A bunch of graduate students from our sister school in Basel, Switzerland are visiting for a week meaning we get a week off class and a week full of hanging out with cool talented designers and going on field trips around the city. Best. Week. Ever.

Today, one of our stops was to the Chicago Design Museum which happens to be inside of a mall (Block 37) right around lunch time. Thankfully they're pretty cool and are in between exhibitions so the place was in the middle of being painted and set up and they were alright with us bringing lunch to eat during their presentation. Cue Latinicity.

LOCATION: 108 N STATE ST., CHICAGO, IL, 60602

So Latinicity is basically a really cool food court with a twist. When you enter they hand you a little swipe card and you head into see all the different food options. This ranges from a taco shop to a chinese wok section to seafood. You order, hand them your card, and pay when you leave the court. Of course, as hungry as I was, I couldn't make the decision of what I wanted. I walked back and forth between tacos and seafood and ended up at the Saladero Latin Grill. What got me was, no surprise, Beef and Caramelized Onion Empanadas with guac, which I ended up being super excited about. It was a pretty quick deal and they popped it into the deep fryer and put it into a to-go box for me along with my order of yucca fries 'con mojo' aka an incredible lime dipping sauce.

Honestly, I need to go back and try out some of the other dishes at this stand and at others because for a food court it was great. The empanada was a little over salted but the outer crust was flakey and a great balance especially with the mild yucca fries on the side. This whole meal was a wonderful balance with the guac and the mojo adding a tart kick. I love empanadas and they make me miss the farmers market at home with an incredible empanada stand on the edge. I know it took be a long time at Latinicity to make the decision of what to get but boy am i satisfied with my choice in the end. Totally awesome.