Recently I have been out and about trying new restaurants in the neighborhoods of Chicago. Here are a few of the places I have been:
The JellyFish:
The JellyFish is a posh sushi place tucked away in the Gold Coast. It’s tag line is, “Arousal of the Senses.” Haha, I am serious. The website has a photo gallery of the celebrities who have dined there. I was hoping to meet some Black Hawks players, but sadly I didn’t. That probably was a good thing because it would have been a conflict of interest, seeing as I was there with my boyfriend celebrating his new promotion. As you can see from the photos, the lighting and decorations make you feel as though you are in some sort of aquatic tank. Even though everything was pricy, the food was amazing and definitely the best sushi I have ever had. My favorite dish was the tempura fried Brussels sprouts. Lightly battered, full of flavor and the sauce to dip them in was fantastic. I would absolutely recommend this place if your parents are in town and are willing to pick up the bill.
sushi rolls!
Kyle and I standing in the JellyFish
Hash House a Go Go Chicago:
This Hash House is an Indiana, southern cooking inspired all day breakfast restaurant. Many meals incorporate biscuits and gravy and home made meatloaf. Beyond the lively atmosphere, the portion sizes are what make this place fun. Lattes come in bowl-sized cups and are garnished with s’mores. Cocktails come in giant sized cups with umbrellas constructed out of bacon and veggies. The meals come in towers held together by a knife. The Las Vegas location even has had a visit by Adam Richman from Man v. Food. As you can see from our photos, there is a ton of food.
Kyle’s biscuit, fried chicken and gravy dish. He finished that whole thing.
My chorizo egg scrambler. I barely ate half.
Café Ba Ba Reba:
Ba Ba Reba is a beautiful Spanish tapas restaurant in Lincoln Park. My mom came down to visit me for the day and we spent the day shopping and eating. While Ba Ba Reba does have a brunch menu, we went for the tapas and we decided to order one dish from each section of the menu. From the vegetables and cheese: warm potato and onion omelet—really boring and we wouldn’t recommend it. From the beef and lamb: spice lamb kebabs with lemon, mint and tomato—very tasty and would order again. From the seafood: shrimp with garlic, olive oil, red pepper, red pepper flakes—FANTASTIC the sauce was so good we kept asking for more bread to dip in it after we ate all the shrimp. From chicken and pork: roasted chicken empanada—also amazing! It was just as good as empanadas I had in Chile.
Our tapas selections and my bloody Mary (that I made at the “build your own bloody Mary bar”)
McFadden’s:
Many people know McFadden’s as a pretty wild bar once the sun sets: loud music, people dancing everywhere, and on everything. However, McFadden’s is also a Sparties bar. Chicago is home to many Big Ten alums and fans. Throughout the city you can find University of Wisconsin Madison bars, University of Illinois bars, and even bars for University of Michigan. I have been proudly raised as a Michigan State fan, no room for blue and maze in our household (haha!). So this weekend my mom and I got a couple of drinks while we watched our Sparties beat Nebraska, in the afternoon before the bar gets too crazy. I didn’t try any of the food, but it was fun to be in a place where every time MSU scores a touchdown, everyone sings the Fight Song, “Go right through, for M-S-U!”
My mom and I watching the Sparties game.
Questions for Amie? Email law-admissions [at] luc [dot] edu with the subject “Ask Amie” and she will make sure to answer them.