I recently travelled to Chicago for work. Rather than give you a play by play, I thought I would share 4 highlights of my time outside of hotel and conference walls. I’m sad that I have virtually NO photos of the AMAZING FOOD I ate and some of the fun shopping we encountered. In both instances, the time just wasn’t right, or appropriate, to whip out my camera. It makes my heart ache that I’m empty handed!
#1 – Lunch and Exploring with Family
When I arrived, I met up with my fab cousins {in-law}, Heidi and Ben. They are staying in Chicago for a few months, hanging out, being creative as usual, and exploring the city. Ben found a cute café in Bucktown called Ipsento and we had yummy sandwiches with coffee and iced tea. After lunch, we explored Millennium Park, including the Crown Fountain, Cloud Gate, and the BP Bridge. It was so fun to see them and be tourists together! I love them, just look how cute they are!!!
#2 – Dinner at Girl and the Goat
This is Stephanie Izard’s restaurant {Top Chef season 4 winner} and it’s a dark but welcoming, rustic space with small plates of of amazingness. The menu is divided into 3 categories: vegetable, fish, and meat and we ordered a ton of things to try, mix and match style, and shared them with the table. My favorites? Sweet potatoes with blue cheese, seasoned green beans, scallops, and smoked GOAT empanadas. This was my first time trying goat and I was a little scared….but it was shredded and tasted almost like a mix of pork and lamb. With all the seasonings, it was delicious! Then, Stephanie came over to say HELLO – celebrity alert!!! To top it all off, we received a signed copy of her new book, Girl in the Kitchen. It was such a nice gesture and I felt so spoiled rotten after that. Seriously….the best night.
{food photo courtesy of kiditamae and facade photo courtesy of johnjoh}
#3 - Dinner at Yoshi’s Café
For this lovely dinner, we headed to the Lakeview neighborhood, to a family owned, small restaurant run by Mr. and Mrs. Yoshi themselves. We dined on homemade spicy sushi, lobster tail {pre cut!}, and buttery, flaky, chilean sea bass, plus 3 different types of dessert. It was pretty much one of the most amazing meals EVER and the service was impeccable. Don’t let the outside deceive you! The company was equally as great – a few of our agency and law firm partners and my own colleagues as well. Yum!
{photo courtesy of cliff dix}
#4 – Michigan Avenue – Top Shop and Ralph Lauren
On day 2 of the conference, we took a bit of a breather mid-day and explored a sliver of Michigan Avenue – one of the best shopping strips anywhere. Top Shop, a UK based store, recently opened in Chicago (2nd one in the U.S.) and blew my brain. I could have spent all day in there – so much to ooooh and ahhhh at. There were 3 floors and when we got to the basement and saw the shoe gallery, I about lost it. I walked away with some new Office boots and TiAnna got an equally cute pair of high heels…because she can wear them and pulls it off perfectly, unlike me, who can’t walk worth a darn in anything over a few inches. It’s really like a little slice of heaven.
And now, the highlight of the entire trip: the Ralph Lauren store. At 37,000 square feet, the RL Flagship store in Chicago is the largest in the entire world. I had never been in a REAL Ralph Lauren and probably would have never gone if TiAnna hadn’t pointed it out. This building…….there aren’t words to describe. It’s 4 floors of magic and was especially gorgeous since it was fully decked out for the holidays. What was historically built as a bank has now been transformed into a grand, old-world style mansion modeled after New York’s Metropolitan Club. There are individual gallery rooms with oriental rugs layering the floor and dark wood paneling, alongside palatial open spaces filled with giant stone fireplaces and rustic wood plank floors. Of course, everything is decorated to perfection down to the smallest accessory. I am most heart broken that I didn’t take a single photo – too scared. 5 days later, this is continuing to haunt me so next year warrants at least an ask, especially since the picture selection elsewhere on the internet is not great. I wish I could live in this store. I’m not lying.
{frame picture, library picture}
So, there you have it! It was a quick whirlwind trip but there was a great balance of work and getting to see the city. It just makes you want to go back and spend a little more time there. If not for anything else, at least food and shopping! Have you been to Chicago? What’s your favorite place?
