Chicago in January

I finished off my last (of 18!) residency interviews in one of my favorite cities in America - Chicago. I was fortunately able to make a weekend out of the interview trip to celebrate and wanted to share my eating and drinking highlights with all of you in a Chicago series. After this, I am making my way to Asia for a few weeks, so stay tuned for those posts as well. Enjoy!

I want to first mention one of our last stops for Sunday Brunch - Mindy's Hot Chocolate. The weather this particular weekend was warm by Chicago standards for January, but being a native Californian I was still chilly and craving a warm beverage. And their hot chocolate did not disappoint. I got their "Dark" hot chocolate which was perfectly decadent and sweet, while my friend got the half and half, which had half espresso. Each drink comes with home made marshmallows that immediately melted and folded into the hot chocolate. The drinks were rich but also incredible. For actual brunch food, we had to try their burger with added egg and bacon on top, which did not disappoint. The quinoa bowl was a nice healthy alternative as well. They change their brunch menu weekly and I would happily go back for either brunch or just a cup of hot cocoa.

Dark Hot Chocolate (Left) and Half and Half (1/2 espresso, Right)

Both with home-made marshmallows that melted right into the hot chocolate

Hot Chocolate menu on the wall, can be ordered to-go

Burger: Slager Farms Beef, organic bacon, Carr Valley Cheddar, pickle, sesame poppy seed bun

House made chips and mini-bottles of ketchup and mustard to accompany

Their well-known burger

Quinoa Bowl with roasted carrots, braised fennel, sauteed kale, baba ghanoush, poached egg

 

 

I keep seeing gourmet "food halls" pop up on a lot of my travels. I had the chance to make a quick stop at Revival Food Hall. It is located downtown, adjacent to the lobby of a high rise. I popped in on a Thursday evening and was surprised at how busy the bar area was. Food options ranged from tacos, to poke bowls, to a variety of ice cream and sweet shops. Revival is an ideal place for a quick lunch on a work day, and after-work drinks and appetizers with co-workers. I didn't have much time to enjoy the place but I left wishing I could work somewhere that had a similar concept nearby.

Bustling Bar Area

Main Hallway with multiple food options (and cool lights)

 Food options!

 

 

I also wanted to make a quick mention of one of Rick Bayless' restaurants - XOCO. It is a unique Latin restaurant. We had some guacamole and dinner there, but the highlights are definitely the churros. I would go back just for these. My personal favorite was the regular churro with the chocolate dipping sauce (the chocolate is a must). The combination of the cinnamon churro and the dark chocolate sauce is heaven. We also ordered some hot chocolate (yes...you are seeing a theme here). We got one Authentic Hot Chocolate and one Mexico City Thick. The Authentic was a bit watery for my taste and the Mexico City Thick was the complete opposite. It was rich, thick and gooey (I believe it had masa flour in there), that almost made it syrupy. It was tasty but a few sips were more than enough. But...I could have definitely gone for another churro!

 

Regular Churro with chocolate dipping sauce (Left), Pistachio-glazed Churro (Right)