Unconventional Food in Chicago

On January 3, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Chicago, Recipes4 Comments

We have been to Chicago several times and have eaten traditional foods such as deep dish pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs, and Italian beef hoagies. During our most recent trip, the temperatures averaged below 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-12 degrees Celsius) with wind chill temperatures that were between -15 and -25 degrees Fahrenheit (-26 and -32 degrees Celsius). With temperatures that cold, it was hard not to just have soup to keep us warm, which we did a few times. We had a variety of food from Italian, American, and even Irish. We did have a pizza, but we not big fans of deep dish pizzas, so we chose a thin crust pizza.

Frozen River from the Michigan Street Bridge

Curry Deviled Eggs with Pickled Radish and Caviar

Of the things that we ate, some of our favorites were a seafood pasta with black linguini as well as homemade ravioli. One of our favorite restaurants to visit when we go to Chicago is Ditka’s, which is a traditional steakhouse, but we tend to eat lighter meals when we go there. We actually visited twice and did have a steak, but we also had oyster shooters and then later had a crab bisque, filet mignon sliders, as well as a delicious raspberry cheesecake.

We always try to find an Irish Pub during our travels and Chicago is certainly a great place to find one. We ended up going to the Emerald Loop, also a couple of times, and had a wonderful Irish breakfast, corned beef sandwich, and a seafood curry, which they considered to be an Irish dish. You may wonder why we went to the same places more than once during our visit and the answer is quite simple, it was too cold to walk around and go exploring and the Emerald Loop was less than a five minute walk away and we went to Ditka’s for dinner and then later for afternoon snacks.

Overall, our visit to Chicago was wonderful as always, despite the frigid temperatures. We look forward to our next visit to Chicago, although it will likely be during a warmer season. Chicago has such a wonderful variety of food and it is definitely a place where you can find things to eat that will suit any palate.

Lighting the Way

On November 13, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge3 Comments

Lighthouses can be quite unique and beautiful throughout the world. Obviously, they serve and important function, keeping ships from coming perilously close to shore, but they are fascinating in their own way. We have seen lighthouses in Iceland, Morocco, and Chicago and the surroundings of each couldn’t have been more different. Last week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge is two-syllable words that start with the letter L, so we are sharing some of the interesting lighthouses that we have seen.

Lighthouse on the Northern Coast of Africa in Morocco

Chicago-Style Hot Dogs

On July 26, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Chicago, Recipes11 Comments

We love visiting Chicago, it is one of our favorite cities in the United States. For a bigger city, people are friendly and it is easy to get around, at least the downtown loop area. Obviously, there are parts of Chicago that should be avoided and there is plenty of news about the violence in South Chicago, but as long as you are smart about where you go, as with any city, you will enjoy your time there. Having a Chicago-Style hot dog is definitely a must when you visit, whether at one of the hot dog specific restaurants or from our choice, a street vendor. We decided to try and replicate the Chicago-Style hot dog and we think that it turned out very well. We couldn’t get poppy seed buns or find the sport peppers, but that didn’t harm the taste, they were still delicious. We don’t usually boil hot dogs when we have them, but we did in this case to keep them as authentic as possible. Don’t even think about using ketchup, you won’t even find it available when you are in Chicago. Hopefully you enjoy them as well.

Ingredients

4 All-Beef Hot Dogs
4 Hot Dog Buns
4 tbsp Sweet Pickle Relish
1/4 Yellow Onion – finely chopped
1/2 Tomato – cut into wedges
1 Kosher Dill Pickle – cut into wedges
4 to 8 Hot Chile Peppers
Yellow Mustard
Celery Salt

Instructions

Boil or steam the hot dogs until heated all of the way through. Place the hot dogs into warmed hot dogs buns and then add the mustard, one tablespoon of pickle relish, onion, tomato, pickle spear, hot peppers, and a dash of celery salt. Be sure to tuck the tomato and pickle wedges next to the hot dog.