Chicago: Thoughts from an aspiring foodie

by Brittaney Meyer

(In honor of "Top Chef: Season 4 Finale, I sent one of my food critics, Brittaney Meyer, to Chicago to review a few local hot spots. Ok, not really. She was going there anyway and it just happened to work out this way. But I am just practicing for one day when I Love Tongs, Inc. takes over the nation much like locusts...or Rachel Ray.)

My husband and I were fortunate enough to find ourselves in Chicago for a few days during the first week of April. I spent the majority of my time observing oral arguments in an Illinois State courthouse (we were there for a law school competition) but I did have a few spare moments to enjoy some amazing food. Heather has been kind enough to post my novice-foodie thoughts here for you all to enjoy.

Forget pizza — go for burgers
I know, I know, Chicago deep dish, blah, blah, blah. I did try some and it was fantastic, but nothing compares to the place where we ate lunch on Friday. Boston Blackie's was reviewed online as the number three spot for lunch in Chicago. Well, numbers one and two must have slept with someone pretty darn important to have out-ranked this place.

Boston Blackie's is located underneath South Michigan Avenue (yes, underneath) on Grand. Once you walk down to Grand you will likely assume that you should head left toward the “downtowny”-looking portion of the street. You would be incorrect. Blackie's is located on a nondescript end of the road in a building that, at first glance, looks like it has burned down — that is until you realize that it is actually just painted matte black on purpose. The inside, however, is quite pleasant. The host was a man in his 60s dressed in a plaid sportcoat and tie. The waiting area was standing-room only and the burgers were HUGE.

If you don’t like burgers, chicken or fish sandwiches, don’t go to Boston Blackie's as this is all they serve. But what the menu lacks in variety, it makes up for in quality. The burgers were fantastic: cooked to order (mine was actually rare, which is, well...rare), juicy and flavorful. Ryan didn’t put anything on his except for the burger, cheese and grilled onions it came with. Again, fantastic. The price? We ordered six burgers, two baskets of onion rings, two pitchers of beer and a soda for $83.00. That included the tip. I could say more but I don’t have to — next time Southwest is offering $59 flights, go for yourself and try it.

Popcorn for the connoisseur
I have been known to go to a movie that I am less than thrilled about because of the popcorn. I am a layered-butter, lots-of-salt girl myself. I will skip lunch so that I can eat more — that is how much I love this stuff.

Lucky for me, Chicago is home to Garrett Popcorn. They have a lot of different flavors, but their most popular is “the mix." The mix consists of half cheese corn and half caramel corn. We had to wait in line for 10 minutes and everyone I heard order ahead of me ordered at least one bag of the mix. Needless to say, I had to try it. I was not disappointed; it was phenomenal. I probably gained five pounds by being near the stuff but it was worth it. You can order online — stop reading and start typing.

Impress your bedfellow, or just someone staying the night at your house, with the juice I had at Yolk
Yolk is a breakfast place with some really great food. However, their juice took the cake. Although simple, their recipe was highly effective: a glass of orange juice with strawberries blended in. I think they used a blender and then dropped a few chopped strawberries in for good measure. I wanted to save it so bad I ended up having half a glass left at the end that I downed in 1.5 seconds of pure morning pleasure. For serious.

I guess the short story is: go to Chicago. Bring a good pair of walking shoes and your fat pants and prepare to be amazed.