Recent Foodie Finds

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Mine was one of those rare fall weekends in which I didn't have to spend a ton of time grading; rather, it contained the perfect balance of fun girl time (which included my first visit to the Tortoise Club, a little retail therapy, a few too many of the yummy raspberry mojitos at Biaggi's), and quality time with Mario and our DVR (current TV obsessions: the final seasons of Downton Abbey & Top Model and Ladies of London)

I have to say I was a bit shocked when I checked my calendar last night and realized that this coming weekend is the end of October - what happened to my favorite month?! I swear we were just celebrating my birthday (near the beginning of the month) only a week or so ago. Along with realizing that we're about to crash right into holiday season craziness very soon, I also realized that I hadn't done a round-up of restaurant visits/events in months. I guess between grading stacks of essays (we're right in the middle of the busiest part of the semester) and gallivanting through the city, I've neglected to actually write about my adventures. Then again, it is quite hard to type when you're busy using your hands to shovel delicious food into your mouth. ;-)

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

Cookie Fries from The Cookie Joint. Really, how freaking cute are these cookie fries and dipping sauces?! Besides being completely adorable, they're also delicious - I particularly love the confetti cookies with marshmallow dipping sauce.

Chicago Gourmet 2015

Chicago Gourmet: we came, we saw, we conquered ate ourselves into a food coma. The eighth annual festival (aka the biggest and most spectacular culinary event of the year) took place in Millennium Park the last weekend of September, and for the third year in a row, Diana and I were lucky to join 13,000 of our closest foodie friends for a trip to culinary heaven!

As per usual, the day was filled with endless food and drink samples, seminars, cooking demos, and book signings that included over 200 chefs and 190 restaurants. While the weather was slightly uncooperative for a good chunk of the day, we still managed to have a fantastic time... I mean really, how can you not have a good time when you're surrounded by some of the best chefs in the industry, delicious food, and gallons of wine?!

Chicago Eats: Butcher & the Burger

While Chicago may be mostly known as a hot dog city, it's actually saturated with just as many awesome burger offerings. As you already know by now, I love a good burger and have made it my personal mission to discover the best of the best in the city. During my quest thus far, I found one of the most well-known and lauded burger joints to be quite a fat disappointment (although I am willing to give it another chance), while some of the smaller, most off-the-radar places have ended up being my favorites. 

After months of drooling over their burger pics on Instagram, Diana and I finally made our way over to Lincoln Park on a sunny Saturday morning to check out the most recent addition to my must-try burger list, Butcher & the Burger. Based on some solid recommendations, I went in with high hopes for a really good burger... what I didn't expect was to discover my new burger nirvana. As I mentioned on Instagram shortly after our visit, not only can I honestly say my burger was one of the best I've had all year, but also, it was so delicious that it has firmly earned a spot on my top 10 burgers in the entire city! 

Open wide!