mango&lime — a blog about food and eating in miami

It may seem a bit odd that just having started a blog about eating and food in Miami I’m writing about eating in Chicago and Milwaukee. But that’s where I spent my weekend so I thought I’d share a quick tour of the food I ate during my visit.

Weekend started with a stop at Giordano’s for pizza on Friday. Chicago is famous for its deep-dish pizza. Giordano’s pizza is stuffed, which makes it even more sinful and so cheesy. I haven’t really tried other pizzerias in Chicago so I’m not sure how Giordano’s compares but it passed my test and it pretty much left me fed for the rest of the day. (Note: They ship nationwide in case anyone gets a craving).

On Saturday I drove to Milwaukee but started off with breakfast in Chicago at the Golden Apple (2971 N. Lincoln Ave.), a diner. Good omelettes and inexpensive. They also serve Belgian waffles. I resisted, but they looked quite good.

In Milwaukee, I was invited to a cruise on Lake Michigan followed by a corn roast at the yacht club. It was my first corn roast. The yacht club hosts this event once a year. For $8.50 you could have all the corn, beer and brats you wanted. (Brats or bratwursts, are a German sausage, for those of you who, like me, may not have known the short term for it. ) There was corn everywhere, ready to be placed in the revolving roaster from where they were passed into these big barrels. That’s where you lined up to get your corn. Then you took it to a tent brushed it with lots of butter and sprinkled it with salt. It was simple food, but delicious — especially the corn. That marked the end of day two. I was so full again after the corn roast that there was no room for dinner.

Milwaukee Corn Roast

Aug 22, 2006 - 5 Photos

On Sunday morning I had another omelette.

This time at Square Kitchen, a bistro in Chicago’s Lincoln Square (4600 N Lincoln Ave.). I initially had wanted to visit Cafe Selmarie, also in Lincoln Square, about which I read a review in the Chicago Tribune. When I saw multigrain pancakes with berries, salmon scramble and orange-cinammon french toast listed on its menu, I knew I had to go there. Unfortunately, there was a 45-minute wait and we were short on time. I wasn’t disappointed by the alternative, though. The veggie omelette at Square Kitchen was wonderful. The vegetables were chopped in small dice so that they were perfectly dispersed in the egg; that made it look nice and taste light. It was served with potatoes and toast. We also tried a dish called The Duet, a scoop of tuna salad and a scoop of curry chicken salad served with a bagel. I recommend it.

Mid-afternoon, we stopped at Suckers Candy, Inc. (3256 N. Damen Ave.) for homemade ice cream. This cute little store sells candy, everything from chocolate-covered gummy bears, to Dots, Bazooka gum and salt-water taffy. The store’s owner apparently grew up eating that ice cream in his neighborhood and when he opened the store, he asked the person who made it if he could sell it. The homemade definitely makes a difference.

Finally we headed to 42 N. Latitude (4500 N. Lincoln Ave.) for appetizers. This is a casual food place with outdoor seating and a nice bar. We ordered the polenta cake, which came topped with olive tapenade, roasted peppers and aurugula and a pesto vinaigrette, and their dips and pita appetizer — hummus, spinach and artichoke dip, and a roasted pepper and feta dip served with pita bread and vegetables.

It seems like all I did on my trip was eat, but no, I managed to do other fun things. Now, back home, I’m trying to catch up with everything, including this blog. So hoping that this post is of some help to someone planning a visit to Chicago, I’m back to focusing on my eating in Miami.