. Why? It has a Delorean in it. I had to look up what that was and bonus point for you, if you realised that it was the time machine in Back To The Future! It is sitting right in the window for all to see. I walked into the cafe and pretended to look for someone (yep, that old trick!) whilst secretly eyeing off the full size car. There were no free tables and it was a pretty basic cafe serving coffee and snacks from what I could tell. I didn't feel like either so I walked out. I did get a photo or two though.

Sunda - This place was awesome. It served delicious Asian food from Chinese to Japanese to Thai cuisines, sometimes blended in various ways. Funky and large interiors. The place was literally buzzing like a hive, there were that many people in there. I ordered the Asian mushroom salad with finely sliced radishes, spinach leaves and dressed with a light, soy and sesame oil dressing, topped with crispy fried noodles to start.

Then I ordered the eel sushi which tasted like fresh eel on a bed of moist and well-seasoned sushi rice and the char siu which was delicious and had more layered and complex flavours than usual. This place was so busy that people queue outside so book ahead or otherwise go in 1 or 2 and you could get a seat at the sushi bar like me. Highly recommended!

Cosi - This is a chain of sandwich, salad and soup joints, one of many including Cafe Baci mentioned above, the Corner Bakery Cafe, etc. I stopped in here for breakfast and ordered the oatmeal which comes with a choice of 2 toppings. I selected strawberries and pistachios. The oatmeal was surprisingly cooked perfectly. It was all gooey, thick and creamy with the natural sweetness of the oats shining through. Yum. Brekky dessert. Otherwise, the rest of the menu and food looked pretty average. I just had to write about the porridge so that I remember it for the next time that I need a quick and cheap fix for brekky.

Mercadito - My last lunch in Chicago, sigh! This is the Chicago outpost of the NYC restaurant of the same name, that dished up modern Mexican to a discerning crowd. The interiors are modern and funky. The Thievery Corporation was probably on the iPod dock or something of that nature. Check out the funky wall of miniature paintings:

It was moderately busy during Friday lunch. I ordered 2 ceviches, 1 of prawn and 1 of monkfish. Both had been cured in orange and lemon juices, herbs, diced tomatoes, etc. Both were so delicious and their house made flatbread was addictive. Highly recommended! I can only dream of what dinner would be like here based on these 2 dishes.

Next stop NYC...