Archive for the ‘For the love of food’ Category
Cupcakes on the Move
It’s no secret that I love food, but what people might be surprised to know is that not so long ago I didn’t like cupcakes, or any cake really. A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to write a review of More cupcakes before their opened their doors and after I left, I was officially on the cupcake train.
I recently had a chance to catch up with the owner of More, Patty Rothman, and she told me about the More Mobile that will be launching mid-August. You may be familiar with Flirty Cupcakes – the idea is similar, but I think it will outshine Chicago’s first cupcake truck. Part of the reason is because More sells a better cupcake and secondly, they have some really great ideas for the truck itself that will make it stand out.
For more information about this highly anticipated truck, check out the post I recently wrote for Gapers Block.
Get Your Pizza On
When you’re in a city famous for a particular food or cuisine, it can be overwhelming when trying to decide where to get the BEST of that specialty food. Luckily for you, there are a few companies in Chicago who will take you around to some of the best pizza places in the city.
Chicago Pizza Tours stuck out to me because they take you to different neighborhoods and allow you to sample a variety of pizzas (they even stop at Italian Fiesta – a favorite of the Obamas). On this tour, you’ll get your deep-dish craving satisfied and you’ll get to experience some of the best non-deep dish joints in the city, including one of my favorites, Coal Fire.
For those of you partial to Chicago-style deep dish pizza, check out Slice of Chicago Pizza Tours. This company takes you to some of the most famous deep dish joints in town and, it’s a walking tour so you won’t fall into a pizza coma when you’re done with your journey.
Don’t forget to wear your Pizza Fight t-shirt as you explore Chicago’s pizza scene.
- Kate
Happy Summer!
Yesterday was the first day of summer and we celebrated by going to Yogen Fruz. I suppose it’s more accurate to say we half-celebrated, half-sought relief at Yogen Fruz. On a 15 minute walk home we managed to get incredibly hot and uncomfortable and needed SOMETHING to cool down. Yogen Fruz is one of my favorite places in the city and, for me, it was a pretty easy decision to stop in and grab a cool treat. We were greeted by a long line of hot, happy Chicagoans enjoying the first night of summer. Something about it made my heart smile. Maybe it’s because I know that in a few weeks people will be grumbling about the heat and the lines. But, for now, everyone seems to be taking their time and enjoying all that summer has to offer (including the sweat). Where is your favorite place to cool down in the summer months?
How To: Unboxing A Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
A quick lesson on how to unbox a Chicago deep dish pizza. Pizza courtesy of The Art of Pizza – the best deep dish in Chicago – IMHO.
Step 1: Buy pizza
Step 2: Open pizza box
Step 3: Open tin foil
Step 4: Analyze
Step 5: Tear away from siblings & consume
Enjoy!
Food Trailers + Cupcakes
A couple of weekends ago, Scared Panda and friends headed south to Austin, Texas. One of our favorite things about traveling is, of course, the food. If you can’t tell from the three food-themed shirts we’ve produced, we love to eat. And searching out local food is such a great way to learn about a particular culture and social scene. During our time in Austin, we discovered, and fell in love with, food trailers. If you haven’t experienced this yet, please make it a point to do so. The best food we ate during our four days in the city was produced in a food trailer – tacos, crepes, snow cones, cupcakes and more. Here is a short video of Clint destroying a strawberry cupcake from Hey Cupcake! Enjoy.
- Kate
The Original Rainbow Cone
Last week we stopped by The Original Rainbow Cone at it’s new Loop location, kindly tucked into the corner of the Halsted Street Deli at State & Lake.
Original Rainbow Cone has been an ice cream favorite in Chicago for 84 years. This vintage ice cream shop, housed in its distinctive historic pink building on the Southside of Chicago, has been pleasing the palettes of three generations.
The layers of the cone are Sherbert, Pistachio, Palmer House(Venetian Vanilla with cherries and walnuts), Strawberry and Chocolate.
Bringing no ketchup to the east
Last weekend Kate and I spent the weekend in New York loungin in parks, eating great foods and visiting friends Jim, Colleen and their significant others. Part of my visits to New York always include hitting up the street foods that we don’t get here in Chicago; bagel & coffee carts, hot dog vendors, pizza trucks, etc. So naturally as an evening snack I grabbed a hot dog from a vendor on the corner and politely said no to his offer of ketchup. Even though I was way out east and far away from the “You never put ketchup on a hot dog mentality” I still held true to the Hold The Ketchup T-shirt.
For a much larger and more detailed image check out my Flickr.
The coffee guy
A good portion of my life is spent trying to escape the every day routines that make life seem too ordinary; going to the same bar every weekend, eating at the same restaurants, biking the same streets or walking the same sidewalks. Exploring new territory and discovering new things and people is what living in a metropolis is all about. This means that while having favorite bars, restaurants and little nooks is great, there are so many other places to see and things to experience. But no matter how hard I try, there are some routines that make life better.
Welcome Home, Beloved Recipes
Today I stumbled upon a treasure I am so excited about. A recipe journal. Why, you ask, do I need a recipe journal? Check out the post I wrote for Gapers Block and find out why.
- Kate
Double Downing
With all the hype around KFC’s new Double Down, how could we NOT try it? In honor of this legendary new sandwich we headed down to our local KFC and gave it a shot.