Chicago in Three

I have much to rave in regards to how wonderful Chicago is, but so this post doesn't go on forever, I am going to limit myself to three main points of interest.

1. Food

After leaving Glenn in Logan Square, I moved to the AAE Panthenon Hostel, which left much to be desired, but was located in the heart and blessed soul of Greektown. Which meant, food food food. You couldn't swing an olive branch without hitting something delicious. Greek restaurants, Greek cafes, Greek bakeries, Greek butchers, even Greek take-out. I ate so much souvlaki and baklava, I now outweigh my backpack.

And if I wasn't eating Greek, I was eating pizza - famous deep dish pizza which is so deep you could practically swim in the cheese layering. So deep, so cheesy, but so good. The AAE Panthenon, while located in Greektown, was also conveniently located around the corner from Giordano's - a Chicago pizza institution. And as I couldn't find anyone to share a pizza with me because my hostel was a wasteland, I ate one all to myself. Now, my backpack is carrying me.

Along with these, there were also other delictable discoveries. Ear Wax - the vegetarian cafe on Milwaukee St, Wicker Park that makes wicked falafel and gives you a big dump of hummus as a side. And Nookies Tree in Belmont, where not only did I get the best vegetarian burger, complete with cucumber and mango salsa, but the gay waiter (this being Belmont) said that he liked my polkadot pants and that I was styling.

By the way - the vegetarian cafe, the vegetarian burger - I know it might sound like I'm turning vegetarian, but it's only because I am suffering from the sheer lack of vegetables in my life. I am still a meat-eater, I swear.

2. BeveragesAnd if I wasn't eating Greek or pizza or the occassional vegetable, I was drinking coffee. That's right, for the first time in the four months I have been in America, I FINALLY found first-class expresso coffee at the cafe group, Intellegentsia. Sweet, expresso relief. And while they may not make a flat white, or know what a piccolo is, one of their baristas was crowned the world champ at the 2010 Barista World Championships. Although, I would still argue that Le Monde is better. But then again, I am biased.

And there was also the occassional drinking of alcoholic beverages at assorted hole-in-the-wall bars throughout Wicker park.

 

3. The Art

Okay, so I know I've crooned this repetitively like a rooster but the art in Chicago really is unlike anything else. There is so much to look at, so much that isn't hidden behind a frame and a barrier in a gallery. It's all out there on the street and in the people you pass and the hopeful buskers playing blues ballads on the train platforms. The skyscrapers themselves personify Chicago - the way they reflect the sky's electric hue and force you to see the world from a new perspective.

 
Ciao for now. xo