The Perfect Chicago Weekend
Chicago tour to round out the month... xx CC.
Good afternoon my dear readers! I had the privilege to show my childhood besties around Chicago this weekend and might I say I think it was the perfect Chicago weekend. One of those weekends that makes me grateful for friendship and to live in this beautiful city. Especially with the new season of The Bear dropping added to this weekend exploring the city with my friends has reinvigorated my love for Chicago. My two childhood besties are living (or should I say thriving!!!) in Tampa and New York City so it was very fun to show them around and hear what they love about Chicago. I am biased but it is the best of course lol. Truly though we hit most of the major neighborhoods, walked 20k steps a day and ate at some of the best restaurants. What more could you ask for?! Chicago is the perfect definition (IMO) of Midwestern humbleness/values with the fast (ish) paced city vibe (does that make sense?). I just feel as though anyone who visits immediately has a sense of home. Spending this weekend in the city I love with two of the people I love most was like a warm hug I so desperately needed.
I hope you enjoy my Chicago itinerary and please drop your recs in the comments there are endless places to explore in Chicago!!! Linger Long… xx CC.
Thursday:
We hopped on the L and took it up to armitage and were able to snag a last minute res at Armitage Alehouse— a must do in the city. Located in the charming Lincoln Park area. Perk of an early res is being able to walk around and enjoy the beauty of a lively Lincoln Park— which is just what we did.
We started with the Mint Condition cocktail which was a perfectly refreshing take on a usual margarita. Then moved to the Steak & Anchovy Tartare. Shockingly I had never tried this here (right up my alley). It was the perfect salty mix on their homemade sourdough. For our main course we split the Peppercorn Steak Frites and the Wagyu Cheeseburger— insane to say the least. The steak truly melted in your mouth and had the perfect pepper punch. The burger was just perfect per usual… it gave me “all the feels” as my mother says. We of course had to end with the Sticky Date Cake which they claimed they were known for this (I don’t know if that’s true?) It is seriously one of the best dessert perfectly salty and sweet, warm and cold contrast. A must finish with. You can also get it a Trivoli Tavern pro tip.
Friday:
Started with a walk to La Colombe for coffee (DUH!) My latest order is an Iced Honey Latte with 2% milk. Then we headed to the lakefront path and walked about 4 miles till we looped back to the Gold Coast underpass and popped into some stores. There are some great sales going on btw… more on that later. After shopping it was an appropriate time for a spritz so of course we stopped at The Bellevue and grabbed a prime table outside. After we headed home to chill. We ended with a 7:30 res at LÝRA so decided to head to Fulton Market/West Loop early and grabbed a drink at Cabra which is the rooftop of the Hoxton Hotel. I personally think they have great cocktails and a fun atmosphere especially in the summer. Then we headed to LÝRA which is a great place to celebrate or go with a group IMO. We did a bunch of plates and shared everything— Crispy Zucchini Frites, Spanakopita, Horiatiki, Tuna Tartare, and Wagyu Souvlaki. We all agreed Wagyu Souvlaki was the star of the show!
Saturday:
We headed over to the Studio Three in Fulton Market for a morning workout then hit Sawada Coffee after (great for visitors!) which is always a treat. Then we bopped around Fulton. Shopbop was having a pop up which was adorable. I got a Madewell tee and someone was there to embroider it (nice touch!). After shopping around we again agreed it was an appropriate time for a spritz… so we stopped into Oakville Grill— must get the cinnamon roll to start… then we shared the breakfast tacos and the turkey & avocado sandwich. The perfect brunch moment quick and easy! For dinner we headed to Aba before for a drink and had a outdoor spot which was ideal! Their Aloe? It’s Me drink is so refreshing. Then dinner at Booze Box (under Sushi Dokku), stunning lychee martinis (a perfect pairing for sushi). We had Hamachi Ponzu, the Ecuador and Crispy Maguro rolls.
Eyeing/Buying:
Eyeing: This J.Crew dress (mega sale!), these jeans my brothers girlfriend had these on in white and the fit was perfect. Do I really need another straw bag?? This linen dress (soooo cheap!!!). Perfect coverup and dare I say could take you into the night too? H&M giving Doen!
Buying: I treated myself to The Row 90s Bag for my bday!!! (It’s worth it)— on TRR. These Madewell bracelets, these Madewell shoes (extra 30% off— code SUMMERTIME).
Thank you all for reading. See you next week and don’t forget to share with a friend!— xx CC.
How did I just see this
Can’t wait to beach it w u!!!!