Thursday, January 26, 2012

A visitor here myself

For the last two weekends I have had the chance to see Chicago differently, as a visitor vicariously through friends who I showed around the city I now call home. A couple weeks ago was a friend's bachelorette party. Before the evening's shenanigans, we went took the Chicago Chocolate Tour on the Magnificent Mile. Each of the spots on the tour was new to me, and each was fabulous in its own way.

First on the tour was Teuscher Chocolates in the Bloomingdale Building on Michigan Avenue. This small Swiss company imports its chocolates from Switzerland weekly, and the quaint country decor mimics the headquarters in Zurich. There we had our first sample, their famous champagne truffle. It was everything you hope to have when someone tells you your two favorite things have combined into the perfect bite.

From there we took a quick stroll to More Cupcakes. It's a small boutique cupcake shop, with an artistic edible display nearly worthy of a spot at the Museum of Contemporary Art. We had mini versions of their famous chocolate chocolate chocolate cupcake. More is known for a Hostess-esque chocolate cupcake with a cream filling. They also have alcohol inspired flavors on special during Friday night happy hour. Anyone looking for a sugar high after work should give me a call and we can go check it out. Or, heck, anytime. They have a ton of flavors, and I'd be up for the challenge of trying them all.

Then we went to a tiny Belgian Bakery called Hendrickx on Walton street. It was so small I would have walked right past it if it wasn't for the tour. It had a bright orange door with a knob in the center. In the kitchen we tried some of their signature breads. The croissant was unbelievably fluffy, as it should be considering the 17 hours it takes to create. There was also chocolate bread, and an almond/white chocolate bread. They have "real" Beligan waffles, which is another reason for me to return. I love the small, homemade feel of this shop. Their "regular" bread is made with only four ingredients by hand. I can only imagine how tasty that will be when I pick up a loaf for grilled cheese or french toast.

Just down the way is Sarah's Pastries and Candies. For braving the cold, the owner of the tour company who met us there, sprung for hot chocolates to go along with the haystack-like tasty treat we got to sample. Everyone who makes haystacks should include pistachios. This small shop, in addition to having fabulous hot cocoa, also has the talent it takes to win Extreme Challenge on the Food Network. They won the dinosaur challenge that I was lucky enough to catch on repeat just the other day. The head and tail on this realistic dinosaur were motorized creating an awesome extreme element. You can check out a clip on their website, or if your lucky, Food Network will replay it again.

Last on the list was Argo Tea. I didn't realize that this tea shop started in Chicago. After working at a different tea shop, I knew how awesome chocolate could work with tea. Argo has a bunch of options for chocolate lovers on a diet, because the teas are usually low fat or fat free. Lucky for me, there is an Argo down the block from my house and I can start trying more of their teas. It's too bad that their chai, my favorite type of tea, is caffeine free. Maybe I can find something just as good with the same boost I get from my chai.

After this tour, the next weekend, I would be able to become tour guide for some of my favorite people who came to visit. That weekend I had five people sleeping in my studio apartment like a good ole' fashion sleep over. Only one of them got in town early enough Friday to see anything, and since the sleet was still in full force, we didn't get to "see" much. We went to check out the mini model of the city at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the Tiffany at the Chicago Cultural Center and had cappuccinos at Chicago's best coffee place - Intellegentsia - before making our way back up to my neighborhood for Cesar's Mexican cuisine. After dinner, where I had my first raspberry margarita made with real berries, we stopped at Friar Tucks - a bar I have been meaning to check out since I moved to the neighborhood. It's a decent bar, especially if you're looking for a neighborhood place with fun themes like crazy hat night.

Saturday was more Chicago "must-sees." We had lunch at the Signature Room and the fog cleared just enough for Andrew to give the visitors a walking tour from 95 stories above the city. I love the Signature Room because for about the cost of the observation deck you can get the view and lunch, with a touch of class. Then we became art critics at the Art Institute's newly reopened modern wing. Of course there was more to it than the modern wing, including the Ferris Bueller moment at the Seurat and American Gothic. I bailed to go take care of pips during the gratuitous bean picture taking, but made it in time for the Tiffany ceiling in Marshall Fields and a drink just before last call at the Walnut Room. I am always amazed at how early places close downtown. It was last call at like 6:45. But we did get to pretend to be fancy with our wine and cheese course before moving on to dinner. Classic deep dish pizza at Lou Malnatti's. They were able to accommodate both the gluten free visitor and my vegetarianism. I think the awesomeness of deep dish was a little sullied by the kitchen mix up, but hopefully they got the feel for why Chicago pizza is the best. My favorite is still Giordano's, but they don't offer the gluten free crust, which is essentially a meat patty.

There ended the "real" Chicago tour, the rest of the night was spent with college-style games and blow up mattresses taking over my studio apartment. I can't wait for more people to visit. Consider this an open invitation!