Frontera Grill *.

Chef Rick Bayless's restaurant deserves 5/5 stars! The hype is definitely worth it.

Enjoyed everything that we've ordered - beer included (by the waiter's recommendation. I recall it was a Mexican beer?) :)
Service was excellent - the waiter came back to check on us in good intervals and was very friendly.

CEVICHE TRIO
Awesome display of food! Enjoyed taking pictures of this dish haha
The seafood was very fresh - the trio was a combination of sour, sweet and savoury. An excellent start to our meal.

STREET FOOD TRIO
A great choice for those looking for a hot appetizer.
The enchiladas potosinas were my favourite..! The guacamole was so smooth and creamy.. Craving for this already!!

OAXACAN-STYLE CARNE ASADA
Delicious..!! The sweet plantains stood out for me as well as the black beans.. I really didn't expect these to taste sooo good!!  The Angus prime steak paired very well with all the sides included :D

Frontera Grill

445 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60654

Lou Malnati's Pizzeria *.

We came here mainly to try their deep dish pizza - one of Chicago's must haves!

We ordered:

HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN WINGS
It wasn't anything special but I thought the ranch sauce was really good

DEEP DISH PIZZA (with extra sausage and bacon)
First bite and I was already convinced I would come back to Chicago just for more of this. But we ordered a large pizza which was way too much for 4 people (I could only eat 1.5 slices, the guys had to finish our portion hahaha).
We all got so full, we had a consensus that one try at deep dish pizza is enough for our entire trip to Chicago :P

Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria

439 N Wells St
Chicago, IL 60610

Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe *.

Om nom nom..!! Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe 5/5 stars!
Smells great the moment you walk into the cafe.

The wait was approximately 45 minutes but it wasn't that bad because it allowed for us to walk around Millennium park for a bit.

CARAMEL APPLE PECAN PANCAKE
My favourite out of the bunch that we've ordered! The pancakes were so fluffy and soft.. The apples were a good touch since they were a bit sour - a good contrast to the sweet maple syrup, jams and butter provided.

BERRY BLISS BELGIAN WAFFLE
Just as good as the pancakes! It comes with strawberry ice cream along with fresh strawberries and blueberries. 

EGG, CHICKEN SAUSAGES & HASHBROWN
A good combination with the dishes that we've ordered since everything else was very sweet. This was more on the salty side :D The chicken sausages were really good - love their hashbrowns as well.

Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe

$$  Breakfast & Brunch, American (New)

130 E Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60601

Quartino *.

A very classy environment at Quartino.
Service could be better... but the food was good nonetheless.

I thought the latte was amazing! The cappuccino that my bf ordered was also delicious. Very creamy and smooth.

We ordered:

SALUMERIA TASTING 3/5

The display of this platter definitely gives you a WOW *takes pictures*

But I only like a few of the selections within the 10 that were presented.

The sliced meat, cheese and marinated eggplant were my pick out of the tasting platter.

PAPPARDELLE AL SUGO DI MANZO 4/5

The pasta ribbons were very different - It's chewy! A tasty mix between the braised beef.

PORCINI & TRUFFLE RISOTTO 4/5

The display wasn't really appetizing haha.. but the taste was delicious - especially the truffle.

TORTELLINI 5/5

The Alfredo sauce was AMAZING :) Our favourite from the pasta selections.

STEAMED CLAMS - PINOT GRIGIO & RED CHILI BROTH 4/5

Fresh and yummy. The bread that comes with it is also very delicious.

Quartino

Tapas Bars, Italian, Pizza

626 N State St
Chicago, IL 60654

The Purple Pig *.

The Purple Pig definitely lived up to its hype.. LOOOVED it here :) 
Bf kept wanting to come back during our trip but I wanted to try different places instead :P
Came here early afternoon to lock in a table and was lucky enough to grab a seat half an hour later! Lines kept building up during our dinner here.

We ordered so much food for two people but we ate pretty much everything.. haha
5/5 for everything below except for the ones I've specified:

JAMON SERRANO
The ham was excellent.. their bread was what surprised us.. How'd they make it so crispy without being that oily? So good!

CHARRED CAULIFLOWER
This was the rare veggie dish we ordered to "balance" our meat intake of the evening. 3/5

WAGYU SIRLOIN
A must order. The wagyu beef was too good.. We were planning to come back the next day for just this dish itself..

MILK BRAISED PORK SHOULDER
So soft! I couldn't get enough of the fatty part..

PORK JOWL "JTL"
A must order. The duck egg made everything so creamy - different textures for each part of the combo (Crispy pork jowl, creamy duck egg, crunchy tomatoes & lettuce..)

LEMON PANNA COTTA
Best panna cotta I've had in a while.. I'd recommend this to anyone that doesn't like their desserts to be too sweet. A very savoury finish to the meal.

SICILIAN IRIS 3/5
Our waiter recommended this dessert for us.. We ordered this after the panna cotta and thought this was just "meh!" in comparison! haha

The Purple Pig$$  Tapas/Small Plates, Mediterranean
Near North Side

500 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611

Beatrix*.

Christmas getaway with my bf in Chicago! 
Started off our trip with breakfast at Beatrix located conveniently near our hotel :)

Had breakfast & a quick lunch snack here.
Very home-y ambiance.

SHAKSHOUKA 3/5
Bf ordered this, one of the healthier choices to start off the day. It was yummy - especially the pouched eggs, but when I compared it to what I ordered (below), I liked mine a lot better :)

A WONDERFUL EGG WHITE OMELET 4/5
The name definitely suits the egg white omelet.. It was so soft & fluffy!! SO GOOD! I'm a big fan of avocados and they've added plenty to my meal :) Would definitely order this again.

SIDES 

CHICKEN SAUSAGE 3/5

LUNCH - SNACK

AHI TUNA CRUDO, seven flavour chili 3/5
So much avocado was mixed with the tuna - very fresh. Paired this with sparkling wine & mango, pineapple nectar. Great for a quick bite!

Beatrix

$$  American (New)

Near North Side

519 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60654
United States

Scaramouche Restaurant Pasta Bar & Grill*.

I had a lovely time at Scaramouche. My bf took me here for my birthday :D 

There's complimentary valet parking, which is nice because it's located near a residential area.. not sure where to park haha

Complimentary Sampling:

The view was amazing from where we were seated so that added to the nice ambiance. 

I'd recommend:
King Crab Ravioli - the crab was very fresh, you can taste the individual chunks of crab meat.

Butter poached Nova Scotia lobster - This was amazinggg... all the flavours were soaked into the lobster. Soo good!

Partridge - The meat was juicy and the foie gras was pan-seared nicely. Crispy on the sides and soft in the middle.

DESSERTS
Valrhona Araguani Chocolate Delice
GODLY GOOD :D needless to say... I'll definitely order this again! 

Service was excellent. Will come back to try other things on the menu :)

Scaramouche Restaurant Pasta Bar & Grill
$$$$  French
1 Benvenuto Pl
Toronto, ON M4V 2L1