Baconfest Chicago
Baconfest Chicago finished its seventh year with a sold out weekend. Over 4,500 people and 170 of Chicago's top chefs joined together at UIC Forum for three sessions of delectable bacon-inspired cocktails, craft beer and unlimited bacon treats. Baconfest Chicago also presented $75,000 to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. It was my first year attending the pork fest and it will certainly not be my last! I highly recommend this event for the pork lover in your life.
Here are my three favorite tastes from the Saturday evening session I attended:
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| Davanti Enoteca's Chocolate Bacon Bar |
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| Three Aces' Bacon Falafel |
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| Francesca's Restaurants' Budino |
Fahlstrom's Fresh Fish Market
1258 W. Belmont Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
I finally got a chance to checkout the seafood mecca that is Fahlstrom's Fresh Fish Market. Fellow foodie Emily from Wein and Dine joined me in our Lakeview 'hood for some fresh shellfish and seafood. The restaurant was opened by Glenn Fahlstrom of Glenn's Diner, and there are a few similarities including the cereal wall, and the wide assortment of fresh fish available. We tried an Australian Baramundi lightly blackened with garlic herb butter.
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| Australian Baramundi |
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| Seafood Bisque |
Fahlstrom's is also home of the "crabster," which is essentially a lobster roll, but with Alaskan king crab. It's topped with slaw and served in a warm, buttered and toasted roll. Yup, it was as good as it sounds!
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| The Crabster |
Miss Ricky's
virginhotel.com/dine-and-drink/miss-rickys
Located inside Virgin Hotel Chicago
203 N. Wabash
Chicago, IL 60601
Have you heard about the new Virgin Hotel Chicago? It's Virgin's first hotel and is located inside a former bank building. The swanky Loop hotel has quite the food offerings. The modern American diner, Miss Ricky's, serves some truly decadent dishes, including hot crab and shrimp dip, chicken and waffles with an incredible sriracha honey sauce, and one of the most striking desserts in Chicago, a chocolate cake with an edible knife. Yes. The knife is EDIBLE. And filled with caramel!
virginhotel.com/dine-and-drink/miss-rickys
Located inside Virgin Hotel Chicago
203 N. Wabash
Chicago, IL 60601
Have you heard about the new Virgin Hotel Chicago? It's Virgin's first hotel and is located inside a former bank building. The swanky Loop hotel has quite the food offerings. The modern American diner, Miss Ricky's, serves some truly decadent dishes, including hot crab and shrimp dip, chicken and waffles with an incredible sriracha honey sauce, and one of the most striking desserts in Chicago, a chocolate cake with an edible knife. Yes. The knife is EDIBLE. And filled with caramel!
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| Hot Crab and Shrimp Dip |
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| Chicken and Waffles |
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| Death By Chocolate Cake |
Virgin's other dining options include a rooftop bar opening this spring, Commons Club, a social club serving breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner, as well as cocktails, and Two Zero Three, a lobby coffee bar that turns into a wine bar at night!
Crosby's Kitchen
3455 N. Southport Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
While I don't recommend going to the Southport Corridor's Crosby's Kitchen if you don't like children (there are children everywhere), I do recommend it if you like chunks of sweet dough covered in cinnamon, sugar, and cream cheese frosting AKA monkey bread. It's a real treat!
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| Monkey Bread |
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
www.dinosaurbarbq.com
923 W. Weed St.
Chicago, IL 60642
One of the biggest openings in Chicago's food scene was Dinosaur Bar-B-Que which opened last week in Lincoln Park. The Chicago outpost is Dinosaur's ninth location and its first outside of the northeast (others are located in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland). The menu features classic dishes like BBQ chicken wings, pork shoulder and beef brisket, but there are also a few menu items that have been crafted just for Chicago. These include pork 3-way with pork belly, hot link sausage and St. Louis ribs, as well as jerk lamb shoulder sliders and BBQ pork belly sliders. There's also fermented slaw which is INCREDIBLE. It beats all other slaw since the beginning of time. I predict I'll be spending a lot of time at Dinosaur, especially with their delicious BBQ, 20 beers on tap, and upcoming live music.
Goddess & The Baker
www.goddessandgrocer.com
33 S. Wabash and 600 E. Grand (at Navy Pier)
Chicago, IL
If you love Goddess and Grocer, you're going to absolutely love Goddess and The Baker! The new fast-casual concept opened this week in the Loop at 33 S. Wabash, and will soon open at Navy Pier. I had a chance to check it out and it was the perfect way to start my day! Both locations focus on craft coffee, fresh baked goods, and meal options to go. The Loop store is beautifully designed--look at their awesome sign (which made a yoga-like appearance in my coffee!).
Hubbard Inn
www.hubbardinn.com
110 W. Hubbard St.
Chicago, IL 60654
Another favorite oyster spot of mine is Hugo's Frog Bar in the Gold Coast. They've recently unveiled a new, state-of-the-art oyster bar with white marble, LED lights, personal USB and charging stations, and five new East and West coast oyster varieties. While there's no happy hour, it's still a fabulous spot to enjoy the very best in fresh oysters, as well as seafood such as king crab, lobster, and shrimp, all flown in fresh daily.
Hugo's Frog Bar & Fish House
www.hugosfrog.com
1024 N. Rush St.
Chicago, IL 60611
www.dinosaurbarbq.com
923 W. Weed St.
Chicago, IL 60642
One of the biggest openings in Chicago's food scene was Dinosaur Bar-B-Que which opened last week in Lincoln Park. The Chicago outpost is Dinosaur's ninth location and its first outside of the northeast (others are located in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland). The menu features classic dishes like BBQ chicken wings, pork shoulder and beef brisket, but there are also a few menu items that have been crafted just for Chicago. These include pork 3-way with pork belly, hot link sausage and St. Louis ribs, as well as jerk lamb shoulder sliders and BBQ pork belly sliders. There's also fermented slaw which is INCREDIBLE. It beats all other slaw since the beginning of time. I predict I'll be spending a lot of time at Dinosaur, especially with their delicious BBQ, 20 beers on tap, and upcoming live music.
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| Dinosaur Bar-B-Que |
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| Dinosaur Bar-B-Que |
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| Dinosaur Bar-B-Que |
www.goddessandgrocer.com
33 S. Wabash and 600 E. Grand (at Navy Pier)
Chicago, IL
If you love Goddess and Grocer, you're going to absolutely love Goddess and The Baker! The new fast-casual concept opened this week in the Loop at 33 S. Wabash, and will soon open at Navy Pier. I had a chance to check it out and it was the perfect way to start my day! Both locations focus on craft coffee, fresh baked goods, and meal options to go. The Loop store is beautifully designed--look at their awesome sign (which made a yoga-like appearance in my coffee!).
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| Goddess & The Baker |
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Goddess & The Baker
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| Goddess & The Baker |
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| Goddess & The Baker |
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| Goddess & The Baker |
Oysters and Seafood Happy Hours
Lately I've been on a seafood kick, especially when it comes to oysters. I love a good dozen oysters, especially if they're on special. Eater and Time Out Chicago recently ran blog posts on where to find $1 oysters in Chicago. I've been to several of their recommended oyster happy hour spots including The Franklin Room and Devon Seafood Grill, but I wanted to check out Hubbard Inn's happy hour.
Every Tuesday-Friday from 4-7pm, Hubbard Inn offers $1 oysters, $2 shrimp, crab legs, lobster, or scallop crudo. It's a fantastic deal (I may have gone overboard!) Hubbard Inn also offers a great brunch which I've reviewed on The Ghost Guest!
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| Seafood Happy Hour at Hubbard Inn |
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| Seafood Happy Hour at Hubbard Inn |
www.hubbardinn.com
110 W. Hubbard St.
Chicago, IL 60654
Another favorite oyster spot of mine is Hugo's Frog Bar in the Gold Coast. They've recently unveiled a new, state-of-the-art oyster bar with white marble, LED lights, personal USB and charging stations, and five new East and West coast oyster varieties. While there's no happy hour, it's still a fabulous spot to enjoy the very best in fresh oysters, as well as seafood such as king crab, lobster, and shrimp, all flown in fresh daily.
.jpg "Oysters at Hugo's Frog Bar") |
| Oysters at Hugo's Frog Bar |
www.hugosfrog.com
1024 N. Rush St.
Chicago, IL 60611
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