I was being a bit ambitious in attempting to try 12 new restaurants in Chicago during a pandemic, but I wanted to keep this one on my list to continue my support of the fantastic service industry in Chicago. Chicago's restaurants and bars not only employ tens of thousands of people, they're also, on average, damn good, better than the bars and restaurants of most cities. If you don't serve great food or have something special to offer, good luck competing in this market. It's stacked.
3/20/21
I was looking for some delivery and craving a great sandwich. I thought I'd try North Buena out, and I was not disappointed. I had the Sicilian and will definitely be ordering again and looking forward to going in person.
2 - Figo Wine Bar
4/20/21
It finally warmed up enough to dive into some outdoor dining. Laura reserved a table for 4 of us at Figo Wine Bar on a Tuesday night (an exciting return of Two Bar Tuesdays). It felt so luxurious to split apps and bottles of wine with 3 of my very favorite people. We laughed, drank, ate, laughed, and then continued on to our second bar.
I also can't wait to go back to Figo once indoor dining is safe again. What a cute little spot with a great wine selection and tasty food.
3 - Crushed Pizzeria
7/5/21
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I hate Chicago pizza. Deep dish is way too much. The first few bites are delicious, and then I don't want anymore, but that's all we've ordered because it's so much food, so I eat more, and then I feel like I've eaten several pounds of cheese and bread and I hate myself. The thin crust (a.k.a. pub style) is even worse. It's like cardboard topped with canned tomato paste, preshredded generic mozzarella, and then garbage toppings. It's tasteless grease. I hate it.
Luckily, some great woodfired, coolfired, and Detroit-style spots have opened up in Chicago. My favorite is Paulie Gee's, and they do squares (Detroit style), woodfired, and, newly, NY-style slices. Unfortunately, they're in Logan Square and do not deliver to my neighborhood, so it has to be a whole trip to go there. Then, wood/coal-fired pies just don't travel well (which I learned at Paulie Gee's, who refuses to do even take out woodfired pizza).
So I've been searching high and low for some decent NY-style spots that will deliver to my place. On July 5, 2021, I FINALLY FOUND MY SPOT.
When I tried out Crushed, I ordered a salad and a simple Build-Your-Own pie: just mushrooms. The pizza was everything I was hoping for: crisp, chewy crust; that perfect bite to the cheese; delicious sauce; and just the right number of shrooms for great flavor. I had added on the garlic butter as a side assuming that if the pizza was mediocre (which it wasn't), I could dip it in buttery goodness, and wow, was I shocked. The garlic butter is mind blowingly good. Like, so so so garlicy and herby without being too greasy. It was great on the pizza crust, and then I used it in other ways: on my veggies, to fry eggs, every use perfect.
I'm so relieved to have a pizza delivery place that is satisfying!
7/30/21
I walk by this place all the time, and on this day, tried to do takeout, but my phone said they were only taking orders by home, and I didn't have my wallet on me. But by the time I got home, I wanted Thai food badly, and this was one of the places still open at 9pm... and I could order online 😐
I had pad thai like a basic bitch and some coconut rice w/ mango (which is what I really wanted). The pad thai was fine. Like, fine. People must go there for other things. Because it was fine. The coconut rice was magical when combined with the mango. So I probably won't order delivery from this spot again, but I will give it another try and eat something more adventurous.
5 - Moxy Hotel
7/31/21, with Stephanie Souvenir
I was certainly drawn to this spot due to the name. Luckily, it also had tacos from
Steph & I split a great dip trio and were recommended the carnitas tacos, which were great, and I can't wait to go back and hang/work in this spot.
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