Recent Foodie Finds

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. After hibernating for the much of last two weekends, thanks to a combination of ridiculously cold weather and general grumpiness, I went all out over the last few days. I kicked it off on Thursday evening with a soft opening at Miss Ricky's with Diana and then spent Friday afternoon leisurely lunching with Ashley at Commonwealth Tavern. I followed that up on Saturday with a foodie/girls day with Diana that included a class at The Chopping Block, our first visit to Calumet Fisheries (complete with a fun/stinky tour of the smokehouse), and an Italian ice tasting at the wonderful Jodi's Italian Ice Factory in Hammond. After a weekend of almost nonstop foodie activity, I was happy to spend Sunday at home with Mario, noshing on our newly procured pepper & garlic smoked salmon and Swedish Fish Italian ice. :-)

Here are a few of my recent foodie highlights (follow me on Instagram for even more!)...

Nutella Cheese Stick Pastries from Franco’s Cucina in Streamwood. Their special twentieth-anniversary pastry sticks are stuffed to the brim with Nutella and are perfectly fresh & flaky (you know it's a good cheese stick when you're covered in little flakes of puff pastry at the end of your meal). I also sampled the raspberry and cinnamon sticks, which were just as delicious as the Nutella. If you find yourself in the 'burbs, a stop at Franco's Cucina is a must!

Chocolate Cupcake from Magnolia Bakery, decorated by Diana. Magnolia is now offering classes and Diana snagged a seat at a recent cupcake icing class - knowing how much I love glitter, she turned one of her cupcakes into a sparkly glitter bomb for me. Yay! Not only was it beautiful, but it was also delicious (as all things Magnolia tend to be).

Gyro Sandwich from Cross-Rhodes in Evanston. Mario and I have been visiting this Greek-American diner since shortly after we met (15 years ago!), so our love of this place is partially due to the nostalgia factor. The pitas are always perfectly toasted, the gyro meat is tender & juicy, and the Tzatziki is always plentiful.

Bacon, Egg & Potato Pizza with chimichurri from Ranalli's Lincoln Park (part of Chicago Food Authority's pizza party). Thick cut bacon, salty, potatoes, runny eggs... does is get any better?! While I have to admit I tend to prefer a slightly thinner crust, I loved this delicious combination of toppings.

Apple Pie Pizza with cinnamon sugar, roasted apples, caramel, candied walnuts, and crème anglaise from Ranalli's LP. As I mentioned on Instagram, every good pizza party ends with the perfect slice of dessert pie. Apple pie is one of my all-time favorite desserts and I highly enjoyed it in pizza form.

Epic Burger Classic with cheddar, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, fried egg, and Epic sauce from Epic Burger. This was my first visit to Epic Burger and I have to say I loved it! I usually only eat red meat a few times per month - when I do indulge, I tend to crave a really good burger (and obviously, want the best for my money). Epic's emphasis is on quality ingredients and humanely raised & hormone-free beef, which definitely gives them a leg up over some other fast-food burger joints. If you go, make sure you request a side of Epic sauce (the perfect dipping sauce for fries) - it's dangerously addictive!

Fruit Loops Doughnut from Mariano's. Sugar upon sugar upon sugar... really, it's every six-year-old's doughnut fantasy. After about two bites, it became a tiny bit too sweet for my tastes (and I have a massive sweet tooth), but it made for a lovely photo. If you're a fan of Fruit Loops and candy-like icing, this was definitely made for you!

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brunch, burgers, Chicago, classes, cupcakes, desserts, donuts, pizza, restaurants, Starr, Suburbs