[Chicago] Wow Bao

Review Location:
1 West Wacker Dr
Chicago, IL 60601

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When I first walked by one of the 5 Wow Bao locations found in Chicago, my initial reaction was to chuckle at the originality of the name. Two rhyming one syllable words, creatively summing up exactly what their product is, and how good it is....genius!

In a nutshell,  Wow Bao (@baomouth) is a fast-food style eatery that serves Chinese/Asian fusion style steamed baos (bao being a Chinese word meaning bun), pot stickers, and rice bowls. The ordering and food delivery process is efficient and quick, making it a great grab-and-go option. And as a Chinese person who's had many a baos in my life, I have to say, the ones at Wow Bao are actually half decent!

[Chicago] The Purple Pig

Location Review:
500 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611

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After an early morning architecture boat tour of Chicago (which by the way was AMAZING), I went along with my sister, Nelson (@BiteMeFoodBlog), and a couple of friends, for some lunch at The Purple Pig (@thepigchicago). This award winning Chicago restaurant is located right on the Magnificent Mile, only steps away from the beautiful river where we had our boat tour. The pathway leading up to the restaurant entrance iis guarded by a large black gate, proudly displaying their motto: "Cheese, Swine, & Wine". And it really doesn't get much more straight forward than that. The restaurant is a collaboration of three well established Chicago chefs, bringing some of the best home made cheeses, pork dishes, and fine wines.

[Chicago] Joe's Seafood, Prime Rib, & Stone Crab

Location Review:
60 East Grand Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611

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The story of Joe's starts in Florida almost 100 years ago in 1913, when Joe Weiss opened up a small lunch counter on Miami beach. This iconic beach-side spot established its claim to fame through their Florida stone crabs. In fact, before Mr. Weiss, nobody even knew that stone crabs were edible. With it's huge success, two more locations have surfaced, one being in Chicago. Drawing its reputation from the original location, the menus are almost identical, allowing patrons to experience the Floridian jewel of a restaurant without the long flight down south. Anywhere there is great seafood, count me in!

[Chicago] Cafe Ba Ba Reeba

Location Review:
2024 North Halsted
Chicago, IL 60614
773-935-5000

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Even before my visit to Chicago, I had heard so much about the great Spanish cuisine in the city. And after personally visiting the city, I can definitely see why. During a lunch time visit to Cafe Ba Ba Reeba (@cafebabareeba), I had the pleasure of tasting some dishes from their Spanish tapas menu, crafted by Chef Tim Cottini. If you're not interested in ordering small plates, they have regular lunch and dinner menus that offer classic Spanish entrees. Regardless of what you settle on ordering, you can be assured your meal is as close to Spanish roots as it gets:  the charcuterie, cheese, olive oil, rice and spices are imported directly from Spain!

[Chicago] State and Lake Chicago Tavern

Location Review
(inside The Wit Hotel)
201 N.State Street
Chicago, Illinois
United States 60601

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During my Easter weekend in Chicago, I had the pleasure of staying at The Wit hotel, right in the heart of Chicago's theater and business district. Beautiful rooms, friendly staff, and delicious cookies at the check in desk whenever you crave them! Anyway, the State and Lake Chicago Tavern is the restaurant located in The Wit hotel (@theWitChicago), and serves up pub and bistro inspired food. To maximize our time experiencing the city, my friends and I ended up eating breakfast here one morning.

[Chicago] Giordano's Restaurant & Pizzeria

Location Review:
135 East Lake Street
Chicago, U.S.A

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A couple of weeks ago I went to the windy city of Chicago for the first time, and I must say I was pretty excited. Not only have I heard so much about the city itself, it meant that I could finally try the infamous Chicago deep dish pizza. And I did not waste time to cross that off the to-do list. The very first night we touched ground in Chicago, we headed to Giordano's Restaurant & Pizzeria (@GiordanosPizza) to give deep dish pizza a try! There were a couple other popular places that those more familiar with the city recommended for deep dish pizza (Lou Malnati's Pizzeria, Gino's East) but the general consensus seemed to favour Giordano's the most.

The story of Giordano's starts with two brothers Efren & Joseph Boglioren, who arrived in America during 1967 and found that the pizza being served was no where comparable to what their mother, Giordano could made back home in Italy. Determined to rectify this, they opened the very first Giordano's Restaurant & Pizzeria in 1974, to try to bring the best pizza to the city. Since then, there are 40 Giordano's locations in Illinois and Florida, with 14 of them being in Chicago.