A Taste of Chicago: Waffles

I always thought I would feel old once I turned 25. Turns out, it’s the same as turning 18, 21, etc just a little less awkward. Maybe it’s just me, but I love getting older. Unfortunately, the older I get, the more I notice that I’m still just a kid. When we went to brunch at Waffles, I got over-excited when I saw chalk and the ability to draw on the tables. Overall the food was pretty good, surprisingly the waffles weren’t the best but the short rib sandwich was delicious!

Waffles menu:

The table with my art (if you look closely you can see me and the fiance, a lolla stage, and fireworks):

Fresh juice machine:

The bestie’s bf got the Chilaquiles:

The fiance went with WAFFLES (the sampler which includes from left to right – Mexican Chocolate, Green Tea, Red Velvet, and Liege). The green tea waffle was my favorite while the fiance preferred the liege:

The bestie chose Chipped Beef Hash and Eggs:

And finally mine (and the best) was the Short Rib Sandwich. I love short rib and adding in picked cauliflower was amazing:

If you’re ever in the are and seeing a fun brunch spot be sure to check it out! Be prepared to act like a kid and if you’re like me, go around stealing chalk from random tables to get one of each color.

A Glimpse of Chicago: Lolla

With the new job, posts clearly aren’t coming up as frequently as they used to. A few weeks ago I was able to go back home and have an amazing time at Lollapalooza. I remember back in High School when this festival was not nearly as big or well-known. Regardless it was the best time and next year we’re planning to buy our tickets more in advance so that we can grab 3 day passes. It’s really one of those “you had to be there” 10 hour events, but I tried to capture the day when I remembered to take pictures.

Lolla sign:

Me with the bestie:

One of the stages:

Atlas Genius:

Lolla balloon:

Waiting for Imagine Dragons:

Bacon sausage (amazing!):

Queens of the Stone Age:

Waiting for the Killers:

The Killers:

A Fiance’s Bday: Board Game Party

**Disclaimer: My fiance and his friends are the ultimate nerds. I love this because they’re super nice, funny, and they embrace being “lame” because we end up having fun. Board game birthday party was definitely one of these cases**
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Like most girls, I love birthdays. Unlike most girls, I have a fiance who loves to celebrate my birthday. This includes an annual incredible dinner at a Michelin restaurant, flowers, presents, a birthday party and a full “everything I want” week. Needless to say, a mix of that and valentine’s/anniversary week which comes 2 weeks later, makes me want to do something special back by the time the fiance’s bday rolls around.

We chose to go to Disney World and had an amazing time acting like kids and skipping the whole getting drunk/birthday party. The goal is to start celebrating birthdays with less drinking and more traveling. We kind of failed because when we got back his friends really wanted to celebrate together so we decided on a themed-party. This happened during my last 2 weeks of my old job so my original intention of printing out one Happy Birthday banner from pinterest quickly turned into creating DIY decorations. (If I had access to photoshop all of these would’ve come out much nicer, but all I had was paint)

I started off with the intention to print out some Happy Birthday banners. After printing 2 that I found on pinterest (not pictured) I decided to create a giant one by myself customized with board games.

Close-up of the banner:

It then snowballed into cup/beer labels so people could keep track of their drinks with Monopoly pieces (original and Nintendo version – see nerd disclaimer):

And then I found a template for party hats, so that turned into creating these (risk because it’s the fiance’s favorite game):

Of course my failed wine glass decorations (failed because we decided everyone should drink from classy red solo cups) were re-purposed into donation holder:

Finally, “rules” for the party. Mostly because like the fiance, I’m super cheesy:

A Taste of NYC: Boulud Sud

I recently got a new job so I’m in that 2 weeks notice period. This means finishing up projects, wasting time at work, and trying to use up all of my PTO. Since the sister also has PTO to spare we decided to take a day off together to enjoy some fancy lunch, relaxing, and shopping. For lunch we decided to go to a great Mediterranean place, Boulud Sud for the prix fixe. The appetizers and entrees were delicious, but the dessert wasn’t the best.

I started with the Selection of Bielles Cured Meats including Housemade Pickles and Grilled Ciabatta.

Followed by one of my favorite foods: scallops. To be more precise, it was the Maine Diver Sea Scallops with Artichoke, Celery, and Arugula Salad. The scallops were perfect and it was so nice to have a refreshing summer salad.

I finished off with the Chocolate-Lime Entremet with Lime Crémeux and Cocoa Sorbet. I have to admit that the Cocoa Sorbet was excellent.

The sister began with the Mediterranean Mezze with Herb Falafel, Spring Pea Hummus, Babaganoush, and Lavash. The best part were the Herb Falafels.

Next for her was the Tuscan Style Bavette Steak with Broccoli Rabe and Crushed Potatoes. It was good steak, but not the best I’ve had. I did love the crushed potatoes and plan to try to make it one day.

She finished off with the Housemade Crèmes Glacées with features the chef’s daily ice cream selections: Cacao, Grapefruit, and Mango. The grapefruit was the most surprising flavor because it was just sweet, with no sour grapefruit taste. Like my dessert, my favorite part was the Cacao Ice Cream (I’m a sucker for chocolate).

The parents (and doggie) are coming to town soon so that should mean a lot of yummy meals and posts!

A Taste of NYC: Ootoya

I love Japanese food. This post is about one of my favorite spots in the city: Ootoya. There’s always a small wait but it’s one of the few places that is consistently delicious and never overrated. For some reason figuring out if they take reservations is confusing so we generally just go in for lunch. It’s a shorter wait and their lunch specials are pretty great.

The cousin ordered the Hokke Yuan.

The sister chose the Saba.

And I went with the mini-salmon don with mini-soba. It was everything I was craving, fresh sushi and refreshing noodles. All three also come with an egg custard which is surprisingly addictive.

This place is a personal favorite that everyone should try. Just please don’t spread the word too much, I’d hate to stop going because of a horribly long wait like Totto Ramen!

A Taste of NYC: Lady M

I’ve mentioned my new obsession with Mille Crêpe Cakes here and the best place to go in the city is Lady M. If I had the budget I would either have a slice everyday or just eat a full cake in one sitting. It costs $8 for a slice of cake or $80 for a full cake. Pricey, but really worth it.

The cakes on display. We ended up getting the mille crêpe to-go so I didn’t manage to snap a picture. But the other cakes we ordered at the bakery were photographed and delicious.

The strawberry shortcake was light and fluffy. The frosting was amazing and not too sweet.

The cheesecake was also great. But not my favorite.

The mille feuille is like a crispy version of the mille crêpe.

I can’t wait until I can go back for some more cake, but I need to my next paycheck!

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A Taste of NYC: Momofoku Milk Bar

I’m sure by now everyone knows about Momofoku Milk Bar but after a recent visit I felt like a post was necessary. Most people love and live by Momofoku but I have to say that I think it’s overrated. At the milk bar I had same feeling that I had when I went to Momofoku Noodle Bar for some ramen. Definitely good food, but not the best that I’ve had.

The interior.

We opted to try the crack pie (love the packaging). This pie has been featured almost everywhere and I’ve heard about it a million times. It was great pie but sweeter and more dense than I prefer. I only had a few bites.

We also got the cereal milk soft serve with flakes. At first I hated it but it quickly became addictive. It really tasted like cereal and milk together. The best part was the end when the milk cereal melted a little bit into the flakes.

If I end up near Momofoku Milk Bar I’ll probably stop in for a cereal milk soft serve but it won’t be a place that I’ll be seeking out.

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A Glimpse Of NYC: Chaos to Couture

Taking a little break from food to blog about fashion. When the cousin visited we went to the Met which is full of culture and opted to only visit the fashion exhibit going on.

View of the entrance.

We decided to check out the Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibit. It was similar to the Alexander McQueen exhibit they had earlier (I may provide a post on this eventually). As always it was a no photography exhibit. And since I’m horrible at listening to the rules, I took plenty of pictures.

Although I could never pull it off, I love this leather jacket.

The white dress was breathtaking. Wedding dress please?

Beautiful dress.

Amazing how you can barely tell it’s made with plastic bags.

One of my favorite dresses from the Alexander McQueen exhibit. I was ecstatic to see it again.

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A Taste of NYC: Hillstone

Hillstone has quickly become a staple restaurant that me and my sister love. I always get the Hawaiian Ribeye and she gets the French Dip. We usually split it but this time we chose some extra food since we were with the cousin and fiance too.

The atmosphere is nice but a little stuffy. But the food is amazing!

The spinach and artichoke dip. It’s always creamy and delicious.

My favorite: Hawaiian Ribeye (the best marinade ever) and loaded baked potato.

The fiance’s choice: ribs with fries. The ribs were literally falling off the bone.

The cousin’s choice: Thai salad which was really yummy but not made to be healthy.

The sister’s choice: french dip. I love horse radish so it is always a treat when she orders this.

If you’re in the area be sure to check it out. There’s also Houston’s which is essentially the same menu but with a different name so they can avoid listing the calories in NYC.

A Taste of NYC: Ayza

I normally don’t like sweet drinks, but this is one place where I recommend almost every chocolate martini. Ayza is a great wine and chocolate bar near ktown. The service is horrible, but if you’re willing to go tell your waiter to come do their job it’s definitely worth experiencing. The chocolate martinis also come with a nice chocolate from Jacques Torres.

The mint chocolate martini was delicious with a light kick.

I would recommend the raspberry chocolate martini for those who don’t want to really get drunk. You can’t taste the alcohol, just a yummy chocolate drink.

As always, food was involved. It wasn’t the best but everything tastes great when drinking.

The fondue.

Newest obsession: mille crepes. This one is the Twenty-Layer Crêpes Cake Brûlée.