CHI - Greek Islands

I'm pretty excited to be going to school in Chicago this fall because campus just happens to be right next to Greek Town. I'm already in love. 

Julia did a little research and got some recommendations from family and we took a lunch break at Greek Islands.

LOCATION: 200 SOUTH HALSTAD ST., CHICAGO, IL 60661

This restaurant is super cool, outdoor seating and tons of space inside as well. It has that greek feel with clean white spaces, and that greek island feel. All of the wait staff and kitchen staff from what I saw was male which I think is pretty cool. Everyone was very generous and attentive and our waiter was an older man with a heavy greek accent. He made me feel happy. 

Of course, we sat down and ordered Dolmades to start; a favorite of Julia's and mine. They were warm and citrus-y and I was beyond happy. We were both craving it and we were not disappointed. For lunch Julia ordered Gyros and I got a newer dish, Spartan Chicken which came with a side of rice and potato(s). It was beautiful. The chicken was seasoned and cooked wonderfully. It was a little salty but with the rice and potato it was wonderful. I would definitely go back to this place again though there are a whole bunch of restaurants in Greektown that I should scope out first! All the food adventures to have in the future. 

ROC - Bar Louie

So, I haven't been going out much lately what with my night time work schedule hindering my meager social life and my travel and school plans sucking what little funds I have for fun (the struggles of a post BFA, pre MDes life). 

I did, however, luck out one afternoon! My friend Jeff took a week off after finishing with one job and starting another meaning a week where he had time to hang out with me before I had to go to work! Cue lunch at Bar Louie! 

LOCATION: 935 JEFFERSON RD., ROCHESTER, NY 14623

Jeff has been before but I have not, and I believe the last time he went he sent me this wonderful picture of a grilled mac and cheese sandwich. I had to try it. So this fine Wednesday, we met at bar Louie for lunch. Now this place is, of course, a bar and therefore it was pretty quiet during lunch but that was fine with me! We were seated right away close to a party of 7 elderly women (walkers and canes included) so of course, I knew it was going to be a good time. Our waitress was super relaxed and fun, she gave us a little rundown of the menu, and we ordered. 

Jeff got himself a flatbread and of course I ordered the grilled mac and cheese sandwich with verde chicken. This sandwich is magical. It comes on a multi grain bread so you can at least pretend that it's really not THAT bad for you even though theres american cheese on top of the incredible alfredo mac and cheese concoction. Throw in the chicken and this sandwich cannot lose! The bread is seasoned and buttery and this whole thing is just fantastic. I would go back just for this sandwich. 

Lunches with Jeff full of cheesy goodness? I'll take that any day.   

NYC - Rainbow Bagels!!

We all know that these Rainbow Bagels are a big hit right now, so when in New York, get a rainbow bagel at THE BAGEL STORE! 

LOCATION: 349 BEDFORD AVE, BROOKLYN, NY 11211

The bagel store in Brooklyn is right on the corner and super easy to find. We walked in around 1pm (not the prime bagel time) and there were people around but nothing TOO busy. We waited for a couple minutes, walked up to the counter, and a nice girl came up to us to take our order. All three of us got rainbow bagels (they don't let you toast them) with different fillings. Zoe got hers with honey which she said was one of the best bagels she's had, Karie got hers with plain cream cheese (and she got a lot of it), and I got mine with the funfetti cream cheese and it was magical. The bagel itself wasn't different in terms of flavor but the cream cheese made me feel like I was eating cake which is alright by me! 

The store itself wasn't as obvious of a home run. Being in New York there wasn't a lot of seating which itself is not a huge deal. In terms of customer service it was sub-par. The girl that took our order was great but the 3 or 4 other guys working at the same time were less than enthusiastic to be there. Karie got her bagel and paid for it, then they set Zoe and my bagel on the counter, and walked away. We stood there for 10 or so minutes waiting for any one of the workers there to come and let us pay for our food that was already made and ready to go. It was an odd time of day and the store wasn't crazy packed with people so we couldn't figure out why we had to wait there for such an extended amount of time just to pay. 

Overall, the bagels were good but maybe I'll look for a different location next time around.    

NYC - Snow Fluff

I'm here again in NYC visiting Karie and Zoe before our trip out to Hong Kong to move Zoe back. This means one last shot to go out with Zoe and try new foods with her/ let her go back to her favorite spots!

Tonight Zoe and Karie decided on dinner at BCD Tofu House which is one of Zoe's favorites. There's a post of my thoughts of this place last time I was in New York visiting these two so if you feel so inclined to scroll back a bunch to find out, feel free!

Zoe was a little later to meeting Karie and me so Karie and I decided that we would knock a restaurant off my list and get ice cream appetizers at Grace Street!

LOCATION: 17 W 32ND ST, NEW YORK, NY 10001

I've heard a lot of great things about Grace Street and we actually passed it on the way to BCD Tofu House so we circled back about half a block and got ice cream! 

It was easy to say that it was an extremely good idea and we had such a good time. I ordered the Mango Madness snow fluff which is one of their signature shaved snow creations. Mango madness is their milk shaved snow with mango drizzles, banana, and mango chunks. This was such a delicious ice cream. It's a tricky dessert to eat because the shaved layers are kinda hard to scoop up with the spoon but when you get to it, its really light and a perfect level of sweetness. I would totally go back in a heartbeat. Karie did a build your own with the green tea shaved snow, chocolate pebbles, red bean, and strawberry. I have to say it's an odd combination but Karie seemed to like it and it's all in good fun.  

T-Swifts Vanilla Chai Sugar Cookies!!!

I found this recipe and idea from T-Swift herself and I'm not ashamed of it. It's a vanilla cookie recipe taken from joythebaker.com with a little twist from Taylor Swift's Instagram. 

To make the cookie I beat 1 stick of softened butter down and then added 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. I then added 1/2 cup of granulated sugar then mixed to incorporate before adding in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. After that was all mixed in I added 1 egg, mixed it in, then added 2 tsp of vanilla. Now this is where T-Swift's Chai Tea comes into play. She says to add 1 packet of chai tea leaves right into the batter but I decide I'm just gonna go for it and add two. Yolo. Once that was mixed in I added 2 cups of flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and a 1/4 tsp of salt all together and stirred it in until the dough formed. 

I refrigerated the dough for an hour before scooping into 1in dough balls and baking it in a 350degree oven for about 12 minutes. I took them out and let them cook before icing them.

The icing was all from Taylor Swift and it was a mixture of 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1/4tsp of nutmeg, 1/4tsp of cinnamon, and 3 tbsp of milk (or eggnogg which she uses). I also added another pack of vanilla chai tea to this as well because I'm already at it so why not just go all in with the chai. I, of course, am also still somehow incapable of making an icing or frosting of any kind so mine came out thinner and more like a sugary glaze. That's fine.. one day... 

UPDATE: I remade the icing with half the amount of milk and it came out with a thicker consistency which I'm really happy about! It totally looks more like what an traditional icing would be and I'm glad I nailed it!