All set for Chicago Food Tour! We chose Chicago Food Planet's tour of downtown (Chicago Chow) which turned out to be a 15-minute walk from our hotel.
We started at Lou Malnati's for Chicago-style deep dish pizza. The Malnati father and son once worked for Uno's Pizza. When it went corporate in the 60's, the family opened their own restaurant and the rest is history. Their secret is butter in the dough.
Next was Al's Beef. Al's founder Chris Pacelli started a neighborhood Beef stand in Chicago's Little Italy neighborhood in 1938. The sandwich was shaved stacked Beef, marinated in its own seasoned juices and served on a roll. This ended up being my favorite.
Third was Portillo's. After serving in the Marines, Dick Portillo and his brother Frank opened a hot dog stand in Chicago in 1963. They have since turned it into a thriving franchise, but the one we visited was original. We had the traditional Chicago hot dog topped with 7 ingredients: yellow mustard, chopped white onion, bright green sweet relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato wedge, pickled Sport pepper and a dash of celery salt. It is said to be "dragged through the garden" and was a way to lure customers to its venues.
Next Garrett's for cheese and caramel popcorn
Ended at Copper Fox, an American Gastropub. Had a brownie made of Nutella with a "drunken" caramel sauce. The brownie was invented in Chicago in 1893. Potter Palmer, who helped build Chicago after the fire, gave his wife Bertha a hotel. She wanted to have a dessert to serve her friends that was smaller than a cake and easier to eat than a pie. Hence, the brownie. We all opted to add a "Choc Me Up" drink of Vodka, chocolate liquor, chocolate syrup, and chocolate bitters.
Back to the hotel and time for the game. We boarded the metro at 4:30 which took us easily to Wrigley Field. Again, we had great seats between home plate and third base and on an upper level row with no one in front of us. Unfortunately, the Cubs were a little lackluster and were beaten by the Arizona Razorbacks. Surprisingly, we caught the metro back with very little wait. Great day!
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