Day 310 holy. omg. yes. food.

Sunday brunch. One of my favorite things in all the world. I still think that New York does brunch better than anywhere else, but Chicago can often hit it out of the park. This. This... magic is what happened at my most recent brunch. Some kind of french toast smothered in a sweet sauce, covered in granola and fruit. I'm sorry what? Yes please.

Day 288 does sushi right

Saturday was "get to know your neighborhood" night. Kicked it off with some drinks, then sushi up the road, followed by a nice sampling of some of the bars positioned just a few hundred feet from my front door. Best to get to know these places now before the winter. So back to the sushi. It was sushi because I when am I not eating sushi lately? We ordered all of the things. I mean... all of them. The waitress loved us. We just kept ordering more and more delicious sushi and dessert! Eeek the dessert was just so good! I talk about food a lot, huh?

Day 279 was in great company!

I was treated to a simply incredible dinner tonight, courtesy of my Uncle Greg who happened to be in Chicago this weekend on business. Somehow I knocked it out of the park with restaurant choice. Everything was perfect, including the funny little coincidence of my Uncle having grown up in the same small Italian town where the Chef was from. This translated into food showing up at our table "gift from the chef!". Sweet jesus, I didn't realize that happened in real life! Our final treats were these two desserts. One of them was a deconstructed carrot cake that certainly made a carrot cake lover out of me. The second was some kind of apple fritter/bacon/ice cream situation. Oh yeah, I said bacon. Going forward I'm going to require all my desserts to have bacon. Cause why not?

Day 271 is addicted

No, not to this flower, silly. This is  soy sauce and a flower on the tables at the sushi restaurant I've been frequenting lately. Addicted to Sushi. We've heard this story before, right? I know, I know. But you guys. It's so good. I've had it 3 times this week. That's kind of crazy I guess. I think my record was 5 days in one week when I was in Seattle. See, I'm controlling myself. Except, I can't promise I wont be having it tomorrow as well. I AM SO WEAK.

Day 263 does it Chicago style

While my sis was here, one of the things she really wanted to try was some deep dish pizza. Ask and you shall receive, I said. We went to what I've been told is the place for Chicago deep dish and made the very touristy mistake of ordering a medium pizza for 2 people. We managed 1.5 slices each. Then were completely full for the rest of the day (ate at 3pm). Crazy pizza! But it was absolutely crazy delicious and if there was room in my stomach, I would have gladly ate that entire pie.

Day 221 was so very sweet

I ventured out to the suburbs today to see some good friends and enjoy some delicious breakfast. Both were spectacular. I love having visitors! Which is perfect since the next two months involves a steady stream of friends hopping by this windy city for visits. Yay! Also, if you're wondering - yes, this waffle was incredibly delicious and no, I didn't eat it all. :)

Day 213 smells delicious

Product endorsement time. You're welcome, Yankee Candle. Feel free to send me some complimentary samples. Their candles smell wonderful and actually fill the room without being overpowering. Win win. Lemon Chiffon will trick you into thinking something delicious is baking. Consider yourself warned.

Day 157 is in my happy place

After dinner tonight I decided to treat myself to some water ice at Rita's. If you don't live in a state with a Rita's I feel bad for you because their water ice is delicious. Not only can you enjoy fun flavors like S'mores cream ice (like I got), but you can grab a soft pretzel (which I also got). This photo was taken on location in the Fundai because I couldn't wait to get home to enjoy my dessert!

Day 121 double dunked

Yep, time for another food post. If you've never had Turkey Hill ice cream you are missing out. This crazy "double dunker" flavor consists of mocha ice cream, cookie dough pieces and chocolate cookie swirl. Get this: it's reduced fat! That is usually the last thing I look for as far as ice cream goes. But if I can indulge in a delicious ice cream and not feel guilty about it, all the better.

Day 99 found a piece of heaven

We walked into this restaurant and there was a live band playing real Hawaiian music, complete with ukuleles, falsettos and gorgeous lei. Heaven. There were "Aloha's" being thrown around, spontaneous hula dancing from the restaurant goers and a menu featuring their special "Portuguese sausage musubi". Seriously - it was heaven. I devoured their Kalua pork lunch special like it was my job. Greatest meal that I've had in a long time, mostly because it felt just like home.The only downside is that I ate so much food I haven't been able to eat anything else all day. That's how stuffed I am. Not complaining!

Day 92 must.resist.the.peeps.

Oh, peeps. These little devils are so beautiful and light and fluffy and marshmallowy in their perfection, aren't they?? And all those stupidly edible colors they come in. Seriously, I love and hate them. I took a lot of strength not to walk out with about 10 boxes of these today. Actually, it took more strength not to rip open a box right in the aisle, just to take a little bite of one, they just looked so perfect. Clearly, neon colors as a marketing strategy is working for them. Also did you guys know there is a valentines day version of these? Red, heart-shaped and filled with a kind of light strawberry cream? Yup. Heaven. Had them once, changed my life.

mmm, mmm Day 54!

Look! It's cheeeeseeecakkkeeeee y'all!

It's a well known fact in the world that the most direct and precise way to my heart is cheesecake. Another way to my heart? cheesecake with delicious, sugary fruity topping action. Oooh, especially the kind from that diner on 9th in the city right by fordham. Hot damn did those guys know how to do a cheesecake. I'm helpless to the powers of cheesecake. Simply helpless. Some anonymous person brought these into the office today. And to that I say dear anonymous person, you are a sweet sweet angel from the heavens. In case you're wondering, these are just as delicious as they look. Also I refuse to reveal how many I ate. At least not yet... It's too soon.... I'm too ashamed. (but it was worth it you guys!)

feast your eyes on Day 30

One of the first things the sis and I did after first getting to Seattle was try to find a place that would become "our sushi spot". With a little help from yelp (rhymes!), we found our sushi place and it is seriously all kinds of amazing. We eat there alllllll the time, and it is always incredible. We had lunch there today and as always, it was perfect and delicious. And yes, I'm totally that person that takes pictures of food. Don't be jealous of my coolness!

ps. if anyone in Seattle is interested, this is the sushi place. highly recommend!

Day 16 is Made from Scratch

Day 16 marks my successful foray into pancake making! Thanks in part to a recipe from Martha Stewart I made pancakes from scratch this morning. And they were amazing. The recipe is so easy I can't believe I haven't tried it sooner. No more box mix for this girl! Following Martha's suggestion I jazzed some of them up using fruit (namely blueberries, strawberries, and craisins) and white chocolate chips. Slice of delicious!