Chicago Has Great Eats in Eataly and More

We didn't have a lot of time in Chicago the week after Memorial Day, but we did have some great food. First, I wanted to compare Chicago's Eataly with New York's. Admittedly, I haven't been to New York's since the world shut down, so it may have changed considerably. But their website indicates it's still a pretty hopping place. Even though the Chicago Eataly claims to be 10,000 square feet bigger than New York's, it seemed similar.🤷 

 

 

 

We had a wonderful burrata pizza and some delicious arancini. And I had a perfectly made Aperol Spritz. 

 

 
 

On the street nearby, I saw one of these cool dessert machines. It was AFTER we went to Eataly, so I passed, but they looked yummy.

 

We went to two extraordinary restaurants - The Purple Pig and Tanta. 

 

 

The Purple Pig's Whipped Ricotta with Dates, Pistachios, Compressed Pears 😋, Honey and Mint was a great start. The toasted bread was crusty, oily (in a good way) and a perfect foil for the ricotta. The Duck Croquettes were crispy and rich.

 

  

 

The House Cured Sardines were perfectly tangy and delicious.

 

I loved the Seafood Risotto. It was creamy and so flavorful with a beautiful seafood stock. And the Apple Tart with Cinnamon Gelato and Bourbon Maple Syrup tasted as good as it sounds!

 

 

Tanta is a delightful Peruvian restaurant, somewhat fusion-y, with lots of wonderful dishes to share and also to keep for yourself.😆 

 

 

The Pisco Sour was refreshing. Everything was tasty, fresh, interesting and I could have gone back the next day and the day after. I loved the Chaufa Aeropuerto, which turned out to be perfectly made fried rice with char siu pork and a shrimp omelet.

 

 

 

Other dishes we tried - Cebiche Classico, Salmon Tartare 👍👍👍, Chicken and Fish Skewers and Adobo.

 

 

One last non-food place we visited - Millennium Park. What a nifty place. The giant (coffee?) bean sculpture was impressive. It's actually called Cloud Gate and is one of the largest sculptures in the world at 110 tons and nearly 70 feet long. We walked and walked and then crossed over the very cool Frank Gehry designed BP Walkway to beautiful Lake Michigan and skyline views all the way back to the River Walk.