Best Mexican Food in Chicago

Every Chicagoan has their FAVORITE Mexican food spot. Here’s the scoop on my favorite!

Pilsen is a neighborhood in Chicago nestled around 18^th street, and can be deceiving that you are still in Chicago when passing all the colorful building. The culture is thick and the food is unbelievable. My pick when going to Pilsen is the restaurant Nuevo Leon, time after time.  On the weekends there are long lines to get in. And perhaps even a bit of anxiety from those looming over you watching you eat your delicious Mexican cuisine, if you’re sitting in the front next to the door. Although, it does not bother myself when I am consumed and surround by the tasty flavors– I have no time to notice anything but my plate of heaven.

Some of the perks of going to a traditional Mexican restaurant (and what I miss from other places in the city)? Free chips, 3 different types of salsas, and jalapenos—–I don’t know if you all have eaten at Chipotle any time recently, but that is never free!

Nuevo Leon

So you’re wondering what I ate? I had the mole and chicken with rice and beans. Mole is a rich sauce that consists of ton of ingredients from chili peppers to peanuts. By far, mole is one of the most unique and irresistible flavors in Mexican cuisine. Mole and chicken never disappoints, it is a definite crowd pleaser.  To drink? Of course I had horchata. My boyfriend on the other hand decided to go with a classic plate of enchiladas suizas (meaning cheese was melted all over his beef enchiladas).

Mole and Chicken

Not being able to resist, we walked down the street in search of some great sweets. BonBon, an adorable and well reknowed pastry bakery, is located down 18^th street with every dessert you could imagine. The pastry chef graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, so it was expected that anything we tried would be less than delicious.

The night ended with this tasty piece of flan, some great records, and a nice cup of Joe.

 

Cheers,

Sabrina

Winter Blues? Treat Yourself!

 

It’s finally here…… restaurant week in Chicago! So naturally, I headed out to my favorite spot in Lincoln Park to get my fill of Spanish tapas at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba. There’s nothing like throwing on a pair of heels and your favorite outfit to cure the winter blues.

Ever hear that your bag has to match your shoes? Changing it up a bit, I matched my sparkly black clutch with my Akira statement necklace and my hat with my favorite magenta heels.

This season, I have begun to wear shorts in the winter. Sound crazy? It’s the same idea of freezing your bum off in a skirt, except you can move around! I decided to bust out my high wasted black shorts I haven’t seen for 5 months, and put them to good use. My newest obsession has to be emerald green (perhaps it has a tiny bit to do with Pantone implanting that idea into my head) and so you will find I have been incorporating tid bits of emerald to most outfits.

At Café Ba-Ba-Reeba, we ate off of the fixed menu for restaurant week at only $33 a person. At that price, a pitcher of passion fruit Sangria was a must. Here is the low down on what we ordered: Chorizo-wrapped medjool date and cheese which was a pintxos (bite size tapas),citrus-cured salmon, cucumber, crema & toast, octopus a la plancha, fingerling potatoes & olives, roasted dates with bacon & apple vinaigrette, pork ad artichoke paella and last but NOT least caramelized banana for dessert!  Everything was as delicious as always, but my go to is the citrus-cured salmon, cucumber, crema & toast (pictured below). 

citrus-cured salmon, cucumber, crema & toast

passion fruit sangria

pork and artichoke paella

Winter can sometimes quarantine us to our apartments during the week, hence the term “winter blues”. The only way to get over the  blues is to get out there and indulge in a good meal! Treat yourself!

Stay Warm XOXO,

Sabrina

Photography by Carolyn Resner

Baby, it’s cold outside!

Saying Chicago has been freezing for the last couple of days would be an understatement. Chicago has been a TUNDRA! With that being said, I couldn’t help but share this yummy drink that will warm you right up! Recently at Tavern on Rush, I tried the apple cinnamon vodka that they make in house. To my surprise, it was nothing less than amazing. If you have a chance to check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

apple soaking the vodka

 

Stay warm! XO,

Sabrina

Welp, here goes nothin’!

Bejeweled Moet Bottle. My first and last memory of Sequin Chicago.

From my dining room table in Chicago, I bring this first blog post to you exactly 10 days after my birthday. An exciting new chapter will finally unravel now that I #1 no longer have the stigma of being 21 attached to me and #2 am starting this blog!

As a girl who grew up in Chicago, I enjoy the luxury of being so near to some of the best restaurants in the world. For my birthday, I was delighted to be taken to the Signature Room for brunch and dine at the highly recommended Girl & the Goat for dinner. Although a 100% Chicago native, I was never able to make my way to the top of the Hancock for brunch until now. The view is breathtaking (even if you’ve seen the skyline a million and one times) and the food was delicious. If you aren’t satisfied with the all you can eat seafood bar, you can order anything else off of the menu. My choice was OF COURSE the crab cake! Foodie’s themselves, my parents were thrilled to pick the place.

The View

Crab Cake

Beef Brisket

colorful vegetable pasta

🙂

As for Girl & the Goat : Hats off to the special man who indulged in this meal with me, for being able to make a reservation at such a hot spot! It was our first time to top chef’s 4th season winner, Stephanie Izard’s restaurant. My level of enthusiasm to be there was so high, I forgot to snag my camera on the way out (bummer!)….but here is what we tried : roasted cauliflower, kohlrabi salad, grilled baby octopus, wood oven roasted pig face, and last but by far the best confit goat belly with pieces of lobster. How yummy, right?! My two favorites were the goat belly and kohlrabi salad.

A few pictures to rap up a memorable birthday weekend:

 

Here’s to the beginning of many more posts!

XO,

Sabrina