Well hello friends! How’s it going? I hope things are great or at least mildly bearable over by you! I have big news: I finally… got vaccinated! If you’ve been reading my blog since the beginning of the year, you’ll know that getting the vaccine was one of my goals for 2021. I’m super excited to have received it so early in the year! With a vaccine, I feel far more comfortable being around people and, most importantly, eating out in restaurants.
Therefore, I’ve been out and about more frequently this month, and got the chance to try a few restaurants in the city. Here’s a roundup of some of the best things I ate!
Quesabirria at Crio
Okay, let’s start with the quesabirria because honestly, it was probably the most exciting thing I ate this month. I know there’s currently a birria tacos craze in Chicago, but I had yet to try anything birria related (if you’ve been living under a rock, birria is a traditional mexican stew). Let me just say. Oh. My. God. The quesabirria at Crio is exactly what you think it is: a fried quesadilla full of melted cheese, with beef birria in it, dipped in birria stew. Talk about an explosion of flavor!
The King Crab Bisque at Gibson’s Italia
I had an amazing dinner with my boyfriend David at Gibson’s Italia. David and I do this thing where we go on date night every other weekend; yes we’re cute, but most importantly we love to eat gooooood. Hence, date night at Gibson’s Italia. I had an amazing filet mignon with truffle butter, and it was delicious, but you kind of expect a filet to be delicious when you walk into any kind of Gibson’s. What shocked me and utterly impressed me was how incredible the King Crab Bisque was. I can’t believe I almost didn’t get it! It changed my life: so rich, so flavorful, so tasty! So here is my PSA: if you go to Gibson’s Italia, order the bisque. It’s only $12, aka less than a drink. Do it and thank me later.
Here’s the bisque, plus my filet mignon and the incredible banana dessert that they gifted us!
Prosciutto Sugli Occhi Pizza at Pizza Nostra Chicago
David and I were invited to try a new pizzeria in Lincoln Park, Pizza Nostra Chicago. You know I’m so excited when I get to try any new Italian food in the city, so we headed there, ordered a basket of calamari (fried to perfection), two pizzas (the Prosciutto Sugli Occhi and the Mob Express), and a Nutella Pizza. Everything was so tasty! The pizzas were Neapolitan style, cooked in the coolest oven I’ve ever seen. Prosciutto Sugli Occhi truly tasted just like a pizza I’d eat in Italy, and that is hard to replicate here. Only a few Chicago pizzerias, in my opinion, can truly say that about their craft. The owner Carlo, half Italian but born in Venezuela, was so kind and let me bother him all night long while I took videos of him making our pizzas. I’m telling you: come to Pizza Nostra, and come hungry!
Nutella Crêpe at The Crêpe Shop
I’m such a Nutella fan. I don’t care for chocolate, but love Nutella, god knows why. Even more than I like Nutella, I like a well done Nutella crêpe: thin, soft, filled with the goodies. That is exactly what I found at The Crêpe Shop – plus the most aesthetic decor ever witnessed in Lakeview. And to be honest, I can’t believe it took me almost nine years of living in Chicago before coming here. Because yes, I can totally make myself a Nutella crêpe at home, but isn’t food so much better when someone else makes it for you?
Iced Matcha at Three House
Three House is a new spot in West Town, and they make a great iced matcha. Will I get one every time I’m by there? Yes, most likely. Although the restaurant itself (part restaurant, part cafe, part hangout spot) makes me feel totally uncool. They’ve got cool interior design, cool music, cool merch, cool people working there. Oh, and the food is great. Their burger is actually on the Best New Burger list by Infatuation. See what I mean by “I’m not cool enough”?
Concha Ice Cream at Panaderia Nuevo Leon
I have to thank my friend Katia for this one: who knew Concha Ice Cream even existed?! I certainly didn’t until a couple of weeks ago. Panaderia Nuevo Leon in Pilsen has several flavors of concha ice cream: I got the Gloria, but to be honest they ALL look delicious so you really can’t go wrong with any of them. But ice cream sandwiches are only a small part of what this place has to offer. They’re also a bakery, so their shelves are full of good stuff to take home. I had not heard of them before going, but they are so worth a visit! I, for one, am definitely going back as soon as I can!
Hope you enjoyed this restaurants roundup! Here’s the remaining restaurants I’ve been to in April: let me know if you have questions regarding food or safety at any of them! Otherwise, see you in my next post!
The April restaurants list: Nella Pizza e Pasta, Old Pueblo Cantina, Margie’s Candies, Cafe Baba-Reeba, Culver’s, Tuco and Blondie, Black & Caspian.