A personal blog detailing dining and eating experiences
We lucked out and were able to eat at this rooftop at brunch. The rooftop is at the hotel we stayed at in Chicago called Chicago Athletic Association. One of us basically put our name down early in the day, and we eventually got in (14 people before us on the wait list).
Got the traditional brunch food… mimosa, and the Cindy breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes). All were great and would get them again.
Also, the rooftop view is pretty good (you can see the bean from up top).
We went to the place for brunch in Chicago (although didn’t really have too many brunch options).
I got the pizza, which was thin crust (so super opposite of an actual Chicago deep dish pizza). The one brunch thing I did get was a mimosa though! I would say I would eat here again, but would likely choose another place for brunch if I were trying to get actual brunch.
This was a hidden bar under the Aviary. We went on the waitlist while we were eating at the Aviary. But then one of our waiters from the Aviary hooked us up and we got bumped to the front.
The bar tender actually is the head bar tender for the Aviary. I got their version of the Manhattan, which had a chocolate and banana twist. Really great.
The exclusivity was also shown when you had to use a key to get back inside if you wanted to use the restroom.
This restaurant was my first kitchen table experience. And gotta say, had a really great time. Each meal was served by a different waiter, and they all were fully engaging. They described every meal and drink.
As a friend put it, this place was more about the drinks, and the food was the actual pairing to the drinks.
Some other notes is that this place is from the same group as Alinea, and they do recommend drinks back and forth. Also, my three favorite foods from below is the pea soup (had real crab meat), the scallops, and the scallion fritters.
Here is the complete menu:
Went here for my first deep dish pizza in Chicago.
Got a Prosecco to start and a Caesar salad.
For pizza, got the meat lovers option and a custom one (meatballs and green peppers). We got the smaller size for each, which was a good amount for 3 people.
I would order all the above again (the cheesiness reminded me of pizza but), but thinking the meatballs kinda made my stomach flush everything out (so would try something else).
We went to this place before going to The Second City in Chicago.
Had a Prosecco for a drink. Always great.
For the main, got the pulled chicken. I would definitely order it again (but it was a lot). (Adding bbq sauce to it was key). For sides, the Mac and cheese was bomb.
We went to this restaurant for dinner near the hotel in the Baixa area. It was focused on healthy style Asian food.
For drinks, got a rum drink with pineapple juice.
For appetizers, got the Vietnamese spring rolls. It was purely vegetarian with peanut butter sauce. Thought it was ok.
For the main, got the pad Thai with chicken. Honestly, it was ok. Could order it again, but there is this tuna dish I would try next time.
For desert, we tried the hot brownie with ice cream. Because it is supposed to be healthy, it wasn’t as sweet as I wanted it to be.
Went to this place for a late lunch in the Baixa neighborhood. They have a lot of local Portuguese food. Ended up eating sushi at Confraria do Sushi (thought process is that Lisbon is known for seafood, so why not try it!)
Also, this market has a dedicated Aperol Spritz stand! Definitely took advantage of that.
Translated to You and Me Lisbon, this place was a great find. Had lots of local foods, and it’s in Alfama area of Lisbon which I enjoyed.
We had a bunch of (what seems to be local seafood) dishes to share. For alcohol, it’s mainly beer and Sangria only. The local cheap beer around here seems to be called Superbock. The sangria was good, since it seemed to be a bit carbonated.
For food, got the fried chicken (lol which was not fried at all), sardines, this sweet rice with shrimp, fish cake, octopus salad, some other things pictured below (not sure of the name), and pastel de nata.
Would recommend this place and come back in a heart beat (it takes cash only though). Would also order everything again.
We went here for lunch when we got to Nazaré.
The sparkling wine was fairly cheap (and sweet). A 350ml bottle was only 10 euros.
For the main, got the crab and lobster pasta. Honestly, it was pretty good, but I wouldn’t get it again since the lobster was a pain to get the meat out (the shrimp it came with was good, and the lobster was pretty easy).
