It got the point though that Chris and I needed a break from the daily grind. So, we picked a weekend and decided to do touristy things in the city. We had some tickets for a chocolate tour so I booked that for Saturday afternoon. We also had some gift cards to the Chopping Block so we booked a class at the Lincoln Square location for Friday night. The rest of the weekend just kind of fell into place even if Mother Nature didn't get the message that it is the middle of April, not the middle of February.
Friday night we took the Date Night Greek Taverna at the Chopping Block. This is the first hands on class we have taken there. I will be posting the recipes from this class soon. What we made was amazing.
That's the main dish; Lemon Grilled Chicken and Orzo Salad. The chicken was marinated with garlic, fresh herbs and lemon juice. The orzo salad had sun dried tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese. We also made Shrimp Santorini and a cake made with orange rind and Greek yogurt. Chris liked it even if it wasn't chocolate.
Saturday morning we woke up and had very gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made with English muffins. Seriously, it was just Skippy and some jelly on the English muffins and while they were tasty, they were fairly run of the mill.
Our chocolate tour was at 12:45pm so we had some time to kill once we found our way to 900 North Michigan Ave from the hotel. We found a little cafe called Oak Tree in the mall. They had about a dozen "Epicurean Cheese Sandwiches". You cannot go wrong with a cheese sandwich. The one I chose had cheddar and fontina cheese, asparagus, grilled spinach and ham on sourdough bread, cooked panini style. It was like spring, with cheese, on bread! The asparagus was light sauteed so it still had crunch and the spinach was barely wilted so it wasn't slimy. The cheeses complimented the ham and veggies beautifully. It was quite possibly the best cheese sandwich I have had! Chris had a turkey rueben that had a Thousand Island dressing that was to die for and a great dipping sauce for the fresh cut fries that came with our sandwiches. It was a whole new taste sensation!
After lunch we met up with the chocolate tour which took us on a walking tour of Chicago's Gold Coast. If you ever want a great place to people watch, come to the Gold Coast. You'll know what I mean in about 8 seconds. We started at a Swiss chocolate shop in 900 North Michigan. They are famous for Champagne truffles with are made with fine Swiss chocolate and Dom Perignon. Do I need to say anything further??
Our next stop was More Cupcakes which is this dinky shop that you can squeeze about 3965840 cupcake lovers into. We sampled these lovely mini chocolate chocolate cupcakes and I could have eaten 20 of them.
It was starting to mist and get really cold when we walked over to Hendrickx Belgian Bread Crafters. Inside it was warm and we just about melted like fine Belgian chocolate as we watched the demo inside the bakery's kitchen. Watching the baker work croissant dough to create the hundreds of layers found in a properly made croissant. Spending time in this bakery took me back to the days I worked in a bakery for my first job. If you're ever in Brussels, ask for a liege waffle from a street vendor. They're not made with chocolate but you won't be disappointed.
The rain was becoming steadier as we made our way to Sarah's Pastries and Candies on Oak Street. It is a tiny shop where candies are made by hand. They have clusters of nuts that are covered with dark, milk or white chocolate. They also have large squares of chocolate covered peanut butter with crispy rice. They are SO RICH!
Our last stop (and by now it was pouring and some precip was slushy) was Argo which is a tea shop. They make several tea drinks that have chocolate in them including an iced chai tea with chocolate. I am not a huge chai fan but add a little chocolate and it is delish! Before venturing out into the gale and pelting rain/sleet mixture, Chris and I ordered hot tea drinks...Chris got a mocha and I got a chocolate mint. I am not sure how people drink hot drinks from the Argo's and Starbucks of the world. Half the world must walk through life with scalded tongues! My hot tea with chocolate and mint was finally cool enough for me to drink after a brisk walk of about 5 blocks in the pouring rain!
Chris and I had originally planned to have dinner at a little Italian place known for tapas type dishes. However after walking more than a mile in the rain and sleet we decided to stay a little closer to the hotel. Lucky for us, Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse was across the street. I had a chicken breast stuffed with smoked mozzarella, prosciutto and red peppers. Chris had chicken Parmesan which is outstanding. We also grabbed a piece of key lime pie to go to accompany the bottle of wine we had chilling at the hotel. The key lime pie at Harry Caray's is one of the best I have had.
This morning we decided to skip the free breakfast buffet at the hotel and we walked over to Meli Juice Bar and Cafe. I found it online and was amazed at all of the choices. If you are an eggs Benedict lover, they make it no fewer than 6 different ways. They have omelets, frittatas, crepes, French toast, and pancakes. If you like breakfast, you're going to have to visit this place more than once so that you can try many different things. I chose an omelet with sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese, shallots and pancetta. It was served with red potatoes and I chose rye toast. Chris had a skillet that included onions, peppers, potatoes, and andouille sausage with fried eggs on top. He opted not to have the mushrooms. The more things I try with goat cheese, the more I realize the goat cheese belongs everywhere!
We finished the weekend with a tiny corned beef I cooked in the crockpot this afternoon and sliced for sandwiches and I whipped up a batch of Santa Fe stew for tomorrow's supper.
So, on a weekend where Chris and I didn't leave our hometown, we travelled round the world using our taste buds.
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