I love Chicago!! for so many reasons……

My friends Deborah, John and Ostin live there.

Lake Michigan is so big it looks like an ocean.

They have real butcher shops…..unlike the OC

The food/dinning is AMAZING.

The L is cheap, fast, always good people watching and you feel like you’re in a movie when you ride it.

It snows in Chicago….so I hear….no snow for our visit, but it was COLD.

My favorite Chocolate in the world is made in Chicago-  Vosges

Here is a photo journey of our 5 day Chicago adventure in February….without snow 😦Ostin and Deborah greeted us old school style at the airport, which means they parked and met us inside….LOVED it! This picture is on the way to their house, Ostin is showing me all his favorite You Tube videos. I love this sweet small person.Saturday night downtown….Dinner at the Publican in the meat packing district. Suckling Pig and Seafood Stew…..winners!! Best friends all bundled up. Great night!Brisk walk after dinner…the lights…the chill in the air…drinks….perfect.My peeps! How cute is Deborah in that coat?!?!?Super Bowl food….Velveeta Rotel Dip in a Football Crock Pot..awesome & Slow cooked Chile Verde.I whipped up a Red Velvet Cake for Deborah’s Birthday…the fridge was full so we stored it in the BBQ outside, where it was a chilly 30… I was so impressed by this!! Endless chilling options when you live where it actually gets cold.Henri for lunch on Monday….. I could have sat forever at this table. The food was perfection, the room was beautiful. We started with the Foie Gras….next on to a fresh greens salad and then the Cassoulet arrived. We came here specifically for this dish, their take on it was delicious, Pork Belly, Duck Confit, and housemade Toulosse Sausage. It’s a must if you’re ever in Chicago on a Monday. It’s their Plat du Jour on Monday nights, they were closing the Monday we were there so they offered to make the Cassoulet for lunch…. just for us! I could go on and on, I loved this place, don’t even get me started with the wine….. it was a 3 hour lunch, enough said?This was quickly becoming the theme to our visit..Tuesday we went to Hot Doug’s

Chicago Dog on your left and on your right…..Foie Gras, Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel……OMG!Then we were on our way to the airport via this trippy L stop in the middle of the freeway… or do they call them highways?

A huge thank you to my dear sweet friends, for housing us, feeding us and loving us. We miss you already. Cheers!