Oh my goodness, I haven’t written one of these posts since February! I have traveled to Portugal, Spain, Morocco, and Charleston since then! I am excited be home – I missed Charles and Chicago’s delicious food!
The day I got home Charles and I went to Eataly’s newest pop up restaurant, Ristorante Toscano. It’s open Fridays-Sundays in April and the Tuscan inspired menu is wonderful – it’s too bad it is not a permanent fixture at Eataly.
We especially loved the spinach and ricotta gnudi and…
the hand rolled spaghetti with a wild boar rage. Make it over to Eataly and try it before it is too late.
I joined my friends Jill and Heidy at an Oscar Party at The Conrad – a new hotel in downtown Chicago. And I was glad that I stayed until the end so that I have people to freak out with after the Best Picture mistake.
My friend Emily invited me over for a casual girls night so I made my Caramel Cheesecake Brownies. They were a hit.
The Windy City Blogger Collective hosted a brunch at Davanti Enoteca, spoiler alert – it was delicious. This is one of the places to grab brunch in River North.
I teamed up with my friend Debi to host a Mac and Mash party, an ode to our favorite carbs, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. Because, what could be more fun?!
I went to a wonderful dinner hosted by Upland Brewing that featured their Sours. Generally sours are not my go-to beer, but Upland’s fruited sours are not as tart as typical sour beers. The Iridescent with ginger and apricot was my favorite. You can find the beer at Binnys.
I joined my friend Jocelyn and Lauren at a dinner at Ada St hosted by FeedFeed and Austerity Wines. The food at Ada St was incredible, and I am eager to go back. The Parisienne Gnocchi was light as a feather and practically melted in my mouth. It must have been made with magic. And Austerity Wines are excellent and affordable – glad they are on my radar now!
The desert was one of Ada St’s signature menu items, Chocolate Ganache with olive oil and sea salt served with freshly made baguette.
And as if I hadn’t eaten enough pasta, we had a spectacular meal at The Bristol. Add it to the top of your list of Chicago restaurants to try.
My friend Olivia and I attended a dinner at Sepia hosted by Visit Lexington, Buffalo Trace, and Garden & Gun.
Our meal started with a tasting of Buffalo Trace bourbon and continued with a fantastic four course dinner. I really appreciated that the salad with country ham had a 50/50 salad to ham ratio! The Lexington inspired menu made me want to visit Kentucky (and drink more bourbon)!
I need to give my friends over a Cabot Cheese a big shout out because they just sent me 150 packages of individual wrapped cheddar cheese snack packs and it has made my week. Charles is equally excited. I have been dicing up the cheese and adding it to my avocado toast in the mornings – it’s the best!
After my trip to Europe and Morocco I flew straight to Charleston to attend the Mediavine conference. I had lost weight in Europe and Morocco since I was walking 7 miles a day, but then I ate my weight in biscuits in Charleston. But man those biscuits were good.
I want to let you know that I am on the host committee for a luncheon with Chelsea Handler next week. Pinch me! The luncheon is a fundraiser for the Karam Foundation’s programs for Syrian Refugees. It will be a fun afternoon benefiting a fantastic cause. You can get tickets here!
And in two weeks I am heading to Serbia! Have you been? I am so excited for the trip!
Next week I am kick off the second annual Travel Week on The Kittchen! I am going to be sharing posts about Madrid, Marrakesh, and the Sahara Desert – along with lots of video footage. Get ready for a week long virtual vacation!