Chicago Highlights

 

I have been on a blogging hiatus for the past few months and a post I've been putting off is a post about my Chicago trip. I went on this trip with D (my brother), K (my cousin), and Ken (my fiancé). We were there for 4 days. We have visited Chicago before, so this post won't include a lot of the touristy things you can do in the city. The highlights are listed in chronological order, I enjoyed all of them pretty equally.

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High Five Ramen

Located at 112 N Green Street

 

 

Visiting this place was the first thing on our itinerary. After a long bus ride (8 hours), we wanted to enjoy some delicious spicy ramen! This restaurant is located in a very discrete location, we walked past the entrance (which is in an alley) twice before finally asking people around us where this restaurant was located.

We walked in confused, it was very dark. After going down the stairs, we were greeted by a clipboard and some instructions. The restaurant is very small, diner sized, grungy style. The waitress was very nice, the wait was an hour. They do not take reservations. Apologies for the poor photo quality, it was very dark.

This picture is courtesy of K.

The food was delicious!  I ordered the High Five Ramen, with half-spice. Due to the long line watching us eat, I felt a bit rushed. Service was very good. Food came quickly. Atmosphere was definitely something different. I highly recommend checking this place out when you've got a craving for some delicious ramen.

The Doughnut Vault

Located at 401 N Franklin Street

 

One of my favorite instagramers, Kessara, who is from Chicago, made a few posts about this place. It seemed like it had so much personality, and since I love doughnuts, I knew I had to check it out! The wait wasn't too bad, even though the line wrapped around the corner. It was totally worth the wait.

I got a buttermilk old fashioned doughnut and a chestnut doughnut. K and D got vanilla doughnuts, and ken also got an old fashioned buttermilk doughnut. All of them were amazing. I really wish we had a doughnut place like this in Minnesota! I would go all the time.

Eataly

Located at 43 E Ohio Street

 

Honestly, I don't have words for how awesome this place is. Please just go check it out if you love Italian food. They have everything you could possibly think of. I would recommend stopping in for lunch. Get a delicious sandwich or pizza, then you can get a Nutella crepé!

 

Pastry House Hippo

Located at 100 E Algonquin Rd, Arlington Heights 

 

Okay, I cheated a little on this one since Pastry House Hippo isn't actually in Chicago. It's located within a Japanese market that we decided to check out. I have always wanted to try the choco-cornets, I finally got to this year!

  

You grab a tray, and a pair of tongs when you enter. Then you can pick out as many fresh baked goods as you want from the cases. I grabbed some curry buns and choco-cornets. 

 

The curry bun was delicious! Definitely my favorite thing at this bakery. I seriously wish we had a bakery in Minnesota that made these.

 

Garfield Park Conservatory

Located at 100 E Algonquin Road

I fully intend on writing a completely separate post on the Garfield Park Conservatory. I had so much fun looking at all the different plants, they even had an entire room dedicated to succulents! This is all I'll include for now. More to come later.

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Finally, I really enjoyed walking around Chicago. Here are some random shots from the trip. I hope that you can visit Chicago someday. It has a lot of charm.