chicago: eating

I had a fabulous weekend away in Chicago.  It was my first time visiting the city and I have nothing but positive reviews.  I could not believe how many times a stranger would walk up to me and ask if I needed directions.  So friendly.  It made me reflect on how unfriendly Toronto can be in comparison to the midwestern hospitality I was shown. 

My trip basically consisted of walking for eight hours a day, eating and taking photos of as much modern architecture as I could!  Thankfully I had good, windy weather on my side last weekend which made the aforementioned activities a pleasure.  My notable stops around the city included pizza at Quartino, Mexican at Zocalo, breakfast (aka amazing granola and a solid chocolate, almond ricotta coffee cake) at Milk and Honey cafe, drinking cupcakes (and a special tasting from Patty Rothman herself (*thanks Patty!!!) of the Valrhona chocolate, salted caramel (my favourite), red velvet and chocolate cupcakes) at More, a slice of apple rhubarb pie at Hoosier Mama Pie Company, brunch at Cafe Selmarie, a lite snack at Brasserie Jo, and a pillow (home decor) from Homey.

Here are some shots- architecture shots coming soon:

Inside More Cupcakes - best cupcakes ever in Chicago

Amazing coffee cake from Milk and Honey Cafe

Signature granola from Milk and Honey Cafe

Hoosier Mama Pie Company Freshly Baked Pies

Buckwheat Pancakes from Elly's Pancakes

Argo Tea Love the Earl Grey Creme

chicago

I am venturing to a new US destination tomorrow morning:  Chicago.  After almost eight years of back and forth to New York with only a small detour to San Francisco and Boston, I have not done my part to explore the US.  I drew the line when the talk of vacation to a US destination came up and decided if I keep going back to my usual haunts, I will never get to anywhere new.  How will I bring back new and inspiring ideas if I keep going to the same cities (not that there is anything uninspiring about New York, SF and Boston). 

I have a massive itinerary of food, food, architecture, food and men’s clothing stores (for my bf).  We are an odd bunch of tourists if you ask me.  Who goes to a city and completely bypasses the tourist stuff, the monuments, the things the city is well-known for and instead compiles a list of restaurants, coffee/tea shops, bakeries, and grocery stores as a way to tour a destination?  I figure, it is via food that we will experience the city, its neighbourhoods and what the rave reviews are all about when people talk about Chicago pizza, chicken and waffles, hotdogs and a long list of other “chicago” style items I have read about while doing my city research.

In honour of the trip, I put together a selection of event ideas from three Chicago blogs: Chicagoist.com, Itsajaimething, and Chicago Style Unveiled

Items mentioned below:

David Burke’s Primehouse

Flirty Cupcakes (aka the cupcake van)

Looking forward to reporting back on my experiences this weekend.

via chicagoist (david burke's pastry kitchen at Primehouse)

via it's a jaime thing "cupcake on wheels"

via Chicago Style Unveiled

fru and gu

These products just crack me up.  I was flipping through some old Living Etc. design magazines this past weekend in search of some interesting kitchen designs for my condo when I paused at an advert for fru and gu (both have two little dots over the u’s but I can’t do that on my keyboard, so use your imagination).  Just like me to divert to food when I was supposed to be concentrating on interior design!  A one track mind, I swear.

I think it was the packaging that stood out for Fru Puds, or maybe it was the product names (super witty), but these mini desserts aka “posh ramekin puds” aka “lively pots of gudness” aka “nibbles and naughties”  aka “chocs” as indicated on the corporate website, are hysterical and look delicious. 

The company based out of the UK, makes mousses, souffles, cheesecakes, tortes, brownie cakes and other items that are “strictly for adults.”   They even have a statistic that estimates that a gu pud is eaten somewhere in the world every two seconds.  Gu puds are one popular snack if that is the case.  From what I can see, their major distribution channels are in the UK and France although apparently you can find them elsewhere.  Anyone in Canada selling these?

via the lovely room

via frupuds.com

via frupuds.com

via daily mail

via frupuds.com

cool espresso bar design

Tinderbox Espresso Bar in Islington, London first seen on We Heart, a great UK based lifestyle website that reports on everything cool and hip from a culture and design perspective.  They were spot on with Tinderbox.  It looks pretty cool if you ask me.  Look at the interior of this place put together by London-based Jonathan Clark Architecture!  I would love a space like this in Toronto for coffee, for meetings, for work and for fun.  A nice alternative to ubiquitous Starbucks.  The blogger behind Designing Lives said it right about this place that even if I didn’t need coffee, and I never do because I don’t drink the stuff, that Tinderbox Espresso Bar is a  place that is inviting enough that you would want to stop in and grab something.  Enjoy the shots below and your week.

via we heart

via we heart

via hipster collective

lolly pop shoes: bloch

Super cute shoes for the summer by Sydney, Australia based company, Bloch.  They come in all the cool lolly pop flavours and are two toned and candy coloured.  Love them.  They also look very comfy for the office or a night out.

via bloch shoes