Little Goat

Jaclyn and I set out to the West Loop craving a burger from the one and only Au Chaval. But little to our knowledge, their kitchen was closed and we left thoroughly dissapointed. Until we realized that just a few minutes away is Little Goat Diner, offering a whole lot of delicious options at any time. So if you find yourself in the Loop or in that awkward 2-4ish time slot of starvation where places aren't open for lunch or dinner, Little Goat is your go to. It's perfect if you're with a friend too since it's a guarantee that there is something on the menu for anyone's liking. 

This was not our first time here, yet all of the options seemed to yummy to not share. Sooo we opted to fire up some beers and split the Club, a burger, and incredibly crispy fries with a side of ranch. Happy Friday, right?

Under the "Sammies" category on the menu, you'll find this bad boy whose name is 'The Fat Club'. At first thought, I couldn't bring myself to order something with the word fat in it's title, but our chipper and charming waiter Carl convinced me otherwise. Why? Because the fat toast that the sandwich is compiled of is made with duck fat. Sayyy whatttt. 

Smoked turkey, bacon, ham, havarti, avocado, cabbage, tomato, mayo, special sauce, and fat toast. (Also I do believe there was a cucumber on here, or perhaps it was the cabbage, but whatever it was...oh my lanta, what a tasty add on!)

Up Next, "The Mushroom":

 shittake & beech'shrooms with pickled peppers and onion and cheese sauce on a potato poppyseed bun.

Can you say Bye Felicia? 
Because we certainly did. Multiple times.

This thing is a serious contender in my book for one of the best burgers in Chicago and served our burger craving oh so well.

And last but not least, a very ambitious bowl of french fries on our part, with a side of housemade Ranch on the side. This s%#t was so yummy we ordered another side and took one home with us!

As always, Little Goat hit the spot.

xx 

Big & Little's

My camera is currently in the shop so pardon the low quality of pics, I'll keep this post short & sweet. I had a catch up lunch with my dearest friend Annabelle last week and just needed to share our feast with you. We ordered half of Big & Little's menu.

As serious french fry connoisseur's, Belle and I agreed to get two different types so we could try each other's. She opted for the truffle fries and I went with just the plain ol' classic. Can't go wrong with either.

The fresh ahi tuna taco...oh my lanta. With a drizzle of fresh lemon and the amazing teryaki sauce that's hiding on the inside of that shell...ooohhwee that's one spicy meat-a-ball! 

Opted for one carnitas taco with fresh cilantro 

I tried one of the specials, the pinto bean taco with fresh cilantro and queso fresco. I'm a big fan of this little joint so not to worry, there will be future pics I'm sure. 

xx

Oh and p.s. a word to the wise - go for lunch to avoid the crowds. I've been for dinner and it's dreadful, especially in the heat! 

DMK

 I've heard for awhile now people rave about DMK burger, but hadn't had the chance to seek it out since I haven't been in Chicago for such a long time. On Friday, a group of friends and I decided to take advantage of getting out of work early and have a nice leisurely  lunch. The interior is "ultra hip" and as Jaclyn called it, "burger chic", whatever that means...we'll go with it. Guess you have to just be there to experience it? Anyways, the menu looks a bit intimidating since you'll probably want to sample each one of the burgers, but once you've narrowed that down, good luck with the drink menu. Literally too many beers to choose from so some of us decided to just close our eyes and point at one. 

The selection of fries is too tempting to not sample a little of each...a few of the girls ordered the Wisconsin Cheddar & Scallion fries.

I went with the sea salt & black pepper and Jac went with the sweet potato fries.

Although it wasn't easy to choose, I ordered the #1: Aged Cheddar, smoked bacon, charred balsamic red onions, and BBQ sauce + a Brooklyn Lager.

Jac had the #9: The Patty Melt - Smoked bacon, smoked bacon, burnt onions, Leroy's Remoulade, smoked swiss, on griddled Rye.

#5: Bison Burger with fresh Goat cheese, pickled red onions, and blueberry BBQ sauce.

Many other burgers were enjoyed but I felt a bit guilty snapping pics since I could tell everyone was too eager to chow down!

Waddling out of the restaurant, all six of us agreed that we would for sure visit again. If you find yourself off the Wellington brown line stop, make DMK a must visit. I can easily say you won't regret it because I know my friends and I will be back soon. 

xx

burgers for brunch

For brunch yesterday, my godfather took Den and I to Tyler's, aka the packed joint with the best sliders in Palm Springs. I really tend to dislike waiting for about an hour for food...which we were told Saturday, so we decided to wake up early Sunday and come back and have burgers for brunch around 11:30. I know that sounds about odd, but I think when it's 99 degrees and Memorial Day Weekend, anything goes. Plus adding avocado to my sliders and washing it all down with iced tea made it all the more summery and acceptable...right? Let's just go with it... 

xx

Brussels Day 3

We started out with breakfast in bed on my last day in Brussels. Of course, the nutella beignets were present.

We dropped my bag at a friends house and I fell in love with this piece from Ikea…look at those shadows! 

gorgeous colors of autumn en route to the Horta museum

Soph had been to the museum before and mentioned to me what I was in for. I won't lie, Art Nouveau is not my exactly my speciality, nor did I know anything about Horta's life or artistic style and contributions to the Art Nouveau movement in Brussels.

The building is jammed in the middle of the block, next to all other residential houses, yet Horta's is unique in the attention to detail of the stone and iron facade. 

Unfortunately, photography is not permitted inside and in a way, I'm almost glad it is not welcomed because I don't think it would do the house justice. He truly transformed his own residence into the style that he was pioneering, making the interior a piece of elaborate art with marble flooring and intricate ironwork throughout most of the rooms. The kitchen is probably my favorite room, with a swirling mosaic tile floor, floods of natural light, and tiled walls.

Horta designed and built the house from 1898 to 1901 and lived and worked in the house and studio downstairs until 1915, when he sold both separately. They were bought by the city of Brussels and created into this wonderful museum. For only 4 euro, I really recommend taking 30-45 minutes to walk through this 

Afterward, we walked to grab some frites, salad, and more Belgian beer.

In some ways Brussels reminded me of San Francisco, especially with the tram running alongside you, the amount of young families everywhere, the houses all stacked on top of one another that still manage to look different than one another, and of course, the love of good, fresh food.

Of course, Brussels is Socialist and has a deeper historical life than San Francisco, since it has been around since the 10th century and has experienced both World Wars. It is also a historically Dutch speaking city, that also speaks French and English.

This stunning building is now an Abercrombie & Fitch...

a quick & delicious hot chocolate

I picked up some chocolates to bring back for Kelsey and headed to the train back to London! A great, but short trip, I was still happy to see London Saturday evening, as I always am upon returning to this world class city. 

Hope you had a great Monday!

xx